In Desperate Need of Good Headphones

So, my 'phones I've had for years finally went out on me...I'm pretty picky about my headphone sound quality (I could care less about my speakers, screw what other people hear. Hehe).

That being said, what do you all think are the best WIRED headphones on the market?

Which ones are the best for the price (i.e. good bang for your buck)?

What do you use?

Basically, my favorite ones are out on me, and I'm stuck with mediocre ones for awhile. I want the best of the best, what do you think?

EDIT: Top 2 so far.

Technics RP-DH1200 [Reasons: $90, Removeable and Replaceable cable, 50mm drivers, good reviews, used by many people, pretty durable for a plastic build from what I've heard]

Xone XD 53 [Reasons they're below the Texhnics: $165 - 199, No easy cable replacement, other than that they are slightly better 'phones]

Overall the Xones are the better 'phones, but with double the price, but not double the sound or build, I think I'm going with the Technics.

You guys keep suggesting away, there's some great stuff in here, apparently people are swearing by the Sennheiser phones lately, I might have to check out a pair of those in the future.

So, my 'phones I've had for years finally went out on me...I'm pretty picky about my headphone sound quality (I could care less about my speakers, screw what other people hear. Hehe).

That being said, what do you all think are the best WIRED headphones on the market?

Which ones are the best for the price (i.e. good bang for your buck)?

What do you use?

Basically, my favorite ones are out on me, and I'm stuck with mediocre ones for awhile. I want the best of the best, what do you think?

MorbidToaster

I use these

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-457-Traditional-Headphones/dp/B00006I5RA

Cheap, Sound is crisp, bass isn't muddy.

However, they are open, so they're best in a quiet environment.

My personal favorites are VModa Bass Freq earbuds, bought them about 7 or 8 moths ago and they are the best headphones I have ever had. The Bass is incredible and the Highs and Mids are just as good. For 39.99 they are awesome, you can buy them online at http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3398666 or at any Radioshack or BestBuystore. Info about these headphones at http://www.v-moda.com/headphones/bassfreq.aspx

My personal favorites are VModa Bass Freq earbuds, bought them about 7 or 8 moths ago and they are the best headphones I have ever had. The Bass is incredible and the Highs and Mids are just as good. For 39.99 they are awesome, you can buy them online at http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3398666 or at any Radioshack or BestBuystore. Info about these headphones at http://www.v-moda.com/headphones/bassfreq.aspx

Glokwerk

I'm using Steelseries 5H.
I did extensive research beforehand.
I love them personally.
They are pretty sturdy.

Using Sennheiser HD-280 Pro's. Incredible sound.

Best for the price are Koss' Portapros. Ugly, but they're comfortable and sound amazing given that they sell for $30 or less in most places.DJ_Lae

Better yet get a Sennheiser PX 100. Similar price, comparable sound quality, and they don't make you look stupid. I got a pair for my PSP gaming and they're great. Incredibly comfortable and fit stably on the head without making your ears hurt like a lot of phones do.

[QUOTE="Glokwerk"]

My personal favorites are VModa Bass Freq earbuds, bought them about 7 or 8 moths ago and they are the best headphones I have ever had. The Bass is incredible and the Highs and Mids are just as good. For 39.99 they are awesome, you can buy them online at http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3398666 or at any Radioshack or BestBuystore. Info about these headphones at http://www.v-moda.com/headphones/bassfreq.aspx

MorbidToaster

[QUOTE="MorbidToaster"][QUOTE="Glokwerk"]

My personal favorites are VModa Bass Freq earbuds, bought them about 7 or 8 moths ago and they are the best headphones I have ever had. The Bass is incredible and the Highs and Mids are just as good. For 39.99 they are awesome, you can buy them online at http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3398666 or at any Radioshack or BestBuystore. Info about these headphones at http://www.v-moda.com/headphones/bassfreq.aspx

markop2003

EDIT: http://www.amazon.com/Technics-RP-DH1200-DJ-Headphones/dp/tech-data/B0002EXJPM/ref=de_a_smtd

These are the ones I'm looking at, at the moment. Although, a new pair of studio 'phones would be nice too, so this thread is helping alot there. I just wanted to see what everyone else was using lately, I haven't needed headphones for quite awhile, and now that I do I'm a bit rusty on brands, etc.

For me the best is just walking into a music store and picking up a set of professional monitor headphones, usually $60-$100 for a decent pair. Most of the things I find in places like best buy are overpriced consumer garbage.

Best for the price are Koss' Portapros. Ugly, but they're comfortable and sound amazing given that they sell for $30 or less in most places.DJ_Lae

I second that, and they come with a life time warranty.

For me the best is just walking into a music store and picking up a set of professional monitor headphones, usually $60-$100 for a decent pair. Most of the things I find in places like best buy are overpriced consumer garbage.

Ilikemyname420

BeyerDynamic DT770 PRO 80 Ohm.

If the sound quality doesn't get you, the build quality will.

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MorbidToaster

don't listen to these people, most of them have no idea what they are talking about. READ THIS ENTIRE MESSAGE IF YOU ARE SERIOUS, DONT BE LAZY AND SKIM, READ IT.

you want the best earbuds? buy the Monster Turbines or tours, they go for about 180.00 new, but you can get a new pair for 130.00 or so on amazon. I own a pair of the turbines and they are LITERALLY the best headphones I've EVER had. That include over the ears and all that. The pair has incredible sound quality unlike any buds ive ever experienced, the $500.00 shures are not as nice as these and have no bass at all. These turbines have INSANE bass, blow your head off bass. If you are using a nice mp3 player like the Samsung p2, you will be able to customize the EQ to allow for unreal, amazing, crap yourself sound quality with these. Those grados and sonys wont compare, and you get almost complete noise reduction with the turbines, they fit snug in your ear and block almost all noise, guess how much that would cost from a pair of sony or grads over the ear? The cord length is like 3ft, perfect for portable use. The bigger over the ears are not portable and usually have a VERy long cord, and sound only slightly better than these.

you want comfort? Bose Quiet 2 or 3. No competion. They offer excellent sound quality, a nice cord length, and you dont look like an idiot wearing them outside. Retail 250 ish, 130 for a pair of triports at best buy which are VERY nice, but dont really have any bass

Sony, grads, Sennheiser, all GREAT brands, however people REALLY get stuck on this idea that "BRAND NAMES SUCK, GET A GRAD or a weird other name you've never heard of. The fact of the matter is, the quality different from The monster turbines EAR BUDS and Sennheisters HD/bose Q2 or Q3 OVER THE EARS is not very different and certainly not worth the other 150 bucks. Audio Technicas camo edition Proms5 line was very nice for 99 bucks, but was crushed by the bose triports and all of the monster ear buds....THE EAR BUDS SOUNDED BETTER THAN THE OVER THE EARS!

bottom line here is it really is up to you and what you like, for me, i prefer something I can use on my mp3 player, and also hook up to my pc when i want to, have total noise reduction, and be very comfortable. I found precisely that in my monster turbines. People look at my like im nuts, but they are the ones walking down the street with massive Grado or Sony headphones in their heads, lugging around a 9 foot cord and sometimes having to use BATTERIES just to listen to music. You ever see someone walking about with Skullcandy headphones on the street? No, because they know they look like idiots if they did.

Triton isnt even used for portable mp3 players. You can't take them anywhere lol, and they look stupid. My Audio Technica mspro5 set sounded equally as nice and they were like 150 bucks cheaper, and I GOT A BETTER WARRANTY!

make sure you ask the right questions and are very specific in your questioning, also, do hella research on headphones before you buy, nothing it worse than being let down by a pair that was supposed to sound nice, and was recommended to you by some guy on the net that said WOW OMG THESE ARE THE BEST IVE EVER HAD, when in reality that guy might have never tried any other pair before it >.>

happy hunting, feel free to message me before you buy, i'm part of an audiophile group that knows their stuff, I'm sure someone I know has a pair of w/e you want to buy :D

don't listen to these people, most of them have no idea what they are talking about. READ THIS ENTIRE MESSAGE IF YOU ARE SERIOUS, DONT BE LAZY AND SKIM, READ IT.

you want the best earbuds? buy the Monster Turbines or tours, they go for about 180.00 new, but you can get a new pair for 130.00 or so on amazon. I own a pair of the turbines and they are LITERALLY the best headphones I've EVER had. That include over the ears and all that. The pair has incredible sound quality unlike any buds ive ever experienced, the $500.00 shures are not as nice as these and have no bass at all. These turbines have INSANE bass, blow your head off bass. If you are using a nice mp3 player like the Samsung p2, you will be able to customize the EQ to allow for unreal, amazing, crap yourself sound quality with these. Those grados and sonys wont compare, and you get almost complete noise reduction with the turbines, they fit snug in your ear and block almost all noise, guess how much that would cost from a pair of sony or grads over the ear? The cord length is like 3ft, perfect for portable use. The bigger over the ears are not portable and usually have a VERy long cord, and sound only slightly better than these.

you want comfort? Bose Quiet 2 or 3. No competion. They offer excellent sound quality, a nice cord length, and you dont look like an idiot wearing them outside. Retail 250 ish, 130 for a pair of triports at best buy which are VERY nice, but dont really have any bass

Sony, grads, Sennheiser, all GREAT brands, however people REALLY get stuck on this idea that "BRAND NAMES SUCK, GET A GRAD or a weird other name you've never heard of. The fact of the matter is, the quality different from The monster turbines EAR BUDS and Sennheisters HD/bose Q2 or Q3 OVER THE EARS is not very different and certainly not worth the other 150 bucks. Audio Technicas camo edition Proms5 line was very nice for 99 bucks, but was crushed by the bose triports and all of the monster ear buds....THE EAR BUDS SOUNDED BETTER THAN THE OVER THE EARS!

bottom line here is it really is up to you and what you like, for me, i prefer something I can use on my mp3 player, and also hook up to my pc when i want to, have total noise reduction, and be very comfortable. I found precisely that in my monster turbines. People look at my like im nuts, but they are the ones walking down the street with massive Grado or Sony headphones in their heads, lugging around a 9 foot cord and sometimes having to use BATTERIES just to listen to music. You ever see someone walking about with Skullcandy headphones on the street? No, because they know they look like idiots if they did.

Triton isnt even used for portable mp3 players. You can't take them anywhere lol, and they look stupid. My Audio Technica mspro5 set sounded equally as nice and they were like 150 bucks cheaper, and I GOT A BETTER WARRANTY!

make sure you ask the right questions and are very specific in your questioning, also, do hella research on headphones before you buy, nothing it worse than being let down by a pair that was supposed to sound nice, and was recommended to you by some guy on the net that said WOW OMG THESE ARE THE BEST IVE EVER HAD, when in reality that guy might have never tried any other pair before it >.>

happy hunting, feel free to message me before you buy, i'm part of an audiophile group that knows their stuff, I'm sure someone I know has a pair of w/e you want to buy :D

sintygypsy

I find it difficult to believe that you are part of "an audiophile group" if you are recommending Monster and Bose over EVERY other brand. Anybody that truly knows their stuff knows that both of those brands are far overpriced. They can't compare with many others in their respective catagories and price ranges at all. A pair of $90 Audio Technica AD700s will easily beat the higher priced Bose Triports. The problem with Bose and Monster isn't that they are awful quality, it's that you're paying mostly for the name.

I find it ironic that you say other people don't know what they're talking about, then proceed to say that nothing can beat Bose and Monster. As for IEMs, about any offering from Shure, Etymotics, Ultimate Ears or Klipsch will crush Monsters in the same price range. Even cheaper offerings from them will sound much better. For full-size headphones, Bose Triports are just awful. The quality is alright, but they shouldn't cost $130, more like $50-70 tops.

Since you seem so confident about your assertion though, I encourage you to go and post your exact post on HeadFi forums and see how many people there agree with you.

Well okay, since I suddenly can't edit.

Now then, Morbidtoaster: If you want the best bang-for-buck headphones, well it depends what you want them for. I'm surprised people have been suggesting things to you without knowing what you use them for. However, if you listen to a lot of rock type music then your best bet would be Grado sr60i, sr80i or sr125i, depending on how much you want to spend. If you want something a bit more balanced, Alessandro MS1's are damn good. Now then, if you're looking for amazing soundstage for movies, gaming and more ambient types of music then for $90 it's hard to beat Audio Technica's AD700.

don't listen to these people, most of them have no idea what they are talking about. READ THIS ENTIRE MESSAGE IF YOU ARE SERIOUS, DONT BE LAZY AND SKIM, READ IT.

you want the best earbuds? buy the Monster Turbines or tours, they go for about 180.00 new, but you can get a new pair for 130.00 or so on amazon. I own a pair of the turbines and they are LITERALLY the best headphones I've EVER had. That include over the ears and all that. The pair has incredible sound quality unlike any buds ive ever experienced, the $500.00 shures are not as nice as these and have no bass at all. These turbines have INSANE bass, blow your head off bass. If you are using a nice mp3 player like the Samsung p2, you will be able to customize the EQ to allow for unreal, amazing, crap yourself sound quality with these. Those grados and sonys wont compare, and you get almost complete noise reduction with the turbines, they fit snug in your ear and block almost all noise, guess how much that would cost from a pair of sony or grads over the ear? The cord length is like 3ft, perfect for portable use. The bigger over the ears are not portable and usually have a VERy long cord, and sound only slightly better than these.

you want comfort? Bose Quiet 2 or 3. No competion. They offer excellent sound quality, a nice cord length, and you dont look like an idiot wearing them outside. Retail 250 ish, 130 for a pair of triports at best buy which are VERY nice, but dont really have any bass

Sony, grads, Sennheiser, all GREAT brands, however people REALLY get stuck on this idea that "BRAND NAMES SUCK, GET A GRAD or a weird other name you've never heard of. The fact of the matter is, the quality different from The monster turbines EAR BUDS and Sennheisters HD/bose Q2 or Q3 OVER THE EARS is not very different and certainly not worth the other 150 bucks. Audio Technicas camo edition Proms5 line was very nice for 99 bucks, but was crushed by the bose triports and all of the monster ear buds....THE EAR BUDS SOUNDED BETTER THAN THE OVER THE EARS!

bottom line here is it really is up to you and what you like, for me, i prefer something I can use on my mp3 player, and also hook up to my pc when i want to, have total noise reduction, and be very comfortable. I found precisely that in my monster turbines. People look at my like im nuts, but they are the ones walking down the street with massive Grado or Sony headphones in their heads, lugging around a 9 foot cord and sometimes having to use BATTERIES just to listen to music. You ever see someone walking about with Skullcandy headphones on the street? No, because they know they look like idiots if they did.

Triton isnt even used for portable mp3 players. You can't take them anywhere lol, and they look stupid. My Audio Technica mspro5 set sounded equally as nice and they were like 150 bucks cheaper, and I GOT A BETTER WARRANTY!

make sure you ask the right questions and are very specific in your questioning, also, do hella research on headphones before you buy, nothing it worse than being let down by a pair that was supposed to sound nice, and was recommended to you by some guy on the net that said WOW OMG THESE ARE THE BEST IVE EVER HAD, when in reality that guy might have never tried any other pair before it >.>

happy hunting, feel free to message me before you buy, i'm part of an audiophile group that knows their stuff, I'm sure someone I know has a pair of w/e you want to buy :D

sintygypsy

The Monster Turbines aren't that great at all. Their bass is is simply overwhelming, occasionally muddy and taking over the mids. And you haven't heard of Grado? I don't think you're fit to be giving headphone advice when we're talking about with this much money. The only thing the Monster Turbines are good for (my guess) would be rap.

This is why I don't like posting here. You people can't read.

I never said 'I've never heard of it."

anyone with a brain would have realized I was speaking as if I were a normal person who doesn't know much about audio. Normal people who socialize with others outside of the internet would have read that differently than you did. I sympathize.

bottom line is you do not see those brands in walmart, best guy. You really can't walk down the street and see someone wearing them, the odds of that are slim. People only know sony, bose, the big brands. AND AGAIN, as i said in my posts, they are all just fine and if you want and trust a brand name, go for them. My turbines are not muddy, yet another indicator of you not reading what I typed. If you have a samsung p2 or a GREAT mp3 player with nice EQ, you can remove that muddyness completely and experience some very nice bass. Mind you, they are earbuds, you are comparing over the ear bass to earbuds bass, they are going to be a bit less thumping and deep.

So lastly, i really don't care if you feel that I am not an audiophile. What matters is the people who are asking for help get the help they need. I can't tell you how many times someone asked for a nice portable set of headphones and people like you recommend them Audio Technica mspro5s or something like that with a 7 foot cord length. You guys are so into your own little world that you fail to realize some people don't have the ability to go on ebay and be forced to buy with paypal or a credit card. Sorry, you can't buy those brands in your local stores. Wake up. Take some time to offer realistic choices.

Edit: I got my pair of turbines for $115 brand new with warranty on amazon. Show me another pair of earbuds for that price that sound that nice. Dare ya. If you have the ability to use a credit card or paypal, go to amazon. They ARE in fact, the best earbuds to date.

BeyerDynamic DT770 Pro 80 Ohm.

Good bass, but not too strong. Good build, non-replaceable cord BUT the thing is built like a tank.

Problem is you need a headphone amp to fully power it.

The only reason I bought it was because the build quality was better than the last trillion headphones I've used that broke under six months because of rip-off plastic builds. The sound quality was just the bonus, and with an amp it's just beautiful.

This is why I don't like posting here. You people can't read.

I never said 'I've never heard of it."

anyone with a brain would have realized I was speaking as if I were a normal person who doesn't know much about audio. Normal people who socialize with others outside of the internet would have read that differently than you did. I sympathize.

bottom line is you do not see those brands in walmart, best guy. You really can't walk down the street and see someone wearing them, the odds of that are slim. People only know sony, bose, the big brands. AND AGAIN, as i said in my posts, they are all just fine and if you want and trust a brand name, go for them. My turbines are not muddy, yet another indicator of you not reading what I typed. If you have a samsung p2 or a GREAT mp3 player with nice EQ, you can remove that muddyness completely and experience some very nice bass. Mind you, they are earbuds, you are comparing over the ear bass to earbuds bass, they are going to be a bit less thumping and deep.

So lastly, i really don't care if you feel that I am not an audiophile. What matters is the people who are asking for help get the help they need. I can't tell you how many times someone asked for a nice portable set of headphones and people like you recommend them Audio Technica mspro5s or something like that with a 7 foot cord length. You guys are so into your own little world that you fail to realize some people don't have the ability to go on ebay and be forced to buy with paypal or a credit card. Sorry, you can't buy those brands in your local stores. Wake up. Take some time to offer realistic choices.

Edit: I got my pair of turbines for $115 brand new with warranty on amazon. Show me another pair of earbuds for that price that sound that nice. Dare ya. If you have the ability to use a credit card or paypal, go to amazon. They ARE in fact, the best earbuds to date.

sintygypsy

Nah, we just don't like Monster and will recommend against them always because they are overpriced for the quality of all their products...and because there are fanboys of Monster like you. We don't like them. We can read by the way, you can't. Stop talking about IEMs when the TC doesn't want them, this isn't your thread for us to show you a better product. Go nerd-rage/vent somewhere else please.

Back on topic - I would def. check out some Sennheisers when you get a chance. I got to try some HD-555s on a guitar amp. Sounded really good for being used on a solid state guitar amp (which are for the most part crap.), sounded better than using the speaker. I just don't like the fact they are open back so sound leaks out. I've been thinking of picking up some ATH-D40 when I get a new amp or maybe Sennheiser HD-280s because of all the really good reviews they've gotten (Unlike Monster headphones lol)