Headphones in the $150 price range

[DSkip]

My mom is in the market for some nice over-ear headphones. She heard some Harman Kardon's at BB that she really liked, commenting on the "stereo" sound and overall clarity they provided. I'm quite ignorant on headphones but was wondering what else was out there that might suit her needs? She's wanting to use these with her iPad/laptop and would prefer them be noise cancelling.

[nwohlford]

I would look at Denon. For what you are looking for these might be a good fit:
http://www.accessories4less.com/make...dphones/1.html

[rooftop59]

I really like my Audio Technica ATH-M50s. They are not active noise cancelling, but do block out quick a bit of noise because they form a pretty good seal. They are REALLY easy to drive, so they sound pretty darn good with just my phone. Only thing is they get hot after a while, but I imagine that's true with most cans.

http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica.../dp/B000ULAP4U

[cnh]

I second that. I bought a pair of the M50s recently at a great price. These are considered among the best under not 150 but under $200!

Currently a bargain at 121.98 see link below (an authorized dealer--beware of fakes).

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...ck_Studio.html

cnh

[EndersShadow]

Someone on here had some beyerdynamic dt-770s for decent price...

[Tbone289]

Someone on here had some beyerdynamic dt-770s for decent price...

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/show...98#post1865698

That is an excellent deal for the DT-770s. I bought the DT-880s from that sale, and they are like new. The 32 ohm versions would be easy to drive.

[jflail2]

I also picked up some Beyers from him in that same sale. I'm extremely pleased with the 990's for the price.

[timalan]

Is the $150 limit your suggested limit, or hers? What will her source be? And are you factoring in any budget for a headphone amp?

I think for overall sound quality, $150 may get a lot more quality if split between a headphone and an amp -- $150 is enough to get a very decent headphone and a decent amp...

My wife wanted some headphones for Christmas, and I was on a similar budget, so I split it between the cans and a Fiio dac/amp and my wife couldn't be happier. They sound far better than anything she's ever had/heard, and they are comfy for long stretches of use. And with her primary source being the computer at her office, the dac/amp does far more to improve sound quality than a better set of cans would.

[zingo]

I just picked up a pair of Monoprice premium over the ear headphones, and they sound WAY better than the $23 price tag would suggest. Decent build quality, good sound, two detachable cables included; I highly suggest them.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

[ViperZ]

AT ATH-M50 if you want more bass, ATH-AD700 if you want more "airy" sound and less isolation (open-back over-ear haedphones). Both were $99 on Amazon during Christmas.

[Keiko]

Per one of Danny Tse's posts, I picked up a pair of these for Janey for Christmas. Cannot beat them for price/performance. Dunno if you could do much better spending another 120.00 bucks. Awesome bang for the buck, IMO.

http://www.amazon.com/JVC-HARX700-Pr...ds=jvc+harx700

[PolkieMan]

no one mentioned Polk Headphones

[PolkieMan]

yea I got two pair at Christmas, really a good deal like most of their stuff

I just picked up a pair of Monoprice premium over the ear headphones, and they sound WAY better than the $23 price tag would suggest. Decent build quality, good sound, two detachable cables included; I highly suggest them.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

[11tsteve]

i got a pair of these from Newegg quite a while back for $60, which was a pretty good deal. if your budget ends up being cut lower, these are, to my ears, surprisingly well balanced. they are comfortable, image well, the bass digs down without being muddy or overpowering, and i have had no issues with any brightness or fatigue. of course i want to upgrade, but these are perfectly decent headphones at a more budget price point.


http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-V6-Mo...r-v6+headphone

[cnh]

MDR-V6 are fairly famous Sonys. Pretty much the clone of the MDR-7506 studio monitors. Not the best phones by any means but very "revealing" for studio mixes. They can be grainy but you will CERTAINLY be able to make out the VOCALS and mids--they are very prominent! And 60 is a bargain price for those! I have a pair of the 7506s, I got for mixing purposes since it seems like my daughter may be moving toward a "vocal" career?

Mike's mention of the JVCs, haven't heard those. But supposedly unrivaled in the less than 60 dollar category. If you want a good set of phones on the CHEAP. These are, supposedly, hard to beat. I'd like to A/B them to the overly hyped Panasonic RP-HTF 600 (30.00) which are OK but have a few shortcomings! The JVCs have been compared to the Panasonics and some have preferred the JVCs. But now we're hitting the bottom end of good. Like the Monoprice phones for 20+ mentioned above--also given good reviews for cheapies?

Heck if we're going CHEAP. My favorites for less than 20 are the KOSS KTX Pro1s. Volume control, titanium coated diaphragms, 15-25Khz, 60 ohms,103 db. Decent bass and detail for 15 dollars!

But other than portability, I'd stay in the 100+ dollar range! (although that would be MSRP)! The headphone market is FULL of discounts these days!

I'm also more than curious about Pioneer's new STEEZ 808s (MSRP 129 but available for 69) dual driver HP. 40 mm for bass behind a 30 mm for mid/highs, with dial for "bass" adjustment.

cnh

[Rick88]

As someone who lives in an upstairs apartment and cannot often crank my music, I recently decided a headphone rig was a good idea for me. I was looking for something under $200, and after a ton of research I narrowed my choices down to the AKG K240 MKII, Audio Technica ATH-M50, Sennheiser HD598 (slightly over my budget), and the Shure SRH840. For me, comfort is as important as sound quality with headphones, as I listen for hours at a time.

Since there is not any place to actually audition any of those models near me, I relied on online reviews, and I figured I'd order from someplace where I could return them if I did not like them. Given the fact that the AT and Shure models didn't get many positive reviews in the comfort department, I then narrowed my choices down to the HD598 and K240 MKII.

With the great price on Amazon (just over $100), I decided to give the venerable AKG's a shot, and I love them! They sound great to the 'ol ears, and are VERY comfortable. And I think they are an excellent value, especially since they come with 2 cords (1 straight, 1 coiled) and 2 sets of earpads (1 velour, 1 pleather). I put the velour pads on mine, and they are very comfy, and I have listened to them for 4-6 hours at a time with absolutely no fatigue (comfort or sound wise).

I then purchased a FiiO E17 Alpen headphone amp/DAC, and I am extremely impressed with it as well!! I can now listen as loud as I want, at any time I want. I should have done this a long time ago!!

[cnh]

I just picked up a pair of Monoprice premium over the ear headphones, and they sound WAY better than the $23 price tag would suggest. Decent build quality, good sound, two detachable cables included; I highly suggest them.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

I picked up a pair of these a week ago for knocking around purposes, plus I was curious if "indeed" a 20+ dollar headphone could possibly sound any good? Well, I have to agree with Tyll (Innerfidelity), in saying I don't understand how they can possibly manufacture this and sell it at THAT PRICE. It certainly can compete with most phones up to around $60-$80.
Which is ridiculous. Of course it's not quite at the level of my M50s, but those are not $23?

If you need a cheap, and I mean ultra cheap set of cans that you can knock around you can't do much better at this "ridiculous" price point!

They also seem fairly FLAT to my ear and benefit from various EQs on things like itunes etc. For example, you can actually get some real bass out of these with a little tweaking and the mids are generally more forward than the average phone, which should be good for mixing? The highs, more detailed and prominent than they should be for 20+ bucks--conceivably a bit fatiguing over long listening periods, and maybe not? Sound stage? Not much and certainly much less than the Technica M50s which are OK there but nothing to write home about--problem with most closed back designs! Who would have thought! But like all decent phones they have a BREAK-IN period. Don't sound like much right out of the box but improve with TIME!

Of course, now that I'm into this scene, I have my eye on some Beyerdynamic (DT990s)! Have to check out the "open back" scene! I like the fact that the Beyers have "more" bass than the equivalent Sennheisers, Grados, AKG, etc.

cnh

[cnh]

On a digressive note. I'm using the Monoprice 8323 at the moment. I have NOT gotten around to using the short cord that comes with them till now. Sheeesh, I stuck that into my computer and the lost some bass and the high end became "unbearable". Anyone else have that experience with these?

I knew the short cord was a ****ty cable but it's "really" bad. For those who do not know. This unit comes with two detachable cables and a 1/4" adapter. The thick cable is over 10' long and about 3/16"+ (diameter) and the shorter 4' cable is only 1/16" or less--every flimsy. The DIFFERENCE was so noticeable I had to tear the phones from my head INSTANTLY. It wasn't even "did I hear that" or is this some "placebo" effect. It was Painful!

I knew high end H-phone guys often "recabled" their babies, but this pretty much cinches it for me!

Of course I can excuse MP because these phones cost next to "nothing" so skimping on the itune device cable. No real deal breaker there!

For the price, get them and test this out for "yourself". Go ahead and to it "double blind" if you wish. I guaranty you, you will experience the same thing!

cnh

[po001]

how about the Polk Audio UltraFit ?
http://styleheadphones.blogspot.com/...-overview.html