Help With Choosing Headphones

[xxnojuanevaxx]

Hello I need some help /recommendations with choosing some headphones under 150$. I will using them to listen to hip hop, pop, and classical. I have my eyes glued to the whole grado lineup, Sr80e and Sr60e. I know they don't have much bass but can some one tell me how they sound with ten holes vented. Another one on my list is also the ath-m50, and he 558. Any suggestions or further things to add on to the pros or cons of the headphones is greatly appreciated, thank you!

 

[i7Baby]

Of those, I'd head for the audio technica athm50x - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA37Z1EC1839

They replaced the m50s. And get good reviews eg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5DyEYuvF3o

and http://www.pocket-lint.com/review/131546-audio-technica-ath-m50x-headphones-review-exemplary-over-ear-audio

 

[ssddx]

if you like hip hop or anything bassy, you likely will not be happy with a bass light set of cans. classical however would likely sound good one them.

if you live in the usa, ignore the m50x as its overpriced at $170 or whatever they are charging for it now. you can get $99 open box but brand new m50's or $120 sealed box from most places. for that price they are a good deal, but for above that the dt770 is better.

i personally own an m50 and have for at least 4 years so i can tell you personally what i think of them. i listen to dubstep, electronica, jpop/kpop, rock, alternative (and basically everything except country, most rap and very minimal classical). sound quality is good for the $100-120 range, they are certainly pretty bassy without getting muddy treble but not so bassy as to be in the realm of bass cannons. they are built like tanks and besides the earpads they look brand new. even the cable is long and thick with a metal connector end. i've found them comfortable (but not for people with glasses or very large ears) but like all closed cans they do get a bit hot (all closed cans do). they have a v-shaped sound curve which means recessed mids and more prominent treble and bass, also known as the fun-sounding shape. they do have a very small soundstage (which means less airy sound, more direct.... in other words its more like being in front of a band at a bar instead of listening to a band in a park). overall for my needs they have worked very good and arent a bad choice for the budget if you realize their limitations, how they will sound and dont believe the crazy hype about them (they are good, but not a miracle set of headphones).

the hd558 are more neutral though tend a little towards bass compared with its big brother the hd598 which is the most neutral. generally the hd518 hd558 and hd598 can be compared in that from low to high they get less bassy and more neutral and from low to high gain in soundstage and quality of sound. the m50 is significantly more bassy than the sennheisers because its capable of sub-bass (the really low hitting bass used in dubstep and similar) just like the dt770 are. many cans do not hit this low and only handle mid-bass well.

just how bassy of a can do you want, what are you expecting them to sound like? a little more information is needed.

 

[xxnojuanevaxx]

I knew that the m50s were overhyped but it was the only thing that matched my needs/checked all the boxes. The checklist was basically crisp clean highs, warm mids (is that a thing Lmao), accurate punchy/a little boomy bass, not so much as beats that the mids and highs get muddied. I dismissed the grados and still keeping the m50 on mind. But I added the vmoda lp and lp2. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[ssddx]

if you expect good mids, perhaps a set of neutral cans is better for you instead of one with a v-shaped profile. while the v-shaped profile is considered "fun" the mids will be recessed. neutral headphones may not sound as "fun" but they will be more accurate to how the sound was meant to be heard. this is not to say that cans with a v-shaped profile have no mids whatsoever, they do just a little more recessed than the rest of the sound curve. personally i find the v-shape to be fine for my own needs (but opinions vary).

the hd518 and 558 are more neutral headphones with a slightly bassier tendency. nowhere near the level of a m50 (they are incapable of sub-bass and can only deliver mid-bass) but unless you are a bass-head expecting loads of low-end bass response they may work out and can handle a wide range of music genres or gaming.

i dont know a whole lot about the vmoda's except that they are also very bassy. the LP is muddy (you dont want that). the LP2 is better but after say 100 hours or so of break in you will lose the sharpness in sound from them. also be aware that they are not very "fast" meaning that quick beats like metal or anything with a fast tempo is not ideal on them.

the m50s for the cost arent a bad set of cans. i've been happy with mine.

while not a complete list and not entirely accurate this http://www.sonicsense.com/resourcecenter/app/audio?load=category&key=headphones.html&preset=headphones_100_to_200&source=result&track=akg_k267_tiesto_club does serve as a good "comparision" tool between headphones in terms of what they sound like in relation to eachother. the actual headphone will of course sound different, but it at least gives you a slight idea.