Which headphones are the best for the price?

[Eddie K]

Hey all,

So my budget is $100-$200. I am a novice at headphones so please bare with me. Anyway, these headphones will be mostly for music production at home, gaming, and listening to music. I already took into consideration boxing day prices. (Read through like 50 store flyers. X.X)

So I narrowed it down to these few. They are in no specific order:

1. Sennheiser HD 280 Pro
Roughly around $130
Cheapest one at Amazon Canada for $99 and includes free shipping

2. Shure SRH440
Roughly around $120
Cheapest one at NCIX for $120 with free shipping

3. Audio-Technica ATH-M50x
Roughly around $170
Cheapest one at NCIX for $168 with free shipping

4. Sennheiser HD 558
Huge price gap at retailers at around $170-270
Cheapest one at NCIX for $130 and free shipping

All the youtubers seem to recommend ATH-M50x as THE product. It's a bit pricier than the others though. In contrast, the HD 280 Pro is much cheaper. Is the big gap in price enough to justify buying the M50x? Is it much better than the HD 280 pro?And If I did want to get the HD 280 pro, would it just be better to spend a bit more and get the HD 558? Is the HD 558 even better than the HD 280 Pro? Anyway, the oddball is Shure SRH440. Shure is one of the best if not the best headphone manufacturer and this seems to be a great product. So I put that in here too. So yeah, that's what's going in my mind.

If you know of even OTHER better deals PLEASE LET ME KNOW!

 

[jty0yt]

M50s are loved by many but they are not very good in my opinion. The 558's are clear and precise with good definition on the mids and excellent highs. I am getting the 598's which are basically the same.

 

[jty0yt]

AlSo the m50 is closed so it isnt good for gaming.

 

[Eddie K]

Okay thanks for the reply. I'm just wondering though...I've seen tons of websites with a good amount of reviews in each and the M50x is rated very highly. Why do you personally say they are not good?
Anyway if you live in Ontario I remember the headphones you wanted were on massive boxing sale. I don't remember which store though but you can find the flyer on http/boxingday.redflagdeals.com/

 

[BlueFireZ]

Like how jty0yt said, open ear is better but closed is fine also. The top headphones on your list are like the ones already mentioned, the ATH-M50x and the HD 558. I think you could get a good deal with the Sennheisers because tomorrow, its NCIXs extreme deal of the day.

Hope this helps.

 

[RazerZ]

M50s are loved by many but they are not very good in my opinion. The 558's are clear and precise with good definition on the mids and excellent highs. I am getting the 598's which are basically the same.

Why do you say the m50s are bad?

 

[BlueFireZ]

One thing is that Eddie K never mentioned the M50s, he mentioned the M50xs. Also if you are switching from open ear to closed, the sound while sound much more concentrated.

 

[RazerZ]

The m50x is the same headphone as the m50 but with a detachable cable. Just putting that out there.

 

[Eddie K]

After reading many reviews, I wanted to get the HD 558 but then since it's open I'm assuming it would not be good for me? I will be doing a lot of music production which includes voice recording.

 

[Eddie K]

Okay, I settled for the HD 558 for general uses and gaming. And in 2015, Ill be getting a dedicated Closed back set of headphones for studio production.

 

[BlueFireZ]

I had forgotten to tell you before that open ear sounds better in my opinion and Im happy to help.