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Thinking about sending the AD700's back, need a good alrounder for games/music/movies with some "oomf" that the 700's are missing.

2K views 26 replies 10 participants last post by  moisiss 
#1 ·
First and foremost the main reason I will be sending them back, as imo they are far to big. They are not comfortable for me, though they are kinda growing on me and I would put up with them if the sound was worth it.

While they are amazing for games, been playing amnesia/dead space 3/outlast on them and have been terrified for days because of the positional ques, they just have no oomf with music or movies.

I am willing to go a bit extra if that's what it takes, I am thinking about $160.

comfort - number one priority
Gaming - Number two priority
Main type of music - metal, very heavy. I.e newer melodic metal and old school iron maiden etc.

I was thinking on going with the m50s, though I have never owned a close back pair, do they fatigue after a while being isolating. Also is the sound quality going to be worse than the ad700's as it is closed vs open back.
http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50-Professional-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B000ULAP4U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378701149&sr=8-1&keywords=Audio+Technica+m50

Also seen these as many peoples go to under $150 headphones. The sony MDR7506
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR7506-Professional-Diaphragm-Headphone/dp/B000AJIF4E/ref=lh_ni_t?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Being a metal user I was set on the grado sr80i, though a quick research found that they are rather bad for gaming, and very uncomfortable.

Any other solid recommendations for around about the $100 mark, or if I have to max limit is $160 for those m50's.

Another contender? V-MODA Crossfade LP
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003BYRGJ0/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B003BYRGJ0&linkCode=as2&tag=m0494a-20
 
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#4 ·
The HD558's are great headphones, especially for their cost. I haven't really owned anything cheaper than them, so I don't really have an opinion on others.
 
#5 ·
I think I saw DT990 Pro 250ohm for 160$ in amazon. DT770 Pro would also be a good option, both have great bass and the comfort is among the best.
They have room for big ears/etc, the clamping force of the Pro models may be a bit too much for some but the headband is made from steel so you can bend it to better shape.
 
#6 ·
Eh apparently we have like 2-3 best buys near us, according to my gran. Being from the UK, I have obviously never been in one. Do they have demo headphones/sound station to try them on? As tbh, anything at $100+ is going to sound amazing to me as I am just coming from terrible gaming headsets. Comfort is the key here, and it would be best to try them on or I will end up needing to send back alot of pairs till I find that right set.
 
#8 ·
You'd be better off looking for any sort of hi-fi store to see if they fit properly and are to your liking. If you go to Best Buy as the other guy said they'll have generic types, I know around here they carry some Sennheiser pairs extremely overpriced and couldn't try them on because they won't open the box.
 
#10 ·
I am biased as I've used them so long for studio use, but Grado's are probably THE best open headphones for realisti, ddynamic bass.

That said, it's a very personal thing as to whether or not you find them comfortable. I do, whether with glasses or contacts, but many don't.
 
#11 ·
I found a local audio store near a best buy, and went in to try some on. They had lots, I got to try a bunch on including some shure 840's. They had a second hand pair that someone used for 3 months then brought back.

Instead of $200, I got them for $89.99. They let me demo them for a while with my choice of metal, and they sounded amazing. So far I much prefer them to the ad700's I am sending back. Was it a good buy for the price and for what I want?





 
#14 ·
This is the pair I will keep, I really like them so far.

I have however noticed that they do not sound anywhere near as good as they did in the store, as in the store they hooked all the headphones I tired up to some serious hardware with alot of dials =p
Reading around it seems like these are studio headphones, though I do like them.

The way I see it is that for the $90-$100 price range I am not going to get a better pair of sounding headphones, they sound better for my type of music than the ad700's sound and fit my head better so I am happy.
 
#16 ·
I have a pair of Grado sr80i's and I love them.... they are the best headphones I have ever listened to. The detail you can hear in music is amazing (although I don't listen to much metal so I don't know about that aspect). I'm sure that there are some headphones that sound better... but you would probably have to spend 2-3x what you would pay for the grado's. I haven't used them for gaming but I will give them a try and let you know what I think.
 
#17 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by DrGroove View Post

Are you just running them from your motherboard? They'd sound better with an amp like a Schiit magni
Yes sadly I am only running them from the mini sound card built into my motherboard, I am not driving them at all. I do not plan to either to be honest, I don't plan on getting an amp. Is it a bad choice to keep these if I do not plan on driving them properly?
 
#19 ·




Last shot of them together before the ad700's go back tomorrow. Tbh if I had the money I would keep both of them, as they are good for different things. I really did enjoy the ad700's for gaming, though they were uncomfortable and the 840's are much better all rounders for everything imo.
Though the 840's new, are double the price of the 700's so that is something to think about.
 
#20 ·
hi... couple thoughts

I had ad700s for about 1year (sold them) I never liked them very much honestly.

I have a pair of Pioneer SE-A1000 that I got at BB (magnolia hi-fi in bb...blah blah ) on clearance for $35~ absolutely fantastic so much better than my ad700s ever had been. They are about $60~ on amazon ..but if you want a 2nd pair of open cans that absolutely (imho) crush the ad700s in everyway for less money (right now) these SE-A1000 headphones are it..

http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-SE-A1000-Over-Ear-Stereo-Headphones/dp/B0033PROOY/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1378919763&sr=1-1&keywords=se-a1000

those shure 840s you got are a nice deal... but i think you should get a amp for them

I have one of these (along with a E07K) and it does great with my ATH-M50 headphones and the SE-1000s ..and my other headphones

http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-Output-Desktop-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B008J26ZL4/ref=sr_1_23?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1378919909&sr=1-23&keywords=headphone+amp

or cheaper (much cheaper) $20

http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-HA400-4-Channel-Stereo-Headphone/dp/B000KIPT30/ref=pd_cp_e_0

and if you are willing to wait on stuff shipped from china

http://www.amazon.com/TPA6120A2-Fidelity-Stereo-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B008Y7S3QY/ref=sr_1_cc_3?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1378920152&sr=1-3-catcorr&keywords=smsl

and of course the aforementioned schiit magni would be very good.
 
#21 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by nleksan View Post

I am biased as I've used them so long for studio use, but Grado's are probably THE best open headphones for realisti, ddynamic bass.

That said, it's a very personal thing as to whether or not you find them comfortable. I do, whether with glasses or contacts, but many don't.
Somebody hasn't heard Senny HD 650's, which IMO are the best cans you can get for music enjoyment. Sure, there are cans more suited to recording & analytical listening, but to simply enjoy music in terribly high quality..
 
#22 ·
Actually, I've used everything up to and including the 8xx series...
 
#23 ·
My experience has been the 650's have tons of bass &, though it is more subdued, it presents itself at just the right time.
 
#24 ·
I honestly have no idea how I lived without a dedicated pair of headphones my whole life. Its like hearing music for the first time with these. So many wasted years, so many wasted songs =p

I need to save and get a dedicated pair of grado sr225's for music only, and keep these 840s for everything else.
 
#25 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nocturn3 View Post

I honestly have no idea how I lived without a dedicated pair of headphones my whole life. Its like hearing music for the first time with these. So many wasted years, so many wasted songs =p

I need to save and get a dedicated pair of grado sr225's for music only, and keep these 840s for everything else.
Why don't you like the shures for music?
 
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