Best quality headphones?

[Xyresic]

Hey guys, need a bit of help here. I've been using my Apple earphones quite comfortably for a while, but they're starting to wear out and I want to replace them. I know the Apple earphones are notoriously short lived (something like 6 months per pair?) and I'm looking for better, longer lasting ones. I don't want anything too heavy in any area of the spectrum. The reason I used the Apple headphones is because they can handle almost any frequency without distorting, and that's the kind of quality I'm looking for. I'd be using them mostly for producing, casual listening and gaming. I'm thinking over-ear headphones would be most suitable, I'd prefer not using another in-ear pair. I've got a $200 dollar budget, but unless they're super awesome I don't really want to pay over $150 (These are Australian dollars, so probably anything around the 100 US dollar mark.) Lastly, I want them to last a while, they should be compact and portable... and preferably they don't make me look like a complete retard wearing them in public. Can anyone offer any suggestions? Please don't just mention brands, try giving specific examples...

TL;DR : Looking for good quality over-ear headphones, round the $100 US mark ($125 AU), good clarity, not bass, treble or mid heavy, sturdy, portable, stylish, for producing, gaming, casual, please help!

[Gravey]

Ok, I'm going to try to say this nicely.

If you search "headphones" in the search bar at the bottom left of the page, you will find many many many many threads about this very topic. Seriously, nothing about headphones can be said that hasn't already been discussed in previous threads.

These threads normally just end up in the same 5 phones listed. I'll say get Grados, someone then says "Seinheissers are better." Envy then normally comes in and says, "In b4 SkullCandies," which is immediately followed by a noob saying "OMG DA SKULLCANDIES!!!" Then it goes on into AKG and Sony phones, and maybe into one or two more obscure brands.

Then the arguments go on and on until some mod comes by and locks the thread, thus putting it out of it's misery. Which is why we ask people who post threads about headphones to check the search bar first.

So check that search bar, it has the answers you seek I'm sure.

[ViceFullbuster]

At 7/17/10 02:59 AM, Gravey wrote:

These threads normally just end up in the same 5 phones listed. I'll say get Grados, someone then says "Seinheissers are better." Envy then normally comes in and says, "In b4 SkullCandies," which is immediately followed by a noob saying "OMG DA SKULLCANDIES!!!" Then it goes on into AKG and Sony phones, and maybe into one or two more obscure brands.

I've had skullcandy twice and both times a speaker got blown like 6 months after i got them,great quality yeah (better be for $20) but short life span.

I'm using simple Sony Walkman phones now.

[Breed]

At 7/17/10 05:27 AM, illuminate wrote:

At 7/17/10 02:59 AM, Gravey wrote:

TRU FAX

NOT TRU FAX + RANDOM FAX

LOL here we go again...

My input is always the same too: Sennheiser HD 280 Pro's -- 90 bucks, exactly what you are looking for except they are kina big...so not really portable.

[djInTheDark]

At 7/17/10 11:08 AM, MkieNedachi wrote: Best your going to get is Sennheiser.

I will be the third person to reiterate this. Sennheisers last FOREVER under excessive use. Just do your research on which kind you might want. Because they will sound awesome, and in production that can be a problem. If your listening to something you in the middle of making, and there's an error or something that needs change and/or sounds bad, and your headphones make it sound good, then everybody who doesn't have the best quality listening equipment will hear the problem.

[mhzinski]

Maybe people should stop posting only the headphones they own and you wouldn't get such bad suggestions. I'll give you a rip of information from the forums on what.cd, basically if you want to buy something cheap and portable, get etymotics er 6i headphones, they're earbuds (portable) with noise insulation from the way the cup is designed (ambient noise reduction) and 4 sets of buds for your preference for about 80 bucks on amazon.

I personally own 2 sets of Sony headphones and Sony and Bose are the two companies I absolutely wouldn't recommend buying from if you want to get value for your money.

[p4c]

best headphone investment i ever made: Audio Technica ATH-M50s. they sound AMAZING, have great, pretty flat frequency response, built very sturdily, fold up for portability, made for studio monitoring and works excellently for it but sound great enough for just sheer pleasure. very comfortable, and the headphones have hinges that swivel so you can wear them dj style with one ear on or just let them fit to ur head perfectly. if you doubt the quality of the sound, check out any of the usual audiophile circlejerk sites like head-fi. its great.

i got my pair from Unique Squared for $110, i went for straight corded but they also do coiled cords. they blow headphones of similar price out of the water and compete with stuff more than twice as expensive when it comes to audiophile ridiculousness. check them out.

[Mystery-Moon-Pie-Aud]

At 7/17/10 11:08 AM, MkieNedachi wrote: Best your going to get Skullcandy.

Fix'd.

Also, I will also promote that. Sennheiser are very good and basically what everyone else said. Also, I am a Denon fan, but sennheiser works well too.