3.5 headphones $200 and under, recommendations please

[seabeerob213]

my girl is getting headphones from her father for her upcoming birthday, and is absolutely hooked on getting a pair of beats, and everything i do to talk her out of it comes down to, oh well i like the beats so much, they sound so good, every i know says sennheisers push on your ears too much, the have to be trendy and stylish for her, and she doesnt like the AKG headphones, https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater, can anyone suggest something that will save her the dissapointment and money and hassle of beats

[seabeerob213]

will be used for cd's and mp3s, from and iphone and a dvd player, although im going to replace as much of her music as i can with lossless files

[EndersShadow]

In that price range I would look at the Beyerdynamic DT-770's or the AudioTechnica ATH-50s. Both are around that price range and have a similar sound to them but are overall better.

Personally I suggest the DT-770's for comfort from what I have read if she listens for longer periods. I am saving for the 770's myself.

[seabeerob213]

also, some ear room is a must as she has a hearing aid in each ear, and at low volumes will need to use it, she is very sensitive to higher frequencies, but at times almost non perceptive of lower ones

[seabeerob213]

she mostly listens to crappy club music, but im steering her away, gave her some nirvana, pearl jam, stp, rob zombie, linkin park, and im fixing her tastes, lol because club music isnt music

[seabeerob213]

In that price range I would look at the Beyerdynamic DT-770's or the AudioTechnica ATH-50s. Both are around that price range and have a similar sound to them but are overall better.

Personally I suggest the DT-770's for comfort from what I have read if she listens for longer periods. I am saving for the 770's myself.

thanks, im gonna run those by her

[EndersShadow]

NP, the DT-770's come in some different ohm ratings, make sure to get the 80 ohms as they are the easiest to drive and will sound the best straight from a phone, ipod, etc

[seabeerob213]

she wont like the look of those, haha, she commented on how ugly similar looking ones were, but those technicas are something she would like

[EndersShadow]

she wont like the look of those, haha, she commented on how ugly similar looking ones were, but those technicas are something she would like

Well the Audio Technica's are cheaper than the Beyers, so thats a good thing too . P.S. the ATH-50s are HIGHLY recommended as a good starter pair of headphones that are better than the beats and wont hurt your head as they dont grip as tight IIRC.

[Gadabout]

I can also recommend the M50's. They are really good starter headphones. Since stylish is a requirement you might try SOL Republic. http://solrepublic.com/shop/tracks-on-ear-headphones.html

They are cheaper than the beats and I think they sound better. If an apple store is close you can demo the HD Tracks there.

I gave the Anthem Tracks a brief listen while I had a couple hour wait at John Wayne Airport. They sounded pretty good for the price point. I was listening to FLAC's with my Cowon MP3 player. Can't remember what EQ setting I was using.

I gave them a listen mainly cause this is what Michael Phelps was listening too last Olympics and I was curious about the sound. I thought the sound was pretty good for the price point. They are on ear phones and might not be for everyone.

If you decide on the M50's give http://www.soundprofessionals.com/ a try, they have pretty decent prices and have specials all the time on the M50's (just do a search for M50)

Hope that helps,
Scott

[skrol]

I have read good things about V-moda. Not very girly but def trendy and, from what I have read, sound better than Beats. I haven't heard them yet but would like to get some on my ears to try.

I didn't like the Sol Republics as the upper end seems to roll off too steeply. The bass was decent though.

[jflail2]

Just got a pair of these last week, along with a couple of pair of the Beyers (990s and 770s) from the FM. The 990's sound the best to me right now, but I'm still evaluating. They aren't bad for $97 though, and may or may not pass the looks test as well.

[coolsax]

the Vmoda M80s are supposed to be really really good especially for the price.

Innerfidelity thinks the Logitech UE 6000 is pretty good for around $200 as well.

[skrol]

I listened to a pair of the Logitech and they are very decent. I was very surprised.

[AsSiMiLaTeD]

Yeah, for something trendy and with good sound definitely check out the vmoda m80

[oleon621]

+1 on the Vmoda m80 or m100's

[seabeerob213]

she hated the look of the v-moda, i told her she needed to clean her glasses, the sols are by far her favorite you guys have reccomended

[PubFiction]

She seems to have gaudy taste, this is unfortunate because she will pay for it dearly in a couple years when the look of beats is out of style. A good pair of headphones should last you a lifetime, or until you decide to move your budget up.

Humor me and propose the Ultrasone 750 to her, lets see how she reacts to the style.

[cnh]

Some pretty good suggestions above. So good, in fact, that I decided to pick up a pair of the ATH M50s for office use.

B&H Photo has them on sale for 130 (free shipping). I'd say that's a bargain!

But my daughter would probably prefer the look of the Sols as well. Fortunately, they're not hers. She did borrow a pair of older Sony MDR-V6s I had and had a slight epiphany concerning the ear buds she had been using; Hey, maybe Dad is not so nuts after all! lol

cnh

[Gadabout]

she hated the look of the v-moda, i told her she needed to clean her glasses, the sols are by far her favorite you guys have reccomended

I didn't listen to the SOL HD tracks . When I was in the shop the guys suggested the Anthems HD as he liked the sound better and said he sold that model more than the HD Tracks. I can't remember anything specific about the highs being toned down, but they are bass centric. The Cowon's EQ settings can help compensate somewhat for deficencies, and I use the EQ all the time and sometimes change the settings on every album. Again, I thought they were OK for the price point but they weren't enough to make me switch from my IEM's.

While I'm sure they aren't stylish enough for your daughter, the M50's are still one of the best bang for the buck headphones I have heard and it's what I use when listening at the house on one of the rigs. Plus, I'm assuming for most of the younger crowd it's about fashion and music, not just music. :\

Scott

[Syndil]

I have the TDK ST800s and like them:

http://www.amazon.com/TDK-ST800-High.../dp/B00493QWB0

Not sure how the styling would be for you daughter, but I think they look fantastic. Very old-school, covered in leather, with a fabric-covered cord.

One reviewer compares the sound favorably to the M50s, saying he found it difficult to pick a winner between the two, but giving a nod to the TDK for having larger drivers (50mm vs 45mm) and slightly better bass, which might be important to someone who listens to the kind of sounds your daughter does. The first most-helpful review was written by someone who really knows his headphones and really goes into a lot of detail so you might want to read it.

[ViperZ]

AudioTechnica ATH-AD700 or M50 (open back vs. closed back)?

[skrol]

Another very headphone which is trendy, decent sounding and fairly comfortable (though I didn't wear them long) are the, dare I say, Monster DNA. The styling may be more to lady's taste. Sonically, they are pretty good. The bass is not over done and fairly solid at low volumes. At higher volumes ... meeh.

[cnh]

M50s arrived today. I must say, pretty good quality construction at this price point, and fairly impressive sound straight out of the box, not even broken in yet and I can tell that these are going to be pretty good. Definitely a "bargain" at the price I paid!

I've seen the Monsters mentioned above but haven't heard them. As for the M50s, detailed highs, clean mids, fast tight bass, decent sound isolation--passive, OK comfort (not overly exaggerated as in many of popular BASS heavy phones). These are "keepers" probably become the daily drivers.

cnh

[seabeerob213]

thanks guys for all the input, i got her watching this thread now and she wil be browsing your recomendations and chewing my a$$ for anything i may have said which bothers her, i will let you know what she picks, im trying to get her to go for some AKG because they sell them locally and she can demo them

[Gadabout]

Perhaps a trip over to Tyll's place might help: Inner Fidelity

It doesn't have as much information as Head-Fi, but Tyll is pretty consistent in his reviews and does some good testing. he also has great pictures of the items he has tested.

Take a look around but especially take a look at the : Wall of Fame. maybe something on the wall will strike her fancy and then she can read the review to see if they look interesting.

Which AKG's were you looking at?

Scott

[seabeerob213]

they seemed to have a fairly full line, i was in a hurry, but the ones i posted in the first or second post were 40 Euro

[seabeerob213]

thinking i will order some of the technica's in white or the V-moda LP's

[skrol]

I tried to sway my son toward something sensible but ... Then I thought the V-moda's but ... So a pair of Sol Republic Tracks HD are on their way. I'll let you all know what I think after he gets them.