Headphones for £100

Last night I went into a casino while severly drunk. I put £20 on the roulette wheel, and walked out with £100. This is now going to a new pair of headphones.

So Ladies and Gents what do you suggest. I use them for movie/music, and never games.

It depends what you want it for...

Do you want something portible or something for Home

For Home Id gets something in Grado line

For Portible Id go with something like WestOne UM2's (you will have to go up to about £140 ish)

Since he said movies, I am going to go with home (although I suppose it could be for a portable DVD player - but I'll assume it isn't until told otherwise).

- Grado are nice, but overpriced in the UK. A viable and better alternative for the money is the Alessandro MS-1.. but that needs to be imported.

- I also recommend the Audio Technica ATH-500 as another option. Grado is nice for music, but less so for movies. Plus, it is a bit of a love or hate affair, and they are quite honestly unconfortable. The ATH-500 is very versatile, they work well for music, movies and games. Also need to be imported.

The above two are both easy to drive (sound good plugged in almost anything), although there is a key difference: one is open (Grado) the other (closed). This may affect your choice: open leak sound, but sound more airy, closed isolate sound, but is less airy (incidently, the ATH-500 still manage to have a wider soundstage than the Grado/Alessandro IMO).

There are other good alternatives for the money such as the AKG K501, Sennheiser HD595 (although I prefer the HD580), Beyerdynamic DT770; but they are more demanding (less for the HD595) than the aforementioned.

I've also read good things about the Goldring DR150, but I've had no experience at all with them, and I think you are pretty spoilt with choices already

Mate, being totally blunt here, get the allessandro MS-1 (sort of modified grados) without a doubt.

My SR60s cost £90 from sevenoaks, which i shouldnt have paid. My housemate got a piar off the net for £72. Now the allessandro MS-1's look like the entry level grado SR60's but sound more like the SR125's.

But the best bit. $99 for anyone in the world which is under £60 depending on the exchange rate. Do the maths and you'll see they are the only choice.

One more thing. Other people will probably recommend sennheisers. They sound like they have a veil over them, whilst grados are more fun headphones that are accurate and a lot more forward. But the alessandro MS-1's are supposed to be more neutral than their grado brothers.

TEAM GRADO !!!!!

Hey lads thanks for your input and helpful suggestions .

The headphones are connected to the front bay of an Audigy Platinum Ex (to be upgraded this August to most likely the Audigy X-fi-music). I use them therefore only when my computer (not laptop) plays music or movies.

How do these headphones compare to what I have now (if anybody knows?), which are ixos Ministry of Sound dj1001's?

edit - probably not the x-fi now, i've just seen that it lacks a front bay which I really want because my computer case and seat are too far away from each other to warrent a headphone cable trawling everywhere...

Most likely a significant upgrade. I don't hear the Ministry of Sound cans mentioned anywhere in the more serious headphone forums (and people -do- try new cans, like those Goldring), so I am inclined to think that they are not too spectacular themselves, even though they have some kind of brand going for them over the generics.

I am really not sure what people mean by "Veil" on the Senns. But they are the complete opposite of the Grado, that is for sure. The Grado are indeed very forward (the most forward that I've tried), while the Senns are the most laid back. However, inspite of the "veil" the Senns are usually considered more "reference" than the Grado and even Alessandro. However, the biggest weakness I hear from my Grado (HF-1), is the soundstage. It is quite narrow and the reason I don't use them for movie/games. The Sennheiser wins quite easily here.

That's why I wouldn't neglect the ATH-500 as a viable alternative. They cost the same as the MS-1, are more confortable, and the soundstage is better than the Grado. Versatile cans overall.

Oh yea, if you can describe the type of sound you like, and the type of music you listen to, it would help. The Grado/Alessandro are bright cans, the Senns dark, and I'd say everything else is roughly in between.

I'm quite a Grado fan myself, I've recently sold my SR80 with the plan of upgrading to 325i's. However being a fan doesn't stop me realizing certain facts about Grados - they don't suit all music, and they are uncomfortable. They can sound hollow and tinny with the wrong music. They have a tendancy to underplay the mids and overplay the highs, and in the wrong music they can sound quite unpleasant. So they're not for everyone and they're picky about what sort of music they like.

Luckily for me they do a great job with stuff like Radiohead, Muse, Pink Floyd etc

Sennheisers have quite a different sound, more direct (because there's more emphasis on the mids) and yet softer and warmer at the same time, certainly less clear than the Grados, but at the same time probably a safer bet if you listen to a broad range of music (especially if that includes classical). Also Sennheisers have a 'bigger' sound which makes them a better candidate for movies.

Are you looking to buy the 325i in the UK? I can only imagine they'll cost a small fortune. You probably did your homework, but the MS2i is exactly in the same class as the 325i and is viable.
Oh yea, have you seen the Grado GS-1 It's going to cost a massive fortune, but it looks like it might improve on two of Grado's weakness: confort and soundstage.

When it comes to soundstage, the AKG is probably one of the best. However, bass wise it is not great, so it might not do as well as the Senns as an all rounder.

Generally the music I listen to is Trance, House, Techno, and classical music. Thus stuff with a fast beat to it, and well, stuff with no beat to it (if you know what I mean).

What do you guys mean by soundstage as well? I'm not sure I follow?

Aha, I thought that you might've been trance fan when you mentioned Ministry of Sound headphones

Soundstage is the perception of width, depth and height. Handy in games, but also very enjoyable in music. And it is not some artificially added simulation of surround sound just to be clear.

My original two suggestions stands (in my opinion), and I'll add the Beyerdynamic DT770 into the list.

TooNice said:

Aha, I thought that you might've been trance fan when you mentioned Ministry of Sound headphones

Soundstage is the perception of width, depth and height. Handy in games, but also very enjoyable in music. And it is not some artificially added simulation of surround sound just to be clear.

My original two suggestions stands (in my opinion), and I'll add the Beyerdynamic DT770 into the list.

Click to expand...

I have just seen the DT990 for £99. I know that this probably seems cheeky, but in terms of the stats is there going to be any difference in sound quality?

DT990

Technical Specifications

Transducer type Dynamic
Operating principle Open
Frequency response 5 - 35,000 Hz.
Nominal impedance acc. to IEC 60268-7 250 O /System
Nominal SPL acc. to IEC 60268-7 > 96 dB
Nominal THD acc. to IEC 60268-7 < 0.2%
Power handling capacity acc. to IEC 60268-7 100 mW
Sound coupling to the ear Circumaural
Average pressure on ear acc. to IEC 60268-7 3.5 N
Weight without cable 250 g

DT770

Technical Specifications

Transducer type Dynamic
Operating principle Closed
Frequency response 5 - 35,000 Hz
Nominal impedance acc. to IEC 60268-7 250 O
Nominal SPL acc. to IEC 60268-7 96 dB
Nominal THD acc. to IEC 60268-7 < 0.2%
Power handling capacity acc. to IEC 60268-7 100 mW
Sound coupling to the ear Circumaural
Ambient noise isolation approx. 18 dBA
Average pressure on ear acc. to IEC 60268-7 2.8 N
Weight without cable 270 g
Cable length 3 m / coiled cable
Connector Gold vaporized stereo 3.5 mm mini-jack & 6.35 mm adapter

From what I've gathered (technical spec aside - I rarely read those), the DT990 is very similar to the DT770, but open instead of closed. Incidently, the DT880 is considered by many to be the real flagship in the Beyer line (though not necessarily the best for trance but most likely for classical). Anyway, the DT990 is supposed to be a better all-rounder compared to the DT770. The former is "airier" being open, while the other bassier. But the DT990 is no wimp when it comes to bass, so it should enough -enough-. I'll swing the DT770 vote to the DT990.

I know this probably sounds stupid, but what does open or closed mean? I'm getting really confused atm

TooNice said:

Are you looking to buy the 325i in the UK? I can only imagine they'll cost a small fortune. You probably did your homework, but the MS2i is exactly in the same class as the 325i and is viable.

Click to expand...

I have looked at the Alessandros but without a credit card I can't order from them. I think I'll contact them to see if they take paypal. £209 is the best price I've seen for the SR325I's, whereas MS2i's work out at about £160 plus import tax of about £15 I believe, so you're right they are cheaper, plus they look better.

greenlizard0/
Open back like Grados allow the sound to leak out and annoy everyone in the room In reality though it's not that bad unless you're in a small quiet room or on a bus/train/plane with someone sat near you. You can also hear outside sounds, like someone talking to you (depending on volume), which some people don't like, but I prefer.

for watching films and listening to some music, I would check out a set of closed Senheisers, but I guess with all the professional advice youre getting here it might be worth walking into a hifi shop and just tryign them out...

As fish99 said, open headphones leak sound, and enables you to hear what is going on around, while closed headphones don't.

Closed may seem better since on paper it gives you the impression that you are "in" the music. But in practice, I don't think that is the case. Closed tend to be bassier (but that is not to say open can't be either), but they are often less "airy" (more claustrophobic) as well. To make closed headphones sound as good as open headphones is actually pretty hard, that is perhaps one of the reason why there aren't that many closed headphones compared to open headphones.

Normally, given the choice of closed and open, I would pick open. The Audio Technica is one of the few exceptions (I also make an exception for the DT770 because it is cheap-ish right now if you don't go for the 2006 editions).

The danger of using open headphones in a noisy environment (aside from possibly getting on some people's nerve) is that you may have a tendency of increasing the volume to cover the ambient noise.. which is severely bad for your hearing. But for home use, it should be alright. Assuming you don't have a couple of deltas running in your PC anyway.

Well, it is true that it would be a good idea to audion a couple of cans if you can. Sennheiser, AKG, Grado, Audio Technica, Beyerdynamic. All make quality headphones and often, it is down to personal preference.

I recommend grado's as portable heaphones, and especially for the library.

I use mine in both situations

wow bet theres a few head-fiers on here

I recently sold off my Senn HD-595s for 80 quid got em from Richersounds for 99 quid, there so lovely I loved the fact they went around the ear thus its like there not on there ears even so its so comfortable and they made me listen to my songs all over again cos its like listening to a new track !

But they had to go they leaked sound and when u live in a wooden house with family constantly around you its the last thing u want!

Was looking at the Audiotechnics A900s, but now some talk of these A500 I see....

Right I have narrowed it down to:

Beyerdynamic DT 770 pro

Transducer type: Dynamic
Operating principle: Closed
Frequency response: 5 - 35,000 Hz
Nominal impedance acc. to IEC 60268-7: 250 O /System
Nominal SPL acc. to IEC 60268-7: 96 dB
Nominal THD acc. to IEC 60268-7: 0,2%
Power handling capacity acc. to IEC 60268-7: 100 mW
Sound coupling to the ear: Circumaural
Ambient noise isolation: 18 dB (A)
Average pressure on ear acc. to IEC 60268-7: 3.5 N
Weight without cable: 270 g

Audio Technica ATH-A700

Double Air Damping System for deep bass reproduction
Vibration-proof mechanism with 3D capsule support housing
53mm neodymium driver, CCAW voice coil
Frequency response: 5Hz-35kHz
Sensitivity: 100dB
Includes gold-plated 1/4" adapter

Audio Technica ATH-A910 Art Headphones

Type: Closed Dynamic
Driver Unit: 53mm, Bobbin winding OFC voice coil
Magnet: Neodymium
Frequency response: 5-40,000 Hz
Impedence: 40Ω
Max. Input Power: 2,000mW
Sensitivity: 101dB
Plug: Gold-plating stereo mini plug
Cord length: 3.0m (Wrapping / Hi-OFC)
Net weight (without cord): 350g

What do you guys think?

Actually scrap the bottom one. I'm getting lots of variable specs for it so i'm not sure what on earth is going on there