Looking for headphones. Anyone?

[Headshotzx]

So anyway, my current set of gaming headphones from Sennheiser's becoming really really itchy at the earpads. Dad washed them and called them his own.

I'm now looking for a pair of bang-for-buck headphones, mostly for general music / video / gaming purposes, but also for sound monitoring when plugged into recording devices such as the Zoom H4n field recorder. Wired or wireless, it doesn't matter, though I heard that wired ones are more reliable. Not sure how true that is.

I'm not an audiophile, but I can tell that some brands are biased towards more bass or more treble. I want a good mix of both, and my budget is S$200 (US$145) at max. Do recommend good ones even if they are slightly over budget, because Singapore has quarterly IT fairs that give good promotional pricing for many of these items.

So, anyone have any good recommendations? I'm really new to this.

Thanks!

Zexun

[Psychobiker]

HD280 Pro (Sennheiser). Mine have just mysteriously gone missing, and I'm less than impressed.

[neilwood32]

Sennheiser would always get my vote for quality at a not too stupid price!

[Psychobiker]

/me is peeved. I really am at a loss as to where mine are. I'm going to wager under the driver's seat of my fiancée's car. They have just vanish'd.

[cdifoto]

HD280 Pro (Sennheiser). Mine have just mysteriously gone missing, and I'm less than impressed.
I had these. I liked them a lot but ultimately wasn't using them enough to keep. So I sold them and downgraded to earbuds for portability. I still use my earbuds most but then I bought the HD 202 for when I need more oomph. They sound pretty much the same as the HD 280 and were significantly less expensive. The pads are just smaller and they don't fold.

[S7000]

I have HD25's. Costly, but well woth the cash, mine are at 8 years and still going strong.

[Frank_Hollahan]

Sennheiser PXC 150....very nice

[sparkin]

It always comes back to Sennheiser for headphones.

[rklepper]

I have the HD 595's and really like them.

[Quad]

For headphone you really need to decide a couple of fundamental things.

Are you going to listen to them in a noisy enviroment (ie in a bus or plane) then a sealed phone (or sealed ear-bud) will be better or you will have to turn up the music so loud you will damage your hearing or are you going to wear them walking down the street (then I think you must have an open phone so you do not get run over). If you plan on wearing them for many hours at a time you had better pay attention to how comfortable they are on you. Some people's ears get really hot and it bothers them so they better get something that also lets a bit or air circulate.


So open or closed or semi open is the first decision. Comfort will vary by the person and after a few hours some phones can cause a lot of pain. I have three sets depending on what I want.

Grados for walking on the street (some people do not like these for long sessons I get sore after 3 hours). AKG K81DJ for the plane (these things are not good for long sessions) and another phone for really good music at home.

My son has a pair of AKG 240 (I am fairly sure) as he wears his for many hours at a stretch but his ears do not sweat. If I needed 8-10 hour a day pair I would likely try they out.

All of them sound good but the DJ phones are bass heavy and sound the poorest.

[Psychobiker]

I FOUND THEM!!! I FOUND THEM!!! I FOUND THEM!!!

Under the stairs in my fiancée's place. Happy now. Grado maybe? Beyerdynamic DT100s if you want really reference-stuff, or HD 650s?

I find the circumaural, closed back HD280 Pros are great for everything, I've wondered through a city happily ensconced in audio.
If you prefer less obviousness, then CX series?

[jdizzle]

I love my Sennheiser headphones. For gaming the PC-350 get's my vote. I can hear anything coming around the corner in Counter-Strike: Source. For those night when I can't blast the surround sound, I use the RS 180. Awesome!!

[cdifoto]

All of them sound good but the DJ phones are bass heavy and sound the poorest.
In your humble opinion. ;)

[Bob_A]

I have a set of Sennheiser HD650's that I really like and would recommend to others.

[Quad]

In your humble opinion. ;)

No I mean just compared to my other two headphones. They are very nice headphones and cost about a fifth or less of the cost of my others so I do not expect them to be as good as my AKG K1000's at home. Not meaning to slight them they are better than the K1000's on a bus or plane.

Its like lenses what is better a 100mm macro or a 800mm supertele or a fisheye? It depends.

[Socket7]

I've got a set of Ultimate Ears Super Fi 5 EB's . Best damn headphones I've ever owned. Great noise isolation, good detail and the best, most detailed bass I've ever heard out of earbuds. Best of all, they come in at $199, just at your price point. They should satisfy anyone but the most serious audiophile.

http://www.ultimateears.com/_ultimateears/store/products/superfi5eb.php

[Psychobiker]

And for the audiophilia, Etymotics.

[Dunedan]

Sennheisers are very good. However, there are other good cans which don't cost as much.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-V600-Monitor-Headphones-Circum-Aural/dp/B00001W0DI/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1257810801&sr=8-11

Or a higher end Sony.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR7509HD-Professional-Headphone/dp/B000HHYZV6/ref=sr_1_47?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1257810835&sr=8-47

You should also check out Grado.

The Sony's would be good monitor cans.