Headphones with a good clear sound?

Blackfish

New member
Hi, I will be living at a school for a year after the summer, and bringing headphones with me is a must.
I draw a lot so I tend to fall into this dream state/auto pilot when I listen to music. So I need something with a crystal clear sound where I can hear every bit of juicy instrument flowing into my eardrums. For the bass I need something that's not over the top, but I need to feel a good low thump , I'm sure there's some Audiophiles out there who knows some sweet quality headphones with a balanced sound.

For the price I've decided to cash out $350-$400. If I get a good brand over this price, I might find it for a decent price on Amazon/ebay. We'll see.

Music: Some Dubstep, Glitch Hop, Rap, Instrumental relaxing stuff. I'm pretty much an open minded guy when it comes to music.

Thanks in advance - David
 
So I need something with a crystal clear sound where I can hear every bit of juicy instrument flowing into my eardrums.

...then you say you like dubstep...... :lol:

You arent gunna go wrong with the Quiet Comforts from bose as they are very clear and will do exactly what you want. But I do kind of feel you'd be paying excessively for the brand, even if they are within your budget
 
Turtle Beach DPX, cheaper than Dre Beats and in my opinion, better (I have the DPX21's)
includes a Dolby Unit so it can multiplex as a gaming / movie / skype headset.

But you failed to state if it was for indoors or outdoors so i went with what i know.
 
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Turtle Beach DPX, cheaper than Dre Beats and in my opinion, better (I have the DPX21's)
includes a Dolby Unit so it can multiplex as a gaming / movie / skype headset.

But you failed to state if it was for indoors or outdoors so i went with what i know.

Gaming headsets = Avoid 100% when it comes to music. For gaming they're completely fine imo if you get a good pair, but for music a pair of Audio Technica's or Denon's will absolutely destroy them.
 
Ah, yeah. Guess that would confuse some. But there's a wide range of Dubstep types out there. I usually listen to music with a good amount of HQ sounds, not the usual 'wub'wub' type. Thanks for the answer! Gonna have to check out all of these suggestions.
 
Do you already own an amp/dac? Because you could drop 300$ on headphones and not get the very good sound, the best sound would come from a good pair of headphones and a equally good or slightly lower quality amp/dac acting together.

I personally own ATH-M50s and will be getting a Asus xonar STX (planning) soon. The M50s are usually recommended by many as a good entry level pair of headphones and considering the genre you're going to be listening to the sealed design of the headphones and the fair bass will be great for those genres.

Tom, I would say you would need an amp for 80ohms, I wouldn't even want to use over 40ohm headphones without an amplified source.
 
Sorry about that, Yes, It's indoors. I highly doubt that I will ever use them outside, ever. Just for personal pleasure when I'm working
 
Tom, I would say you would need an amp for 80ohms, I wouldn't even want to use over 40ohm headphones without an amplified source.

You can drive 80ohm headphones, with an iphone or such device, they do offer a 32ohm ver, and if you really want to, they have a 250 ohm ver, but the 32 is most bassy
 
Don't...under...stand ;[
How can adding extra resistance help improv...I give up :P
Seriously out of my depth when it comes to audio equipment. I'm an audio junkie, but not someone who appreciates the fine quality of the equipment that you should have.
I'll stick to my loud as hell cheap as chips Hi-Fi, knowing that when someone breaks them at a party I don't have to pay £££££ to replace it :D
 
You can drive 80ohm headphones, with an iphone or such device, they do offer a 32ohm ver, and if you really want to, they have a 250 ohm ver, but the 32 is most bassy

I know you can drive them but they won't be driven effectively and defiantly won't operate at full potential.
 
Beyer 770/880/990, Denon D1100/2000, Audio Technica AD 700/900 or Grado SR60/80/125. IMo the ATHM50s are crap for the price and are incredibly uncomfortable. Dont considering ANYTHING less than HD600 from Sennhiesser for proper cans.
 
Well did some looking, if you're not planning on getting a amp/dac the AKG K550 would be a good choice, reviewers and customers seem to give it a good rating in the genre you plan on using. Plus leak virtually no sound and let almost no sound in since I'm guessing you're going to be in a dorm with lots of other people this might be a plus for you. They operate at 32ohms so driving them off a regular pc jack or basic source won't be a problem. They go for $300 U.S which is well within your price range and if you wanted to go up to the $400 you could pick up a decent DAC for some added quality.



And imo they look pretty good if that matters :P

I don't find the M50's uncomfortable, when I first got them yes but a simple adjustment got them seated perfectly and haven't bothered me since, but it may be because I have long hair and gives a little extra padding :P and they can be picked up for $130 easily, which is pretty cheap and compared to some of the other headphones I've used it's a fair price for the quality.

Grados will be crap for the genre he is looking into, grado are more geared for rock/guitar work very low bass imo.

Theres a music shop near me if you're wondering how I've tried out different cans.
 
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Love me some Grado cans though man, they are so good for the money; I love rock/metal (deathcore to old school thrash) and they do work nicely for that type of music. Deathcore and Djent have a lot of bass and Grado work fine for those genres. My DT770's aren't too bass heavy and the SR60i's provide enough bottom end. The KG550 look tacky, but they are meant to be cracking headphones. The K241's are meant to be great too, not listened to them.

I always recommend DT770/880's to people, they are built incredibly well, superior to Sennhieser 555/598 etc and the ATH-M50 (too much plastic), well priced, seal very well for most ears, work well without additional power or a DAC and come in different flavours for different set ups.
 
Don't...under...stand ;[
How can adding extra resistance help improv...I give up :P
Seriously out of my depth when it comes to audio equipment. I'm an audio junkie, but not someone who appreciates the fine quality of the equipment that you should have.
I'll stick to my loud as hell cheap as chips Hi-Fi, knowing that when someone breaks them at a party I don't have to pay £££££ to replace it :D


Uping the resistance usually decreases distortion. You see alot of amps these days having lower THD figures when you run higher impendace speakers/headphones. Audio amplifiers usually become more and more unstable the lower impendance you run through them.

You cant go wrong with the sens 598's, they're a great set of cans. If you want something smaller, klipsch image x10i.
 
LOL the X10's are meant to awesome, looks like you are putting little dicks in your ears though! :D
 
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