Global Conflict

For the Mrs.

I have a set of Monster DNA's but I'm not happy with the quality of manufacturing; cracked plastic near a hinge, ear pad coming apart exposing the foam cushion.

But I want to get my wife a nice pair of headphones for her iPad. She primarily watches TV shows and Movies.

What brands should I be considering? Does anyone have any experiences they'd like to share?

Thanks a million a guys!

Oh, in the interest of full disclosure they'll be for my wedding anniversary... in 6 days

looking earbuds or cans?

sennheiser has been my go-to for my good quality headphones. shure and audio-technica get good reviews too.

matsif wrote:looking earbuds or cans?

sennheiser has been my go-to for my good quality headphones. shure and audio-technica get good reviews too.

Good question and I should have specified: no earbuds; on-the-ear or over-the-ear work.

Any particular make/model of Sennheiser?

InsanityRocks wrote:

matsif wrote: Any particular make/model of Sennheiser?

my current pair are HD449s, which I got for the low impedance which is easier to drive without an amp from a mobile device. Been really happy with them and would recommend. That said I haven't gone through a huge amount of headphones to have a big sample size to say what's good/not as sennheisers tend to last for a while if you don't treat them like crap. I've only had I think 2 pairs of them, the HD449s and an earlier pair that I may or may not have broken by falling on them after a very drunken night in college.

AKG K240; cheap and sound great.

What is your budget for this? That could point me to some models.

I think you can't do much wrong with AKGs. I own the K702 and the quality is amazing. Through they are rather expensive I think their less expensive products are at least solid. You can even buy new ear pads for most, if not all of them.

The K240s look like a great choice in their price range quality and sound wise. But a lot of attributes are a matter of taste, not only the look. I love how the K-702 feel on the head. They have BIG ear cups, are lightweight and have very little pressure to the sides of the head nearly as if there are no headphones. The K240s look to be the same. Other people don't like that. In contrast I have a pair of Sennheisers MX 450 (wireless, foldable). They sound good for their size, but I can wear them seldom without getting headaches because of the high pressure.

Also there are 2 main types of headphones. Open and closed. Open headphones produce a clearer and usually better sound. The price is that everybody can hear it on the outside, and you hear every sound around you like you would use speakers. I really hated it when I got them and got used to. If I want to watch movies or hear music with noise around me or don't want to disturb the people around me I rather use closed ones. Closed headphonse keep the sound inside and the noise outside. They theoretically sound worse, but so little that it does not matter if you casually watch movies or listen to music (and the difference between good and bad headphones is much much bigger anyway). The K240s are described as 'half-open', which is kind of the middle way to balance pros and cons (surprise : ).

Third thing is the sound profile. The K702 are very clear without any bass or mid tone elevation. They sound clinical if you first use them, which I like and is nice for try hard gaming. In Germany headphones with these characteristics are called studio headphones, in contrast to consumer oriented headphones that are called hifi headphones. If you want to hear music, watch a movie or play a game to be immersed (sorry if I butchered English) you usually want more bass/mid tones. They subjectively sound better even if they don't play what's recorded. The K240 are described as studio headphones but seem to have a more consumer oriented sound profile.

If you like to go down the half open, clear sound with medium bass elevation route the Superlux HD681 are often praised as the best you can get for 20-30 Euro. Never tried them.
If you buy the K240s and don't mind an extra $20 consider to buy velours ear cups. They are softer and don't feel sweaty unless it's very hot.

AKG, Beyerdynamics, Sennheisers where the brands I looked for in the medium/starting high end market. I heard bad things about the production quality of cheaper Sennheiser PC headphones. But I guess you have to pay a price if you pay less most of the time. Tipps with these: If the Mrs is into it there is a Quincy Jones edition of some AKG headphones. Not sure what exactly is Qincy Jonesish except of the name and some colors. Beyerdynamics often has two editions: 'pro' and 'edition'. They are only visually different.
These are all European companies and I don't know the american brands.

I know it's not ideal for a gift and the price in the times of internet shopping. But the best way to find fitting headphones is to go to a audio shop and test them.

I had the IEM version of the Quincy Jones edition. Really bad buds that totally lacked bass and sounded worse thant the stock iphone ones. Dunno about the other model though.

ZombieToof wrote:I heard bad things about the production quality of cheaper Sennheiser PC headphones.

Even the more "midrange" Sennheiser headphones have some common defects. My HD500's frame cracked and eventually sheared off an entire earcup. And even my HD600 had the cable fail after less than half a year of use(Cheaply fixed by getting the superior quality HD650 cable, which plugs into the HD600 just fine).

However, I've tried and failed to find something quite as comfortable as around-the-ear Sennheisers . That, combined with the neutral sound profile of the HD600, is why I still prefer them regardless of their faults.


Like ZombieToof said, one thing about open headphones that may be a problem is noise passing through both ways. Depending on how quiet the room is, you will hear any sounds are played on them even at normal volume, and the person wearing them will hear any environmental noise.

logitech

I've been a big fan of VModas. I've been using the V-Moda M80. The LP2 Crossfades aren't that great, but their M80 and M100 are really nice!

You guys are awesome! Thanks for the many great suggestions.

I'm going to try these: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002HW ... UTF8&psc=1

Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7B QuietPoint Active Noise-Cancelling Closed-Back Headphones

...and now to find some replacement pads for my Siberia Steelseries v2.

Damonott wrote:logitech

CrookedBarrel wrote:

Damonott wrote:logitech

Once you go Sennheiser you'll never go back!
I use the Sennheiser PC usb-series as my headset. I have one of the usb 7.1 3D G4ME headsets from Sennheiser, the sound is crystal clear and when I'm on Teamspeak it feels like everyone talking are sitting in the same room as me, almost like being on a LAN-party!
Also, Sennheiser will give you a minimum of two years warranty, but if you have a store that sell them and other ones, go there and try them out and most important, test them on your head.
A headset that feels good but doesn't have the best sound is way better than a headset with great sound but gives you a pain by pressure or something, although the quality of Sennheiser makes them fit on everyones head.