I've been rocking some $40 Sony ear buds that have been through the wash for a while and I'm just flat out TRIED of them.

I'm looking for some head phones that will lend detail to my personal music experience.

I listen to everything, except for mainstream country and bluegrass. Seriously... everything.

I'm looking for something comparable to B&W 683's in high and mid range detail. I'd like to listen to "I don't know why" and get the same melt in my chair experience as when I'm in the stereo shop pretending I'm going to drop $10k on a stereo. I wanna listen to Jazz, and be able to hear every part of the brush on the head of the snare.

And of course I don't wanna spend that much.

I've been searching around a bit and the best I've come up with so far are some of the lower line Grado's, SR60's or SR80's.

I know I won't get perfect sound for cheap, but I just can't stand hearing things ALMOST sound good, but all the little minute details that make certain songs what they are blended together.

Suggestions would be much appreciated guys.

Thanks,

UCP

Budget? The SR60's and SR80's are ok....not totally sure that they are the best detail and they are darned uncomfortable to wear unless you get some different pads (Sennheiser HD414's come to mind).

Can I assume about the same budget?

I'd like to keep it under $100. I'm not working right now, so I can't splurge like I'd like to. Plus I'll be carrying these around with me everywhere, so I don't want to be too pissed if I brake them. I'm fine with the current trend of earbuds as well, they don't bother me to wear.

I'm just having a hard time coming across reviews I consider reliable for headphones. All I seem to read is "OMG! These be the bomb." IDK, I'll keep looking. Forever... lol.

I will recommend the guys at HeadRoom as a good place to start looking. The best thing about HeadRoom is that they rate products based on value and are very honest about what they sell (and they sell most of the major brands in the headphones world).

If you're looking for an IEM (ear canal style), look at the Etymotic ER-6i.

Circum-aural (goes over the ear): Beyerdynamic DT 231's, Sennheiser HD280 Pro's, or Sennheiser EH350's.

For supra-aural (goes on the ear): AKG K81DJ's or Grado SR60's (with HD414 pads; I really don't recommend them without) or Allessandro MS-1's

I have the Ultimate Ears super.fi EB earbuds. They're designed for extended bass response, and let me tell you, they slam. I got mine for about $120. Probably not what you're looking for in clear, but if you're a basshead like me, you'll love em. Not too bad in clarity though. (In my opinion)

I will recommend the guys at HeadRoom as a good place to start looking. The best thing about HeadRoom is that they rate products based on value and are very honest about what they sell (and they sell most of the major brands in the headphones world).

If you're looking for an IEM (ear canal style), look at the Etymotic ER-6i.

Circum-aural (goes over the ear): Beyerdynamic DT 231's, Sennheiser HD280 Pro's, or Sennheiser EH350's.

For supra-aural (goes on the ear): AKG K81DJ's or Grado SR60's (with HD414 pads; I really don't recommend them without) or Allessandro MS-1's

So far, the most tempting is the ER-6i's, because even though some say they're weak in the bass region, that doesn't really concern me as my Sony MDR-EX51LP's have more than enough bass, even a little less wouldn't be a bad thing if that meant the trade off would be a more lively mid/high end, plus they're very inobtrusive, which is good because I'm usually in a quiet environment.

I'm still looking at the Beyerdynamic DT 231's, I was reading somewhere that there were a few mods that made them much better.

Thanks for the link and suggestions Neil. That helped a lot. I just wish I could listen to all these in person, lol. Oh well.

I have the Ultimate Ears super.fi EB earbuds. They're designed for extended bass response, and let me tell you, they slam. I got mine for about $120. Probably not what you're looking for in clear, but if you're a basshead like me, you'll love em. Not too bad in clarity though. (In my opinion)

Thanks, but as mentioned that's not really what I'm looking for (so I think) at this time. Plus they're a bit more than I'm wanting to spend.

Getting your own ear buds molded to your ear canal will offer you the best fit and best sound out of any of the ear buds you go with.

It's a pretty dramatic change in sound when things fit correctly and block outside noise.

Honestly, if you want to try out one of the sets I recommended, I'll send you the AKG K81DJ's if you'll pay shipping. If you like them, you can keep them; if you're just kind of meh about them, send them back. They show a little bit of wear (a couple flecks of paint have come off on the swivel joint that connects the cups to the headband...can take pics if you'd like) but are in pretty good condition. They can be very revealing on some songs and just average on others, but they're one of the better supra-aural sets under $100 in my opinion.

Honestly, if you want to try out one of the sets I recommended, I'll send you the AKG K81DJ's if you'll pay shipping. If you like them, you can keep them; if you're just kind of meh about them, send them back. They show a little bit of wear (a couple flecks of paint have come off on the swivel joint that connects the cups to the headband...can take pics if you'd like) but are in pretty good condition. They can be very revealing on some songs and just average on others, but they're one of the better supra-aural sets under $100 in my opinion.

Really? I'm down for that. My zip is 45432, just let me know what it'll be and I'll send it. That's a grand gesture, thank you.

Jason

Is it true the Bose headphones(noisecancelling3) are great SQ but the negative sound puts to cancel out waves puts a lot of pressure on the ears to the point of fatigue?

For a $100 budget I highly recommend the Sennheiser HD-555's. Amazon has them for $99 shipped right now.

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD555-HD-...s/dp/B0001FTVDQ

They are comfortable as hell and sound amazing. For $99 these things are a steal.

i was just gonna throw the Sennheiser HD 555 up. they are on my long list of things i want.

I have always loved Sennheiser headphones. I have the Sennheiser HD-600's that I power with an Antique Sound Lab tube headphone amp. Incredible combo but pricey.

The Sennheiser HD-555 are a great set for a reasonable price.

Bob

i have a pair of the sr80's so its the same ear peice as the rest of the grado's and i love them too a few months to break in but the sound is unreal for the price of them and they get pretty damm loud if you have them amped.

I love them and could not be more happy, the bass is great the price was right but im sure to the average person you would be happy with a comfy pair out of the box.

I have tried the Grado but I have always had problems with the way they sit on my ears and head. They always tended to move out of position with any head movement. I did like the way they sounded, even though I prefer the Sennheiser for detail and clarity.

Bob

I've been rocking some $40 Sony ear buds that have been through the wash for a while and I'm just flat out TRIED of them.

I'm looking for some head phones that will lend detail to my personal music experience.

I listen to everything, except for mainstream country and bluegrass. Seriously... everything.

I'm looking for something comparable to B&W 683's in high and mid range detail. I'd like to listen to "I don't know why" and get the same melt in my chair experience as when I'm in the stereo shop pretending I'm going to drop $10k on a stereo. I wanna listen to Jazz, and be able to hear every part of the brush on the head of the snare.

And of course I don't wanna spend that much.

I've been searching around a bit and the best I've come up with so far are some of the lower line Grado's, SR60's or SR80's.

I know I won't get perfect sound for cheap, but I just can't stand hearing things ALMOST sound good, but all the little minute details that make certain songs what they are blended together.

Suggestions would be much appreciated guys.

Thanks,

UCP

I bought a pair of Koss Porta Pros back in the eighties. Listened to them on a casetdeck, Walkman, MP3 player and Ipod. I have sent them in for replacement, worn out and life time warranty, 3 times with $5 (now $6) S/H. Small fold up. SPL 101 which saves on batteries, 15HZ-over 20KHZ. Every one who has listned to them, bought them----under $50. I build speakers and tube amps, so I am picky about the sound. The iPod buds suck. This is an excellent buy. Check E-Bay too.

I bought my dad a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 231's for Christmas. $63 shipped. He's got a new job and will be flying in and out if the country so I figured a decent set of headphones would make a great gift.

Thanks Neil for recomending the headphone website, it helped make my decision. Although I'm guessing noice canceling headphones would have been better for flying? For my options and budget, I thought these were the best.

I'm at a toss up between the Senn HD 280 pros and the Senn HD555's.

The 280's are sealed, and therefore going to be better for school, but the 555's to me, look a lot better on paper.

hrm....

I'll be picking up some of the Etymotic ER-6i's sometime soon. My Ipod headphones are crapping out on me and dome nice buds for when I run would be great

I ended up getting the Senn HD555's. They have some distortion compared to the HD595's, but given how close their respose and appearance are I'd be willing to bet it's probably due to some resonances in the chassis, Or perhaps I could work with the foam inserts a bit.

I'll see what I can to to upgrade the sound after I get them. Or if I really even want to bother.

I got the HD555's today. I've been listening to them for a about an hour now.

I think for the $100 I spent on them they are about what I wanted them to be. They are a bit light on the lowend, though it is certainly there, and not really sloppy. While nothing SPECTACULAR overall they are certainly decent headphones. The midrange and upper end are MUCH better than what I'm used to and they are a whole lot less sloppy in general than my old sony in-ear's(no surprise there).

Overall I'm happy with the sound for the price, the details are much better than what I had.

Thanks to everyone who posted, and ESP to neil for recommending Headroom, that site helped me decide a lot.

I can't wait to crack 'em open to see what I can do on a few of their shortcomings. I was reading on headfi and a lot of others had the same thoughts that I had as well (and I was just looking at graphs).

I can't wait until I can afford some higher end headphones, but these will certainly tide me over until then.

Not to intrude on this thread...but since the topic title suits my needs...

Has anyone heard or seen the V-Moda Vibes ?

Just curious on everyones opinion of them. I need in ear style headphones for work as i am constantly moving and upside down.

http://reviews.cnet.com/headphones/v-moda-...7-32165976.html

Incase you didnt know ^

The Etyomic's look nice, but the 90* plug concerns me as i typically have the jack facing up (shuffle)

I love chopping things up.

Glad you got something you like.

Supa: What's your budget?

Under $90CAN w shipping

v modas i can get local, london drugs sells them.