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Good Budget Headphones for Beginning Audiophile

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I'm not entirely new to audiophile scene, I had a pair of Audio Technica M50x headphones for a little over a year until they were accidentally stepped on by another resident of my household. Semantics aside, I'm looking for wired (ideally) headphones that are affordable yet able to play my Hi-Res albums. I really enjoy listening to heavier music-such as Exodus and Slipknot-and also milder music-such as Tool, Wolfmother, A Perfect Circle, etc. I'm a student so being able to listen to music in school without disturbing others is preferable and I'm aware that that would entail to using closed-back headphones. Even though I know what to look for, I feel overwhelmed when looking for headphones as there are so many and I keep sinking ridiculous amounts of hours into researching headphones and reading reviews. Add that to the fact I should be focusing on studying and schoolwork instead of, "what headphones should i get," it results in frustration and time ultimately wasted. So, some assistance in finding a proper pair of cans would be greatly appreciated. TL;DR even though it isn't terribly long
  • Good closed back headphones that can support Hi-Res
  • Affordable
  • Not bass orientated but I do enjoy feeling the kick drums - well rounded
  • Wired preferably
  • Help

Side Note I'm also open to IEMs
(Edited)
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Whitedragem
185
Oct 1, 2019
Legend for preempting the communities need for ‘your music types’. Budget and ancillory equipment helps a lot too... Reckon you couldn’t go wrong on some IEMs (at just about any budget).. I am actually amazed by what Drop has available at any given moment, that I actually think I would buy based on what would net me a ‘tier above’ what I can afford. To be fair a great ‘jack of all trades’ headphone is the Sony 1000X M3. Coming from the Audio Technica M50X is a hard act to follow.. The reason I mention the Sony, whilst I felt their initial sound was very ‘meh’, the mode of noise cancellation that removes background sound, allows for listening to music at much lower volumes and getting exceptional detail retrieval. Wired/Wireless modes, APTx-LDAC (good enough for public transport), a mode where you can cup your hand to the headpiece to ‘hear around you’, and configurable ambient sound levels ‘for safety’ eg.walking to/from a bus stop are all pretty neat. It definately has some you beaut audio trickery in the form of a 32bit DAC (probably an S-master design of some sort), and what it does for audio is pretty amazing. The ability to drown out the world and focus on your tasks is worth it. The only reason I mention is that it held the record for best noise rejection until the latest Bose models released. Not saying that audio customers in this price/point sound tier buy based on spec sheets and are influeneced heavily by ‘flavour of the moment’ reviews, but I fully bet that a lot of Sony model three variants of the 1000X will be flooding the second hand market. The markup on them, and ‘staff prices’ ensures that many staff buy them to resell at ‘zero loss’ when they are done. Might be an easy bargain to NAB, and will mean you wont have to worry about outboard audio quality for a while... I swear that the DAC in these things is ‘very next gen’, and the sound they put out, whilst it wouldn’t be the last word in delivery vs lossless files on your Audio Technica (who would normally get my first recommendation, or maybe some Koss pieces here on Drop as well), the Sony WOULD playback compressed librarys better than most modern phones etc. Any new release Android over the last year or so probably offer LDAC support as well. Personally, I used them wired, and they still offer ‘ambient sound control’ in this configuration. One set to rule them all? hardly, but pretty close. I would find them ‘good value’ at 3/5ths their RRP/(ie what replacement AT M50X would prolly set you back)
AdrianL
123
Sep 26, 2019
if you open to IEM then you can consider Moondrop Kanas (non pro) version.
rastus
1391
Sep 19, 2019
The 630VB's got a bad rap with that extra bass control, but they were designed for portable use with players and built with Aluminum construction to take a beating; you may be able to sit on them, or just sit & listen;) Aluminum is quite good passive noise isolation and at 114dB (1 kHz/1Vrm) they can be easily driven by any DAP, well anything... I have Phonon SMB-02's for easy to drive travel cans, outstanding performers. New: https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-630VB-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B013TLYRC8/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=sennheiser+headphone+bass&qid=1568910713&s=electronics&sr=1-8 Used, very student-budget oriented, offer $90;) https://www.ebay.com/itm/Authentic-Sennheiser-HD-630VB-Over-Ear-Headphones-Fair-Shape/123896600261?hash=item1cd8d016c5:g:JqsAAOSw9NVahJZb:sc:USPSPriorityMailSmallFlatRateBox!07647!US!-1 Got more bucks, just go for these, unplug and go Bluetooth: https://drop.com/buy/audio-technica-ath-dsr9bt
(Edited)
Based_Person
3
Sep 19, 2019
rastusI greatly appreciate this, thanks!
etroze86
6
Sep 19, 2019
Just picked up a set of KZ ZS 10 Pros and I am really enjoying them. Not super detailed but still really fun to listen to and dirt cheap.
rastus
1391
Sep 12, 2019
What dac/amp or PC (mobo #@?)... Budget?
Based_Person
3
Sep 16, 2019
rastusI'm using the Activo CT10 DAP
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