Looking for new headphones

- Budget is anywhere from 0-100$. Budget is flexible, but I won't double it either

- Looking for full headphones(i.e. not earbuds or smaller earphones) preferably with noise canceling.

- I'm not an audiophile although something that sounds decent would be nice. Just as a rough estimate of my "taste", my brother has a pair of Panasonic RP-HT722s and I find those sound quite nice.

- I'll be using the headphones to listen to music(mostly alternative rock & techno/electro) and plug to my laptop for computing.

- Bonus points if the headphones have a volume adjuster .

Thanks all

 

My first general suggestion would be Sennheiser.

Now, the price range... 0-100$ - you should really ask how important sound quality is, as a few worlds lie between 0 and 100$ - for sound quality, a basic (but NOT universal rule) is "the more expensive the better".

As I am an IEM fan I let others take over from here

 

Thanks for the reply!

Arguably sound quality is relative, but yes, I'm aiming for the best I can get within my budget; however I know that price isn't always the best indicator of such so I'm asking around. I'm also not sure what kinds of headphones would best suit the type of music I'm listening to and blah blah.

I was actually looking at Sennheiser headphones, notably the HD 448 and the HD 202, but I'm open to any suggestions

 

I have a pair of skullcandies and they sound awesome. I am sort of a person who know what good sound is supposed to sound like, I would consider the skullcandy.

 

I have a pair of ATH-ANC7b (Audio Techinca)

Own it for 2 months now, Loved it very much.
http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/site/c35da94027e94819/index.html
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Which SkullCandy headphones do you own exactly? They have more than one model

Thanks for the suggestion! Hmm those look nice, but form what I can see they're ~200$ over here so a bit over budget

 

I've always found Shure to have great sound quality for the price...I have three pairs of headphones/IEMs from them. My most recent one is a pair of SRH440 headphones, and they sound great. The padding also isolates some outside noise, but I wouldn't count on it blocking out a garbage truck or anything else extremely loud. Have a look, they're around $100:

http://shure.com/ProAudio/Products/Headphones/us_pro_srh440_content

These come with a coiled cord (like what you find on old style telephones) and some don't like that, so that's something to look into when deciding. Hope this helps

 

Sony MDR-V6 $65 on Amazon. I've had them for several months and the sound quality is fantastic. I also used them on the plane as passive noise canceling as they seal around the ear. Problem with that is they get hot after several hours and I need to take them off to cool off. They are also a little heavy. But again, sound quality is fantastic and it folds up very small.
Linky

 

I would suggest the Sennheiser HD-280.

They don't have active sound cancelling, but the passive sound isolation works well. They are also very comfortable. I often wear them for several hours and they don't get uncomfortable.

 

Alessandro MS1's? They're open though, so no sound isolation at all. The Shure SRH440's are another option.

 

Bump. Thanks for the suggestions so far guys! If it's not too much to ask, when recommending a pair of headphones you have, could you specify what type of use its used for? Thanks

Define "hot". When you say you need to take them off, are they that unbearably hot?

 

The V6's just are not that comfortable, because they're half-on, half-off the ear unless you have tiny ears and mash your cartilage. They're an industry standard - most studios have a load of them - so sound quality compared to what's out there is decent, but not outstanding. They also fold into a compact ball, which I've found is not that practical and not a big advantage over non-folding phones like the Sennheiser HD25 or the Bose Triport AE unless you have a wide bag. And despite being closed, the half-on-ear fit makes them not that hugely isolating.

Personally I use the Bose Triport AE for winter use (normally I use in-ear monitors). Not because they're the best sounding and not because they're the most durable, but due to a combination of factors: They're very comfortable, easy to wear, don't look stupid on the head, sound OK and isolate well. This combo is actually extraordinarily difficult to come across.

If you don't mind looking like a total idiot, the upper-end Shure SRH phones offer excellent sound and almost-Bose wear comfort while offering superior isolation.

 

A cool trick with the Sony MDR-V6 is to replace the pleather pads by Beyerdynamic DT250 velour pads. They get much more comfy. I've had the MDR-V6 by the way and it's a very decent pair of cans. Isolation isn't that great though.

The Senn HD280 sound more neutral to me (boring ?) and isolate more. But they aren't as comfy.

Another contender could be the Ultrasone Proline 550. It can be found at 125$. I've had good experiences with other ultrasone but can't comment further on this one (you'll find plenty of reviews around though)

I'd avoid the Senn HD202-212 like the plague, boomy sound.

 

Maybe I haven't tried enough headphones, but I thought the isolation of the V6 was good. I wore them on the plane without anything on to cut down on the noise.

By hot I mean my ears start to sweat after several hours of them on. I agree that they could be more comfortable. After a few hours it starts to pinch my ears and I have to reposition them or take them off for a rest. I have heard of those replacement pads though. Actually, I'm going to buy a pair to see how much of a difference it makes though I don't plan on having these cans on for an extended period of time until my next plane trip.

And I found the sound quality excellent. Mostly used for listening to music, but also movies on my laptop. All of my music is ripped at maximum bitrate. The folding feature is great in my opinion. Small enough to shove into my carryon and keeps them fairly resistant to being bent or squashed in there.

 

Time for a bit of a headphones lesson.

Noise isolation and noise cancellation are not the same thing. Noise isolation uses passive, physical aspects of the headphone to "shield" you from the noise (best analogy I can think of). Noise cancellation uses circuitry and other electronics to actively "cancel out" the noise.
In most cases, headphones that use noise isolation will have considerably better sound quality than headphones that use noise cancellation.

I'd recommend the Sennheiser HD25-I II for one of the best isolating headphones out there. Though it may cost quite a bit, this headphone will isolate as well as most IEMs (which is saying a lot).

If you're not willing to spend that much, I'd go with the Shure SRH440 or perhaps the AKG K81DJ if you like lots of bass.

Leon