Best Headphones under $200 that are better than beats

[metalifuxx]

I still like my Sennheiser HD 280's which you can usually find for about $150-100. I've had mine for 7 years or so now, used everyday, and they still work and sound fine, albeit showing some extreme wear and the top band/plastic being held together with electrical and duct tape to keep the wires enclosed. The coiled springy cable was and still is annoying, but I see it also serves a purpose in the life of the headphone wear.

A friend of mine got the M-Audio headphones that cost about the same, but they had a detachable cable that connects right at the enclosure piece where a normal attached cable would be. Some wire or piece broke within a month and they short out now and don't work half the time.

[chj]

Audio Technica MTH-50

P.S. At first I thought many people were hating on the Beats headphones simply because of the branding. Many critics probably never even listened to them. However, I have. They really do suck.

[Lazerbacon766]

Just a fact but, Dr. Dre makes all his current revenue ($100+ million was just the contract for his name on them, plus whatever high yearly profits generated) for his name on those Beats headphones, more than any of his music/production sales. That's the reason he was ranked as a one of the top 5 richest celebrities of the year the since those headphones went on the market.

I have never heard them, but I imagine they do suck, probably with the bass/low frequencies way over colored/emphasized. I just every time I see the $300 price tag for them too. Marketed to the same people that must have every $200 pair of Nike Jordan shoe that come out every few months. Simply put, "Bling for your ear/hearing"

Just as I saw an xmas tv commercial tonight advertising $150 Skull Candy headphones in roughly the same manner

Thats a nice informed opinion u got there. I totally agree wit u. When i said "better than beats" id didnt mean just better i ment this equation

people with beats + trying my headphones = mind blown

[fgimian]

Shure SH 840. They definitely beat the audio technicas...

I must agree with this recommendation. I listened to dozens of models including the M50, the Beyer DT250 and DT770 (along with their DT880 and DT990 too) and think that the SRH-840 are one of the best pairs of headphones on the market which in many cases beat models costing twice as much. They are also incredibly comfortable. I would definitely say that I prefer the SRH840s to the DT770s and pretty much any other closed headphones I tried. Moving between my ADAM A7s and the SRH840 is seamless, there's no drastic change in sound except for the fact that the headphones have a slight boost at around the 8 - 10kHz range, nothing drastic though.

The SRH-940 are too shrill and have very little bass, nowhere near flat, they are tilted upwards in the treble direction.

I owned the HD280 Pros and sold them, they sound absolutely horrid and are not in the same league as the Shures, though they do isolate very well while crushing your head.

The flattest of the Beyer range is the DT880 but they have a nasty peak in the treble which can get annoying after a little while. In addition, they are open, so they are less flexible than a closed headphone for studio use as they can't be used for tracking.

The only way to make a decision is to listen to the various suggestions made here yourself and make a choice. Headphones are a very personal and subjective thing.

[hibidy]

Audio Technica MTH-50

P.S. At first I thought many people were hating on the Beats headphones simply because of the branding. Many critics probably never even listened to them. However, I have. They really do suck.

Good to HEAR actually

Gotta ask though..........what do you want out of cans? If you want a bunch of low end that is hyped, then you won't like my recommendation. But if you want to "hear" the bass closer to what monitors do, then maybe look into the KRK8400. Have mine on right now, I never feel like they are there. I always like the way the sound. Recording bass, recording guitar, listen to online music, someones music here, doesn't matter. I always enjoy them. Comfy, not tight (iirc the 280's are pretty clampy)

anyways, give some consideration.

[davidka]

Somehow a guy using a backdrop of a tool chest doesn't inspire me as a person who is an audiophile or an engineer.

The site offers up less credibility when reviews are displayed as forum thread posts.

Personally I don't get anything based on 1 or 2 reviews... I did much more research when I was looking for what to get even in this price range, and yes, there are better options for a review. But I think these 2 links are enough for a start to get someone interested about them (or not). If that happens, then there are tons of other places for reviews.

[keyman_sam]

Bower & Wilkins P3

Its #1 in my gear list to buy

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

But if you want to "hear" the bass closer to what monitors do, then maybe look into the KRK8400. Have mine on right now, I never feel like they are there. I always like the way the sound. Recording bass, recording guitar, listen to online music, someones music here, doesn't matter. I always enjoy them. Comfy, not tight (iirc the 280's are pretty clampy)

i love my krk kns 8400's...researched for over a year to find a can that satisfied all my criteria

closed
comfort around ears
lightweight
non-fatiguing sound
flat as possible, especially no bass hyping
detachable cable
easy-to-drive so can also be plugged direct into ipod

almost ended up with the shure 840's but reviews and can-enthusiast forums steered me in favour of the krk's which satisfied all my 'wants' and offered even more - the inline volume slider is a great, and very useful, bonus

[chk071]

Just a fact but, Dr. Dre makes all his current revenue ($100+ million was just the contract for his name on them, plus whatever high yearly profits generated) for his name on those Beats headphones, more than any of his music/production sales.

Somehow a guy using a backdrop of a tool chest doesn't inspire me as a person who is an audiophile or an engineer.

The site offers up less credibility when reviews are displayed as forum thread posts.

But it matters more what comes out of his mouth than what is visible in the background. At least i wouldn't trust him more if he had some audiometric devices in the background...

[chj]

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

[james0tucson]

I have never heard them, but I imagine they do suck, probably with the bass/low frequencies way over colored/emphasized.

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. On the other hand, they might like Beyer DT150s much more, because those do, purposely and shamelessly, give a bass-heavy response, but still flatter (bell-shaped and not S-shaped) in that boosted range.

I assume the person asking the question is monitoring and mixing spoken word vocals against a bass-heavy accompaniment, which couldn't be more different from my piano and woodwinds thing, so I'm probably not even qualified to chime in.

[chk071]

Are the Beats marketed as being real "studio headphones" anyway? I could imagine its target group is more the deluxe loving iPod fraction.

[hibidy]

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

[hibidy]

iPod

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

[docdued]

AKG K271. Happiness ensues.