Skip to main content ↑ ↓

Notice

Please note that most of the software linked on this forum is likely to be safe to use. If you are unsure, feel free to ask in the relevant topics, or send a private message to an administrator or moderator. To help curb the problems of false positives, or in the event that you do find actual malware, you can contribute through the article linked here.
Topic: Good headphones under $ 130 (Read 9517 times) previous topic - next topic
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Good headphones under $ 130

Say guys,
could you help me to find  good headphones under $ 130 ?
what about the AKG K-240 Monitor ?

thanX 4 all,
Best Regards,
Nick

Good headphones under $ 130

Reply #1 –
Well, it really depends on what you're going to be using them for.  I recently purchase the Grado SR60's from Headroom for my portables and PC and I'm very happy with them.  Cost around $80.  Check this site out for help:

www.headphone.com

Good headphones under $ 130

Reply #2 –
thanx for this reply !
it's for pc only ...
that's why AKG monitor series seems to be good but what about the quality....

Good headphones under $ 130

Reply #3 –
The problem with the AKG K-240 headphones (as well as other AKG headphones) is that they are power hungry (high impendance) and they may not sound very well when plugged into a PC. The Grado SR60 (or higher) is a better choice.

Good headphones under $ 130

Reply #4 –
grado sr125's here (and loving them)...

Good headphones under $ 130

Reply #5 –
I have Sennheiser HD-600 and auditioned all Grados (though not in ideal conditions). I believe sound is very flat, it is clean but flat. No bass whatsoever. In HD-600 I can locate where each instrument is and where voices are coming from, I had a trouble doing this in Grados.

I've heard some people recommended SONY V6... I have never tried them myself, though plan to do so. Just ordered Sennheiser HD-497 from eBay for my portable player, I already heard them once before and liked the sound, but can give more detail once they arrive. (They also will be my default headphones for PC (HD-600 get very overused here I think).

The more I listen to the headphones the more I prefer them to any other kind of sound generation devices (e.g. speakers  ).

If you plan to get headphones for PC then you better say us which sound card you got. 300 Ohm HD-600 were very difficult to power by SB Live!, but now I have Audigy2 Platinum and they started sounding extremely well. In fact I like the sound even more than from the powered headphone output of SONY S7700 DVD player (which until recently was my reference headphone output source).
My endian is bigger than yours.

Good headphones under $ 130

Reply #6 –
Just to note, I saw a few times auctions for Sennheiser HD-580 on eBay were closed with prices around $100 USD, if you include shipping cost then you will be right in your margins. And I think you can't get anything sounding better than HD-580 in this price range! (I've paid 200 EUR for HD-600, when the exchange rate was 1EUR ~ 0.7USD).
My endian is bigger than yours.

Good headphones under $ 130

Reply #7 –
I own a sb live :-(
but plan to buy a santa cruz...

Good headphones under $ 130

Reply #8 –
Quote
Just to note, I saw a few times auctions for Sennheiser HD-580 on eBay were closed with prices around $100 USD, if you include shipping cost then you will be right in your margins. And I think you can't get anything sounding better than HD-580 in this price range! (I've paid 200 EUR for HD-600, when the exchange rate was 1EUR ~ 0.7USD).

Yeah, I jumped at the $125 deal on newegg for the HD580s, with rebate it comes out to $105. Unfortunately the price is back to $199. It really needs a headphone amp though to really sound good. I have Sony MDR-V6s as well and I think those are excellent, but they're getting hard to find and tend to be around $80.  If I hadn't bought the HD580s I would have gone for the Beyedynamics DT 250-80 for sure. Good deal at $143 and shouldn't need an amp, although it would probably sound better powered by one.

Good headphones under $ 130

Reply #9 –
Quote
Well, it really depends on what you're going to be using them for.  I recently purchase the Grado SR60's from Headroom for my portables and PC and I'm very happy with them.  Cost around $80.

I concur w/ Daffy! I too just bought Grado SR60s for RioVolt & PC use. I love 'em! Best $69 + $7 shipping I've spent on audio gear.

I did a lot of research at www.headphone.com (Headroom) and bought them there specifically because of the excellent info at their website. I validated enough of what they said at other sites and reading a headphone forum (found from links at headphone.com) to be comfy that they weren't just talking up their highest profit stuff.

I ruled out most other headphones 'cuz I couldn't afford to buy a separate headphone amp right now. From what I read the HD600's are awesome but you need and amp or a high-output soundcard to drive them. I also considered the Grado SR80s and SR125s. The latter I decided was too much $ and it came w/ a 1/4" plug.

Good headphones under $ 130

Reply #10 –
Unfortunately I was unable to locate a single store here in Toronto (Canada) that sells Beyedynamics or AKG, which is a shame! Most stores have VERY limited selection of headphones, just one or two per brand and most "proper" brands are not present at all.   

In fact it is a huge problem to buy any good audio/video (or consumer electronics in general) in Toronto, seems like all they got here is the equipment from 20 years ago (I wish Europe was as close as USA). Canada is very low tech (in terms of consumer electronics and hi-fi equipment) country
My endian is bigger than yours.

Good headphones under $ 130

Reply #11 –
Checkout headfi.org, where I'm sure there are people in Toronto that can help you out.

Good headphones under $ 130

Reply #12 –
V6 are ok...  if you like the V6, you'll love the MDR-7506.    Sony accidentally made a really awsome headset for ~$85 and thankfully havnt changed a thing over the years.

j

Good headphones under $ 130

Reply #13 –
Quote
V6 are ok...   if you like the V6, you'll love the MDR-7506.

I'd hope so considering the 7506 is the same as a V6, except with gold plugs and blue stickers. 

Good headphones under $ 130

Reply #14 –
I tried some Sennheisers (HD-570 and 590, AFAIK) at a large electronics store - of course the listening environment was quite noisy, but I can still say that they both sounded quite horrible to me (much too bright, and no bass). I tried a Beyerdynamic DT331 (not sure if that's the totally correct model number), and it sounded extremely flat and lifeless. When I then tried a Sony MDR-CD380 (at just 40€!), I was blown off my feet. Rock solid, deep bass, and nice clear treble without being as horribly bright as the Sennheisers I tried. (I got them right away. ) I sometimes feel the sound slightly lacks middle frequencies, but other than that, I think they're great (especially considering the price).

Note that I haven't yed had any real experience with real high-end equipment though, so I might not even know how a good pair of headphones sounds.  (The assistant in the store wouldn't put out a HD-600 for testing, which I somehow understand, looking at the 300€ :alien: price tag.)


This may be a little off topic, but I'll just throw it in here:

I'm also interested in buying a headphone amp because my soundcard's output is far too quiet and thin (I currently have to use the headphone connector of my cheap PC speakers, which introduces really bad hissing) - roughly, how expensive are these things, and can anybody recommend a particular model? Thanks...

CU

Dominic

Good headphones under $ 130

Reply #15 –
Dominic,

When I originally got a box with HD-600 and put them to test I was shocked how badly they sounded. But I already knew very well that I should have not tried this without first breaking them in. After two days of passing loud dance radio through them, I tried again, it was totally different experience. Later I spoke with a guy in the good Hi-Fi store that sells a lot of Sennheisers and he said that all Sennheisers require extensive break in time. As soon as this happens the sound of Sennheiser rulez the world  A store (for those who know, Bloor-Bay Radio) has a stand with almost all Sennheiser headphones that are working all the time and hence all of them are broken in very well, you can hear that at all price levels Sennheiser wins (they don't have very cheap models though). I don't remember if they have any Sonys, but sure they got all Grados there as well.
My endian is bigger than yours.

Good headphones under $ 130

Reply #16 –
I have recently purchased the Sony MDR-D66 Eggos, and they are great, there are many at headfi that have also recently purchased these and are very satisfied.  A couple reviews state that the Eggos sound better than the V6's, and you can import these for around 100 dollars including shipping.  These headphones are awesome for portable use, but they are great sounding and comfortable even for home use for the price.
WARNING:  Changing of advanced parameters might degrade sound quality.  Modify them only if you are expirienced in audio compression!

Good headphones under $ 130

Reply #17 –
I just recently got the Sennheiser HD-497's from Amazon.com for just under $50.  Great headphones, highly recommended.

Good headphones under $ 130

Reply #18 –
Quote
I'm also interested in buying a headphone amp because my soundcard's output is far too quiet and thin... ...roughly, how expensive are these things, and can anybody recommend a particular model?

Sorry for the off-topic reply re headphone amps...

My new Grado SR60s are great and give adequate volume most of the time but sometimes I wish I had a just little more. It really was noticable when I tried MP3Gain Album gain -7.5db or more.

I can't recommend an amp from experience but I'll prolly buy either the AirHead ($119) or Total AirHead ($199) portable headphone amp at headphone.com someday.

Good headphones under $ 130

Reply #19 –
My Senheiser HD600 worked well as soon as they were out the box, and their sound didn't change since then.

Good headphones under $ 130

Reply #20 –
Quote
This may be a little off topic, but I'll just throw it in here:

I'm also interested in buying a headphone amp because my soundcard's output is far too quiet and thin (I currently have to use the headphone connector of my cheap PC speakers, which introduces really bad hissing) - roughly, how expensive are these things, and can anybody recommend a particular model? Thanks...

CU

Dominic

I don't know how much money you're willing to spend but you might want to look at the Porta corda from Meier Audio. Those seem to be well liked. Or you can see if someone would be willing to build you a meta42 or you can build one yourself (Tangent can build you one but he might be pretty overloaded. ) if you willing to do that.

There's also the little fixup amps.

Maybe also check the headfi.org and headwize Gear For Sale/Market forums.

Good headphones under $ 130

Reply #21 –
I've got the AKG K 240 Studios, which have a much lower impedance than their K 240 Monitor cousin. We're talking 600 Ohms vs. 55 Ohms here, and 55 Ohms is low enough to be driven by my Yamaha computer speaker's headphone jack.

I still wouldn't put using an amp past the K 240 Studios, though. Or maybe my sound card is just weak (it's a Hercules Gamesurround Muse XL). Ehh.

Good headphones under $ 130

Reply #22 –
Walkman, ChS: Thanks for the information regarding the headphone amps. 100$ sounds kinda expensive though, considering I spent just 40€ on the headphones themselves...

Surge: Well... I don't know for how long those Sennheisers had been there, but they were being fed with music constantly, so I guess they must have been well broken in. Perhaps their sound just takes getting used to (although one of them, can't remember which, nearly ripped by eardrums because it was so bright).

Good headphones under $ 130

Reply #23 –
after reading all about AKG's and sennheiser's, not too many of them actually fit under the $130.. Everyone totes the headphone that they personally own, and im going to as well.  over the last 4 years ive listened to sennheiser's, but ended up buying a pair of grado sr-60's then just recently grado sr-80.  i believe that fur under $130, you really cant get much more quality than the 80's.  the tight bass sounds great through my stereo, my iriver slimx, and in my computer with a cheapo soundcard.  the other headphones are great, but you really can't beat the grado sr-80 in bang for your buck under $130.

Good headphones under $ 130

Reply #24 –
Quote
the other headphones are great, but you really can't beat the grado sr-80 in bang for your buck under $130.

The AKG K 240S sell for around $100. I got mine from zZounds.com. The K 240M are about $10 cheaper, but you need professional equipment to power them.