Best Headphones under $200 that are better than beats

[chk071]

Worse, it's a WINNING campaign to take over the world. Autotune, same tempo beats and filth just sound better in headphones called "beats"

I figured so.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

iPod

Hold up, does anyone even use an "ipod" anymore? I mean, even I use my cell now

i do ...not that i have a smartphone, but even if i did i would find uses for my little 2nd gen nano

[chj]

They are definitely designed with a finger on the scale for bass response, and that appears to be a selling point. The same person who reacts favorably to this kind of sound, will often reject a very expensively calibrated flat sound.

I wonder if the person who really likes the color of these sorts of consumer headphones, might really and truly hate (Beyer DT250s) or AKG K240s.

I see this written by many at KVR. Probably means they never listened to the Beats by Dre and are simply making assumptions because they have Dre's name on them. They are not particularly bass heavy. They have a similar frequency response as other studio headphones. http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompar ... hID[]=2611
But they're not good either, the problem is clarity. When I demo'd them, the sound was quite crunchy, mushy. From what I can tell, they also leak sound more than a closed headphone should. Even though someone on the subway is listening at a ridiculous volume level, I shouldn't be able to hear closed headphones so easily.

[ezelkow1]

^ This

I demo'd a pair for the hell of it when I was wandering around a target. They would have sounded ok for ~50$, but for 300$ they were definitely the worst sounding pieces of crap I ever heard. Just distorted, mushy, and they even felt cheap compared to 50$ headphones. They just werent clear at all, though I think once you activated the beats button on the side that is what made them bass heavy, but then it just sounded like a bunch of distorted bass

[hibidy]

@ipod: Well, it's just another thing to keep track of and charge for me. The noggin' doesn't do so well

[fgimian]

Shure SH 840

I must agree with this recommendation...Moving between my ADAM A7s and the SRH840 is seamless ...The SRH-940 are too shrill and have very little bass, nowhere near flat, they are tilted upwards in the treble direction.

Demonstrates a pet peeve of mine. People using "flat" frequency response graphs to buy headphones. I haven't listened to these Shure headphones, but looking at the graphs, the 940 is technically closer to "flat" than the 840's.
http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompar ... hID[]=3101
But I'm not disagreeing with you. When it comes to headphones, I've found a "flat" frequency response is actually bass deficient. Someone explained in another thread that since monitors/speakers move air, it adds to the bass you perceive. With headphones you don't get this. Which is why almost all studio headphones have a (modest) bass bump when you look at the graphs. Some people get turned off by such graphs and end up buying bass deficient, overly trebley headphones.

P.S. If you disagree, check your headphones first, the ones you love and swear are flat. I bet you'll see that bass bump. http://www.headphone.com

I agree with you, but for what it's worth, I have listened to the SRH-940s quite thoroughly, my opinion of them is not based on measurements or marketing.

On the other hand, I suggest checking out http://en.goldenears.net/ for more accurate and clear measurements, it's always a good second reference after your ears

I'm not saying that everyone should go out and buy the Shures, but I highly suggest that people listen to them against the other suggestions in this thread and choose the ones that they feel are best.

The day that I listened to the SRH-840s at the first store I visited, I listened to the KRK KNS8400s, the M50s and the HD-280 Pros that I owned at the time.

In terms of natural sound similar to my monitors, this is how I would personally rate them, best to worst:

SRH-840 -> HD-280 -> M50 -> KRK KNS8400

Lots of people swear by the M50s and KNS8400s though, so this could be personal taste.

[raikard233]

For production AKG 240 (S or M)
For Dj purposes Sennheiser HD 25 (not the cheaper SP!!!)

[Per Lichtman]

Ever since Sony discontinued the MDR7509HD headphones, they've been showing up rather cheap. They have pretty good noise isolation, are comfortable and rather durable and sound a bit different from Sennheiser and Grado. The older Sony MDR7506 ones tended to sound a bit warmer and rounder, but a bit less defined so if you can find those around they might be worth a look too. But if you are tracking, you need ones with better noise isolation like the 7509HDs.

I usually alternate between the other two and the Grado RS-2 headphones for a lot of my work, but the Grados are usually at least $350 if you find a good deal and $500 normally.

There are pricier ways to go, but you hit the highest return-on-investment in the $120 to $500 range in my opinion.

[Kriminal]

I know someone who has sone beats/dre headphies. They sound awful. A really bad 'image' if the actual sound. Obviously a gimmick for kids, but a really bad product.

[Kaboom75]

Told my niece I got AKG 702 she told me to replace them with beats

Monster cable also sell £85 HDMI cable.......... digital cable marketed as better picture than digital cable

[watermaj]

[/quote]

So how about the good old Sony mdr7506's? Under $100 and REALLY good for mixing. The sound is true, not colored, and very crisp and satisfying sound. Comfortable to wear too.

Jim

[liquidsound]

As hibidy said: KRK8400.
You'll be surprised how good they are.

[ontol]

[billcarroll]

beyerdynamic dt770, closed, as flat as possible, in your price range. Realy good & trusty headphones.

Have to agree. best closed headphones for producing in my opinion.

[KoolFartWind]

Holla,

I own the Beyerdynamic DT 990 pro (250 ohm) since 3 days now and I am fairly impressed by their crispness. Compared to them, my ATH M40fs sound like someone gaged them. I did not try any other headphones (shame on me), but considering, that I was convinced by other Beyerdynamic products before (and their value for the money) plus the fact, that the ATH M50 cost 100% (yes, the double amount!!! ) more in Europe than in the US, it was a no-brainer to grab the 990 pro.

my suggestions :

- if you are in the US, take the M50 (as they cost 80$ less than the Beyerdynamics)
- if not, take the DT 770 pro or 990 pro (as they are AWESOME )
- if you find a few bucks laying around, take the DT 880 pro

The 770 pro are closed back and the 990 are open-back (they cost the same). I took the 990, because the soundstage is ought to be more realistic, plus they cause less pressure on the head, which I disliked about the M40fs. Some people complain, that the 990 pro (and apparently 880) have too pronounced highs. If you own monitors with ribbon tweeters or plan to purchase some in the future that is actually a plus for the 990, because in that way they are a better replacement soundwise.

OOps, quite a lot of advertisement for now. I may have to add, that you perhaps need to buy a headphone-amp, if you take headphones with 250 ohm and above, because some Audio Interfaces do not provide enough power to beat the higher impedance.

Greetings,

KFW