Best Headphone under $150???

[_illusionist]

Hello,
I am looking for a great quality headphone under $150. I will using them mostly for home movies and music as well as office listening sessions. I am not looking for something on the go. I already own a Xiaomi iron ring. I mostly listen electronic, pop and rock. I am into everything except hip hop. I was doing a bit of research and i found these are the popular choices.
Sony MDR7506
Sennheiser HD598
Audio Technica M50X
BeyerDynamic DT770/DT990 PRO

I am leaning towards the last two options. Anyone who have used both/anyone, please help/recommend and can you take the trouble of explaining what makes it unique/different from the other ?

Can you help me pick the best possible option

 

[weberdarren97]

I personally use the Koss R80 headset and have been very impressed for their price.

 

[ssddx]

3 major pieces of information you left out..

- do you have an amplifier? if not, would you get one if needed?
- what kind of sound signature are you looking for? something bassy? something neutral? something bass light?
- do you need open or closed headphones? open have wide soundstage (depth to sound) and breathe while closed have smaller soundstages and can get a bit hot but also muffle sounds going in/out so are passive noise cancelling.

 

[_illusionist]

3 major pieces of information you left out..

- do you have an amplifier? if not, would you get one if needed?
- what kind of sound signature are you looking for? something bassy? something neutral? something bass light?
- do you need open or closed headphones? open have wide soundstage (depth to sound) and breathe while closed have smaller soundstages and can get a bit hot but also muffle sounds going in/out so are passive noise cancelling.

 

[_illusionist]

1. I will be using them at indoors mostly, at home and sometimes at office. So, yeah i can get amps.
2. I pretty much listen to everything except hip-hop. pop and rock(rock, hard rock, progressive metal, psychedelic rock) are my thing when it comes to music. So, i think you got your answer.
3. I don't really understand this open/closed headphones. But when i sit back and start watching movies/listening to music, i tend to do it for longer period of time. So, i think the headphone i am going for should be comfy around my ears and it mustn't get hot. And sound leakage is also an issue. I would prefer less sound to leak in my work/home.

 

[ssddx]

i personally have an m50 (m50x is the new version). if you can get them near 100 bucks they have good quality with v-shaped (more treble and bass than mids) signature, some low hitting without muddying anything up bass and good build quality. what they dont have is much soundstage (everything sounds like it is right at your ears, the earcups are small and they do get hot to wear. i like mine but you need to realize the limitations.

the dt770 is similar but all around better. for closed cans soundstaging is not bad at all, they have bigger earcups and great comfort but you would either want a decent soundcard or an amplifier for them ideally if you want to get the most out of them.

the dt990 is similar but in an open can. bright vibrant treble with, for an open can, deep bass in a v-shaped signature. good soundstage, comfort and quality across the bar. some may find them to bright on treble but you could always eq them down a bit. they do need an amp to sound the best.

the hd598 is neutral sounding (more flat frequency response) and is a good all-rounder. less bass than bassy cans but more than bass light gaming cans. nice laid back and easy listening for long hours without bright treble to fatigue you. easier to drive as well and you might not need a soundcard or amp depending on your setup though if you did need a soundcard even the cheap xonar dg would work for it.

based on your needs i'm thinking anything in the neutral or bassy classification would work. given that you said for use in the office if it is around people you may want a closed headphone. the dt770 may work well for you in that regard. i used my m50 extensively in office and it was great for me however got hot after a few hours (i took a short break once in awhile to air out)

if you want the dt990 you would want to sink 100 bucks into a decent amp so keep that in mind. its a great headphone, but you want to get the right equipment. the dt770 you can get away with a soundcard or cheaper amplifier so figure $30-80. the hd598 doesnt need an amp if your onboard is decent although may benefit from one depending so figure $30-80 if you got a soundcard. the m50x really doesnt need an amp except in extreme cases where onboard is poor quality so figure $0-30 for a soundcard.

 

[ElektRecs]

Me, personally have the sennheiser Game One, so the hd558/598 and it Sounds in my opinion very nice Even without an amp. You can also get bass Out of them, with an amp (I got the soundblaster x-fi titanium) and i can hear Music on my pc with 30% and it Sounds really got ( subjective feeling ) so if you want to do everything like watching Films and listen to Music These are nice, because you can hear the Texts of the Music better than with others ( crystal clear sound ). But if you just want to hear bassy Music i would go with the beyerdynamiks.

Hope i helped you.

 

[_illusionist]

3 major pieces of information you left out..

- do you have an amplifier? if not, would you get one if needed?
- what kind of sound signature are you looking for? something bassy? something neutral? something bass light?
- do you need open or closed headphones? open have wide soundstage (depth to sound) and breathe while closed have smaller soundstages and can get a bit hot but also muffle sounds going in/out so are passive noise cancelling.

i personally have an m50 (m50x is the new version). if you can get them near 100 bucks they have good quality with v-shaped (more treble and bass than mids) signature, some low hitting without muddying anything up bass and good build quality. what they dont have is much soundstage (everything sounds like it is right at your ears, the earcups are small and they do get hot to wear. i like mine but you need to realize the limitations.

the dt770 is similar but all around better. for closed cans soundstaging is not bad at all, they have bigger earcups and great comfort but you would either want a decent soundcard or an amplifier for them ideally if you want to get the most out of them.

the dt990 is similar but in an open can. bright vibrant treble with, for an open can, deep bass in a v-shaped signature. good soundstage, comfort and quality across the bar. some may find them to bright on treble but you could always eq them down a bit. they do need an amp to sound the best.

the hd598 is neutral sounding (more flat frequency response) and is a good all-rounder. less bass than bassy cans but more than bass light gaming cans. nice laid back and easy listening for long hours without bright treble to fatigue you. easier to drive as well and you might not need a soundcard or amp depending on your setup though if you did need a soundcard even the cheap xonar dg would work for it.

based on your needs i'm thinking anything in the neutral or bassy classification would work. given that you said for use in the office if it is around people you may want a closed headphone. the dt770 may work well for you in that regard. i used my m50 extensively in office and it was great for me however got hot after a few hours (i took a short break once in awhile to air out)

if you want the dt990 you would want to sink 100 bucks into a decent amp so keep that in mind. its a great headphone, but you want to get the right equipment. the dt770 you can get away with a soundcard or cheaper amplifier so figure $30-80. the hd598 doesnt need an amp if your onboard is decent although may benefit from one depending so figure $30-80 if you got a soundcard. the m50x really doesnt need an amp except in extreme cases where onboard is poor quality so figure $0-30 for a soundcard.

 

[_illusionist]

I am grateful to you for going through the trouble of explaining unique characteristics of all these great headphones. But honestly, i am pretty undecided between the beyerdynamic and the sennheiser. I will make myself clear once again:
it's better to put it this way. I am looking for the best allrounder headphone which will give me the best audio/sound experience while watching movies as well as provide complete music experience while listening to musics,in short, a headphone which will serve both purposes(music+movies) the best possible ways, not as in it serves one purpose the best possible way and the other one not that much.

 

[ssddx]

using the word best when referring to headphones is a misnomer. while some headphones perform better in one area than another this does not make them the best. ultimately what would be more suitable for you depends very heavily upon your personal taste in what you want audio to sound like which is why i specifically listed characteristics of a few headphones for you to compare your taste with. any of the above could certainly be used for your purposes and depending on taste and/or budget any of them could be considered best.

if you want something vibrant and full of energy the beyerdynamics certainly have that although you may want an amplifier. if you want something more laid back and neutral for some easy listening the sennheisers do that well. neither are better than the other overall but have different sound signatures which appeal to different taste and needs.

 

[_illusionist]

Soory to bother you again. Is it true Beyerdynamic DT 770's cable is not detachable and the default cable is too long for using with portable devices?

 

[ssddx]

non detacheable 9.8ft cable. it certainly can be used with portable devices on desks and what not though is not ideal for "on the go" use in your pocket, on bikes and similar. given that you said you do not need them to be portable i dont think this will affect you all that much as its fine for office and home use.

a little story of my own..

the m50s that i use has an even longer cable at 11ft and i used it with portable devices all the time at the office and home although never while walking and similar for obvious reasons although it certainly is possible to keep the coiled cable in your pocket. what did i do with the excess cord when i did not need it? i put it in a coil on the desk. i will say that having the extra cable length was in some cases a great thing for times when you want to kick back and watch a movie or need to move around a bit and also for cases where you moved a bit too far as instead of putting strain on the cable/plug it just pulled out slack from the coil.

it is of course possible to mod your own cable on or to put a port on them to use detachable cables if you so desire (you can find mod guides on the internet) although i dont think its really that big of a deal to leave them as is.

 

[_illusionist]

non detacheable 9.8ft cable. it certainly can be used with portable devices on desks and what not though is not ideal for "on the go" use in your pocket, on bikes and similar. given that you said you do not need them to be portable i dont think this will affect you all that much as its fine for office and home use.

a little story of my own..

the m50s that i use has an even longer cable at 11ft and i used it with portable devices all the time at the office and home although never while walking and similar for obvious reasons although it certainly is possible to keep the coiled cable in your pocket. what did i do with the excess cord when i did not need it? i put it in a coil on the desk. i will say that having the extra cable length was in some cases a great thing for times when you want to kick back and watch a movie or need to move around a bit and also for cases where you moved a bit too far as instead of putting strain on the cable/plug it just pulled out slack from the coil.

it is of course possible to mod your own cable on or to put a port on them to use detachable cables if you so desire (you can find mod guides on the internet) although i dont think its really that big of a deal to leave them as is.

how would brainwavz hm5, sennheiser hd 380, philips shp9500, AKG K553 Pro , SoundMAGIC HP150 or sennheiser momentum fair up against dt 770? with an amp/dac, is dt 770 pro is really worth the extra bucks?

you know, i am new to this thing. so i don't want to put money on a "wrong" headphone and later regret it. that's why asking a hell lot of questions :d

 

[ssddx]

i'm not as familiar with most of those headphones. at least not enough that i could give accurate comparisons.

as for the momentums, they are not bad although many people seem to prefer the dt770 for a few reasons. the momentums are more flat sounding without the pronounced v-shape found in the dt770. this could be good if you like that or bad if you're expecting something a bit more vibrant. the dt770 are more comfortable as the headband on the momentums could be uncomfortable. bass extends much lower on the dt770 and treble is much brighter on the dt770. now, they do make 3 versions of dt770. 32ohm 80ohm and 250ohm. the 32 is what they market for portable or travel use since it is supposed to be easier to drive although sound quality is a bit less than the others. the 80 is the bassiest of the three. the 250 is the most refined of the 3 and while not as bassy as the 80 is more so than the 32. the 80 and 250 you would want a decent soundcard or an amplifier of some sort ideally.

as for the other headphones you listed, perhaps look up some reviews on head fi as i'm not sure about those particular models.

 

[_illusionist]

What about amp/dac? can you recommend one within $50 ?

 

[ssddx]

for which headphone?
for the dt770? perhaps the fiio a3

 

[_illusionist]

for which headphone?
for the dt770? perhaps the fiio a3

One last thing. You have read my requirements and needs. So, does Philips SHP9500 fit the bill ?

 

[ssddx]

cant say much since i've not heard them nor read much on them. if you dont mind me picking and choosing some info which looks helpful from a few reviews i just read then perhaps i can help.

they seem to get rave reviews however i would be cautious before believing any hype. the m50s i have also get such crazy reviews comparing them to $300+ cans however they arent up to that hype. good yes, the next best thing since sliced bread, no. while certainly a hint that they sound good you may want to take any hype with a huge grain of salt.

from a few more laid back reviews some note that they arent as comfortable as beyers though still not bad, that the soundstage is smaller than the dt770, they are heavier, they lack sub bass, while bright they lack some detail in treble.

seems like while they arent bad for the $75 price they arent up to the hype that they are as good as $300+ headphones. however with hype that is often the case. not a bad choice if the sound signature (bright but not detailed treble, decent but not super low bass, small to medium soundstage) is what you're after.