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Author Topic: Good quality headphones on a budget?  (Read 6794 times)

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Offline Cranergy

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« on: Tue, 26 July 2011, 08:13:43 »
I've been really enjoying using my Sr-60's, but they are pretty beaten up at this point (between me tripping on the cord and bending the analog input, and a year or two's regular wear and tear). Was considering some Sennheiser HD555's, I don't know too much about which specific audio companies have high quality products. Looking for something under 100 dollars, and more comfortable than the sr-60's. Any suggestions or first-hand experiences would be really helpful.
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Offline Cranergy

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #1 on: Tue, 26 July 2011, 09:15:22 »
Would a mod mind moving this to the other geeky stuff subforum? My apologies, I'm new here
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Offline ironman31

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #2 on: Tue, 26 July 2011, 09:21:05 »
More like THE mod
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Offline squarebox

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #3 on: Tue, 26 July 2011, 10:54:33 »
The battle of HD555 and AD700 begins...
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Offline Cranergy

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #4 on: Tue, 26 July 2011, 14:27:30 »
Can't you make the HD 555 sound just like the HD 595's with a simple mod? Or maybe I'm mixing it up with something else
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Offline hcry4

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #5 on: Tue, 26 July 2011, 15:05:54 »
Quote from: Cranergy;387605
Can't you make the HD 555 sound just like the HD 595's with a simple mod? Or maybe I'm mixing it up with something else


Yea. I remember watching a video of a guy removing padding from the 555s. I don't have the 555s so I don't know if they actually sound like the 595s.
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Offline Cranergy

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #6 on: Tue, 26 July 2011, 15:24:23 »
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Offline Arcanius

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #7 on: Tue, 26 July 2011, 15:25:28 »
I have a set of 555s, the mod is very very easy, no sweat. :)
And the sound quality is improved, soundstage is larger, and there is a bit more bass response.
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Offline Arcanius

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #8 on: Tue, 26 July 2011, 15:40:19 »
That is very true, you never know if there are other differences between the headphones.
However, I'd say considering the price difference you so often see between the two, go with the 555s, mod them, and live your life. :P
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Offline Arc'xer

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #9 on: Tue, 26 July 2011, 15:54:47 »
Quote from: Cranergy;387641
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvQ8PzBrHXE
But it looks so easy...

There's also the other HD555 mod http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_4lFt2y9qk this one removes the inner grille but voids the warranty.
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Offline panda

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #10 on: Tue, 26 July 2011, 16:07:52 »
I can not recommend the Audio Technica ATH-A700 enough! I got these more than a year ago and I love them. These are very similar for a bit cheaper. They are huge and look silly, but they are very comfortable. Be aware that they are open and not noise isolating at all. You will be able to hear everything around you. I have owned both Sennheiser and Audio Technica headphones, and i personally enjoy Audio Technicas more. On the A700s, the bass is not as exaggerated as some other headphones such as beats or what have you, but they are very clean and strong. I would say general sound quality-wise, the A700s are quite similar to the HD555s. However, the stagesound on the A700s is incredible. It is extremely wide. When listening to a good classical music recording, you really feel like you are in a music hall. One downside, however, is that there is no way you are using these outside. They are too bulky and will come off with some movement. There will also be too much ambient noise.
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Offline pitashen

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #11 on: Tue, 26 July 2011, 16:11:05 »
Sennheiser HD555/595 or Audio-Technica AD700. But mind you though, none of them come close to the Grado's sound quality(especially if you are already accustomed to it). So if you already liked your SR-60 , I would say get SR-80i, which is an slight upgrade over SR60.
« Last Edit: Tue, 26 July 2011, 17:10:42 by pitashen »
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Offline wanabe

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #12 on: Tue, 26 July 2011, 16:37:00 »
or look into alessandro ms1 if you like the grados
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Offline fusedpro

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #13 on: Tue, 26 July 2011, 17:16:38 »
Quote from: pitashen;387672
Sennheiser HD555/595 or Audio-Technica AD700. But mind you though, none of them come close to the Grado's sound quality. So if you already liked your SR-60 (especially if you are already accustomed to it), I would say get SR-80i, which is an slight upgrade over SR60.

I wouldn't say that neither of them come close to the SR-60's sound quality, but rather none of them can quite compare to the Grado house sound. Grado's are notoriously bright and well suited for genres like rock while the HD595 and AD700 are more all-arounders. That said, they will still sound extremely good given their price tag and both will be very comfortable (I can attest to AD700's comfort as my friend owns a pair and I tried them). As pitashen said, if you are fond of the Grado sound, the SR-80i is a nice upgrade (and there are some mods that can be done to it as well). It will be about as comfortable as the SR-60, though, so nothing really changes there.
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Offline ironman31

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #14 on: Wed, 27 July 2011, 09:25:07 »
You should repair the cable on your grados, and buy new, more comfortable pads
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Offline Cranergy

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #15 on: Wed, 27 July 2011, 12:37:36 »
I'll buy the cable if you repair it for me
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Offline alaricljs

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #16 on: Wed, 27 July 2011, 12:39:32 »
You pay parts/shipping both ways and I'd be happy to.
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Offline drsauced

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #17 on: Wed, 27 July 2011, 13:35:43 »
I think something like the SR225 or K701 are the best bang for the buck.  But then you start getting into DAC and amp combos to get the best out of your headphones, which gets expensive and upsets your SO.

Hm, yeah, screw it, just get another pair of SR60's or even upgrade to SR80's or SR125's!
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Offline Cranergy

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #18 on: Wed, 27 July 2011, 15:01:10 »
Quote from: alaricljs;388194
You pay parts/shipping both ways and I'd be happy to.
Ironman and I are friends IRL, thanks though
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Offline luie

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #19 on: Wed, 27 July 2011, 17:06:20 »
AudioTechnica AD-700. Open headphone great for everything except songs with constant deep bass.
It's around USD$100


I kind of like the Bose Triport too for the lightness and comfort, but everyone online hates it.
It's around USD$120.
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Offline Aznguyen316

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #20 on: Fri, 29 July 2011, 21:53:43 »
Quote from: Arcanius;387654
That is very true, you never know if there are other differences between the headphones.
However, I'd say considering the price difference you so often see between the two, go with the 555s, mod them, and live your life. :P


I've done this.  Had my 555's for two years now.  My favorite cans... can't beat them especially for their price now.
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Offline sordna

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #21 on: Fri, 29 July 2011, 23:00:12 »
Best way to tell if the mod really works, is mod only one side of the 555's and test. Then decide!
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Offline isp

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #22 on: Sat, 30 July 2011, 07:40:12 »
My vote goes for the audiotechnicas.  I loved their a900s.
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Offline Brodie337

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #23 on: Sat, 30 July 2011, 23:58:49 »
I've got a set of HD555s.

I opened them up and saw that the drivers were stamped with HD595 on the back, so I assume that the only difference is the foam in the back. I've had a set of 595s pulled apart and I can't see any difference in the earcups.

This is what I mean (not my headphones, or even a set of 555s. This is from Head-Fi where a user was seeing what other headphones used this driver.):
« Last Edit: Sun, 31 July 2011, 03:23:49 by Brodie337 »
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Offline Aznguyen316

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #24 on: Sun, 31 July 2011, 08:46:07 »
Awesome Brodie, so the drivers are indeed the same.  Yup modded 555's are the way to go.  Unless you really want that chrome trim around the outer cup and the leather cushion on the top band haha
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Offline DivineWind

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #25 on: Sun, 31 July 2011, 17:11:50 »
I am interested in getting my hands on a good headset.  Although I do have a requirement, they have to be made in Japan.  From what I have read the Audio Technica ATH-A(D)700s are made in Taiwan and I would really like a pair made in Japan.  In order to do this I must go more high end and get the Audio Technica ATH-AD900 which are made in Japan.  In 3 days I will be going to Japan and was wondering if any of you had any recommendations on what pair of cans I should get.  The AD900 or something else.  I also need to know if I should get a closed or open set, although from what I have read the open air sets are optimal.
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Offline Brodie337

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #26 on: Sun, 31 July 2011, 19:52:11 »
Quote from: Aznguyen316;390353
Awesome Brodie, so the drivers are indeed the same.  Yup modded 555's are the way to go.  Unless you really want that chrome trim around the outer cup and the leather cushion on the top band haha

The HD555 has recently been replaced with the HD558, so it's a good time to pick up clearance stock.

I don't know for sure if the HD558 uses the same driver as the HD598, as in the previous generation, as I haven't opened up either set.
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Offline luie

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #27 on: Tue, 02 August 2011, 01:35:45 »
Quote from: DivineWind;390580
I am interested in getting my hands on a good headset.  Although I do have a requirement, they have to be made in Japan.  From what I have read the Audio Technica ATH-A(D)700s are made in Taiwan and I would really like a pair made in Japan.  In order to do this I must go more high end and get the Audio Technica ATH-AD900 which are made in Japan.  In 3 days I will be going to Japan and was wondering if any of you had any recommendations on what pair of cans I should get.  The AD900 or something else.  I also need to know if I should get a closed or open set, although from what I have read the open air sets are optimal.


I can verify that The AD-700 is made in Taiwan.
I tried the AD-700 and the AD-900 with an iPod played 2 albums of music (encoded in ALAC format) that I'm familiar with.
However, I was unable to tell if there's a difference between the two. As a result, I chose the cheaper one.
Maybe I should had brought a laptop to the store to try out how they sounded in games.
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Offline Aznguyen316

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #28 on: Tue, 02 August 2011, 11:06:42 »
the AT AD700 have generally been regarded as very good gaming headphones due to the larger soundstage.  I still opted for the Sennheiser HD555 however because I listen to audio and music 70% of the time and gaming 30% the rest so I'd rather well-rounded cans than the AD700, although you really cannot go wrong with either.
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Offline kpeezy

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Good quality headphones on a budget?
« Reply #29 on: Tue, 02 August 2011, 12:46:31 »
Yeah, just read the first page and wanted to confirm that they use the same drivers. There is a head-fi thread if you google that has all of the details.
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