Best headphones around $100

[Tweak]

The 4 contestants



http://www.zzounds.com/a--3745/item--SNYMDR7506
Sony MDR 7506






http://www.zzounds.com/a--3745/item--AKGK240STU
AKG K240S





http://www.zzounds.com/a--3745/item--SENHD280PRO

Sennheiser HD280 Pro





http://www.zzounds.com/a--3745/item--AUTATHM40FS

Audio Technica ATHM40fs

[tw_247]

can't speak for the others, but i have 2 pair of 7506's, and they've been great for years.

[nmodi]

can't speak for the others, but i have 2 pair of 7506's, and they've been great for years.

diito here. 1 pair of the Sony's for about 3 years now - best headphones I've ever heard - no leakage, clear and accurate sound.

[ez2001]

what about the AKG K271?

after testing the sonys... i couldn't hear nothing better then then the K271... they are great in recording, mixing and even for just listining.

Recommended! o ye they cost around the 200$

[Dugz Ink]

My first pair of Sony headphones were the MDR-V6 headphones, which I bought 17-19 years ago. I put replacement pads on those headphones and gave them to my wife when I bought my MDR-7506 headphones, about 7 years ago. (She still uses my original V6s.)

Recently, I bought a pair of replacement pads for my 7506s, for about $5. So, I've spent between $220 and $235 (including tax) on these headphones... an average of less than $15 per year. I would say that's a good deal.

[redheadbass]

I have the Sonys and the Sennheisers. The bass is a little bit looser on the Sonys, and maybe not quite as deep.

I voted Sennheiser, because of the slightly tighter bass, but I'm very happy with both.

Oh yeah, the Sennheisers isolate a little better, over my ears, anyway.
Hard choice though, they both sound really good.

[IndianTweakhead]

i never knew what ear fatigue was until i used the hd280s....

[Tweak]

I can do a little bit of comparison as I have both the Sony and the Audio Technica above. I used the AT for a little over 4 years and just replaced them with the Sony, as the ear pads started to disintegrate--which is a sign of success. (If a headphone can make it that far in its life, it's done well!).

The ATHM40fs has been a reliable performer. I can't tell you how many times I stepped on them, rolled over the cord with my chair, dropped them, strained the cord accidently and they never broke. They are a heavy duty headphone, good for tracking particularly, as you can hear what's going down pretty clearly. It's not at all hyped in the bass and the highs are not obtrusive. I'd certainly not mistake them for audiophile phones, but great for near the mics.

The Sony has got the AT beat in terms of sound quality. It is surprisingly natural sounding. They are much lighter, and have the feel and are closer to the sound and comfort of many audiophile open backed phones I've had. But they are closed phones, which make them good for tracking without bleed. They fold up into a small footprint and have a curly cord, as opposed to the straight cord on the ATHm40fs. I hope I never step on the Sony's. I am unsure they will last as long, given my patterns of mistreatment, but I am quite certain I will enjoy their stay.

[jar4ever]

I think the Sony's are terribly bright, they deffineately have a strong 2-3k pressence peak, but other then that they are good. Actually their brightness along with low leakage make them great tracking headphones, singers can always hear themselves clearly even with the level fairly low. However, I would deffineately choose the AKG's over then Sony's for general listening, editing, etc. The highs are smoother and the bass is tighter and more deffined in the AKG's, but of coarse they leak a good amount.

[jar4ever]

Also, it's very scetchy that Sony doesn't give a proper frequency response spec, all they say is 10Hz-20kHz....with no qualifier. I have a very hard time believeing it's + or - 3dB.

[Cameron Thomas]

AT's customer service is really excellent. My kittens decided to play with my headphones one day and broke the wire on one side. I contacted AT asking how I could get a replacement wire. He replied the next day asking for my address and sent me a couple replacement wires free of charge.

[_controlfreak]

I've owned 4 different pairs of Sony headphones over the years... and I don't really like any of them. I vote HD280's; I wish I had bought them instead.

[rotaryunison]

I have the AT's. Like Tweak, I also have dropped, stomped and twisted these things and still, they work great. I'm a year and a half into them.

Previously, I used a set of Carvin headphones- which lasted only about 6 months. The AT's seem to fatigue my ears quite a bit less than those did.

[sethmeister]

I hope I never step on the Sony's. I am unsure they will last as long, given my patterns of mistreatment, but I am quite certain I will enjoy their stay.

They'll definitely last. I've been using the same pair for over 10 years and with the exception of the worn out pads they have been almost indestructible.

[Thom IV]

I've only had experience with the Sonys and the Senns.

The Sonys would be my fav for just listening to music, as I think they are lighter, more comfortable, and have a 'better' (more natural?) sound to them.

However, since we're talking about 'studio work' here (tracking, checking for pops/clicks, etc), I would cast my vote for the Sennheisers. They are relatively comfortable, have excellent isolation/comfort ratio, and have a good sound to them.

I own both, but if I could only have one for my studio, it would be the Senns...

My $.02.
Tom

[MusicEuphony]

I really like the sennheiser headphones lsited. All the drummers love it because it stays on their heads while they flail around and they're real comfortable to wear. I haven't used them for mixing or anything, but for headphones for the players it is great. They also bleed considerably less into the mics than the other headphones just because they sort of seal around the ears.

The AKGs are probably my second choice here. Sounds like good German engineering.

The audio-technicas sound pretty good but the design seems so flimsy to me and they fall off so easily.

And I haven't had any experience with the Sonys.

[stvfetterly]

I've been using a pair of SONY MDRs for about 6 years now, and no problems or complaints . . .

[BangladeshBomber]

Ive owned a pair of ATH M30's for about 2 years now, and I dont know if this is considered off topic or not, But I highly recommend these cans. In my ears, they sound great in all ranges.

[danroy169]

I think you should add the Grado SR-80's, for $80 they're some [darn] good sounding headphones. I had them for about a year, then I upgraded to the Sennheiser HD-650's, now those are some headphones, hooked up to a Music Fidelity X-Can v3 it's just amazing how good they are.

[sethmeister]

I own both Sony MDR7506 and Senn HD280Pro.

I think they're pretty close in sound quality. The 7506's are a bit bright I suppose.

The HD280 might seal and prevent leakage a bit better due in part to the very tight fit on one's nut. This can make them a bit less comfortable than the 7506's which are light and very comfortable.

Either set of cans is a good choice.

[Db]

I own the a pair of the HD-280's too. Although I cant compare the 280's to the other models in question, this is my personal take on them. I bought them based on good reviews and due to the fact just about all the parts are replaceable in case of damage. I was nearly talked into buying a different brand by a salesman. He did mention the "ear fatigue" syndrome with these. Of course hearing this from a GC rep I've never delt with before, I figured he may be trying to talk me out of it just to push something else that has more "spiff" to it. After a year of use, I wouldnt call it ear fatigue, more like head-fatigue! They sound great, but worn for more than an hour or two, my head is lightly throbbing around my ears from the clamping pressure of the earcups alone. Now that I have decent monitors, the headphones will get way less use and probably wont be necessary to swap them for another brand. If I needed headphones on for long periods of time, the 280's would be gone in a second for a more comfortable pair. -Db

[thursday]

sony7506 are forward sounding with a tight lean bottom , like a young asian girl. My grado 60s are like my girl from Venezuela big round bottom

[Tweak]

interesting analogy.

[Dynamix]

Dudes i just wanna let you know... I was on a mets forum and i used a box in this forum as a scratch pad like copy and paste and then later on accidentally posted it...

thats why it was cursing about albert pujols and stuff... you didnt find that odd?

[thursday]

that's funnt as hell