Hello all! I’m new to this forum and also to the audiophile scene so please forgive any incompetence. While I am very familiar with hi-res music, I’ve never owned anything but cheap earbuds so unfortunately I haven’t been able to fully appreciate my catalog of high quality music. I’m looking to get the best sound for under $100, whether that be as headphones or IEM’s. I’ve done a fair amount of research on some possible choices, but admittedly am somewhat overwhelmed by just how many there are. I will do my best to describe exactly what I’m looking for so hopefully I can narrow my options down to the top 1-3 of each.
The main things that I am looking for are:
Closed-back headphones OR IEM’s for music listening
Great, solid bass. I want low-end that rips without being muddy. Clean and tight.
A friend of mine let me test his M50x’s and I was not a fan of how muddy the bass was.
Clear, crisp mids. I want to hear every bit of a vocal performance.
No sibilance. I have quite sensitive ears and any amount of sibilance is unbearable to me.
Good sound isolation
Minimal sound leakage
Comfortable for long listening sessions
I will be powering these with my laptop/phone until I can afford a decent DAC. I listen to a wide variety of genres but primarily pop, rock, electronic, synthwave, indie rock, and dream pop. A couple of the choices I’ve considered are listed below, but feel free to suggest others!
Headphones: ATH-M40x, Cooler Master MH752, Creative Aurvana Live!, Sony MDR7506, Status Audio CB-1
as much as I live te t2;s my vote would go to the zs10as that might be more suited tp your taste as to me i find the t2’s to be a little bass anemic. maybe the tin t3’s with Comply tips with the foam filters on them I find they calmed the highs a nice amount.
on the headphone side you can probably add the Sivga 006 aka Bosshifi B8 aka BLON B8 AKA a ton of other names. Good sound. Build can be meh.
The Bosshifi and blon are around 80 dollars shipped
I find doing that gave disturbed my ears. When I covered the vent holes while I got a nice bass boost the increased pressure since their was nowhere for the pressure to escape but into my ears bothered me.
The iBasso IT01 is worth a look as well, IMO. At the top of your budget but easily driven from a phone, pleasant for most all genres of music, and a subtle U shaped sound to my ears. I prefer IT01 to the ZS10 (and all of the KZ models I’ve tried FWIW.) Strong bass but I didn’t find it overwhelming. Super nice cable, and metal case.
Are you looking to purchase just 1 item, or 2 items like both an IEM and a Headphone? Sometimes its nice to switch things up.
If you already know about frequency response graphs then you can move on, otherwise here is simple info graphic that will help you better understand those graphs or "measurements".
So if you are comparing your headphones or IEMs you can see where they stack up against each other. This is a more musical instrument representation, but you get the picture.
MH 751 - Its solid, $60. Downside based on your requirements is that it can have piercing highs.
The MH752 comes with a DAC/AMP with volume control. I’m not that big of a fan of it. You may get better results from your laptop if it supports “HD” audio. It would save you $15-20 if you don’t need it by getting the 751, unless you like inline volume control, but I hear a hiss with it at lower volumes with it. Not super bass heavy but it’s present, good imaging and detail, though I get some sensitivity with these but overall it’s solid. Sounds better with Amp, but its fine with a phone at max volume. You might be able to find Takstar Pro 82 for around the same price and they have bass sliders for more bass.
I looked into the CALs and the E-MU Purplehearts from Drop (same as CAL) a while ago for myself. Similar frequency response to a Sennheiser 6XX/650. I would have one in my possession if I was confident in the build quality, I see a lot of broken off earpads at the headband joint so it scared me off.
You could listen to the ATH M40X & Sony’s MDR7506 in person at a Guitar Center if you are that interested and decide for yourself.
Z gave the CB-1s as good of a recommendation as anything I’ve seen. At the time he did the review his recommendations for under $100 are the SH9500 for open, CB-1 for closed.
PB mentioned the Sivga SV006 $93/Blon B8 $70/Kinden B8/Paikeshi 7000P/(Monolith M600/650 are open back versions with same driver for $120) - BossHIFI is the OEM. SV006 are easier to get, B8s are cheaper, but will ship from China so it may take weeks to arrive and may not come with accessories. You can watch Z’s review on the SV 006. I could find only 1 measurement of these, but I don’t know the reliability of it.
I’m ideally looking to purchase just one right now, though I might use these recommendations to buy another in the near future. For example, if these recommendations point me to a close-back headphone, I will likely just buy that and hold off on an IEM for now. Honestly, I’m not even exactly sure what the sonic difference between a close-back heaphone and IEM is. So I’m basically just trying to find the best sounding listening experience right now, providing that it is either a closed-back or IEM and under $100.
Unfortunately I don’t have a guitar center in my city, so it may be a little while until I can test out the M40x and MDR7506 for myself. Do you know what the main differences in sound are between them? One of my favorite artists uses the MDR7506 in performances. However, I’ve seen many people say that choosing a headphone or IEM for live performances is much different than choosing one for just enjoyment.
PLZZZ PLZZZ PLZZZ, Zeos and most youtubers (except for some cases) are making fun , he is not a headphones specialist , his statements about headphone qualities are : “F@ck”, “falling in a bath of leather jackets”… and bullshits like that. Inner Fidelity was a reviewer or Metal571 etc. I wonder, how, we, the suckers, are paying for some people such amounts (patreon), able to keep a whole houshold. PLZZZ DON’T MAKE YOUR PURCHASE DECISION BASED UPON ANYONE’S OPINION.
I agree with you, and I appreciate your passionate comment. I don’t think I presented anything in a way that directly promotes one option or opinion over another. If someone has identified 9 potential items that they are interested, they are going to have narrow that down to 1 time in some way. No one else chimed in on the CB-1, so I made a minimal comment about it. If you have anything else to contribute about IEMs then I think the OP would probably appreciate that as well, knowing full well it is your “opinion” as they seem to be your in your wheelhouse.
Hmm. Sennheiser HD280 Pros? Although they’re C-Clamps… but nothing that can’t be fixed with some books, heh.
Still, closed-back, great bass and sub-bass (allegedly goes down to 7hz!), great mids, laid-back treble, -32dB sound isolation (same as shooting range earmuffs!), no sound leakage.
Bought Fluance SX6s speakers based on Z’s recommendation, best decision I’ve ever made.
I don’t understand and/or trust Inner Fidelity’s graphs.
Metal571 loves M50Xs but, ironically, said the HD58Xs were annoyingly “grainy”.
No one’s perfect.
Well, if you can’t listen to headphones before buying them, you have to. That’s why forums are useful.
“lambskin” Because we only use the cutest of the sheep baby’s…
Lol. Lamb ribs are great though.
Anyway on a serious note. Yeah they are nice. But the stock pads are pretty good. Depends on your ear. Small to a something between medium and a large ear and you are fine for comfort. Big ears or ears they are reach deep into the cup and not so much.
But in general they are much better than most things 80 dollars.
If you are going budget budget. Then you could give the pads a skip and maybe try them at another point in time.
So really depends on how hard someone is sticking to their 100 dollar budget.
I might buy a pair of CCA C10’s or Tin T2’s to go with the Bosshifi B8.
Because that gives me a second sound item, something that is a bit more portable minded and it keeps to the 100 dollar budget mostly.
On an entirely separate note I hardly ever buy pads or stuff anymore. I just make my own and tune it how I like.
Typically I do blends of denim and leather, but I also do all leather and all denim. Occasionally I do other materials based on the sound and comfort I want.
That also gives me the opportunity to tune sound and comfort with the foam inside the pads.
All the way from wool stuffed to sponge and memory foam blends.
If you have the sewing skills, the materials, the time and the knowledge on what does what. Then they are the best pads you will ever have.
I agree with you and I’m not able in my country to test headphones, before buying them too. I’m not saying that someone is a perfect pro reviewer or anyone sucks. I’m just saying , try to avoid the HYPE some of them intentionally create, for obvious reasons. I’ve also made decisions based upon their reviews, which some of them I liked and some not. Peace!
I was in the same quest as you (and still am interesting), with the same sonic preferences and after several transactions I’ve come to own Tin T2’s, Fiio fh1 (and Fiio fh5, a little more expensive) for IEM’s and Sony MDR 1A for closed back headphones.For all of is true what the majority of customers and reviewers say. I guarantee and assure you, that I enjoy and love so much the sound, which happens to be very addictive, from all of them, although the MDR 1A 's might be a little more expensive, but I bought them 135E, little used, as new. A nice budget option, for you, could be Sennheiser HD380 PRO’s, wich provide an excellent sound, with amazing sub bass response, rambling but never bloating, very sweet mids and never piercing highs.
