Help picking out new Headphones

[GTSRboy]

Ive had Bose around ear headphones (https://www.belmonttv.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/bose-around-ear-headphones.jpg) for about 5+ years now. I think they are great, the sound is amazing and they are comfortable. The only downside is they physically break pretty easily, and my 3rd pair has just given up, the right earphone stopped working.

I am currently look for some new ones....i am wondering if anyone can give me some real life insight into the difference between these two and the bose around ear, mostly when it comes to sound.

Sony MDRV900HD (http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-V900HD-Studio-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B000EGJTLQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1273777979&sr=1-1)

K142HD (http://www.amazon.com/AKG-142-HD-High-Definition-Headphones/dp/B0028N78HA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1273777943&sr=8-1)

Or should i get another pair of the bose?

[Bobsama]

http://www.amazon.com/beyerdynamic-DT-770-Stereo-Headphones/dp/B000F2BLTC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1273803394&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/beyerdynamic-DT-880-Premium-Headphones/dp/B000F2BLTM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1273803440&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/AKG-K702-Open-Back-Headphones/dp/B001RCD2DW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1273803420&sr=1-1
Take your pick. All three are amazing in their own right; all three are SIGNIFICANTLY better than BuyOtherSoundEquipment. Any of the three would benefit significantly from a headphone amp. The Beyers really shine with tube output and the AKGs with transistor output; the K702's will sound much better even on just a basic desk amp.

As for amps, Little Dot's entry-level products are pretty good.

Little Dot I+ Hybrid amp for the AKG K702's... http://www.littledot.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=819&sid=d6ff8b960435fc8e3d8b6c953e868717
or
Little Dot Mk.II for the the high-impedence Beyer's (they're ususally 250ohm)... http://www.littledot.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=816&sid=fb24df0b077adae736635a61d99d2400

Either would work decently for the Beyers; dozens of times better than directly out from your computer or a few times better than if you were using the output on a preamp, poweramp, int.amp (pre+poweramp), or receiver (pre+poweramp+radio tuner).

[nysulli]

just about anything will sound better than your bose pair for the money

what type of music do you listen to?

grado's sound great with rock, metal, and jazz, a pair of sr225's will be in an entirely different league sound wise than what you have now

sennheiser makes a laundry list of solid stuff, even the px100-II will be a better all around headphone then the bose and can be had for 70 bucks, hd555's and hd595's are other great choices around the price of those bose

thats in addition to bobsama's suggestions, I'd suggest heading over to headroom and head-fi.org to read some reviews and figure out what will match your musical tastes

http://www.headphone.com/headphones/

btw, great website to compare a bunch of different headphones, they also have some solid prices

[GTSRboy]

I didnt know people didnt like bose in the audio bizz...just finding this out. Im no fan-boy, i just thought they sounded good. Ive never heard any of these other brand so i didnt have much to choose from, i know all that dr. dre base crap and 'x-plode' speakers are all crap, noise over quality IMO.

But anyway, ill probably get a diff brand for my new pair...ill have to look around. I listen to alot of diff types, but primarily electronic/trance/house/techno whatever you want to call it. But i also listen to Yes, moody blues, ELO at times. The only music i tend to not like is mainstream pop/rock/rap and anything country. With Electronic music, you have to have nice headphones/speakers, the music is ruined by low quality speakers, im talking about the typical car speaker setup, earbuds ect.

[nysulli]

I'd look more at akg, beyerdynamic or sennheiser then, I know guitar center carries some beyerdynamic headphones that you can listen to in store if you have one around you

you local audioshops should carry some sennheiser and grado's as well, but the best thing to do is go listen to them with some of your music

[Donnie27]

I didnt know people didnt like bose in the audio bizz...just finding this out. Im no fan-boy, i just thought they sounded good. Ive never heard any of these other brand so i didnt have much to choose from, i know all that dr. dre base crap and 'x-plode' speakers are all crap, noise over quality IMO.

But anyway, ill probably get a diff brand for my new pair...ill have to look around. I listen to alot of diff types, but primarily electronic/trance/house/techno whatever you want to call it. But i also listen to Yes, moody blues, ELO at times. The only music i tend to not like is mainstream pop/rock/rap and anything country. With Electronic music, you have to have nice headphones/speakers, the music is ruined by low quality speakers, im talking about the typical car speaker setup, earbuds ect.

The only thing important if how they sound to your ears. Bose easily earns their "notoriously over priced for what you get" tag. They aren't the only ones, Sennheisser 280 pros sucks old dirty dish water. They should be priced at $19.95 instead of $99.95. The Guitar Center has them to demo and any real bass will make them fart or distort! If the Bose cans were $89 and didn't break so easily, they'd have a better following. I'd take them over the ATH-700, Senn-280, most of the Sony's that cost less than $200 and etc...... That is if they didn't break as two of my co-workers and one friend complained about.

http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AHD2000-Performance-Over-Ear-Headphones/dp/B000MVEC0Q/ref=pd_sim_e_3

I remember testing these in the old Circuit City. My ears like them better than the AKG-701's at that time. They were priced at $359 on sale. For the current price of $229 they are a steal. You'll love them if you don't listen to the AHD5000 or 7000's first:up: AHD5000 can be found for about $320 refurbished.

[Bobsama]

The only thing important if how they sound to your ears. Bose easily earns their "notoriously over priced for what you get" tag. They aren't the only ones, Sennheisser 280 pros sucks old dirty dish water. They should be priced at $19.95 instead of $99.95. The Guitar Center has them to demo and any real bass will make them fart or distort! If the Bose cans were $89 and didn't break so easily, they'd have a better following. I'd take them over the ATH-700, Senn-280, most of the Sony's that cost less than $200 and etc...... That is if they didn't break as two of my co-workers and one friend complained about.

http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AHD2000-Performance-Over-Ear-Headphones/dp/B000MVEC0Q/ref=pd_sim_e_3

I remember testing these in the old Circuit City. My ears like them better than the AKG-701's at that time. They were priced at $359 on sale. For the current price of $229 they are a steal. You'll love them if you don't listen to the AHD5000 or 7000's first:up: AHD5000 can be found for about $320 refurbished.

Did you have sufficient power going to the headphones? In my experience, the worst thing you can do to audiophile-quality headphones is run from directly off of an iPod or a computer. Only a handful of the most popular models will actually sound good connected to the jack on a preamp, poweramp, or integrated amp (or receiver). Even a $40 desk amp works wonders.

[YukonTrooper]

Did you have sufficient power going to the headphones? In my experience, the worst thing you can do to audiophile-quality headphones is run from directly off of an iPod or a computer. Only a handful of the most popular models will actually sound good connected to the jack on a preamp, poweramp, or integrated amp (or receiver). Even a $40 desk amp works wonders.
I have the D2000's and they are easily driven. Of course, like any high-end headphone, they really open up with a proper DAC and amplification. The D2000's spend most of their time married to my assortment of DAC's and amps, but they do fine out of my hard modded XtremeMusic, HT receiver and mobile music players as well. The best part of the D2000's is that they're an admirable all-around can. They work great for a wide variety of music, games and movies. A really solid buy.

[zanzabar]

i like by beyer dynamic 770pro 80ohm, they have the correct impedance to work without an amp (they do not like portable media players though) and have good range/SQ. some people say that they have to much bass but i think that they have lesser mids as the bass and highs are both strong and thats a good thing as u will not need to use an equalizer with them.

[Donnie27]

Did you have sufficient power going to the headphones? In my experience, the worst thing you can do to audiophile-quality headphones is run from directly off of an iPod or a computer. Only a handful of the most popular models will actually sound good connected to the jack on a preamp, poweramp, or integrated amp (or receiver). Even a $40 desk amp works wonders.

At Circuit City they were connected to a $599 Denon Receiver that seemed to over power them YT is absolutely dead on (as usual:yepp:) . Honestly though, I like the 5000 better than the 2000 or even more than the more expensive 7000 models that left me scratching my head and saying why:confused: $329 refurbished is killer IMHO for the AHD5000! But again, some ears love them and some aren't impressed. But less than $230 looked like a Type-o when I first saw the price. They used to run from $350 to $425.

They also make 32ohm DT770's for MP3 player, iPhone and other lower output devices. They once again turn the iphone into something that can cause hearing damage and run down the anemically weak battery even faster:rolleyes:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/614487-REG/Beyerdynamic_487907_DT_770_Premium_Closed_Back.htm l

I'm partial to these (32ohm) and the DT770 Pro 80's (80ohm) I own.