Decent Closed back heaphones

Brizzles

Brizzles

Brizzles

Man of Honour
Joined
16 Mar 2005
Posts
8,095
Location
Clevedon , Bristol
Mostlty gaming, but enjoy music aswell.

Currently using ;
Realtek onboard via optical >
Schiit Modi >
Schiit Vali >
AKG550

Whilst the AKGs are perfect for sound isolation and leakage ( pc is in the front room with the TV ), i was wondering if there are any 'better' phones around the £150 mark ?

Sony MDR 1a or Beyer DT 770 ?

Any suggestions :)
 
Order both on your credit card and return the pair you like the least.
Those would both be on my recommended list at that price.
 
Oppo PM3. Above budget. Yes. Considerably. But you have the equipment to drive them to the max and they sound god-like. Truly god-like. Watching a movie with these is better than the finest IMAX cinema. They are sublime, fantastic, perfect. Ultimate. I borrowed a pair for two weeks last summer. I am putting money together and hope to buy my own pair early next year.
 
nad viso hp50 (love these- quite a few Oppo PM3 owners have got rid of theirs in favour of these despite these been less than half the cost)

http://www.head-fi.org/products/nad-electronics-viso-hp50-noise-isolating-over-ear-headphones
http://www.headfonia.com/nad-viso-hp50-unique-headphone/

Sennheiser Momentum 2
http://www.head-fi.org/products/sennheiser-momentum

Great, almost perfect closed headphones, well worth been on anybody's list.

And if you like bass the 1more MK801 are a bargain at £75 or under £100 for wireless pair.
http://www.head-fi.org/products/1mo...phones-with-in-line-microphone-and-remote-red

Not sure they would be an upgrade to yours though.
 
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Personally, I love my Sony MDR-1As but would see them as more of a sidegrade from your already good AKG K550s. If you want a noticeable upgrade, that would see you needing to spend considerably more than your budget as the K550 mk2 is currently going for £140 on the rain forest.

The Sony MDR-1A would be a nice sidegrade but for upgrades you should be looking at Oppo PM3 (£350) or see if you can get a used pair of Fostex TH-X00.

Of course, if you were ok with open backed headphones the answer would be much simpler, get a pair of Sennheiser HD650s :D
 
^
It's a shame the NAD VISO HP50s are so damned ugly, they make the wearer look like a Cyberman off Dr Who :D
 
I really like the Nad Viso HP50 I think it's one of the best bargains in headphones. They are ugly though and the headband is just stupid but the sound you get from them is fantastic.

I think the DT770 and MDR-1A would be a side grade to your K550 rather then an upgrade but I do prefer both over the K550. The DT770 is an energetic phone with a treble sparkle and a spacious sound. 1A is warm slight roughness somewhere around the upper mids lower treble area that bothers me with most Sony phones but the rest of he response is smooth.

I personally would recommend saving up and grabbing something better because that upgrade itch will come and there's some really good headphones that are not that much more expensive than your budget. Have you thought about going open? The HD600 and 650 are both end game high end headphones that you can get fairly cheap these days if you shop around and the sound quality difference is pretty big. Most people on here have have jumped on the 650 train and are extremely happy and there's no need to ever upgrade because the next best think is either the HD800(£800-1k) or something around the 4K mark like the Utopia or high end Stax models.
 
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Yeah they do make look like a cyberman lol

But I wear them indoors and dont care.

Some people will say they are the best closed headphones you can buy under £350 and at £150 I think they are pretty special.
 
Cheers guys.

Looked at the Nad HP50, but i've read some comfort issues and the ear cups not being 'snug' - guess that's down to your head size though.

Down to 2 then, and saving up a few more quid ;

HD 650s - open

Oppo PM3 - closed

Might have to test run the 650s' and see how much sound they let in, and let out.

Thanks again for all the feedback :)
 
The Oppo PM-3 are ok sounding but they are not as good as the 650. They leak a bit but not as bad as some other open backs I've tried to be fair.
 
Just listened to my NAD tonight after using diff headphones for a month.

Just forgot just how much more of the music you hear, instruments I didnt even realise were on the track. Amazing headphones.
 
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