New headphone/headset
 

Okay, so my Sennheiser HD-501s are starting to show their age. The left can is held on by duct tape (broke after a fit of rage over TF2 caused me to throw it at my computer :tpg: ), the faux-leather is chipping off, and that's to say nothing of my ancient headset (leather covering came off totally, mic's starting to go, and the speakers have either fallen off completely or don't work anymore). Oh, and I can see the copper wiring in both cords.

So, I need a new pair of headphones. A headset would be ideal. Requirements:

-NOT Bose. All I've heard about them has been that they are really expensive and really cheaply made, with really shitty durability and sound quality. Unless they've somehow magically gone from crap to king, I do NOT want ANYTHING Bose.
-Under $50 would be ideal. If it's a LITTLE bit over that (no more than $70 absolute TOPS) I don't mind.
-HAS to be durable. I am NOT gentle with my stuff, and the reason I love my HD-501s is because they withstood everything up to me rage-throwing them.
-Has to have good sound quality. I use headphones exclusively, and if they sound like tinny pieces of shit with no bass to them, then I'll wind up looking for new ones within a month.
-IF there are wireless headsets that also qualify for all of the above then that would be awesome too.

Thanks for your help in advance.

Plantronics DSP 500's

like 30 bucks with amazing quality and they should last you.

Just want to say, that while I wouldn't buy Bose for myself, I did get a set as a graduation present a little over a year ago, and they're pretty great. I nearly shat myself the first time I played through that first training level in Call of Duty when you're crawling under the barbed wire. I think the reason why they get a lot of flak from the internets is because you've got a bunch of audiophiles that want music to sound exactly how it's "supposed to sound" which Bose doesn't really care about. They're about making stuff sound really nice to the average person. I think my favorite use of my Bose headphones is when I'm watching a movie on the computer. I have a really hard time distinguishing human voices from background noise, so I can miss a lot of quieter lines in movies. While wearing those, I can hear practically everything.

All that said, I don't think Bose sells anything in your price range, nor would I necessarily recommend them, since for the price they're at, you can probably get something a bit better.

I have a set of Icemat Siberias that I picked up for I think $75 on Newegg. The audio quality is great for gaming and music alike depending on your sound card and they have a lightweight design that doesn't hurt your ears after a couple hours of having them on. Definitely worth looking in to if you're a PC gamer.

Grado SR 60 @ HeadRoom - Right Between Your Ears

The best-sounding headphones you can get for under $100, period, and also much better sounding than many far more expensive headphones.

I think what Bose cares about the most is marketing and advertising, and maintaining their own reputation. The average person has no idea what an accurate transducer sounds like, which is how Bose gets away with creating headphones that have horribly inflated bass response, peaky treble, headbands falling apart, etc. They can't even properly attain the goal of sounding nice to the average person, as a $60 pair of Grados beats any Bose headphone utterly in terms of accuracy, extension of frequency extremes and build quality.

So, why the Grado SR 60 over the Sennheiser PX 100?

I suppose that comes down to a matter of personal preference and the type of music one listens to. I would imagine that being somewhat bright and very punchy, an SR-60 would be more accessible to most people. They give a very immediate and up-front listening experience that most people find very enjoyable with most types of music.

Sennheiser is an excellent company, though, and the PX 100s are definitely right up there in terms of sound and build quality within their price range. They are also much smaller and less cumbersome than the SR-60s, and you wouldn't turn so many heads wearing them in public, either...

Also, in Canada, I can actually GET THEM.

Stupid Grado not shipping here.

Managed to get a sick deal on a pair of PX 100's. 35 bucks Canadian shipped.

Because they're just better. The SR-60s have kicked every other set of sub-$100 cans I've listened to out of the water. They may not look all too hot, but the sound quality is a fucking revelation if you've never had a pair of decent headphones before. You really can't go wrong buying them, unless, of course, you'll be listening to them in an area where others could potentially be bothered by the sound they pump out. They're entirely open, so all sound going into your ears goes back out the other way. This also brings up the issue of people hearing things you'd rather them not (i.e. your Britney's Greatest Hits album). For personal, at-home use, though, they really are top notch.

With all that said, as an owner of both I'm inclined to lean toward the Sennheiser set. They seem to fit the OP's description much better than the Grados, and the drop in sound quality really isn't all that noticeable to the average listener. Plus, they're a bit cheaper, which seems to be rather important, if I'm judging the capital letters correctly.

Either one's a real winner, though, so don't sweat it. I'd recommend checking out HeadRoom if you really want more detailed information.

I actually grabbed a pair of those DSP-500s off eBay. With any luck they'll turn out good. And if worst comes to worst... well, I'll grab either the SR-60s or the PX-100s and wear the headset around my neck to use the microphone. :tpg:

Hi there,

*hijacking thread*
I already own a pair of Sennheiser HD570 and a AKG k701 (that's the best dynamic open headphone you can get from AKG). I was thinking about buying a new Sennheiser HD650, but maybe someone has a better idea?

I heard Audiotechnica products are quite good, is that true? Impedance and power consumption of the device isn't relevant for me, since I'm going to build another headphone amp for it anyway.

The headphone should be balanced, I don't wanna get one of these expensive Sonys which are boosting bass by default. I'm not really into that. Frequence response should be quite linear.
The AKG already does that pretty good but I don't wanna replace my HD570 with another k701 - going to experiment with something new... :)

Greets,
liquid

The HD650 is a superb headphone. I owned one for two years and never regretted my purchase. The build quality is top-notch, comfort is high, and the frequency response is among the most neutral of any dynamic headphone I've heard, and I've heard plenty.

However, if you're really into neutrality, you should go for the HD600. The HD650 is a little on the warm side of neutral, with a slightly bassy and dark tonality. The HD600 has less bass and a bit more treble, and is certainly the most balanced dynamic headphone currently in production. I've heard all of the top offerings from AKG, Beyerdynamic, Grado, Denon, AT, etc and none of them come close in terms of smoothness and linearity of frequency response.

I've heard several AT headphones, including their top of the line one, and all of them have a closed headphone coloration, and the W5000 has a hard-sounding upper midrange.

Sounds good to me :)
I like comfortable headphones. If you cannot wear them for some hours without getting a severe headache it's a no-go, even if frequency response is neutral.

The HD650 looks quite comfy, but I think about it.

Nah, I once listenced to music on a closed dynamic headphone. It gives me real pain. It's no fun at all and I get tired very quickly.

Thanks PiccoloNamek for your information :)

Greets,
liquid

Hey, so Griff how did they turn out? I got myself a pair too and I'm loving them