closed back headphone recommendations please

hixy

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Jul 4, 2009
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mick
Hello folks could your recommend so half decent headphones up to £300 must be closed back please,I listen to all types of music from classical to dance

Cheers

 

vacdac

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Jul 19, 2011
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Chris
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Hi Mick,

Well under your upper budget >>> the AKG K272HD's are very good. I have a set that I use predominantly for monitoring my vinyl recordings when doing manual cleanup & edits.
41O1V5pmnSL._SX385_.jpg
These are around £160 delivered from Amac***z. Thomann based in Germany seem to offer the best value selling @ £90 + £10 for delivery.>>> .http://www.thomann.de/gb/akg_k272_hd.htm. This is where I bought mine around Jan/Feb last year & I've bought a few items from them & have always found them good to deal with.

Their balance is similar to AKG K701 IMV & in terms of SQ are on the same page at least. Impedance is none whacky @ around 56/62ohms off memory & they work well with most can amps/built in headphone amps

Great purely for listening on too. Mine sound super on t' end of both can amps I have (Audio-gd NFB12.1 & MF x-cans v8) My music tastes cover Female vocal, acoustic, indie, rock, jazz, hip hop/trip-hop, some classical, Latin & much more.

My most recent acquisition has been a set of Audio Technica's newest version of their ATH AD700x. These are fantastic very fast/open & accurate sounding with excellent detail & a lovely airy sense of space that reminds me of speakers with ribbon H.F. drivers. These are open cans, but they have a closed sibling the ATH A700X & the drivers are identical/tech specs v similar with the main difference being much better isolation. The AD700X I have are 38ohms impedence but the closed AT A700X are 64ohm. Here's the best price I found.>>http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Audio-Technica-ATH-A700X-Art-Monitor-Headphones-/310786432407?pt=US_Headphones&hash=item485c509d97. @ around £86 inc shipping from the U.S.

The overall balance is rather lovely IMV & v well judged, happily rather coincident with my own tastes as I'm not a bass monster in terms of h/phone listening preferences. The overall extension is actually good & they go low enough TBH, it's rather that the bass is not overblown or exhibiting that 'flabby/overblown/artificial boosting of these frequencys. What you get is fast/fleet of foot with no overhang, stuff like Massive Attack, Portishead & LCD Loundsystems "Sound of Silver" sounds excellent as does Modern contempory jazz stuff with a full fat brass sound & good heavy drum backbeat behind it like the excellent Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Chicago's Hot 8' Brass Band & the Hackney Colliery Brass band & Williams Fairey Brass Band.

Anyhoo here's the closed version>>>
61srTg0ZYUL._SL1000_.jpg
Around £180 delivered bought from UK sellers. But much much cheaper to buy from e-bay shopfront sellers, shipped from H.K. , Australia, China, Japan, U.S. I payed £81 delivered for my ATH AD700X. :cool: You can find details of the Oz based seller I bought from here.>> .http://www.hifiwigwam.com/showthread.php?92087-New-headphones-and-extras-to-replace-AKG-702-s&p=1660567&viewfull=1#post1660567.

Don't underestimate comfort either when choosing cans I also have Senn HD595's & whilst pretty damn good overall, in terms of long term comfort they're not a patch on the AKG's or AT's. Of the latter two, it's fairly close with the AKG's maybe edging it, although despite the AT's bulk they feel really light on t' old noggin. I'm also a specs wearer & find some brands in particular I've never got on with, Grado being notable in being very poor for comfort personally speaking. Pretty much all AKG's pro series models from the K142 up to the K701/2 are similar in terms of comfort & the same goes for AT's Magnesium framed A/AD series with the twin 'head-pads. Senn HD650's are also v good in terms of comfort, being similar to my own HD595, but these are 'open' in any case as you're likely aware. :)

ATB

Chris

scooooooze hEnNy TyPoooOozE's I'm watching Homeland noooooo.

 

lowendall

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happy enough
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what about trying some cheaper ones , super lux hd 661 honestly about 40 pounds sound bloody good for the beer money, but I have just brought a pairs of sony monitors , next down from there digital model pro model , about 65 pounds and they sound good, poor old sony fallen for the digital and have stuck labels on the sides saying digital , but mine fold away and have a nice little bag as well , .

try em if you don't like em send em back , I kept mine ,.

lowenDALL

 

griffy

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Dave
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I rate my new NAD Viso HP50's very highly.

Hifipig did a review of these and were recommended. They sound great when used with my head amp, but also very good connected to an ipod.

They retail at £250 but can be had a bit cheaper brand new. ;)

 
A

anaitiologikos

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AKG K550. Fantastically good for a closed back headphone IMO. Haven't tried Denon AH-D5000 though, but I'm told the AKG is better.

 

FiftyPlus

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AKG K550. Fantastically good for a closed back headphone IMO. Haven't tried Denon AH-D5000 though, but I'm told the AKG is better.
This is where listening comes in. I have listened to the 550s and find them a bit lacking in the upper midrange, therefore sounding too closed to me. I would compare them with equivalent priced Audio Technicas, B&Ws, PSBs, Sennheisers etc. and demand an audition. Don't overlook the Grados either as I have the SR80is and they hold out well against others and though open, seal a fair bit off and don't leak as bad as is claimed. Not very practical for portable listening mind you. So far it's the B&W P5s that interest me - though I have a pair of much cheaper Sennheisers (HD228) that work best for classical on the move.

 

vacdac

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Jul 19, 2011
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Chris
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This is where listening comes in. I have listened to the 550s and find them a bit lacking in the upper midrange, therefore sounding too closed to me. I would compare them with equivalent priced Audio Technicas, B&Ws, PSBs, Sennheisers etc. and demand an audition. Don't overlook the Grados either as I have the SR80is and they hold out well against others and though open, seal a fair bit off and don't leak as bad as is claimed. Not very practical for portable listening mind you. So far it's the B&W P5s that interest me - though I have a pair of much cheaper Sennheisers (HD228) that work best for classical on the move.
Yeah I haven't found myself overly liking the AKG K550's on either occasion I've tried them, although they seem to have reviewed pretty well. I much prefer the K272HD I have & also the K701/K702 & K242HD all of which are to me more accurate sounding

 

hixy

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Jul 4, 2009
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mick
what about trying some cheaper ones , super lux hd 661 honestly about 40 pounds sound bloody good for the beer money, but I have just brought a pairs of sony monitors , next down from there digital model pro model , about 65 pounds and they sound good, poor old sony fallen for the digital and have stuck labels on the sides saying digital , but mine fold away and have a nice little bag as well , . try em if you don't like em send em back , I kept mine ,.

lowenDALL
These turned up today straight out the box the sound lovely for 24 quid its a no brainer.

Vacdac thank you for your reply .girlfriend says she will buy me posh headphones for Xmas.so will look at akg

 

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