Best circumaural headphones for <$200?

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p4gs

Limp Gawd
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May 7, 2007
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I've been searching and searching and can't decide. The Audiotechnica ATH-ES7s are fairly cheap, stylish, and comfortable looking; however, I keep seeing reviews stating that the sound is lackluster in the mid-range. A lot of people praise the Sony MDR series, but I've never been a fan of Sony. Denon and AKG are thrown around a lot. Basically, I have the Sennheiser PMX-100. In terms of sound quality, I am happy with everything except the mid-range and some highs. The bass is pretty nice for a $40 set of phones. I'd like to have a set of headphones that is pretty good overall. I listened to my friend's Grado SR-60 awhile ago and was pretty disappointed with the bass response. Since then, I've realized that I love bass just as much as I love mids and highs (even though I'm not an extreme basshead, I like to be able to "feel" it, like a warm bass)

I might just get the HD595/555 depending on the best deal I can find in a few weeks.

what do you guys think?
 
beyerdynamic dt770/80- can be found for 150-ish. most bass-y headphones out there

what will you run these from?
 
HD595 have OK bass but they are not for bassheads. They have a more neutral sound. From what I have read, and not heard, the advice above for BeyerDynamic is what you want.
 
If you don't mind used, try looking for a set of HD580's and spend the rest on an amp. I've always felt the A500/700/900 series have lifeless and empty midrange, and the DT770's are TOO bass heavy. You might look at the AKG K240, but they definitely need an amp and have slightly rolled off highs.
 
hm, the amp wasn't something that i was considering buying for awhile, but it seems that i may have to purchase it sooner than i thought. the price on the AKG at headroom is very affordable. i might look into that.

like i said, i do love bass, but i'm not a basshead. i don't need to have it injected into my skull. i guess i'm just looking for a well-rounded set of phones.

thanks for all of the input. i hadn't considered the AKG and some of audiotechnica's other models. i wish there was a store i could test some of these out at before i purchased them :\

p.s. my speaker setup is a Swans M10...so you might be able to understand why i'm being a little picky (even though it's just a pretty modest desktop speaker setup in comparison to some of the crazy bookshelf speaker setups people have)
 
Well, reconsider HD595 again if you are not a basshead. They do have bass just not a load of it. On some bass heavy tracks I can feel the bass in my ears and not just hear it so they are not lightweight bass. They are easy to drive and many people say they are the best for all around usage. They are good in games, movies and music and are very comfortable. If I wanted headphones for just high quality music though I would spend more and look at Denon or Ultrasone, maybe HD650 too.
 
I guess if you don't mind used, I say Denon D2000. I bought one new for $215 a couple months ago. Should ring up under $200 on the used market I guess.
 
I dont know how you could be disappointed with Grado Bass, they are pretty much the king of bass. Maybe you dont know what good bass is.


My Recommendation is the Grado SR-80 or Alessandro MS-1

Maybe even the SR-125.

id also buy a ibasso D2 Boa
 
king of bass in a really small room does not = the best bass lol.

sorry, not dissing you. grado is a fine headphone. just tiny sound stage at the low levels.
 
Scotch77 said:
I find they have a huge sound stage, my Alessandro MS-1
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Each ear is different. Maybe you hear just as you describe. HOW-EV-AH

No. The general consensus on head-fi is that grado and alessandro have the smallest sound stage of all headphones.

they are often described as "front row" or "on the stage" at a concert.

still sweet cans for rock though.
 
i did a side-by-side comparison between my friends' SR-60s and my PMX-100s on the same volume on my iPod. The mids and highs were a lot nicer on the 60s, but my PMX-100s had a much much nicer bass.

the grados certainly aren't the king of bass.

once again, thanks for all of the feedback guys
 
Here's another vote for the Beyerdynamic DT-770's. They are absolutely awesome if you love bass; try them out at a nearby store if they've got them, and look them up on Head-fi.
 
p4gs said:
i did a side-by-side comparison between my friends' SR-60s and my PMX-100s on the same volume on my iPod. The mids and highs were a lot nicer on the 60s, but my PMX-100s had a much much nicer bass.

the grados certainly aren't the king of bass.

once again, thanks for all of the feedback guys
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Probably because an iPod has too weak of an amp to drive the Grado's properly but are fine for the PMX-100s and not because they have better bass. I had PX100 (same drivers as PMX?) but found the bass too muddy and prefer Koss KSC-75 sound for that style of headphone. They cost a lot less too.
 
iPod does suck.

I use a samsung or cowan products.

Hell the tiny Cowan F2 drove a pair of Senn 600s with ease. Quite an accomplishment. Really, really, impressive actually.

Almost all Koss headphones rock for the $$. They are a favorite of mine too. I give KSC-75s away as gifts all the time.
 
weazle said:
Probably because an iPod has too weak of an amp to drive the Grado's properly but are fine for the PMX-100s and not because they have better bass. I had PX100 (same drivers as PMX?) but found the bass too muddy and prefer Koss KSC-75 sound for that style of headphone. They cost a lot less too.
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i have the Koss KSC-75s and I find them to have more of a "punchy" bass that is slightly weaker than my PMX-100s (yeah, I'm pretty sure they have the same drivers as the PXs). i find that the mids and highs are pretty muddy on the PMX-100s which is my only problem with them.

also, i thought the SR-60s are advertised as a great entry-level open-ear headphone that is great for portable devices because it doesn't need an amp?
 
spaceman said:
Hush germ-a-phobe lol.

Yes the D2000 is great too. I thought they were still around $300 after shipping.
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Their prices are creeping back up to that level. There's still online stores that sell it around $200, but they're almost all "unestablished" and therefore may be a bit risky.
 
imo and just imo

grado's 60, 80, hell anything but the PS, GS and I guess the HF-1 are not exactly my cup of tea.

I dislike the build design, quality and overall sound until you get into their flagship series. The lower level headphones are just not up to par with say Koss or certainly Beyer.

Just me though. I never kept any grado I tried for very long and now have no interest in them.
 
Yea, I hate that retro look Grado uses too. From what I have read they are not very comfortable on the ears either. I love the look of those Audio Technica's you posted and I love the look and comfort of Sennheiser HD595 too.
 
the 595 are smaller in the ear area and clamp pretty hard. good headphones though.
 
Buy.com still has them for just under $200

Hopefully that price is still around mid-month. With all of the positive feedback on these phones, I'd like to pick a pair up.

Edit: wow, sold out as I was typing this. Ha. Here's a list from Google shopping
 
The D-2000s are great too. Really good and mod-able. They had some build quality issues with the early batches. Screws coming off and cables too. I believe it is all good now but check head-fi on that issue.
 
strid3r said:
I've always felt the A500/700/900 series have lifeless and empty midrange
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Part of that is opinion, part of that is closed vs. open. If you don't give the other half of the wave generated when you vibrate the speaker membrane somewhere to go, it is going to affect what you hear.

The corresponding AD series is generally regarded as much better for that reason. OTOH half the point of headphones is keeping sound in or out, and the closed version is still pretty awesome if that is a priority.

BTW, the 500/700/900 line has bloody huge cups. We're talking around the size of an optical disk. I like it, but it might make them uncomfortable on a small head.


The SR-60s don't "need" an amp...but they could really, really use one IIRC. I believe it falls in "strongly recommended" territory. The ATHs can benefit from one, but also work quite well off of a portable source, especially the 900s.
 
spaceman said:
the 595 are smaller in the ear area and clamp pretty hard. good headphones though.
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Smaller in the ear area than what? I have 595 and have big ears too and are not too tight either. If they fit my head and ears with comfort then trust me when I say that anyone will find them comfortable.
 
weazle said:
Smaller in the ear area than what? I have 595 and have big ears too and are not too tight either. If they fit my head and ears with comfort then trust me when I say that anyone will find them comfortable.
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Not in comparison to AT 700s or Beyer 770s or Senn 600s. They are different and smaller trust me. Not taking anything away from them. They are great for gaming. Just comparing.
 
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