Over ear headphones £100 - £200

[admin_exported]

Hi

I'm looking for some over ear headphones for around £100 to £200, with the following criteria:

- I would like them not to leak sound so I can comfortably use them while out and about.

- I want to be able to use them for listening to all types of music, and to be able to use them for composing/mastering music.

- I want something that I will be able to keep for a good few years to come, and hence I would rather pay slightly more and get something I want to keep than buy something crappy.

- Portablilty isnt a huge deal. As long as they're not too big - I don't want to look ridiculous wearing them!

- I will probably be using them mainly in the house, for listening to and making music, but I would take them with me if I was going on holliday etc.

- I want them to be comfortable and sound great!

Thanks in advace for your help!

 

[quadpatch]

Your requirements remind me of a friend of mine and he swears by the Beyerdynamic DT770 pro. He uses the 80 Ohm version but there are also 32 if you want better portable ability to go super loud or there is a 250 and 600 Ohm if you would rather drive it from proper gear. I am testing some of the 32 Ohm versions soon but I have borrowed my friends old ones and I do like them. The isolation is extremely good but I personally would go for less isolation for a better soundstage like he DT880. The comfort is superb (quite a hard clamp on the 770 though). I am trying to get the new Limited Edition of the DT770 at the moment to review, as well as the SoundMAGIC HP100 and VModa M-100 and both of those could also interest you. The Audio Technica ATH-M50 is pretty good but not all that comfy, If you want something a bit smaller check out the Sennheiser HD25-1 II.

 

[dalethorn]

Try the new Logitech UE-6000. Better than Amperior at half the price.

 

[quadpatch]

Try the new Logitech UE-6000. Better than Amperior at half the price.

Oh wow! I will have to try that one!!

 

[Anonymous]

Beyerdynamic DT770 pro. He uses the 80 Ohm version but there are also 32 if you want better portable ability to go super lo

Would it ever go 'super loud'. I bought the 80 Ohm version with my rPac and that was really quiet.......

 

[quadpatch]

It depends a little on the portable to be fair, you might be surprised to hear the iPhone 4 after the rPAC. These USB DACs, even a good one like the rPAC, don't necessarily get any louder than something like the iPhone 4. My laptop gets to the same volumes as the maxed out rPAC at about 50%, yeah it's loud but it's really awful! (not saying the iPhone 4 sounds bad because it really doesn't for what it is!).

If you really want more then you can't beat a powered head amp, usually you wouldn't need them for the DT770 80 Ohm. I do worry a bit about your listening levels after you said that actully, since i can drive the 600 Ohm DT880 to decent volumes (for me) with the rPAC.

 

[dalethorn]

I wonder if the 770 is as efficient as the 880 at the same impedance. I don't trust those sensitivity numbers, especially after testing the Shure 1440 and 1840.

 

[quadpatch]

Good point! Yes they can be quite different. I should also mention that I have tried the 80 Ohm DT770 on a portable and my friend uses his on an iPhone 3 all the time. Neither of us had any issues with volume and Beyer themselves say it should be fine. Portables vary quite a lot in the volume department though, the Galaxy S3 is quite a lot lower than the iPhone 4 (although equally as good if you get the Euro version). I know I'm going a little off topic here but check this out if you are interested in listening to high end headphones from your smartphone.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/02/iphone-vs-rivals-audio-tests/

 

[eggontoast]

My DT770's are really inefficient headphones, they really do need proper amping to get even a half decent sound out of them. You can run them from an iPhone and they are just about loud enough but the sound quality suffers tremendously. I have also had a few so called audiophile desktop amps which have struggled with them, the m-dac immediately springs to mind. They sound absolutely great through my A1 though.

 

[quadpatch]

My DT770's are really inefficient headphones, they really do need proper amping to get even a half decent sound out of them. You can run them from an iPhone and they are just about loud enough but the sound quality suffers tremendously. I have also had a few so called audiophile desktop amps which have struggled with them, the m-dac immediately springs to mind. They sound absolutely great through my A1 though.

Thanks eggy! Is this the 80 Ohm? I'm going to have to get my hands on my friends one to test his again, before I get my mits on the 32 Ohm. I'm now wondering if they added the 32 Ohm specifically to address this issue. As far as DAC/amp pairing, they sound as picky as the the AKG 701, they sound utterly awful out of a portable or laptop or even an average DAC/amp!

 

[eggontoast]

Yes they are 80 ohm versions. They kind of got pushed to the back of the hifi cabinet as they were the first 'proper' headphones I purchased. When I get a new amp I always dig them out and try them on it. I think it was the first time, during listening to a piece of equipment, I actually thought W T F when I plugged them into the A1. I had never heard them sound so good.......not as good as my custom builds though

 

[Anonymous]

I do worry a bit about your listening levels after you said that actually, since i can drive the 600 Ohm DT880 to decent volumes (for me) with the rPAC.

The 80 Ohm version wasn't loud enough on an rPac for me. I was tempted by the 32 Ohm version as I loved the sound, but would like assurances it does reach a higher volume first as the SPL is the same paltry 96 dB. If someone technical here can show me the maths and assure me then great....it would be most appreciated.

• Signal-to-noise ratio (A –Weighted) - 106dB (24-bit)
• Line output level - 2.15Vrms
• Headphone output power - 138mW
• Headphone signal-to-noise ratio - 98dB

 

[dalethorn]

According to this page, the 32 ohm is a limited edition for 2012 only, and since the other links don't work, I'm guessing they are closing this item off, or already did. It says "compatible with smartphones", which I take to mean they increased the efficiency by sacrificing some of the sound characteristic.

http://north-america.beyerdynamic.com/shop/hah/headphones-and-headsets/intercom-broadcast-and-tv/monitoring-headphones/dt-770-pro-le-32-ohm.html

 

[quadpatch]

The 80 Ohm version wasn't loud enough on an rPac for me. I was tempted by the 32 Ohm version as I loved the sound, but would like assurances it does reach a higher volume first as the SPL is the same paltry 96 dB. If someone technical here can show me the maths and assure me then great....it would be most appreciated.

• Signal-to-noise ratio (A –Weighted) - 106dB (24-bit)
• Line output level - 2.15Vrms
• Headphone output power - 138mW
• Headphone signal-to-noise ratio - 98dB

• If I get my hands on this one (maybe a couple of weeks time) I will report back asap to let you know what I find. Do you have any other headphones to compare this to? Maybe that would help us to make a better description.

 

[eggontoast]

The 80 Ohm version wasn't loud enough on an rPac for me. I was tempted by the 32 Ohm version as I loved the sound, but would like assurances it does reach a higher volume first as the SPL is the same paltry 96 dB. If someone technical here can show me the maths and assure me then great....it would be most appreciated.

• Signal-to-noise ratio (A –Weighted) - 106dB (24-bit)
• Line output level - 2.15Vrms
• Headphone output power - 138mW
• Headphone signal-to-noise ratio - 98dB

Unfortunately the maths can't be done as there is not enough info. The only reference to the power output of the headphone out is 138mW, which is pretty meaningless. We need to know what load this is into, calculations for maximum voltage swing and current output can then be done.

 

[Anonymous]

I have the DT 770 Pro AE 32 Ohm's and I'm happy to help in any way I can.

I regularly listen to them via an old Arcam Alpha 3 amp and a Samsung Galaxy S with the Voodoo audio mod/tweak. Volume levels are not an issue in either case.

I hope this helps, but if not feel free to ask

Edit: Just noticed the date of the last post....