Hello I come to you in a time of great need: FIRST somewhat good headphone! lots of research ples asist

Headphones Headphone Discussion / Help
1

Need help picking my first good headphone.
I live in serbia our options are limited so I have reached out to all local source providers for music equipment and have come up with a list that consists of well rated headphones I have found while spending time on this site the list also contains prices if I have found any and will have comments if there is a need.

SO what is my setup I have a focusrite scarlet solo second gen buss powered to drive my pod mic and be my pseudo amp and dac (plan 2 buy a dedicated amp a month or two after I get headphones & keep in mind I dont have access to stuff like atom and schiit so my brands are limited to like yamaha or some shit topping maybe ). they feed into my asus x370 prime pro witch is supposed to have great built in sound card and japanese capactors whatever that difference makes. the headphones I have used:
brandless gaming toys
philips buds that dont go insite the ear < milion times better
sony mdr v 55 < million time better than the buds, logic was “dj make good bom boom so he know what phone good”

also have a shitty suround with normal speakers and a sub woof that fcks my table and ears if I turn it up.

I have used the sonys for like 10 years until the plastic for the articulation the T looking part decided to not plastic anymore and snapped one day when I was putting them on like they didint even exist.

what Im looking for in headphones:
Il be mostly listening to music and playing games. the music is mostly soundcloud youtube and spotify but i do have some songs in flac and opus that I love: will give some examples from youtube of what I like but spoiler I listen to fucking everything I have like 1500 songs on my youtube.

my main focus for the phones is music I dont care about competitive edges in games nor if I will have slightly better ambiance, any headphone that has good music reproduction will beat any amount of game advantage in my book.

I have only used closed back headphones so have decided to try open back for the first time (the list has some closed back that people say are good but only if they are better than the open back significantly).

I dont care much about comfort as long as they wont shear my ears off im good.

would like to spend around 150 euro but can stretch if the quality difference is big enough
also its almost black friday so prices fluctuate if I find out something new I will edit or post in comments

if you need other info that i didn t list here i will edit the post or add in comments.

SO I guess its time for the list
a little thing also in the list there are some phones with no price witch means i didnt find them if there is another reason like not available till december price unknown I will add comments
so here it is:

Hifi man 4xx mass drop off the table
Hifi man 5xx why u no exit in europe :sleepy:
Hifi man sundara 400 euro
Hifi man He 400 i
beyerdynamic DT 770 pro 80 ohms 135 euro
beyerdynamic DT 770 pro 32 ohm 135 euro
beyerdynamic DT 880 600 ohm 195 euro
beyerdynamic DT 880 250 ohm 143 euro
beyerdynamic DT 990 600 ohm 155 euro ?
beyerdynamic DT 990 250 ohm 100 euro used no damage 180 new.
beyerdynamic DT 990 pro 250 ohm 129 euro
beyerdynamic DT 1990 pro 391 euro
beyerdynamic TYGR 300 R + mic 295 euro only comes with mic that i dont need
AKG 702 130 euro
AKG K712 PRO 188 euro update: found a pair like new for 144 euro
AKG K701 68 euro used with band gripp failing description states getting loose 145 new
AKG K92 60 euros
AKG K701 - 169
sennheiser 58x
sennheiser 6xx
sennheiser 559 85 euros
sennheiser 569 130 euro
sennheiser 599 155 euro
sennheiser hd 600 308 euro
sennheiser hd560s probably can get price around 200 without disscount but havent looked at them the number is low so they must be worse than the higher number ones i duno .
Sivga SV004 105 euro
Sivga SV007
AUDIO-TECHNICA ATH-M40X 102 euro
AUDIO-TECHNICA ATH-M60X 176 euro
Monolith m 1060

Koss KSC75 i cri
koss kph30i i cri
V-Moda Crossfade M-100

Philips x3 280 euro
Philips x2 hr
Philips shp 9600
Philips shp 9500
V-Moda Crossfade M-100
Takstar HF580 found on ali expess for 200 euro

this is like 7 days of my life if you have some suggestions for headphones i missed post in comments
and i will will wi 
 look into it.

Here are some songs i enjoy:
the melody and the piano/ violin and the bass combo love that first 2 songs of this mix

same as above

melody around 1 min love it

the bass guitar the drums the vocals so good

I mean of course

These are the ones i listen to for like a month in good formats i like classical jazz swing piano violin old rock
and stuff like daft punk.
Again if more info is needed just ask away and thanks a lot in advance for reading this wall of text and helping me out i really appreciate it

2

for your needs and taste and gear you have I think the 58x is a pretty good pick , great sound good value but you seem to live in europe which makes it kinda hard to reccomend due to the import fees and suck changing my recc to the akg k712
 It can be considered hard to drive but the scarlett should get them to a respectable volume for now before you get an amp

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Thanks for the advice and for reading my wall of text if you would be so kind I would like to know what is the difference between the 2 also one guy on youtube said that the 712 have fcked up mids whatever that means thanks again for your time.

4

Our Europeans friends should be of help here. Excepting ‘Drop’ I’ve heard the regular Senn (and Beyer) is more affordable in Europe. I would think the new Senn 560s, the 6 series. Good all arounders, not so hard to push. As I type this with DT880 600 ohms on, I would never avoid these — and although they do not need Godzilla amp (Magni 3 right now), DT880 250ohm version seems more flexible for you now.

My initial answer based on subject before reading your prefs, list, situation was SHP9500 for cheap.
But, the two I bolded here - I think would make you very happy at $150-200.

Best of luck!

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5

Thanks a lot for the reply and reading my text wall. Are the 560s better than i thought? I will look into those

also people say that the 880s are good i will keep them in mind

the shp 9500 where my thought as well before i got to this site and died for 7 days but i cant find them
here :frowning:.
again thanks for taking the time.

6

The others will take more of your money, but you’ll probably be happier with them than SHP9500.

The 560s is the latest iteration and is receiving the most enthusiastic reviews I’ve seen of any in the 500-series family. I think they maxed the number scale out with 599, so they had to start over I guess. :grinning:

As much as I’m loving the DT880, this attached 10 foot long cable does irritate me. Think about some of those little gritty details too outside of sound profile, etc.

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7

I love the 880 600ohm. One of the most, or rather most comfortable headphones I own.
The magni push close to 3+ watts, so it’s kind of beastly for a headphone amp.
That does prove that you don’t have to spend a ton of money to push them though.

They are a better all around headphone vs the 6xx and he4xx.

The 6xx are more intimate and sound better on warmer amps but can be pushed from a phone

The he4xx are more of a balanced sound to me vs the 6xx, require slightly more power and can benefit for a slight eq to bump the bass
 They are planar and have very fast response vs a traditional dynamic driver headphone


Of the 3 
 Dt880 600 ohm, he4xx and 6xx.
If I could have only one pair, it would be the Dt880. They are more comfortable and have the most balanced out of the box sound that tend to sound good no matter the amp.

The HE4XX prefer higher power more clinical clean amps, the Sinn 6xx prefer warmer amps. The 880 600 just shine
 As long as the amp can push them.

Amps like the Magni, S.M.S.L SP200 are good value amps that you should be able to get that won’t break the bank and can push about any headphone you ever want

8

update :Managed to find the 712 pros for 144 euro

9

I see you have the KPH30i they punch way above the cost for sure
I have much more expensive headphones but the KPH30i remain in my rotation

It’s an easy recommendation
 especially as an intro to hifi. They can be powered from a amp, phone, pc, or video game controller.

The vmoda crossfade are what beats would be if beats had a better over sound quality
 They are a bass heavy closed back and sound better than any Beats headphones that I’ve ever heard.

Another option if you can find it would be focal listen pro.

10

Sennheiser HD560s has received really good reviews. I have HD600 and those are kind of “standard” for mixing engineers. If I would be buying headphones now, I would definitely go for the The HD 560s.

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11

Let’s help this guy out people.

So, I told him my 2 cents:
Ditch Hifiman, ditch Sivga, ditch Audio Technica, ditch Monolith, ditch Koss, ditch V-moda, ditch Philips, ditch Takstar, and unfortunately
 ditch Drop collabs (rip HD6XX). He does not want to invest over 100-150 euros for an amp, so planars are a no no. Audio Technica, Koss, V Moda, and Philips cans are just not on the same level as some good deals he can find from AKG, Sennheiser, and Beyerdynamics.

So. It comes down to the 3 companies: Beyerdynamics, AKG, and Sennheiser. We can narrow it down to 2 companies by throwing out Sennheiser - though I don’t feel too comfortable about that. I love my HD598’s, they sound great. However, they are on the lighter side of bass, so he might be able to find something better. If only he could get the HD6XX, that would be it
 but customs and taxes =)

I think that nobody should buy Beyerdynamic headphones without listening to them first. And he would need a good hour to three to judge whether they are fatiguing or not. I simply cannot imagine somebody buying Beyerdynamics for music listening without actually listening to them in person first. Sounds insane to me.

I am all in for the AKG phones. Personally, never heard a single one. I am not sure if they have the same problem as the Beyerdynamic 'phones. I would focus on three models from his list:
K712 Pro (msrp ~500 bucks, released around 2013.)
K701 (msrp ~450 bucks, released some time around in 2008)
K702 (msrp ~540 bucks, released some time around in 2008)

From my quick research, he should be focusing at K712 Pro model which he can get at a pretty “attractive” deal. The other two models are more recommended for studio use, and they also tend to suffer from ear fatigue like beyers do to some people.

Since I am no Beyer expert, this is the space some other community members can help you out. AKG’s K712 Pro has good quality, those mini XLR plugs (which are great), and sounds like they sound good. Beyer’s will probably sound less open, but will have other qualities - I consider a fixed cable a large disadvantage, but idk, that’s my two cents. If the guy will be sitting at home and just listening to his cans, I’m pretty sure he won’t have problems with the cable, but who knows.

I put my 2 cents out, I’ll leave the rest to the community :wink:

Have a good one, hopefully you get down to the best headphone for you =)

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12

Go get these even though it will be not your main headphones. But the value that you get from these $15 Koss KSC75s is so insane that it blew my mind on wtf levels, therefore now I hate myself for buying these late instead of earlier. Just get some Yaxi pads with these and the Part Express headband part, you will get yourself a potential endgame piece right here.

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The reason why I exclude Koss’s phones is that they will probably not last him. Ordering anything to Serbia is quite expensive, as customs will charge you very high fees for anything over 50 euros in value. I had numerous times when customs were as high as 40%-50% of the packages real value. No joke.

The amount of money it will take him to buy new pair of Koss’s every time that they break will not be worth it in the long run. I get that they sound good, but they are not the highest build quality, same goes for drivers - they are prone to breaking, on a much higher level than normal phones.

If these are available under 30 euros in Serbia, I think it’s a fun product to buy, but any higher than that and he will be throwing money - and earning money here is not easy. That’s why I am genuinely trying to help the guy

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So after all that, you recommend AKG’s even though you yourself have never tried them? Doesn’t make any sense.

K4sh1ma is right, OP should get the KSC75’s decide what aspects he likes, and go from there.

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No, I took into consideration several factors - those AKG’s are the best out of the AKG models he has listed.

Doesn’t make sense to compare the KSC75 to full-sized headphones. I am not saying they are bad, far from it, but you simply cannot compare the over-ear headphones to the on-ear Koss’s

I could easily recommend HD598’s from personal experience, but perhaps OP wants a little more bass?

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But also, if you read OP’s description you would know that he cannot acquire any Koss headphones - the shipping would probably cost more than the headphones themselves

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17

Plugged my K712’s into my 2i4. It makes them make sound, and may be okay when there is an Amp coming later.

What?
I like mine specifically for that purpose. The “increased” bass response (over the AKG-typical signature that is) helps fill the sound. Not ideal for electronic music, great for instrumental (not sure I like them for Blues).

AudioTechnica ATH-M40x have the bass for electronic music. Comfort is
 not great.

Thomann.de has them for 350€, shipping may bring you up to 400 anyway. Can’t comment on sound.

Why? Audiotechnica builds good headphones. Same as Koss and Hifiman.
Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic usually have a very house-sound signature. I for my part do not like DT-770 (given that was before I got a good headphone amplifier).

Why not? The PortaPros impressed me (and others) a lot.

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18

As much as I shill Koss, it is only because I have the luxury of convenient warranty. Build is very cheap and unless you can DIY repair or deal with build quirks, it’s good to stay away (except maybe the Pro4S, which is pretty un-Koss-like in build).

My Porta Pro is already having driver issues 2 months in. Let alone headband adjustment is already very loose.

My KTXPRO1 that I use rarely already rattles on its hinges with bass (lol)

My ESP/95X has left driver noise issues.

On top of that, KSC75 are known for early driver failure due to wiring flaws, the KPH30i can easily snap at the headband adjustment, SP330 drivers pop off their swivel, etc.

I love to recommend Koss products for cheap but quality sound, but they all are super quirky and often come with a catch.

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19

Actually I plan to buy the kp30 I or these if I can find them at a reasonable price here in serbia you know when im out and about so I get the recommendation they are on my radar havent found them yet tho.

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Thanks for sharing but I take care of my phones and they are an upgrade from buds so it seemed like a no brainer choice after I get my full size phones.