I need some headphone advice part II.)

lvmedas

lvmedas

lvmedas

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29 Sep 2009
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Hi everyone, can you guys please help me out with some advice for headphones? Thanks to all of you that have helped me in the other thread (RE: Headphones under £60) but I’ve changed my mind and I’m looking to get something around – ~£100.

Headphone main uses ranked in order from biggest to smallest are:
1. Music listening
2. General audio listening from audio/video sites
3. Listening to the audio of movies/videos/live streaming
4. Gaming listening
5. Some other use(portable audio listening)

Locations headphones will be used ranked in order of frequency are:
1. At home (through my desktop pc-in January I’ll be getting a new setup)
2. At the university’s computers and library
3. Some other place (on the trains, underground)

The most significant reason I’m buying new headphones is to listen to something while I’m studying because there’s a lot of noise at home and at the university’s computers and no noise at the library, hence, I’d really prefer a type of headphone that eliminates or minimizes outside noise/sound and keeps the sound coming from the headphones from leaking out to some extent. I would definitely like to get a type that is good quality for music as well because when I’m not studying I’d just like to Jam and listen to the music for pleasure.
I have a few ideas and intuitions but they’re just guesswork. Now you guys can take over and help me out please.
 
You can get closed back on ears but the problem with them is even the smallest ones ain't that portable. Unless you're going to keep them round your neck all the time you'll need a bag with significant spare space with you all the time.

IEMs are better for personal use, they tend to use less power (this dosn't just mean you don't need an amp but your batteries will last longer), they isolate better and they're more portable.
I'm not that clued up on IEMs but i can give you a few pointers.
1. Look at head-fi reviews
2. IMPORT, seriously your money can go twice as far if you import from the US
 
Hey markop2003, many thanks for replying. There’ve been two days that I’ve searched myself and I’m leaning towards the closed-backs.

The In-Ear-Headphones that you mention would have appealed to me if I had an I-Pod, or if I was planning to use the headphones on the move, but right now I’m not thinking of doing this and just want to use them at home and at the university but maybe later who knows if I will buy an I-pod or an mp3 player. For this reason and because I like to have the headphones on the ears or around the ears I think I’d find the Inside the ear headphones frustrating that’s why I want to get full headphones. But I could be wrong and you could convince me otherwise, if so, please tell me.

I am not very well informed regarding AMPS; do I need to buy amps with the headphones even though I’m just planning to use the headphones at home, on my desktop computer, and at desktops at the university? Again forgive me for too many questions but really I don’t understand these things. I’ve read a bit on Hi-Fi and I’ve been directed towards closed-backs but I’m undecided on what to buy.

Regarding importing, could possibly get better deal from importing? If so I don’t know where to buy, maybe Beyerdynamics from Germany, but I’m not sure. Before I was directed towards buying the Alessandros ms-1 from the USA but I saw that they’re open style, although they were very good.

Thank you.
 
I’ve narrowed down the search to a few models and the top two are Sennheiser HD 25-1 II and Beyerdynamic DT 250-80ohms or the 250ohms version.
I'm ready to buy, but I can't decide, I just need your help.
Which one should I go for?
 
HD 25's get a vote from me, I have not listened to the others though.

Had my HD's for about 3 years now and love them. Nice and light / strong, sound is excellent and all parts are replaceable, id recomend you go to a store to try them out if you are un-sure :)
 
Many thanks for your answer Jaxon, I’m lazy to go and find a store so I can try the HDs, if here’s being said that they’re the ****, I will buy them.

Is there any chance that anybody here might have tried the Beyers DT250, are they better or should I just go ahead and buy the Senns HD25-1 ii???????

Final thoughts please.......:confused:
1. Sennheiser HD 25-1 II,
2. Beyerdynamic DT250,
3. or (AKG K271)
 
Have you tried looking on Head-Fi forums?

I've got HD25's personally and I think they are great, but I can't comment on the other ones. You'd be lucky to find a set for £100!
 
Thanks Shamrock, yes, I have read in the “Head-FI” forums, but I’m not registered there. There was a dedicated thread for HD25-1 enthusiasts.

I’ve also read a bit from an in-depth review in PDF from that forum, the reviewer valued both among others. While another reviewer from http://www.dansdata.com/dt250.htm says that the Beyers DT250-80 ohm are good... he bought them after his HD25-1s got stolen or lost.

That’s why I haven’t decided yet. I won’t use the headphones on the road, that’s why I haven’t automatically dismissed the Beyers since they could be comfortable for long use, although I have heard that the HD25-1 II isolate noise pretty well. And this is important for me.

It’s true that they’re more expensive than 100, I found them for ~£135. But I’ve decided to get one or the other if it’s worth it.

Any thoughts please......:(
 
Isolation on the hd25s is very good, especially with the pleather pads. I used mine while in the uni library and you are completely oblivious to what's going on around you.

However, they do have a bit of a clamping action which can get uncomfortable after extended use.
 
Shamrock many thanks again, the clamping action was present in many reviews of the HD25-1 ii, although some people wrote about how they can be made comfortable using some softer pads, but how much more comfortable I don’t know.
I happened to notice the Sennheiser HD280; they’re half the price of the HD25-1 ii. Are they half as good? Or should I consider this as an option?
...Any idea?
 
It seems that nobody can comment on the Beyerdynamic DT250, or the Senn HD280, maybe because they’re not as good as the HD25-1 II or nobody owns a pair.

I’m very close to buying either the HD-25-1 II or the Beyers DT250, but is there anybody that can tell me something new or that has a different opinion, because I want to try and avoid impulse purchase as much as I want, but I’m really very close to do it.
...Anyone??
 
I used to own a pair of beyerdynamic DT250's which I used for rough mixing of music recordings. I was really happy with the sound quality, great frequency spectrum and clarity. They are very comfortable, even when worn for prolonged periods of time. However I will say after 2 years one of the speakers went and rather than having it repaired I upgraded to a pair of DT770 PRO - within 2 weeks of using them one of the speakers went, so I had to send them off for a MONTH to be repaired. What does this say about the reliability of Beyerdynamic headphones? Maybe I was just unlucky?

From reviews - HD-25-1 II seems a good shout.

Cheers,

MR Best
 
Thank you very much MR BEST. Possibly you could have been unlucky relating to the second model that you bought to replace the Beyerdynamic DT250.

After you got them repaired, have you had any further problems with the headphones?

Also, in your opinion, do you think that the upgrade is better than the DT250 in terms of sound quality and isolation?

I'm very close to getting the HD 25-1 II's though. Unless, somebody comes in and says that I'm making a big mistake and that I should really get some skullcandys.:D
 
lvmedas said:
Thank you very much MR BEST. Possibly you could have been unlucky relating to the second model that you bought to replace the Beyerdynamic DT250.

After you got them repaired, have you had any further problems with the headphones?

Also, in your opinion, do you think that the upgrade is better than the DT250 in terms of sound quality and isolation?

I'm very close to getting the HD 25-1 II's though. Unless, somebody comes in and says that I'm making a big mistake and that I should really get some skullcandys.:D
Click to expand...

you really can't go far wrong with the hd's :) the sound isolation is excellent, sound reproduction is very good, they are very durable, all parts are replaceable. just remember if you do go for them don't use ebay as there are fakes doing the rounds, use somewhere reputable like sapphires or dv247
 
Jaxon thank you again. Can you please tell me if there’s a big difference between the Sennheiser HD25 1-II and the Sennheiser HD25 1-II Special Edition.

All I can find is that the special edition is £20 pounds cheaper in the shops which you recommended.

I wasn’t planning on buying from e-bay but from Amazon. I don’t know if Amazon stock the special edition (because it reflects on the price that they have) but this isn’t noticeable because it isn’t part of the product description on Amazon. All it says on their site is “Sennheiser HD 25-1 II, Closed-Back Headphones Ideal For ENG & Professional Monitoring.”

...Any ideas???
 
I'm just going to chuck in a suggestion here - Audio Technica ES7s. I've had mine for 18 months or so now.

They're closed back and the isolation is brilliant. They work and sound great with or without an amplifier - I used to use them with my iPod classic before I sold it - now I use them with my HTC Hero phone, and my Bantam XC amp when at the desk. £80 is the right price to be paying for them. Only one complaint about them is that from the factory the headband is very tight - when I first got them I couldn't comfortably use them for more than about an hour at a time. Then I decided to bend the headband to make it a little looser - this for me was an essential modification, they are so comfortable now I can wear them indefinitely.

Would recommend them.
 
Thank you Mr. Brightside, I had the audio technica es7 on my shortlist but didn’t make it to the final two, for the reason that I read that es7 are a model that came out with the intention of improving the design and not necessarily the quality of the sound of those phones. I would say that by looking at them at first, they gave me the impression of being suitable for use on the road, given that they’re good-looking, with stainless steel finish, and that they could be lagging in terms of sound quality and isolation to the hd25 1-ii or the beyerdynamics, (which aren’t the best good looking), but you may destroy this view simply because it’s an impression that I have and not based on facts, and also one review that I read. Also as you note well that these phones need modification – something which I’m not terribly good at – I’ll probably ruin them if I tried this, on the other hand.

Anyway, if I was in a closed budged I’d probably add this in the final list, together with the hd280. But I’ve an opportunity to buy something a bit better, because I want to have these for a long time. But I won’t dismiss it as an option because I haven’t bought anything yet. I may do so today.

Is there anyone who can tell me about the difference between the HD25 1-II and the HD25 1-II special edition please?

...Any ideas?
 
lvmedas said:
Thank you very much MR BEST. Possibly you could have been unlucky relating to the second model that you bought to replace the Beyerdynamic DT250.

After you got them repaired, have you had any further problems with the headphones?

Also, in your opinion, do you think that the upgrade is better than the DT250 in terms of sound quality and isolation?

I'm very close to getting the HD 25-1 II's though. Unless, somebody comes in and says that I'm making a big mistake and that I should really get some skullcandys.:D
Click to expand...

I've had no problems since mate - although compared to the DT250's the upgrade is less comfortable - and the only obvious difference between the two is the DT770's have loads more bass - and i'm not sure that's necessarily a good thing for what I use them for....

I think you can't go wrong with any of the suggestions you've made - they're all winners I reckon.


Cheers,

MR Best
 
I recently got some Sennheiser HD280 Pro's, and they're excellent; no sound leaking out, excellent bass and the overall sound is superb. They are comfortable even after hours of us. The best headphones I've ever used.
 
Goldring dr150, pretty much beats what has been suggested, and cheaper too, reviews line it up to be on par with the hd595 if not slightly better.
8
Or what about the ultrasone proline 550 again many like this headphone as it has a very rich sound.
 
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