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Thread: Headphones : £50 budget.

  1. #17
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    Re: Headphones : £50 budget.

    The Beyerdyamic DT231 are closed headphones aren't they? The OP said that he is not looking for closed back.

    I've never tried the Goldring DR150, but they seem interesting especially for the price. I really can't justify another pair of headphones even for the price, but I wonder if I can get someone else to buy them and try them

    I didn't know that angled drivers do not have good synergy with Dolby Headphone. That comes as a disappointment, given that my main headphones are the AKG K701. I was of looking into the Xonar, but may stick with the X-Fi. CMSS work wonders with the K701 - which naturally a huge soundstage.

    @sammorris: To each their own, same point could be made about Quad-Crossfire. Computer enthusiasts, headphones enthusiasts, each will pay for what others will see as over the odds for that little bit more. At least headphones don't become obsolete as quickly as PC components

    You are probably not too bothered, but as a little side note, Grados has a reputation for sounding great with rock music but probably aren't an audio technician's first choice. Sorry I had to point this out. I probably would say something too, if someone came and said that they didn't see the point of the 4870x2 unless it's for people who are into multimedia content creation. One's for the enjoyment of gaming (for a big number), the other for the enjoyment of music.

    @Jonessie: Yes, Sennheiser make great headphones, but please don't think they are the end and all. AKG, Grados, Audio-Technica, Beyerdynamic, Sony (high end) and others all make headphones every bit as impressive as Sennheiser.

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    Re: Headphones : £50 budget.

    My mistake on the Grados, as you might expect, I've done little research into the matter, but fail to see why someone might spend £500 on headphones just for rock music. When you use the monitor size I do, I think it's safe to argue that the difference between two sets of headphones is going to be somewhat more slight than the difference between a graphics setup like mine and a single HD4830...
    Besides, I wouldn't own both X2s had I not managed to save £250 off the RRP (gotta love ebay)

  3. #19
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    Re: Headphones : £50 budget.

    Well, headphones also come at reduced RRP too. That point can be made about anything. Someone with 30" monitor who only play casual games (and other productivity work) where a 4830 will be fine may still wonder why anyone would spend several hundred pounds just to play FPS.

    And while it is true that headphones do go into the thousands, the median for upper-end headphones is much lower (though yes, it goes even higher than £500). The Sennheiser HD650 (and HD600 before that), flagship product until the recent HD800, could be bought on Ebay for under £180 at one point several years ago. It's still an excellent product today in spite of the fact that Sennheiser (and other competitor) has released a higher end product. The same can't be said about a £180 graphics card bought 5 years ago.

    I have to say though, I spend more time listening to music than I play games (and of course, I need sound/music when I play games and watch movies).

    [I should also note that just because they are known to be 'rock cans' doesn't mean they are only good for that - same thing with high end graphics card which are somewhat or at least often associated with FPS].

    In the end, we are trying to put a price on 'enjoyment', which is different for everyone. Certainly past a certain point, I strongly recommend people to try before they buy so that they know whether it is money well spent in their opinion
    Last edited by TooNice; 02-08-2009 at 02:13 AM.

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    Re: Headphones : £50 budget.

    Quote Originally Posted by TooNice View Post
    Well, headphones also come at reduced RRP too. That point can be made about anything. Someone with 30" monitor who only play casual games (and other productivity work) where a 4830 will be fine may still wonder why anyone would spend several hundred pounds just to play FPS.

    And while it is true that headphones do go into the thousands, the median for upper-end headphones is much lower (though yes, it goes even higher than £500). The Sennheiser HD650 (and HD600 before that), flagship product until the recent HD800, could be bought on Ebay for under £180 at one point several years ago. It's still an excellent product today in spite of the fact that Sennheiser (and other competitor) has released a higher end product. The same can't be said about a £180 graphics card bought 5 years ago.

    I have to say though, I spend more time listening to music than I play games (and of course, I need sound/music when I play games and watch movies).

    [I should also note that just because they are known to be 'rock cans' doesn't mean they are only good for that - same thing with high end graphics card which are somewhat or at least often associated with FPS].

    In the end, we are trying to put a price on 'enjoyment', which is different for everyone. Certainly past a certain point, I strongly recommend people to try before they buy so that they know whether it is money well spent in their opinion


    Well the Sennheiser HD600 was available for around 100 quid or around that IIRC from Richer Sounds in London when it was replaced a few years ago. I still kick myself for not buying them then as they are superb headphones and were worth something like 300 quid IIRC. Even my Grados cost me less than 100 quid each too(I broke the SR80 so the SR125 was a replacement) although I have a pair of headphone amps(have to decide which one I lwant to keep though) and hope to get a Beresford TC7510 dac too. These will last me years and also will still have some sort of resale value in the future unlike most computer bits!!

    The same goes for my hifi I have an XA200R amp and an XB940 CD/SACD player but I managed to get both for under 650 quid(which was nearly half the combined retail price of both components) and I have had them for well over 5 years and intend to keep them for as long as possible. The same goes for my speakers(some Heybrook HB series ones) which I have had for over 7 years too and I intend to replace those hopefully in the near future. Unless you are some audio enthusiast who replaces their bit every 5 minutes like some computer enthusiasts most people who have a decent hifi will only replace only after a very long time and hence the actual cost of ownership per year is not that great TBH.


    Of course you could even get a reasonably decent separates system for under 500 quid nowadays so the cost of half decent audio is not that bad and like I said how often do you replace a setup once you are happy with it??


    Once you listen to good hifi it is pretty hard going back to something that does not sound as good.
    Last edited by CAT-THE-FIFTH; 02-08-2009 at 09:46 AM.

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    Re: Headphones : £50 budget.

    ^ I agree, though I am not entirely sure why I am being quoted xD;

    £100 for the HD600 eh? Darn, that's sweet. Then again a few years ago, I might've plugged it into my PC and wonder why it didn't sound that amazing (it's the great thing about Koss/Grado cans, they are so easy to drive and less picky on source).

    I've found satisfaction with my sound system to last a while (only looking for the occasional sound cards upgrade, and going by the pace of development, those tend to last 5 years with relative ease). Sure, it's sometime tempting when I see a good deal, but that's where self control comes in. 10 years from now, if I earn enough, I may be tempted to get an electrostatic headphones. But I am in no hurry.

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    Re: Headphones : £50 budget.

    Quote Originally Posted by TooNice View Post
    10 years from now, if I earn enough, I may be tempted to get an electrostatic headphones. But I am in no hurry.
    You probably need to add the cost of a nice headphone amp too!!

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    Re: Headphones : £50 budget.

    Check out the Audio Technica and Grado range. I think some of their cheaper models can be had in your price range and both companies sound excellent.

    The Audio Technica ATH-AD500's have already been mentioned. These did impress me a lot.

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    Re: Headphones : £50 budget.

    Senns all the way. I have the hd595s which costed me £90 a couple of years ago - I'd buy them again three times!

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    Re: Headphones : £50 budget.

    The Sennheiser HD555 has really taken my eye, a little over budget though.
    "Don't wanna see your face, don't wanna hear your voice . . ."

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    Re: Headphones : £50 budget.

    Quote Originally Posted by WhiteGiant View Post
    The Sennheiser HD555 has really taken my eye, a little over budget though.
    Nice headphones but the Goldring DR150s make them look very overpriced. £33 would be about right if the DR150s are going for under £40 (with HD595 being about £38).

    Although trust me, if I saw new HD555s or HD595s at those prices new I'd snap up a pair

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    Re: Headphones : £50 budget.

    Quote Originally Posted by WhiteGiant View Post
    The Sennheiser HD555 has really taken my eye, a little over budget though.
    Their £60 at play.com which is the cheapest iv'e seen them, was thinking about getting a pair a while back myself.

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    Re: Headphones : £50 budget.

    I have the senn hd485s and they are brilliant I also love the little holder I got free with them. They have opened up nicely since being run in. I have them mostly for audio use through a cambridge audio 540a amplifier and then either laptop cd player or tuner. I'd say they probably have more to give than the 540a is giving them and so I will probably add in a beresford 7510 DAC/headphone amplifier at a later date which should help.

    Overall really rate them. I am not a massive fan of grados I dont find them as easy to listen to for long periods.

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    Re: Headphones : £50 budget.

    Oh dear, ready to order the Senn's 555 and they jump upto £77.
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    Re: Headphones : £50 budget.

    Quote Originally Posted by no_numb View Post
    I have the senn hd485s and they are brilliant I also love the little holder I got free with them. They have opened up nicely since being run in. I have them mostly for audio use through a cambridge audio 540a amplifier and then either laptop cd player or tuner. I'd say they probably have more to give than the 540a is giving them and so I will probably add in a beresford 7510 DAC/headphone amplifier at a later date which should help.

    Overall really rate them. I am not a massive fan of grados I dont find them as easy to listen to for long periods.
    The Grados do benefit from being run in for a while I find as they are much less brighter now than they used to be. Using a valve headphone amp works really nicely with them too. I am also looking at a getting the TC7510 too as some point. I would like to use my S700 but it is too big and my cd player is also currently sitting on it!!

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