Bose AE2 or Denon AH-D1100?

[Riksa]

Hey guys! First I'd like to apologize if I'm posting this thread in the wrong place or anything like that, I just joined so I'm a bit unfamiliar with the rules.

But anyways! I'm trying to find a good pair of headphones for movies, gaming and music so pretty much for all-around use. I've been thinking of getting the Denon AH-D1100 or the Bose AE2, mainly for their reasonable prices and the good reviews they've gotten. Now I'm having trouble deciding which one would be better for me. I've heard that the AH-D1100s aren't durable, is this true? I'd say I would mainly use them at home for movies and gaming but I do enjoy listening to music with a good pair of headphones. So which ones would you guys recommend for this kind of use? Also, feel free to suggest something in a similar price range if you have any ideas!

Thanks!

 

[dalethorn]

The AE2 is a very lightweight and light sounding headphone, almost neutral in fact, and most gamers wouldn't touch it for lack of bass impact.

 

[eggontoast]

As Dale said the AE2's have little bass impact and sound a little thin. The Denon's are a nice little headphone though, especially as they can be had for £45 now. However, as you already know by the sound of it, the plastic headband has a habit of cracking and breaking. From what you have said you will be using them for I would go for the Denon's, just be careful when stretching the headband while puting them on.

 

[Riksa]

Thanks for the replies! So definitely not Bose then. Do you guys have any other headphones in mind that you think are better for my use or are the Denons the best option in this price range?

 

[dalethorn]

Thanks for the replies! So definitely not Bose then. Do you guys have any other headphones in mind that you think are better for my use or are the Denons the best option in this price range?

I love the Yamaha MT220. It has a great strong bass, clear mids that are unaffected by the bass, and a smooth treble free of peaks. Just a great sound top to bottom, amazing comfort, etc.

 

[Ryanr1987]

The Denon have nice impact in the Bass and a decent stage but they are too fragile. The Creative Aurvana live is the remake to the 1100 and for a £50 phone it's excellent. They are warm, quite spacious and lush with an engaging sound. The AE2 are thin, balanced and quite bland! they do not work for gaming imo. What is your budget?

The best gaming phones i've own are the MA900. For a closed phone the DT770 is hands down the best when you consider price and preformance for your uses imo.

 

[dalethorn]

The Yamaha MT220 is better made than the DT770 and doesn't have the HF peakiness of the DT770. The DT770 is a very old design.

 

[Ryanr1987]

I've never tried those, for gaming the DT770 is hard to beat so I'd have to run it through Dolby sound test and field test.

The DT770 is the most durable headphone I've ever used. Ive put them through hell and they are built like a tank. I would day they are the best I've tried.

If those are more durable and can take the dame amount or more abuse then they are worth a look

 

[Riksa]

My budget is around 50-100 euros. I live in Finland and generally headphones cost a lot more here than they do in the US. For example, the cheapest price I could find online in Finland for the Denons is 74e + 4e for shipping and the cheapest for the DT770s is 157,70e so in $ that would be 107$ for the Denons and 217$ for the DT770s. I've also been looking through ebay for good deals but in most cases the postal and import charges would add too much to the price so they might cost me even more than if I'd buy the headphones from a regular store.

From what I've heard from you guys the DT770s really do seem pretty awesome but comparing the sound quality of these two headphones, are the DT770s worth the 110$ more? Also, are the Denons really as poorly built as people say? Is it highly likely that they will break in normal use?

 

[Riksa]

Thanks for the suggestion dalethorn! I looked into the Yamaha MT220s and the problem was that I couldn't find them anywhere online in Finland and in ebay they started at around 230e and with the shipping it would cost me 250 euros which is way out of my budget.

 

[Ryanr1987]

The DT770 are def an upgrade to the Denons. They sound more full, much larger soundstage with a more refined mid range. They are a little bit bright but ever so slightly.

The DT770 are fantastic and it's very hard to find something actually better that's closed. I think the Denon D2000 and D600 are a bit better then the Beyer but they are also near double the price! Only a small handful of closed headphones have this kind of soundstage so it's really impressive. I'd rank them on the same level as the A900x, M100, and other phones on that level and they Give the Mad dog and the high end Denon line a run for their money.

The test I run on headphones for gaming and movies are mostly surround sound which bring the true stage of a headphone out, believe me many simply dont do great for gaming/movies but these shine up their with the MA900 and K702 and D2000/5000 as great phones.

Go for it!

 

[Ryanr1987]

Forgot to add the D1100 don't handle normal use well. The cable is not very durable and it's a very frail phone overall. I've had probably 4 break in a short time. Even the D2000 wasn't built to great but it was much tougher the the D1100. The D600,and D7100 are when they took durability to the next level.

 

[Riksa]

Great! Seems like the DT770s are worth streching the budget a little bit! But another question which might be really dumb but since I'm obviously not an expert in the headphone area, what do you guys think of the Turtle Beach headphones? Are they any good for gaming and movies soundwise or should I just forget about them and act like I never asked this dumb question? I've heard mixed opinions about them and I'm curious since they have a mic and a lot of the models are wireless (these things are a plus but not essential).

 

[Ryanr1987]

No such thing as a dumb question The lowers models are very low quality from top to bottom with a small to medium sized Soundstage. The more expensive ones are ok for just a consumer headset.but they do not reach the levels of some high end headphones.

Before you get your DT770 see how much the Sony MDR MA900 are in your country because they are the best of the best when it comes to your needs. I've ever plugged a headphone into my gaming rig and been blown away as much as I have with those!

Open world games like Red Dead Redemtion and GTA come to life! an example is the fields in Red Dead actually sound amazing, hearing the wind and birds and crickets in the background and how they are placed perfectly and distant in some cases just had me in amazement. They are so accuarate and spacious! I tried the HD800 and I actually found the Stage on the MA900 to sound more spacious. I paid £89 for mine but they have been discountied and the price here is £160 now. In terms of music quality they are on par with the HD600 and 650 but more spacious and ever so slightly less refind.

The character of the MA900 is Warm, Liquid smooth, nice bass slam with a friendy treble. They remind me of an open back Mad Dog in some ways!

 

[Riksa]

The Sony MDR MA900 starts at around 200e here so it's a bit out of my budget unless I find it cheaper in ebay. By the way, are there any good wireless headphones in this price range or should I just focus on the wired models?

 

[Ryanr1987]

The UE9000 are the best wireless I have heard. They are great, they don't have the soundstage and imaging of the DT770 neither are they as refined. If you can get the MA900 on ebay I'd vote them.

 

[Riksa]

I just realised that since you can't get the DT770s with less than 80 ohms (the 32ohm version was limited I think?) I would probably need a headphone amp which I don't have. Since a decent amp would probably cost quite a lot (at least compared to my budget), the combination of the DT770s and an amp would most likely be way over my budget. Are there any headphones that don't need an amp, that are at least close to as good as the DT770s AND in a similar budget range? I know I'm probably reaching for the stars here but hey, can't blame a guy for trying!

 

[Ryanr1987]

They are not hard to drive, a simle Fiio E5 will do the job. If not hmmm for gaming and movies the best option is again the MA900 if you can get them cheap as they are easy to drive and don't need an amp.

UE6000 warm, bassy with average soundstage and imaging. not the best for gaming but they have good imapact in the bass so they are fun plus efficent.

AKG k550 - Lean sounding but have a decent soundstage, very efficent but kind of cold sounding so not the most fun but they are technically very good.

 

[dalethorn]

I just realised that since you can't get the DT770s with less than 80 ohms (the 32ohm version was limited I think?) I would probably need a headphone amp which I don't have. Since a decent amp would probably cost quite a lot (at least compared to my budget), the combination of the DT770s and an amp would most likely be way over my budget. Are there any headphones that don't need an amp, that are at least close to as good as the DT770s AND in a similar budget range? I know I'm probably reaching for the stars here but hey, can't blame a guy for trying!

The 32 ohm limited edition is now a standard edition.

 

[Riksa]

I couldn't find the Sony MA900s cheap enough at least yet, gonna keep looking though! What do you guys think of the Sennheiser HD 558s compared to the DT770s for these purposes? I've heard good things about them, though some people seem to think that the bass isn't good.

EDIT: I've also been looking at the Sennheiser RS 170 and 180 because wireless would probably be a whole lot more convenient in a living room and the wires might be too short. So how do the RS 170 and 180 compare to the beforementioned wired headphones? I'm sorry I have so many questions but as you might see, I'm buying my first set of good headphones and I'm a total beginner when it comes to these things!

 

[Ryanr1987]

The 558 is ok. I don't rate it as high as the DT770 but for gaming it is quite accurate but lacks immersion and fun imo. Never heard the wireless ones so can't comment. Bear in mind that you will lose quality going wireless though.