Looking for high quality headphones ~$100

I was considering getting a set of logitech z-2300 speakers for my dorm, but my roommate is getting a set and I realized that I really don't want to hear his music and games all the time, and having the same speakers and starting a sound war will just make us loose our hearing.

So I'm looking for a good set of headphones that can give me really good quality and block out noise when I want to. I'd be open to either the in-canal ones or circumaural, as long as they got the job done.

I of course like to play games, and listen to more the Classical end for the music. Like I said in the title anything up to $100 or just a little more would be fine with me. Oh, and for what it matters I'd be running them out of my PCMCIA sound card which I like so much (so the hardware can support good output I guess you could say).

Thanks in advance for any help or experience that anyone has.

 

Logitech G35 if you are interested in a headset and any Sony
Studio Monitor or a Sennheiser if you only want headphones.

 

If you would like great isolation but meh sound quality, have a look at Sennheiser HD-280. Some good headphones that I can think of near the $100 or less range are the Denon D1001, JVC RX700/RX900, Sony V6, used Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80 ohms (found on eBay), etc. Headphones in my opinion don't isolate too well, and I recommend going IEMs if you want sound isolation. IEMs however are a bad choice with sound cards due to how loud they can get.

If soundstage will be important, the ATH-AD700 is great in the soundstage department. Depending on how you like your bass, these may not offer a lot of bass because these are open-air headphones.

Have a look at Head-fi.org, you'll probably find a lot of info there. But beware, your wallet will more than likely cry!

 

Thanks a bunch, and I think I would lean more toward the IEM's anyway, for size and convenience. The volume range on my sound card is actually quite good for earbuds at least, will go lower than the built in sound on my AW will actually.

 

WAIT
this is the wrong place to ask this question. here:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/headphone-buyers-guide-271258/
they all know so much more than us non audiophiles..

 

DT770's if you can get them on ebay. Amazing, absolutely amazing. I borrow a friends, and they are so much better than the HD280's I have

K-TRON

 

I'd go with some DT770's at that range. I personally use the Ultrasone HFI-780's and they isolate really well(many kids in this house), although they go around 185USD. For around 120-140 you can get the Phonak Audeo PFE IEM's which are really rocking the IEM world right now for price/quality. I personally don't have them but I'm looking forward to when I can get some.

 

I'm a fan of Bose. I have the QC3 which are the on ear noise canceling headphones, but they cost around $350. Great headphones though. I also like the inear ear phones. They too have great sound and they cost $99.00.

 

don't go there, you will end up spending more. hahahahaha

 

BOSE - Buy Other Sound Equipment.
Not that they don't make nice headphones, just for the price you can get much better.

 

I love my Sony EX85 - 45Pounds, so around 40-50 odd Dollars.

Now, I was told that with different earbuds they would isolate better and sound better...

But for 100$ you could look a bit higher up the "Sony tree".
I think they sound great with the default earbuds - isolation isn#t perfect, but there is a significant reduction in exterior noise - especially when exterior noise is very loud. (Carpet cleaning machine, electric drill)

(My Sony EX85 were a bit of a snap decision... don't know if I should have spent more... - have lasted 9 odd months so far with no troubles, still in perfect working condition )

 

Have a look at AKG...very good quality headphones, might just be a bit large though. I wouldn't expect much of quality around a 100 to be honest...good sennheiser and akg etc are around twice that.

 

I think you are talking about closed headphones, isn't it?

IEM's may offer better soundquality for money - at least from what I see.

 

em yeah...that's what the topic is about, right?

You could be right...im not too sure about headphones in those price ranges. I used some higher-up models and really love my current AKG set

 

The OP is open to both from what I have read

 

Ah ok

I'd never go for earbuds iso headphones though...soundimage of buds is never as good as with quality headphones. Get a good closed headphone set, that'll block out most external sound. I have the AKG 271s and when they're on it's hard to hear anything except the sound you're playing. At the same time it does still have a feeling of space which is usually less existent in closed headphones. I only use them on my e-mu 1616m pcmcia soundcard though so not sure if the volume would be enough with the normal jack output

 

What you would call space - although I would disagree at first thought, you are very possibly right.
I mean, good IEM do give clear sound, also slight surroundsound.

But then - I am no real fan of closed headphoney - my mother has some - less base than my Sony's - I prefer my Sony's but then they aren't bad either.

So its a question of preference.

Just curious has the OP made a decision yet?
Do you know where you are heading?

 

I lol'd.

Bose is like the Apple of the audio equipment market. Their stuff looks beautiful, and it is pretty high quality, but the truth is you could get similar or even better hardware for the same money from other companies.

 

Dollar for dollar(or whatever you use) full sized headphones pretty much just crush IEM's. To get a set of IEM's that sound similar to my 200USD headphones then you'll have to spend around 1k. IEM's are very nice for some situations, but if you can use full sized phones then its much cheaper and sounds better.

 

hmm...

And what about the "lower end"?

 

QFT.

This is going in my siggy

 

Its about the same story there, except at that point you have more demand, in general. And most of that demand is for an IEM/earbud. But even considering that, I could go out and spend 30-40USD on some headphones that sound much better than any of the low end IEM's.

 

Hmmm.... I feel that my Sony EX85 would be hard to beat... in terms of sound - but maybe its not so.

Ah well.

 

You should try some Sennheiser PX100's. If you shop around you can get them for about 30$. They don't isolate, but they sound very nice for the price.

 

I think a touch of isolation is important to me.

Public transport....

And I want to keep my Sony's for at leat 6 odd more months - they are my most expensive headphones to date I love their sound quality, so no need to change yet.

OP - what is your position?

 

Speedlink medusas are pretty good too

 

I thought Logitech G35 Headset really good for gaming and music...
I know it's not built for audiophile, still, what do you think guys?

 

here are some very good one: ATH AD700
Byer Dynamic DT770
AKG K601
Grado SR80
Grado 125
Sennheiser HD 580

these are all very good. I had the ATH AD700 sold them now have the ATH AD900 these are just fantastic also the Sennheiser HD580 or try the HD595
Had the Grados they are good and listened to the BD DT770s a friend has these. If you want to spend about $250 get the Ultrasone HFI 780

 

I'm personally waiting for Logitech G35 myself... May release in UK >.< It's hella costly though at $130 starting price

 

Some of these are going to set the OP back more than three times what he wanted to spend. Why suggest them?

 

^^
LOL...
yeah, not all of us are pedophiles
err... i mean, audiophiles

 

Ha, thanks a lot for all the responses everyone, I was pretty busy today so wasn't able to go through everything.
I don't know if I was expecting an easy answer to this one, research is needed I guess.

 

Yeah, with headphones, the better you get the better you'll want. If that makes any sense. And there isn't any amount of research on the net that you can do that is as good as being able to try them out yourself in person.

 

If you're gamer and not audiophile, I think Logitech G35 should be enough.
It have voice-changing feature... not an urgent feature, but still fun for MP gaming session

 

ATH-A700 is < $100 and should make you quite happy. Does not need an amp to sound great either. Good isolation as well.

 

i think you should check the koss portapro if you want a portable headphone
nothing in the 100dolars price will beat it quality imho and it 30ish doll.
also has a cool 80's retro look...
it doesnt have sound cancellation though but thats no biggie since its really loud and has the quality of a 200+ dollar headphone

 

Bose = Fail.

If you want a pair of Hi-Fi Cans then the cheapest will use the open-dynamic principle. Then comes the closed-dynamic principle. Then comes a good pair of IEM's.

For a good pair of IEM's I would look into Shure, or Etymotic.
I am a fan of Sennheiser headphones cause they always sound amazing. However, the HD280 are mainly for studio monitoring, so if you want something for gaming/music then perhaps look into a pair of Beyerdynamics.

Good Luck on your search!

 

lol. Have you ever actually listened to '200+ dollar' headphones? The portapro's are pretty good, but I can assure you they aren't that good. They're in competition with the PX100's which are around the same price and have about the same sound quality, just a different signature.

 

What about creative headphones. Its really poweful and good quality.

 

I am going to have to disagree with you. I haven't heard a single creative product that sounds good yet (Headphone/IEM/or Earbud). Their sound cards are great, their mp3 players... well not so great but alright.

Personally, the lower end Sony products sound pretty good!

 

how about logitech G35 surround sound headset?
or saitek cyborg 5.1 headset?
or razer barracuda headset?

 

I'd put any of their new sound cards on the same level as their mp3 players and headphones. Some of their old stuff was ok, but now you can get much better products than what they offer.

 

lol. Ya I agree somewhat with you... logitech doesn't make any amazing sounding stuff but its cheap and you probably won't notice the difference! That or something like turtlebeach... you can get a pair with subs in them... etc.

 

Those all suck lol. Well the jury is still out ont he G35. But generally any headphone that claims to do surround sucks.

 

For around ~$100 and closed, you could try the Sony V6/7506. Just make sure that if you go Sony, to only get these specific models. Other Sony models sound like trash and are overpriced.

 

I am agreeing with the sonys. Still though a pair of cheaper beyerdynamics would be nice too... but if your in Canada you'll have more trouble finding them.

 

Here is something DIY for under 20 dollar.

Headphone Hack!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfeWfnFCy-Y&feature=channel_page

 

My Senn HD 555's (about $80 amazon) beat my burnt-in Shure 210's (about $150 when I bought them) straight out of the box. The Senn's just got better every day for about a month of heavy listening; and now I'm considering the HD 595's for when I get an amp.

I only use my 210's for travel now and they are great for that, but nothing else I have can begin to compare to my Senns. Of course the cans I'm talking about are open back and won't block out much of your roommate's noise, but good sounding closed phones cost more than similar sounding open phones. I must say, however, that Shure buds are the most comfortable IEM's I've used and they block out the most noise (own 210's as stated above and tested 530's ). If you do end up going with IEM's for their sound blocking capabilities, my vote goes straight to the Shures and their foam ear-tip goodly-ness .

 

I agree they are great but he needs closed heaphones.

 

Oh I was going to quote one of Syndrome's post on how dollar for dollar, full size cans are better than IEM's. Guess I forgot to put that into the post .

But for sound Isolation, I think IEM's are better than headphones. Especially with the Shures, think of those little foam earplugs but put a speaker into it.