Earphones / Headphones: Where to try, what to buy?

Ended up picking up some AKG 451's for just under 60 quid.

Very impressed so far, compared to my Sony MDR-V550, which admittedly are shit anyway.

"I can hear sounds in songs that I had never noticed before" and cliche shit like that. Admittedly they sound better for some types of music than others (progressive house, breakbeat, dancy stuff). In some rocky tracks I find sometimes the percussion or guitar overpowers the vocal a bit. Not sure if this is just the better quality headphone bringing out flaws in the recording. Maybe something that EQ will solve.

(...) a bit funny that we musicians spend so much time fine-tuning in the studio when people are listening to music through laptop/mobile speakers or with crazy EQ presets.

This.

Though I don't think it's *a bit funny *but rather I want to superglue the EQ controls / 'direct' button on their amps.

been on the grado's sr60 for about a year now and can't fault them
they've been out and about plenty this year with me on forest trails and down quiet roads and have performed without fault
great sound

I've just bought some headphones for £2.49 (inc postage)... Does that make me a bad person?

There is a situation where live beats any home system... Tripping. Spiritualised and Glastonbury (particularly the beta band) where the most amazing sensual experiences of my life.

Pixies live was pretty special too (I was totally sober)... And B&S... Both cases because of the audience for totally opposite reasons.

Pixies doing Doolittle at Brixton, mentz, lost a phone and a wallet and didn't even care.

Anyone recommend anything like those AKG 451's up there but for more like £30-40?

Still using a pair of Sennheiser HD201's I got free a year or so ago with a synth I bought - they are really good and only £20 ish to buy

Highly recommended

bose, dont mess about,
more cake needed too

Anyone recommend anything like those AKG 451's up there but for more like £30-40?

The 450's are pretty much the same - but without the volume controls...

My K271's are still going strong - love them.

Anyone recommend anything like those AKG 451's up there but for more like £30-40?

Try the previous incarnation: AKG K450

http://www.whathifi.com/review/k450 rated 5* when retailing at £100

[ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/AKG-K450BLU-K450-Headphones-Navy/dp/B001F6M5DI/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1357132264&sr=1-1-spell"]AKG K450 Headphones Navy: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics[/ame] - £39.95 in navy

http://www.richersounds.com/product/headphones/akg/k450/akg-k450 - £39.95 in black

http://www.superfi.co.uk/p-2870-akg-k450-headphones.aspx - £41

cheap shit ^^

Cheers, they look good. But will they sound ok? Find out after the break!

Sorry just remembered I'm not presenting on telly. It's been a big Christmas.

i got these for xmas, not bad, but nothing that makes me rate them over anything else especially.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004DOX70O/?tag=hydra0b-21&hvadid=9550947669&ref=asc_df_B004DOX70O

cheap shit ^^

And you recommend Bose?
Overpriced shit.

Bose products are well overpriced it's true - mainly sold to people walking in off the street in John Lewis - natch

Heh, 's-natch'

I recommended the AKG 450's to TM a while back.

I know he bought a pair, so maybe ask him - I've never used that model, but build and sound quality of all the other AKG headphones I've used has been great.

They are bangin! (:

Sound quality is great, I listen to everything from classical, to disco, drum and bass and rock... They perform well across the board.

Only thing I've found is the cups are a little small, in terms of fit. But I wanted something more compact than my old Technics....

Come with a spare cable too, which I think was a nice touch. I find the cables a little flimsy, so I use cheap, short extension cables from eBay so that the jack that goes into my player (and is roughly treated getting in and out of my pocket) that fails every 4-6 months is a £1.50 fix anyway, saving the actual AKG lead.

Sweet, cheers.

Can't believe they're going for £39.95... /: I paid around £55 for mine and have been happy with that.

Yeah - I saw that. But I dont think the 451 was released when you bought them, which would explain the price drop.

I'm glad you got on with them bro. :)

I'm going to buy a pair now for general use.

I'd buy a backup pair, but don't see the point. They've survived well so far, including snowboarding, riding, racing, drinking and falling over...

I've got a pair of Sennheiser HD25 -1 II's which are very good and pretty much bombproof and user replaceable. The AKG 450's are ok but the cables are very poor. They're a bit pricey but will last many years. Superlux make very good budget headphones (£20 - £40) with the HD661, HD681, HD668B, HD330, HD440 and HD660 are all very good value for money.

Those AKGs are excellent, especially at £40! If you like the mid size of them but want something with a bit more clarity and finess, try the Audio Technica ES55.

They will sound harsh for the first few weeks but smooth out after a while and open up sound wise really well. Seem to suck more power than other headphones though. They also look really nice with their anodised aluminium ear cups.

Anyway, alternatives...

I needed something to use with my iPhone, so the need for mic/volume control narrowed my choices down a little. Then throw in the need for something with low enough impedance that they can be driven ok by a portable player. I'd love to splash out on some bigger cans (Grado or hd25s) but if I can only use them at home plugged into an amp (which I don't have at present) I can't see the point in spending more.

At the moment I'm just gloating cos they piss all over my teenage nephews Beats and cost over half as much :-)

Must agree the cable on the 450/451's is the weak point.

Soundwise though, my newbie ears are still blown away by how good they are compared to previous shitty headphones I've owned. One thing I've discovered since using these: soundstage. I've gone and re-listened to a bunch of tracks and noticed much more instrument separation and sounds subtly coming in whereas before they were all just 'mushed' in the middle.

I hear the Sennheiser PX100 are also well recommended in the below 50 notes range.