Budget Headphones

[DingBat 282]

My son is taking digital audio production and pretty much has the same opinion of beats: they suck. However.... their latest generation of headphones is starting to improve. Still far too expensive.

 

I recently picked up a great pair of AKG sound cancelling headphones but their too expensive for the OPs price range. My "go to" headphones for price would be Seinheissers. 

[Orrie 1,017]

As much as headsets are frowned upon by audiophiles, Sennheiser do makes some good quality ones.

Sennheiser PC320 should be a little above your price range (~95$), but I would say its worth it.

I myself have been using PC360 for about 2 years now, and god damn they're good.

 

A question though, do you have a dedicated soundcard, or are you running Tanks on a toast- erhh, a laptop.

If not, you should consider getting one, as it'll vastly improve the sound quality compared to the shitty integrated ones.
 

ASUS Xonar DG would probably be enough there, thought, ASUS delivers bad driver support, so you have to use something called UNi Xonar to get the most out of these cards.

[Errants 425]

 

 

Alpha, that is beautiful.

 

Also, to get back to OP... I've got a set of Plantronics Gamescom (I think that's what they are). Over the ear, long ass cable, on board mic, very comfortable for extended wear. Sound quality seems great to me, but I am also partially deaf... so caveat recommender.

[Rexxie 10,788]

Went ahead with the Samson SR850, looks great for the really cheap $50 pricetag. I'm a bit worried about the durability (its mostly plastic, which can be an issue), but on the other hand my current headset is the same way and hasn't been physically damaged. I'll have to see how the cable holds up, as thats usually the weakest link in cheaper wired headphones.

[d4majesty 88]

On a budget, Shure SRH440. Although you would want to replace the stock ear cushions.

[Getsome 431]

http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Stereo-Gaming-Headset-TM-YB100A/dp/B001FY7LBQ/

 

This specific headset.  It's cheap and it sounds way better than it should for twenty bucks.

[LamaLeif 92]

It's difficult to recommend headphones in the 50$-80$ range or even below 100$ in general, especially if you also have an internal sound card which makes it even more difficult to tell the difference between budget headphones. I believe you get what you pay for when it comes to headphones. My recommendation to you would be to decide what exactly you are looking for, and then find a place that will let you listen to several headphones for comparison.

 

If you:

- only use them for gaming purposes

- only have internal sound card on your computer

- only listen to low quality sources, mp3 and such

 

Then a gaming headset will probably be just fine for you, in which case there are plenty of options in the 50-80$ range, expect them to last a year maybe two.

 

However if you find yourself listening to a lot of music, I strongly recommend saving until you have enough to buy something like DT-770 Pro, or better yet a pair of Sennheiser HD600. Yes headphones tend to cost quite a bit if you want quality, but they are definitely worth the investment and something like the HD600s will last you a long time.

 

Of course once you have a decent pair of headphones you're going to want a DAC because the internal sound cards are absolutely terrible, with a DAC you're also going to need a headphone amp, so things escalate rather quickly.

 

Grados are so overrated. Such harsh sound. Such inaccurate midrange! They have this awful bump in the upper mids/lower treble.

I've never seen a gaming headset with anything better than mediocre sound at any price.

Then again, I'm fussy. HD600s were best audio purchase ever. $250 used, oh, 13-14 years ago, and they're well on their way to getting me two full decades of service. Maybe I'll get some of their successors then.

 

You're right, they're not overly bass heavy, they're flat - accurate is good!

Nothing I hate more than fake boomy bass, well, except perhaps inaccurate mids, which are inexcusable to me

Something has to be said for the HD600s - bass as deep as your ears will hear, but not overpowering. A bit of warmth in the upper bass/lower mids without coloring vocals, and a high end that is not in your face, but is very present - slightly laid back but shockingly clear.

A lot of crap people seem to like sounds muddy, muffled, and just terrible. Ick!

 

I completely agree with this, I have a pair of HD600s and I absolutely love them, well worth the money and then some.

[deetz 162]

I use Koss PortaPros, they are cheap, really portable and excellent headphones. Nothing to complain about for me.

[Laurys 24]

Hesh 2's aren't super great, but they are one of the cheaper headphones with a replaceable cable. 

[Assassin7 4,353]

I use a Microsof lifechat LX 3000. sound quality was fine imo, and its cheap. but, then again, i cant tell the difference in sound quality between a $600 pair of beats and my $5 pair of panasonic earphones.

[Hurk 21]

im a fan of plantronics myself, i dont use circumaural headsets.  

http://www.plantronics.com/us/product/audio-478?skuId=sku5830022

 

headset is for gaming/voip, for music, i have 4.1 desktop speakers instead. (or my living room stereo, assuming the wife isnt home)

[Alesia 339]

Not a single person has mentioned Steel Series Siberia headsets. Tough as nails and the audio is great, they are every bit my gaming headset as much as my music headphones when im at my computer.

Audio Technica ATH-M30s when im out and about but they dont have a mic and arent as comfortable (imo)

[Driftin 168]

Carcharias are like $150, unfortunately.

I had no idea. They were 79.99 regular and I got them on sale for 50 at Best buy last christmas. I can't believe they went up that much in 7 months. Inflation sucks.

[Bobi_Kreeg 379]

Plantronics GameCom 380, those should be around $50 on newegg. They're probably the best gaming headset, with mic, for that price.

[Haswell 2,399]

Sennheiser HD 555. Tried, trued and proven for almost 4 years now. Very good and pleasant soundstage that handle trebles and mids quite well, bass is decent unless you listen to death metal or heavy rock or other bass-focused music, where something such as AudioTechnica might do better.

 

Make sure you remove the piece of foam inside the cans if you do get it, you can literally upgrade your 555 to a 595 within 5 minutes.

 

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=sennheiser+hd+555

 

Mods: http://mikebeauchamp.com/misc/sennheiser-hd-555-to-hd-595-mod/

[tefftorbes 866]

I've always thought the 555s were crap. Overly warm, too much midbass, mids not flat, recessed highs.

 

I'm such a snob.

[Haswell 2,399]

That's why everybody with a pair of 555 should remove the foam. The soundstage feels less dampened once the 5min chore is done.

 

It also helps to let the cans break in for 24 hours. I forgot what mine sounds like when I got them, but I know it's one of my best portable headphones right now.

[Rexxie 10,788]

Huge necro.

 

Went ahead with the Samson SR850, looks great for the really cheap $50 pricetag. I'm a bit worried about the durability (its mostly plastic, which can be an issue), but on the other hand my current headset is the same way and hasn't been physically damaged. I'll have to see how the cable holds up, as thats usually the weakest link in cheaper wired headphones.

 

Well, my SR850s' wire finally gave out today, surviving around 9 months of me twirling them around and my cat devouring the cord. The durability concern I initially had seemed to have been well founded, as the plastic did crack in quite a few places, but nothing fatal managed to happen to it. The cord was just tugged around one too many times in the end.

 

Not entirely sure what to get next, but I'll need to do that. Hopefully something a little more durable. My budget headphone journey continues!

[Pravdy 99]

May want to give these a try Rexxie.

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/superlux-hd668b-headphones?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Transactional%3A%20Drop%20Request%20Launched&mode=guest_open

 

Here are some reviews:

http://www.head-fi.org/products/superlux-hd-668-b

[MagentaPanda 715]

Huge necro.

 

 

Well, my SR850s' wire finally gave out today, surviving around 9 months of me twirling them around and my cat devouring the cord. The durability concern I initially had seemed to have been well founded, as the plastic did crack in quite a few places, but nothing fatal managed to happen to it. The cord was just tugged around one too many times in the end.

 

Not entirely sure what to get next, but I'll need to do that. Hopefully something a little more durable. My budget headphone journey continues!

So I can say that if possible/within price range  ATH M50s are very nice. Thick cables etc, only issue is that the headphone sits rather close to the ear in my opinion. Quite good for the 180~ that they are in Canada, although I may get MDR 7506s instead. 

 

The ATHs are my dads, so I have only listened to them through fairly good audio equipment sadly, so no clue what they are like on stock/integrated audio cards for FLAC files and such.

[Rexxie 10,788]

The ATH M50s look nice, but they're just a bit outside of my range. I'm not looking to spend any more than $100, but it is what it is.

 

Two I was keeping an eye on were the AKG K 240s ($70) and the NVX XPT100s (Which I can get for $80). Kinda iffy though, as the AKG's, while very nice, are known to be fairly quiet without an amp (dat impedance). The XPT100s are closed-ear, which, as far as I know, sounds quite a bit worse than open-ear in trade for sound isolation, something I don't really need since I just use them in the house.

[weesh 669]

Someone on here suggested the HyperX Cloud ($80) to me, and I've been impressed.  I've been using them for 3 months, and they still look/feel/sound great.

 

 

They have very good reviews across the web.  For instance, amazon has 1100 reviews with an average of 4.6 out of 5.  

[Rexxie 10,788]

Mmm, I don't know about gaming headsets... have you had a similarly prices pair of headphones before? Typically headsets are considered pretty terrible.

[AirG 1,089]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M3T4KMA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[weesh 669]

Mmm, I don't know about gaming headsets... have you had a similarly prices pair of headphones before? Typically headsets are considered pretty terrible.

 

All the headsets I've ever used were gaming headsets.  

Is there an easy way to find quantifiable sound quality information for headsets?