Bang/Buck headphones?

Id check out www.head-fi.org they have some really good information. They helped me choose my headphones (Audio Technica AD700).

Senns replacements for the HD212 are the HD280Pros.. Between 80-100 bucks for a set. I have a pair and find them to be pretty good cans..can be a bit boomy in the Bass department. Nowhere near the quality or sound stage as my AKG K701's but these are in a different class.

The Grado SR-60's are legendary and still the best bang for the buck headphones in the sub-$100 category.

Carl

+1

it's the only place for headphone advice.

I have a pair of Sony MDR-V6s which are priced right ~$75. They're closed which is good for me (mass-transportation fan) and sensitive enough not to need an amp with either of my portable mp3 players.

+1 to that statement.

Honestly, when you compare them to speakers, any headphone from a quality maker like Sennheiser, Grado, Shure, Etymotic, Audio Technica, they are all great values. It all depends on how much you want to spend.

I've loved my Grado SR-80 headphones for 5 years now. They are durable as hell. Although some don't think they are comfortable, you can get different ear pads.

The only complaint I would have with the SR-80's is that the wires don't seem like they are secured well enough to the drivers. After a couple years of abuse, one of the contacts broke.

One of the great things about Grado's is their following in the DIY community. I found plenty of material on repairing this issue. I steamed open the glue seal and re-soldered the connection with ease.

Grado's are nice and sound great, but they suck to wear for long periods of time.

Yes, I second the statement that Sennheiser, Shure, Etymotic, and Audio Technica are great brands. Although there are some exceptional headphones from those companies. I know some of the guys that design for Sennheiser and Shure. They have managed to create some amazing products for a relatively low cost, considering the amount of R&D that goes into them. There are some very good lower cost solutions. Sometimes the differences are small between the headphones beneath the $100 mark and those above.

Your best bet is to get headphones that are as flat as possible and equalize the signal through your device. Many headphones are touted as being "better" because they have "enhanced" bass response or something similar. These types are much more difficult to equalize with wide band EQ's in mobile devices. When one does so, the resultant response is convoluted. Therefore, flat is better. Who would have thought?

Take a look here for some options:

Headphones

Hopefully this info helps. :-)

Welcome

Let me know if you have any more questions.

I personally for the money I would not own anything but shure products. I have a set of e2's e3's and e4's. Dont ask my why but I do haha. The comfort, SQ, and Size of these headphones put them in a class of their own.

Did I hear someone say Flat Headphones. Well in that case you'd be hard pressed to beat the AKG K701's for the price...and they look sexy too Senns..although good most are far from flat, espically the pro lines. They have bass enhancement, a bit too much for me when it comes to the 280pros. Nevermind the fact that they have the Classic Senn sound...(veil) You want flat,. AKG 701's is get my vote. Now driving them is another thing..LOL

The 701s are ~3x more than what the OP gave for a price range.

Yep they are, but the Shure E3's and 4's. And the Senn 555's the OP looked at are above his inital posting price range too.

The problem is, once you start going for "the best" price goes up. Not only that you have problems driving the high dollar headphones.
Back on topic
To the OP The Senns and AKG Mid-fi to Hi-fi headphone will all preform better with an Amp. Sensitivty, and Impedance only tell part of the story when looking at specs. As Posted, Head-fi.org has plenty of info. But If you are looking for a Closed ear Full size (over the ear to help block out noise) set of cans that dont *NEED* an amp the Senn 280Pros (i suggested before) will work, as will the AKG 240s. Someone mentioned the Sony MDR-V6 line. I had a pair of the 600's for the better part of 10 years (broke on me), I'd put them right in line with the 280Pros that replaced them.

These are all great choices for going unamped around 100

Audio Technica A700s - very comfortable. Great for extended wearing.
Sennheiser HD280 Pros - good sound but not that comfortable
Used Beyer Dymanics DT770s - The plush fabric on the ear pieces can get hot but killer bass.

You can drive pretty much any headphone with the sources you've listed. The bass might suffer, and you certainly aren't going to get the best possible performance out of them, but they are still serviceable.

Dedicated amps are all about replacing the source's amplification with a higher quality power.

You shouldn't NEED an amp with whatever headphones you end up with.

Im gonna have to disagree here. Sure you can drive *ANY* HP without an amp. But I guess it all depends on what you call "servicable" will you be able to hear a pair of HD555's with a Creative MP3 play yes...but will you be able to hear them over the roar of a lawnmower. I Doubt it.The higher end HP's need more power (amp) to acheive the same DB level.

My 280 Pros on my Zen Vision W with the volume at 80% is WAY ( i cant stress this enough ) WAY WAY louder than my K701's at the same volume level. I NEED an amp to get the same output for the 701's. Im not saying louder is better (it's not) But given the OP's plans for use. A high dollar HP like the 555's will/can be run off a CDP or MP3 player, but I doubt they are loud enough to combat, the lawnmower.
At normal listening levels. The high $ HP's will again put out less Db's and you will be missing out on the finer things in the music, because of the drop off in bass. So it's double edge sword, you spend all the $ on the better HP's only to miss out on the very things ( the things the high $ HP's are better at) you spent the extra money for. IMO

I wear ear plugs and ear muffs to attenuate the sound of my lawnmower, not ear phones to blast an even louder sound in attempt to drown out the mower noise. Just a thought....

I recommend these headphones in order of preferences.

Sony MDR-V6/7506 - Will give you 100% studio reference sound (FLAT). You will hear what the mixer is hearing when playing your music about 99.5% of the time.
Sennheiser HD-280 Pro - Same as the Sony's but not as detailed plus this is more expensive.
Koss KSC75 - Praised by a lot of Head-Fiers. I personally think the bass is too much but for $20 you can't go wrong with the sound quality.
JVC Marshmallows - I really like this and praised by a lot of Head-Fiers. It's warm, rich with sound, and I almost sound identical to Shure E2C.

Those are the top 4 bang of the buck headphones.

The ones I use is more expensive but I think it's worth the money.

Sony MDR-R10 - The best headphones I have ever used period.
Sony Qualia 010 - The second best headphones.
Sony MDR-7509HD - I use this for studio monitoring. Most of my colleagues use MDR-V6/7506 though, yet they like this one better.
Sony MDR-V700DJ - Not a lot of people like this at Head-Fi but I think they didn't use this for what it's meant to be. I use this when I DJ and NOT for long sound sessions. It does emphasize on the bass to give you more club-like feel to it, but the sound quality is great. It does need a powerful amp to give you the best it can offer.
Grado RS-1 - Open air, good quality, not my favorite.

The rest are Bose, Shure, Philips, JVC, AKG, Audio Technica, and Beyerdynamic that I don't currently own. I do own a lot of Sony's but they aren't the sh*t ones. All my testing is through a professional equipment all the way down to CD's and MP3. I do not own anything below 320kbps.

There is my 2 cents.

Wow. Thats worth almost 10,000. The holy grail of dynamic cans.. I balanced my SA5000.. My cable maker, Alex, told me that they share some of the same characteristics as the Q10.. Like they are fast, separation, clarity, detail..

Thats more preference then anything else. My 650's are far from accurate & neutral, but they sound good to my ears.. The 701'sa re very finicky. Out of my DAC1 they sounded, boring, cold, & sterile.. They sounded quite nice on my Bada12 tube amp, but sold the amp to help pay for my DAC1, so I sold my 701's too..

The best headphones i've ever had are the Sennheiser HD440 II'S....they're no longer made[i've had Sony V6'S but they sound too bass-y imho compared to the Sennheisers].....I've had em since 1998[the best $79 i've ever spent imho].

SA5000 I think share the same driver, but Qualia 010 was before SA5000. So I
think it's budget version like they do with MDR-V6/7506 and MDR-EX85/90

010 came out in 04.. The SA5000 came out in 05.. Kinda lame they retail for 700.00.. You can get them for under 400.00 new.. My friend who sold his CDP design & prototype to Sony asked if they would be making a new hi end headphone.. He was told no.. Not cost effective, since Sony is spending all of their revenue on their BR format..