Need new headphones - Max budget £40

amazingtrade

amazingtrade

Mad Madchestoh fan
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My local none English speaking HIFI repair shop have buggered my headphones up, I asked them solder a new jack, they have done but they have got the channels mixed up.

Even when i correct this by reversing the L R connections on my CD player the music still sounds really awful, shrill and just completely lacking though it is stereo.

What are the best headphones out there for £40? They need to be large and open back. I have been put of the Goldring range by a lot of negative reviews on the net.
 
Did they do something to damage them, then? Get them to replace them.

Not sure whats the best for £40. I thought the open back AKG around that price (K55?) were pretty good for the dosh. But for £80 you can get a pair of Audio Technicas that are really rather good :) Save a bit more and get those, if you ask me. Maybe keep an eye on eBay for a s/h pair.
 
£40 is the max budget, I am skint :(.

All my money just goes on transport these days :(.

My existing ones are Beyer DTX900s, I don't know what they have done to them, all they did is rewire the jack, I suspect its cheap solder etc.

They don't speak a word of english so not going back, but I will warn my customers about them if the conversation crops up.
 
I might just get these for now, I know they are not brilliant but they will work.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-...3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1206148179&sr=1-3

I will then buy something better when money permits. Got to get the front bushes of the car replaced on Tuesday, and although my mechanic said he will do it for £40 labour its still going to cost £90 as he needs to replace the wishbones :(.

Why does everything break at once?
 
Baudrillard said:
Which model would that be, out of interest? :D
Click to expand...

http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/headphones/f738409c131ec7d4/index.html

I have a pair - superb sound.
They differ from other phones I've had in the past in that there seems to be some space between your ears and the sound which lets the music breathe. Some phones seem to squirt the sound straight into the ears which I dislike.

Nice and comfy to wear for long periods thanks to big soft earpads and low side pressure.
 
Baudrillard said:
Ok thanks working now, didn't seem to before.

Nice low impedance so should work ok without a headamp.
Click to expand...

Funny you should say that.
I'm off to pick up an iPod Touch later today so I'll plug in the ATs and come back to you in a few hours.
 
Well regarded cans apparently and a bargain it seems. They are meant to beat Senn 555s in all areas except 'quantity' of bass (but win on 'quality) and possibly vocals.
 
I thought you had an iPod, Rob?

They sure went a lot louder at the same volume position than the AKG K700.

By the way, I'm watching Life On Mars, as you said it was good. You were right! Muchos enjoying it.
 
OK I got my old Philips 50mm cans working now by making a cable for it, they will do until I can get more money. They are expensive phones HD900s but they sound a little bright.

I've decided just to save up for some DT 900 Pros.

I just remember them Senny's have an awfuly overblown bass which is at odds at my music taste.
 
The Beyer 'phones don't seem to have a very flat response from what I've seen. I've heard a fair few good cans and the AT's are definitely the best you will find for under £150 IMO. The midrange is really transparent.

Plus they match your username ;)
 
I found it the worst area for them, but its hardly bad considering the cost.

Its probably more a factor of the mid being so much better than one would expect for £80 headphones. The thing I didn't like, was not that there isn't enough bass, just that its not that tight. Its a bit more like warm valve bass.

Having said that, my point of reference are 'phones costing £200 and upwards.
 
Well, I got home about an hour ago and have just been drooling over my new iPod Touch :)

Plugged in the ATs and get plenty of level, no noticeable distortion or clipping unless played stupidly loud and good solid bass.

I'd say bass on the ATs is pretty even but not bone crushing.
Certainly better in terms of resolution and neutrality than some mid price (c£100) AKGs and Sen phones I've owned in the past.

HFN/RR put them against similarly priced Grado, Beyer, AKG, and Sen phones back in Oct 07 and the ATs came 1st by a good margin according to Keith Howard.

<edit> just noticed Simon's comment re Bass. It gets clearly tighter if you drive them from a low Z amp and sounds pretty good from the iPod which drives from 5 Ohms. There is quite a difference in bass quality if I drive them from my amps 'phones output (attenuated high Z) and direct from the speaker terminals. Given this I'd say you should budget for a dedicated head amp for best results.
 
Tenson said:
I thought you had an iPod, Rob?

They sure went a lot louder at the same volume position than the AKG K700.

By the way, I'm watching Life On Mars, as you said it was good. You were right! Muchos enjoying it.
Click to expand...

I had an older iPod but flogged it to a guy at work a few months back. Wasn't really using it much but it looks like my new job will mean spending more time on trains given my work patch has tripled in size.

The Touch is one of those gadgets where you say 'how the fcuk have they done all that in something that small'.
I'm now completely Wappled - MBP, Extreme, Express and now Podded and it all works superbly together. The iPod Touch can act as a remote for the server since it has wi-fi built in. All that cover art and track information now integrates as it should - finally.
Just need a pair of AVI ADM9s now and I'm done. Did you know that ADM9s are truly the words finest speaker regardless of cost...... and that they work in any room.....and that they sound especially stunning playing 1930s cylinder brass band music enhanced for MP3 ?
Whoops - wrong forum ;)

The guys and gals at work were very generous with my leaving gift so the new pod cost me zilch :D
 
I rather liked that Military band - and the ADM9s - but there are too many axes being ground over there ;-)
 
i caved and got an i-spod touch a week or so ago. nice bit of kit but i've had a few problems with it. it keeps loosing cover art in cover flow, the interface can be a little inconsistent between apps and it's had to be reset once already loosing all the data on it (not a problem more annoying as it takes about an hour to synch completely). also if you have wi-fi on it eats the battery.
other than that it's pretty cool.
i use my shure ec-2's and a pair of senheisers with it. the sennys are ok but not that great the shure's are a bit thin and bass light but better than the sennys although my prefered foam 'bungs' have disintegrated so i'm using alternate plastic ones which hurt my ears. need to find a decent pair of phones which sound good, don't hurt and are not squillions. i prefer the wrap around style rather than head band or in ears any ideas?
 

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