Looking for High-End Headphones

[Slacker]

How can you listen to Beyond Magnetic?! :P

[Nage Waza]

Spend the money on good Sennheiser's (or other recommended brands), but make sure you know if they are open or closed. I spend five hundred bucks on an open pair (for video game playing) and the coolest part is that I can hear if one of my kids is crying or the door bell ringing. These are no good in an office because everyone will hear your music. I bought a closed pair for work, which sound great and no one can hear that I am writing up staff reviews while listening to Cannibal Corpse.

I second Axe Music, they had great selection and the dude said the pair I bought sounds great with Lamb of God.

[J Diddy]

PSB M4U 2 Headphones
http://www.psbspeakers.com/products/...U-2-Headphones

Sound and Vision product of the year:
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/art...wards?page=0,1

I'm buying these if I get a bonus this year. You can go and listen with them at K&W Audio.

[vektor]

don't get beats by Dre, I won a free set that are worth around $170 and they seem like they are comparable to other $40 sets.

[calumniate]

So i bought a total bithead because of this thread:
http://www.headphone.com/headphone-a...al-bithead.php
I'd been eyeing them for a while but they're on sale now, even though the shipping is a drag. Honestly to buy some of these headphones without a supporting amp is really dumb.

[J Diddy]

Originally Posted by calumniate

So i bought a total bithead because of this thread:
http://www.headphone.com/headphone-a...al-bithead.php
I'd been eyeing them for a while but they're on sale now, even though the shipping is a drag. Honestly to buy some of these headphones without a supporting amp is really dumb.

Good advice! I am planning to buy a Music Hall dac25.3 for my desktop setup to pair with my PSB M4Us.
http://www.musichallaudio.com/detail.php?p=68

Never thought about a portable dac though...thanks for the link!

[FanIn80]

Hmmm... That portable DAC thing is interesting...

Also, now I'm starting to think about going full-audiophile and buying/ripping LPs of some of my favourite albums (rather than the CDs)...

[calumniate]

Yeah, I'll be sure to let you all know how the bithead works out. I'll be testing them on my AKG 240 studios. If all goes well, I'll probably end up getting the AKG 702's (I don't really care about noise cancelling, just good referencing).

The dac25.3 looks great! A real tube amp / dac would be terrific.

[calumniate]

So after some struggles with UPS my total bithead arrived. Overall it's pretty cool. It can be used as a DAC through the USB port, or amplify through 1/8 audio jacks.

Where it really seems to shine is through the USB as a DAC. Oh man, the soundstage opens up completely and the instrumentation is much more clean for most music. In some cases the bass comes out a little distorted, but I believe it is accurate to the recording itself. The nice part about going through USB is that it becomes your power source and removes the drain on the 4 AAA batteries needed otherwise.

Powering through 1/8 audio jack seems less compelling, but perhaps it would be more noticeable with more power hungry headphones.

8.5/10!

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by vektor

don't get beats by Dre, I won a free set that are worth around $170 and they seem like they are comparable to other $40 sets.

Sounds like the Solos. I auditioned a pair and they were pretty terrible.

The Studios get knocked a lot but to be fair I don't know a single person who owns them and doesn't totally love them. I had a pair and took them back after I did a side-by-side with a pair of Audio Technica M50s.

I still say the Studios are fine headphones, they should just be about half of what they're priced at.

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by calumniate

So i bought a total bithead because of this thread:
http://www.headphone.com/headphone-a...al-bithead.php
I'd been eyeing them for a while but they're on sale now, even though the shipping is a drag. Honestly to buy some of these headphones without a supporting amp is really dumb.

Fiio has some good entry-level external DAC/AMPs as well. I've been using the E7 for awhile and it's great.

http://fiio.com.cn/products/index.as...nuID=105026002

[MaDMaN_26]

just picked up somer Shure 840's, can't wait to try em out for a while.

[J Diddy]

Picked up the PSB M4U 2s yesterday. They are jaw dropping good. Well made, very comfortable, active noise canceling, can be used in passive mode too, nice case, replacement ear pads, headphone cable can be plugged in on the right or the left, two cables (1 with music controls, 1 with music controls and phone controls + mic).

There is a great sense of space with the sound through these. It's more like the music is all around you rather than just pounding directly into your ears. Bass is perfect in passive mode but if you need that extra boost you can put it in active mode. The noise canceling is great if you have a nagging wife . Sound bleeding is minimal even at 75% volume level.

I am very happy with this purchased and I recommend going and trying them out if you are in the market for high end headphones.

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by J Diddy

Picked up the PSB M4U 2s yesterday. They are jaw dropping good. Well made, very comfortable, active noise canceling, can be used in passive mode too, nice case, replacement ear pads, headphone cable can be plugged in on the right or the left, two cables (1 with music controls, 1 with music controls and phone controls + mic).

There is a great sense of space with the sound through these. It's more like the music is all around you rather than just pounding directly into your ears. Bass is perfect in passive mode but if you need that extra boost you can put it in active mode. The noise canceling is great if you have a nagging wife . Sound bleeding is minimal even at 75% volume level.

I am very happy with this purchased and I recommend going and trying them out if you are in the market for high end headphones.

Where did you buy them?

[J Diddy]

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

Where did you buy them?

K&W Audio

[Leon]

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

Some good recommendations in this thread.

I've been using a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-M50s for about 2 years and they're incredible. A bit under your budget though.

This x1000. Picked a pair up for 200$ last week and I absolutely love them.

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by J Diddy

K&W Audio

What did they cost? Do K&W price match? Going to pick up a pair today if they're in stock.

[Bean]

Originally Posted by MaDMaN_26

just picked up somer Shure 840's, can't wait to try em out for a while.

How did these work out for you?