Good headphones for $100

I'm asking this one for a friend. Basically, he's looking for a goos apir of cans in the $100 CAD range. He tried both my ATH-M50s as well as a pair of grado SR125i and liked them, but they aren't in his budget. I know he won't be getting the same quality as those for 100$, but i'd like to be able to suggest him something decent. I'm looking for balanced headphones by the way.

Edit: looking for circumaural (hope i got the spelling right) headphones, open or closed will do.

 

JVX RX-700 is the best balanced headphone in this price range and if want more bass then JVC-RX 900 is more suitable.

 

Haven't tried them out myself, but the AKG K240 seems to be regarded as fairly solid headphones within that price range.

 

Check out the Denon HP700, they sound incredibly close the M50s, so if your friend liked those, he'll also love the HP700s. They're 100$ here in US atleast. Check out their price there, if it 100$ then this is definitely your best choice.

 

Updated List (cross compared several top 100$ lists):
Sony MDR-V6
Sony MDR 7506
Sennheiser HD 280
Audio-Technica M50 (scratch that off since it's about 30$ over budget)

Personally I find closed headphones that wrap around your ear much better than open.

The sound experience is just so much better and it immerses you into the music/game. You actually feel like you're at the club or in the game itself.

 

Id if these are your type but Future Shop has the Sennheiser HD 558s on sale at 119$.
Future Shop Link

If you price match at Memory Express (with their new awesome price match policy), you can get them at ~92$+shipping.
Memory Express link

Edit: Nvm, both are out of stock D: Well FS has some in store...

 

I've gone thru both the usual suspects recently i.e. the ATH-M50 and the AD700, and while the AD700 is extremely comfortable due to its light weight I prefer closed phones for regular use such as Skype and even gaming.

I don't mind the ATH-M50's sonic signature, but I prefer the more 'even' signature of the MDR-ZX700. The M50's are on the large side for portable use so while it's a bonus they fold flat (and the ZX700 doesn't), it's not as practically useful as it might otherwise be. And comfort is a subjective thing but I find the new Sony design (found in both the ZX700 and the monitor version I use more, the C$350 MDR-7520) pretty comfortable for extended wear.

And yes, they are as good as the M50's in terms of overall sound quality. It's just that they don't sound as lively unequalised because they don't have the jacked-up treble and bass of the M50. Sony SRP is C$130 so you should be able to find them lower.

 

Don't know where you are in Canada but if your friend is open to a pair of AD700's, I have a pair I'm not using much at all and willing to sell for much less than $100. PM if interested.

Shopping for headphones in Canada is tough since most good headphones you'll need to buy and get shipped from the US.

 

I've had my 280's since 2003 and they are still great. Strangely, they cost $100 even then :lol:

 

ATH-AD700s are sometimes less than $100 new.

 

Best balanced would be the Sony v6, because they are studio monitors. A pretty nice set of cans there

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using Tapatalk 2

 

The V6's / 7506's have a pretty strident midrange and are definitely on the harsh-graty side, but they are not bad in terms of their ability to reveal flaws in the mix, allied to their robust build - which is obviously why they have found homes in many studios. But a lot of studio-favoured gear have compromises which doesn't have any bearing to the regular user. You could do worse, but you could also do better especially if you don't need the relative bombproofness of the V6/7506.

 

The M40's are not too far off the 50's as well, they are way cheaper.

 

Woah thread necromancy! In the end he went for a pair of Shure SRH440.

 

Only a month late

 

Well, i felt there as no need to necro a thread just to post the result (he ordered them one or two days after the OP was made and received them a week later), but since someone necro'ed it, i felt the need to kill it for good.

 

Ouch SRH440's I tried those a couple years ago and had to return them in a couple days. How does your friend like them? I found them amazingly uncomfy.

 

He doesn't have comfort problem with them and he likes their sound, bass is too shy for my taste (accurate, but shy), but they do sound good still. I could never wear them though, most uncomfortable headphone i've ever tried.

 

lol Yup! I can't say as I've ever worn a more uncomfortable set of headphones than the SRH440's. I ended up with M50's back then. Recently sold those and got myself Sennheiser IE80's. What do you happen to have tijo?