Love the Beats Studio (Dr Dre) cans but not so much the price...

Flare · 14 Oct 2010 at 15:11

I love the above headphones but do not like the price of £250+ one bit! I absolutely love good sound but don't actually know all that much about sound and speakers/headphones (mainly due to not being able to afford much!). I am currently using in ear Senheiser CX 400 II which are brilliant but i want a little more and a pair of cans

I have done a search and looked at another thread about the same thing but there were that many recommendations it didn't really help so i was hoping (although it might not work) that this thread could be a bit more refined to my needs! Besides the Beats Studio headphones i haven't actually really tried any others. I have found a pair second hand for £150 which i am very tempted to go for but that depends on what else get's recommended.

A few things about usage:
I listen to a lot of music; DnB, Dubstep, Electro, Rock, Metal, Punk and so forth.
I would use them with my phone (Nokia N900) and sometimes with my PC.
The majority of the tracks i have are 280 - 360kb/s (so all decent quality)

So as i said earlier i have found a pair of second hand Beats Studio's for £150 so i will set my maximum budget at that, it sounds like a good figure...doesn't it?
Obviously sound and cost are the main factors but i would also like them to look fairly decent (i love the look of the Studios).

Thanks in advance for any help,

Flare

daz · 14 Oct 2010 at 15:47

Try some Sony MDR XB700 with a little amplifier like a Fiio E5. Decent quality headphones for bassheads on a budget.

Alternatively, Beyedynamic DT770 Pro or 990 Pro are supposed to be very good.

mrk · 14 Oct 2010 at 16:56

If you liked them that much then wait until you hear proper headphones

I felt the Beats were sub-par build quality wise, they were glossy and expensive looking but they lacked a weighty feel i.e., they did not feel how they looked, especially when considering the price!

Then there was the sound, the bass was deep and low but the vocals were compromised, vocals sounded distant/muddied and/or lost in the music. The treble wasn't as detailed as I'm used to on Sennheiser headphones (HD555, for example).

The ear pads sat too close around the ears as well, felt too enclosed!

As above, DT770 Pro would be a much more worthy alternative I reckon or the updated models as the prices are fairly decent now.

Flare · 14 Oct 2010 at 17:16

Thanks for the advice, the Sony's look good from reviews, they just seem very big! I've found a pair of refurbished 990 Pro's for below £100 which i'm considering although it's just very hard to make a decision without having actually seen them and used them. As i live in Manchester, tomorrow i'm going to try and get round some audio shops and see what they have in.

Flare · 14 Oct 2010 at 17:19

Just read your post Khaaan! Thanks a lot for the info, i have read a few times that they seem very light and almost fragile.I really wish i had the money to be a proper sound geek

aha.
Like i said in my post before, i found a pair of efurbished 990 Pro's for below £100 inc. delivery, from the sounds of it, it would be a wise vhoice to go for them?

Uriel · 14 Oct 2010 at 17:21

I'd suggest Goldring NS1000s (£50 from play.com, RRP £150) with E5 (£20 ish from www.hifiheadphones.co.uk) as a budget option. What Hi-Fi Australia had a group test including the NS1000s and the Beats and they rated the Goldrings higher. They are the same price or there abouts in Australia though.

The E5 makes the NS1000s a little more bass heavy compared to using noise cancelling mode - more so if you use the bass boost option.

Flare · 14 Oct 2010 at 19:09

Oh yeah, i had forgotten about the Goldring's, thanks uriel. I think them and an E5 sound like a great comnination. I think i might try them out

mrk · 14 Oct 2010 at 19:20

Do note that if you intend on using them in public places then Open Air ones are ill advised as they will leak sound so unless Goldring have closedback models I'd stick to the DT770 Pro!

These are all big cans though but if you're after something more portable but still big on high quality sound then I can recommend the Koss Porta Pro. You can still buy them and they've been around since the 80s. They come with lifetime warranty and the sound they give off is outstanding given their size.

They aren't as comfortable as a Goldring/Sennheiser or Beyer as they sit on your ears but they are portable and lighter so you'll forget about them after a while on your head.

They also do leak some sound but only at higher volumes. You could very easily use them on your PC or HiFi with a 2 metre 3.5mm extension cable.

Uriel · 14 Oct 2010 at 19:31

NS1000s are closed.

mrk · 14 Oct 2010 at 19:32

Ah cool, check those out

Flare · 14 Oct 2010 at 20:11

Uriel said:
NS1000s are closed.

Awesome

I might just get them now.

Flare · 14 Oct 2010 at 20:25

So would you all say the NS1000's over the Sony X-Bass MDR-XB700 for £60?

danza · 14 Oct 2010 at 20:35

It gets boring here sometimes. Nobody seems to buy anything other than NS1000s or DR150s. They are the Mondeo of the headphone world TBH.

Although, that said I imagine you won't go far wrong with the NS1000s. The XB700s apparently have loads of bass, which some people love (and others don't). Avoid the Beats, and pat yourself on the back for not buying into a massive marketing campaign behind hugely overpriced, average headphones.

Flare · 14 Oct 2010 at 20:52

I think the Sony headphones would have been good if i purely listened to dubstep, DnB, etc. but i don't. I went ahead with the Goldrings, if i don't like them i can always send them back. *pats self on back*

Oh and my housemate says

They are brilliant because all footballers have them!

Mr Krugga · 14 Oct 2010 at 21:29

You know you want them, JustBeats from Dr Dre:

danza · 14 Oct 2010 at 21:32

Good stuff. I hope you enjoy them.

My first decent cans were AKG K141s that I bought on the cheap. I then happened upon some Sennheiser HD580s for cheap, and then it went from there.

I think I'm starting a collection.

I've just bought some very silly looking headphones off someone on eBay, hopefully they arrive safely! Google for Jecklin Float One if you want a laugh.

Uriel · 14 Oct 2010 at 21:39

danza said:
It gets boring here sometimes. Nobody seems to buy anything other than NS1000s or DR150s. They are the Mondeo of the headphone world TBH.

I'd say they're more like getting a brand new Mondeo ST220 for £10k - hence the popularity.

danza · 14 Oct 2010 at 21:57

Uriel said:
I'd say they're more like getting a brand new Mondeo ST220 for £10k - hence the popularity.

I haven't heard them myself, and probably won't unless I see them on demo, or find someone with some that will let me try them, i.e. a mate. I almost bought some out of curiosity a few weeks back but ended up passing the idea up for some UE Superfi 5s.

They do seem fairly ubiquitous in their recommendation around here though (hence my Mondeo comment which meant no offence).

Uriel · 14 Oct 2010 at 22:12

Well neither are the be all and end all. I've rarely used my DR150s since getting Sennheiser HD600s. Still use the NS1000s a lot though and they've seen off several pairs of more expensive closed headphones (and cheaper Head-Fi FOTMs) when I tried to 'upgrade'.

NS1000s are still the best closed headphones I've used under £140.

wozza2k · 14 Oct 2010 at 22:16

The beats do swing in price a lot on the big river, sometimes as low as £200. Admittedly you are playing for the styling and branding over actual sound. Personally i really want a pair but really unsure about paying that much for something with sub-par sound. As others have already said build quality of the beats for shocking for the money