huzefa

Hi, I was wondering if you guys had any headphone recommendations. Need it mostly for listening to music and watching movies. Wired is fine but Surround sound would be nice. Budget is $100 or less. The only ones that I've actually tested are the MDJ-V700 Sony. When looking at reviews online, what specs should I looking at (what ranges?)

Thx

Huzefa

X

For one thing, I would look for decent bass response.

Thrush

Without an amp - Grado SR60, Alessandro MS-1, Sony MDR-V6, Sennheiser HD-497

With an amp - Grado SR80, AKG 240

DVD Polizei

This is about the only time I recommend Sony. Their headphones are quite good for the price. Even a pair of $50 headphones is quite nice. You're looking for how many milliwatts the heaphones can handle. Sennheiser sucks, and you will know why when you look at the milliwatts rating--more commonly called the "load rating".

Of course someone will say, "But DVD Polizei, you're talking out you're ass. Right?" Actually, as usual, I'm not. I bought a $500 pair of Senns back in 2000 and I couldn't believe the distortion I got playing classical music. Utterly pathetic. Turned around and bought a pair of $50 Sony headphones and I said to myself, hell, Sony could sell them under an audiophile name, right next to the Senns, for $500. In case anyone wants to do some researchy on their own, look at Sennheiser's milliwatt rating. Basically, Sennheiser is the "Bose" of the headphone market. Overpriced, and underperforming.

The Sony 700 headphones you mentioned are the ones to get. Yeah, they only have 107db versus 114db of sensitivity in the Senns, but you know what, big deal. Not much difference, and the higher sensitivity doesn't mean crap if it can't handle lows and powerful mids.The 700 has 3000mW of power handling, which should be enough to handle most people's ears.

Mr. Salty

Wow. You're definitely in the minority with that opinion.

If you spent $500, I assume you're talking about the Sennheiser HD-600s, which is what I own. If you had distortion, either you got a defective pair or you were drastically underpowering them and needed a headphone amp. They are, hands down, the clearest headphones I've ever heard.

Anyway, the HD-600s are clearly out of huzefa's price range, so I'll second the recommendations for Grado, as well as the AKG-240.

A good place to research specific models, read a variety of third-party reviews and check pricing is at www.headphone.com.

durden007

I recommend Koss Porta Pros. Circuitcity has PortaPro2's on sale on their website. I 'm not sure what the difference is between PortaPro and PortaPro2, but they are inexpensive and sound great. And a lifetime warranty to boot. What more could you want?

huzefa

What about comfort wise? Which one do you guys feel is most comfortable when worn for a while? (1-2 hrs at a time) Thx for ur responses,

H

Johnny Zhivago

Well, I haven't tried the Senns but I do agree with DVD Polizei on the Sony recommendation... At the $100 price point they sound quite nice. I've had a pair of their "studio headphones" (dont' recall the model off hand but they're more or less the same as the 600's or 700's) for at least 10 years and they still sound great. Comfort wise, they're fine... I use mine several days a week for several hours at a time.

X

I've been very happy with my AKG-240 for several decades now. Great frequency response and extremely comfortable the way they fit around the ears, not on or in them.

DVD Polizei

I'm glad you eluded to an amp as a requirement--because, the HD-600 100% requires an amp. However, Sennheiser markets them as not needing one, and have even adjusted the dampening on the HD-600 so that people can use it on with their home amplifier or receiver headphone output.

Senn knows most people don't use amps, and probably wouldn't buy the headphones if they were told you needed one, so they market the headphones as ready to be used, fresh out of the box.

I still think they are overpriced though. However, I will say they fit really nice on a person's ears, and you hardly know they are there.

But anyway, I'm glad you brought up the fact about headphone amplifiers.

Mr. Salty

I had AKG-240s for about 15 years and only replaced them when part of the vinyl headband started coming apart. I was going to get another pair, but got unbelievably luck and got a pair of Sennheiser HD-600s for $135 when DVDExpress.com was going under.

True, U.S. customers get screwed on pricing when it comes to Sennheisers for some reason. Unless you get lucky, like I did, you're definiltely better off ordering them from a European Web site. When I bought mine it seemed like everybody was ordering their Senns from a German musician supply store. I think the HD-600s were about $150 U.S. from there, when the cheapest you could find them in this country was $350.

X

Mine has a a 1/8" tear but it's holding together fine for now. I might just patch it before it gets bigger.

The left channel recently went out so I opened it up and found a wire came off the transducer. A little soldering and it was as good as new.

deluis

If you are going to get Sony headophones, get the MDR-V6 (not the v600, they are not the same thing) Really great sounding headphones and recommended by many people. They can be found under $80 at etronics with shipping.

http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk_code=sonmdrv6