Headphone recommendation for under $200

[kpfe1f]

Hi, am looking for a new pair of headphones...very new to this, have a cheap pair of in-ears that I put when the ones that came with my MP3 player broke...always seemed bent on Beats by Dre but after looking at this site and others, realized it is probably not a good investment for the money. Anyways, hear is my info that I can provide about the ones I want or can afford (btw I listen to 99% rap if that helps too) thanks in advance.

Price - around $200 or less
Type/Design - something portable (mainly using them when walking to school/in between lectures)
Style - this is not a big deal to me, wouldn't pay extra if I can get same sound quality with open style for cheaper price
Location of use: Most likely walking to school/at school, don't care about sound quality much when at home
Sound Signature: well I listen to almost all rap so whichever headphones bring out the best quality in that genre of music
Media: rap/hiphop
Source: Almost all the time will be my mp3 player, probably occasionally use them with laptop but rarely

Also, read a few other sites, but most of the top-rated headphones are extremely out of my price range and not that knowledgeable in headphones. Would appreciate anyone's help.

[skip252]

Welcome to ABi

What style and location are important. You need to say if you want in-ear, on ear, over the ear type headphones. No sense in people recommending $200 IEMs and you've never experienced IEM's before. Some people can't stand having anything on their ears and want those that go completely over the ear.

The location that's needed is your location. What's available and the price changes with your location. There may be a killer set on Amazon.US that Amazon.eu doesn't offer. You don't need to post your address, your country would do. You can fill in the location field in your profile to let people know where you are.

You have a decent budget and should be able to find something that works for you. Supplying a little bit more info will make that easier.

[kpfe1f]

Ah okay misread that then sorry...I am from Canada, southern Ontario. Also, I have a pair of in-ear right now and put it doesn't matter because have heard that over-the-ear are better quality than the in-ear ones...I would take in-ear over over-the-ear but I don't want to sacrifice quality if they are the same price. So pretty much what I'm saying is I want the best quality for the budget I have...if that means getting in-the-ear then okay, but if I have to get over-the-ear I would take those. But if I had to choose I would take in-ear

[mbamg]

Originally Posted by kpfe1f

Ah okay misread that then sorry...I am from Canada, southern Ontario. Also, I have a pair of in-ear right now and put it doesn't matter because have heard that over-the-ear are better quality than the in-ear ones...I would take in-ear over over-the-ear but I don't want to sacrifice quality if they are the same price. So pretty much what I'm saying is I want the best quality for the budget I have...if that means getting in-the-ear then okay, but if I have to get over-the-ear I would take those. But if I had to choose I would take in-ear

If you're focusing on rap and hiphop then you don't need to spend up to $200 to get headphones. Most mainstream IEMs and headphones in the sub $100 range are tuned for this genre anyways, and should be enough to satisfy you. I suppose that you want tighter bass with lower extension, with decent clarity and extension in the mids and okay highs. If you're a basshead, then read this. These headphones offer good clarity from lows to highs and are in the $70-$100 range. The Hippo VB is pretty much the go-to IEM for bassheads here. They're not for you if you don't like dry, analytical sound signatures though.

[kpfe1f]

Yeah after reading that article I would probably go with the Hippo ones...what do you mean by dry analytical sound signatures though? lol and thanks.

[mbamg]

Originally Posted by kpfe1f

Yeah after reading that article I would probably go with the Hippo ones...what do you mean by dry analytical sound signatures though? lol and thanks.

They don't exactly sound "warm" and "smooth" if you know what I mean... basically they try to bring out every aspect of the sound, which means that if there's something wrong with your source file (bitrate too low) or you have a crappy source (bad audio chip in audio player), it's going to throw that in your face, and you won't like it one bit. In comparison the warmer-sounding earphones don't reproduce as many imperfections and are generally more relaxing to listen to.

The sibilance may be a little painful for you if your ears are sensitive to highs. Here's another comparison review.

[kpfe1f]

Ahh okay I see what you are saying...I usually have high bitrate songs, so that shouldn't be much of a problem. In the process of rearranging my player anyways. I know this is anythingbutipod lol but is an ipod considered a good source if you have high bitrate songs? Just don't feel like buying a whole new player as well as headphones. Thanks again.

[mbamg]

Originally Posted by kpfe1f

Ahh okay I see what you are saying...I usually have high bitrate songs, so that shouldn't be much of a problem. In the process of rearranging my player anyways. I know this is anythingbutipod lol but is an ipod considered a good source if you have high bitrate songs? Just don't feel like buying a whole new player as well as headphones. Thanks again.

TBH it really depends more on the headphones and the equalizer software on your digital audio player (DAP) more than the chip itself. These days you can't really find a DAP that sounds too bad at the brick & mortar stores. iPod also supports FLAC, a format that I find many other DAPs don't, so that's to your advantage. If you can, try getting FLAC songs for your iPod. For most people it doesn't make a difference, but for those with sensitive ears it's a world apart from MP3 and AAC.

My concern about the iPod is its lack of customization for equalizer settings. However that can be easily remedied if you install Rockbox on it.

If you want to know more about the Hippo VB's there is that Big Hippo VB thread in this board.

[kpfe1f]

Well I have the hip-hop setting on the iPod set and it seems fine even with the phones I have now...I will probably just stick with mp3 though considering that is what is already on my player. And I looked on the Rockbox site and it says it doesn't support iPod classic very well which is what I have =(

[mbamg]

Originally Posted by kpfe1f

Well I have the hip-hop setting on the iPod set and it seems fine even with the phones I have now...I will probably just stick with mp3 though considering that is what is already on my player. And I looked on the Rockbox site and it says it doesn't support iPod classic very well which is what I have =(

Hmm... that's unfortunate to hear. Well, customizing EQ is a skill that does take a while to perfect, so if you don't have the time, then I wouldn't recommend it. I don't listen to any EQ setting other than flat though - I'm a proponent for listening to the sound that was recorded as opposed to being artificially modified through the source.

[kpfe1f]

Yeah true, the only reason I have the hip-hop is because my phones now are cheap and this setting increases the bass but considering these have amazing bass will probably go with flat. Thanks for your help. I'll probably pick them up soon and am thinking of buying the Comply Foam Tips with them as a I read they are good for comfort and even sound somewhat.

[steinburger1109]

iPods are fine. They're not the best, but they're pretty much indistinguishable with other quality sources. Headphones matter much more.

(Comply tip thread)