# TPU headphones recommendations thread



## Ra97oR (May 31, 2011)

Instead of scattered recommendation around in the threads they don't meant to be, why not have a centralised thread to deal with this. Be it you are looking for £1000+ headphones or £100 IEMs, this is the place.

The standard good starting headphones:

Closed back portable:
Audio Technica WS70 (Balanced/Slightly bass heavy, very tough metal shells, isolation is ok)
Audio Technica M50 (Slightly bass heavy, strong construction, good isolation, small soundstage)
Sony XB700 (Bassy, strong bass impact, comfortable, ok isolation, ears easily gets warm)
Beyer DT770-Pro (Bassy, strong construction, good isolation, small soundstage)
Denon D1001 / Creative Aurvana Live! (Bassy, very light and comfortable, does not isolate a lot)
Denon D1100 (Newer version of the D1001, sturdier build)
Sennheiser HD25-II (Staple portable headphone, great isolation, balanced sound, small soundstage)
Shure SRH840 (Great balanced/slightly bassy sound, wide soundstage, good isolation, heavy and doesn't fit that well, large better used as home headphones)

In ear monitors:
Head Direct RE0 (Great price for the balanced and detailed sound)
Ultimate Ears TF10 (Top tier IEM, but recent Amazon sales driven its price right down, on stock have slightly muffled mid range, but using Sony Hybrids tips will bring the mids back into line, slightly bassy and detailed sound)
Sennheiser IE8 (The bass head IEM, heavy bass impact and loads of bass)

Home closed back headphones:
Audio Technica A900 (Detailed, airy treble, good soundstage, slightly bass light, poor isolation, but very comfortable)
Beyer DT770-Pro (Bassy, strong construction, good isolation, small soundstage)
Denon D2000 (Full size home headphone, bassy, comfortable, does not isolate)
Shure SRH840 (Great balanced/slightly bassy sound, wide soundstage, good isolation, heavy and doesn't fit that well, large better used as home headphones)

Home open back headphones:
Audio Technica AD700 (Most recommend open back home headphone, large open soundstage, airy treble, lots of details, bass light)
AKG K701/K702/Q701 (Detailed, with very large soundstage, need an amp to perform its best)
Beyer DT880 (Detailed, great treble, mids, slightly bass light, good sounstage, might need an amp)
Grados MS1i (Dynamic sound, good treble and mid range, very suitable to rock music, small soundstage)
Sennheiser HD598 (New series, with large soundstage, detailed with airy treble and good midrange, bass light)

Of course there are far more choices out there, so feel free to add your impression.

If you are looking for headphones/headsets with gaming as a priority, head over to the gaming headphones thread: http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=100173


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## cheesy999 (May 31, 2011)

i like my goldring ns1000's as their £50 and beat the sound from £100+ headphones (could do with slightly more bass but its within reach of an equalizer or bass setting)


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## Ra97oR (May 31, 2011)

That really depends on what £100+ headphones you have heard. Feel free to enlighten me what did you compared them to. If you compared them to the Beats or something like that, I am sure you can be right. I have personally heard every headphones on the list above (and a lot more pricier models, which is not really entry level), sure I don't really follow the entry level phones as much as higher end ones, but I still have some experience with them.


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## douglatins (May 31, 2011)

This thread exists somewhere. I like the Roccat Kave a lot, the only problem is its weight, they went for a sturdy body, but its heavy!


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## cheesy999 (May 31, 2011)

Ra97oR said:


> That really depends on what £100+ headphones you have heard. Feel free to enlighten me what did you compared them to. If you compared them to the Beats or something like that, I am sure you can be right. I have personally heard every headphones on the list above (and a lot more pricier models, which is not really entry level), sure I don't really follow the entry level phones as much as higher end ones, but I still have some experience with them.



only headphones in the £100-£150 price bracket i have heard are beats and bose and the goldrings beat that so...

review here but they've gone down in price £50 since then http://www.whathifi.com/review/goldring-ns-1000-noise-cancelling)

@douglastins :theres a headset thread but not a headphone thread


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## Ra97oR (May 31, 2011)

douglatins said:


> This thread exists somewhere. I like the Roccat Kave a lot, the only problem is its weight, they went for a sturdy body, but its heavy!



I thought that thread is more into the gaming side than the audio side. This one is more for music listening, many of the headphones listed here are not the best for competitive gaming, but sounds great on music and such.


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## cheesy999 (May 31, 2011)

Ra97oR said:


> I thought that thread is more into the gaming side than the audio side. This one is more for music listening, many of the headphones listed here are not the best for competitive gaming, but sounds great on music and such.



sennheisar cx 400-ii are good, very bassy but suprislingly clear for the price of them


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## Ra97oR (May 31, 2011)

cheesy999 said:


> only headphones in the £100-£150 price bracket i have heard are beats and bose and the goldrings beat that so...
> 
> review here but they've gone down in price £50 since then http://www.whathifi.com/review/goldring-ns-1000-noise-cancelling)
> 
> @douglastins :theres a headset thread but not a headphone thread



On the Beats and Bose, they sounds terrible, so you really can't take them as a reference as £100 headphones. Their bass pretty much covers midrange and only suitable for rap and r&b.

Yes, I recommend anyone thinking of going Bose or Beats to stay away, far far away.


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## Ra97oR (May 31, 2011)

cheesy999 said:


> sennheisar cx 400-ii are good, very bassy but suprislingly clear for the price of them



Hmm, my impression is totally opposite, yes, they are very bassy, but extremely muddy at the same time. However they are cheap, but for slightly more money you could have gotten the RE0, which rivals top tier universal IEMs (they are $250 on launch, now only $79)


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## cheesy999 (May 31, 2011)

Ra97oR said:


> On the Beats and Bose, they sounds terrible, so you really can't take them as a reference as £100 headphones. Their bass pretty much covers midrange and only suitable for rap and r&b.
> 
> Yes, I recommend anyone thinking of going Bose or Beats to stay away, far far away.



you should put that in in the thread

those RE0 are about 70% more then the sennheisars on this side of the ocean


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## Ra97oR (May 31, 2011)

They are £59.99 from Ampcity. I am think more of entry level headphone to high end, instead of the normal consumer headphones, which quite frankly sounds pretty terrible no matter which on you choose.

Also take reviews from WhatHifi with a grain of salt, headphones react very differently to different source and amp, with reviews not stating what they are using and giving random star rating is just meh. Last time I checked the W1000X is far more bassy than the WS70 with multiple amps, so I really doubt are they hearing with their ears or price tag and the box.


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## cheesy999 (May 31, 2011)

Ra97oR said:


> They are £59.99 from Ampcity. I am think more of entry level headphone to high end, instead of the normal consumer headphones, which quite frankly sounds pretty terrible no matter which on you choose.



ripper 3 has the goldrings as well and he likes them so i think their worth adding to the list, their £150 everywhere ecept play.com which has them for £50 most of the time (almost permanently on special offer)


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## AhokZYashA (Jun 16, 2011)

i think the upgrade from the RE0 are the ER4 series.
especially the ER4S, 

those flat sound signature is just brilliant,


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## Ra97oR (Jun 16, 2011)

The ER4S sounds awesome, but really needed some extra power. Using it with iPod headphone out is really not the best idea. IMO the RE0 and the ER4 are on the same tier, just difference in different area. The RE0 have far better impact and the ER4's bass impact is not spectacular. Still using my modded TF10 which have a slightly more impactful bass. Oh yes, if you love soundstage ER4 is great for it, where many other IEMs lacks it. If you have a good source and source file ER-4S is totally recommended, but just to say its not what most people new to hifi expects, its not bassy and punchy.


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## El_Mayo (Jun 29, 2011)

Ra97oR you shoulda told me you had this thread, you know how hard I've been lookin' for recommendations 


edit: I bought some JVC HARX-700s because they were £36


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## AhokZYashA (Jul 2, 2011)

HARX700 is good, especially for its price..

I once tried driving the ER4S with the DACPort, 
that blew me away.


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## Jetster (Jul 3, 2011)

Yesterday scored a set of SONY MDR-V6 for $63...there AM shellshocker. There still on sale for $75  reg $109


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