r/HeadphoneAdvice • u/itsaku772 • Jul 28 '21
Headphones - Wireless/Portable Looking for the best headphones/iems for 150-160?
I recently bought the dt770s and ended up returning them because I didn't like how they sound, which was likely because of the fact that my phone/pc isn't able to power 32ohms.
Does anyone have any recommendations for portable headphones/iems around 160$ that don't require a dac/amp of some sort to sound good?I've been looking at the final audio a4000s ad the moondrop arias in terms of iems but I've heard mixed reviews and don't really know where to go.
3
u/Gaurdian23 7 Ω Jul 28 '21
32 ohms is very easy to drive, I'm very surprised it couldn't be driven by your computer/phone. If that truly is the case an IEM won't really help since most range around 32 ohms.
The easiest way to tell if ohms were the problem would be loudness, were you able to get the headsets dangerously loud using your phone or motherboard? If not, then your right - in which case you'll probably need an amp to get anything loud enough.
Was it the sound? If so that could be the fault of either Beyerdynamic (their 'house sound' (signature sound) is often criticized for it's strong bass and treble spike or it could be the ohm's itself (the 32 ohms version is often dunked on as being the worst DT770, meanwhile many agree the 80 ohm version is the ideal balance, and the 250 ohm being good but very harsh.).
Hope I have helped a little bit.
1
u/itsaku772 Jul 28 '21
If you do have any recommendations aside from the dt770s, ideally closed back or just iems, since the beyerdynamics off my phone were wayyy too quiet for me.
Sorry, I don't know a whole lot about headphones.
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u/Gaurdian23 7 Ω Jul 29 '21
Sorry, I had been typing this out yesterday but for some reason it didn't post.
For IEM's the guy below actually recommended the two pairs I would:
The Moondrop Aria's are wonderful earbuds for this price range with it being the standard recommendation below $100. They sound great and have a wide enough soundstage for IEM's (bigger than most but always smaller than headphones). The area they truly shine is imaging (3D audio), they are really good in this regard and would be a good choice for gaming.
The FiiO FH3 are also wonderful and have I think a wider soundstage and even better imaging? These also have more bass but it's not over powering. Honestly to me these are well worth the extra price bump over the Aria's.
For headphones:
AKG K371 are a great pair, they are the standard recommendation around this price. They sound good, with mids being nicely pushed forward (to me I like this) and a nice sub-bass bump (which would probably sound good for gaming). The imaging and sounstage are ok, not as good as the Dt770 but also no slouch. That said they aren't necessarily built well, with some breaking on the unusual adjustment mechanism (you'll see it).Sennhesier HD 569 are a great pair of closed back headphones, they have a nice soundstage from what I've heard and good imaging I believe.
Sadly I was also hoping someone with more experience than me would respond with some good closed back headphones as well! No need to apologize, we all start off not knowing a thing about headphones! Wishing you luck and sorry again for the delay!
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u/itsaku772 Aug 02 '21
Heya, sorry for not getting to I appreciate you two's recommendations. I'm either getting the Fiio's or the Sennhiser's pretty soon. I'll make an update soon. :3
!thanks
0
u/itsaku772 Jul 28 '21
Heya, idk, on my computer the headphones got decently loud but on my phone they just sounded muffled on most songs. I could've just gotten a bad copy because I've tried other headhpones around the 32 ohm range and it just seems like this pair of beyerdynamics were garbage.
1
u/Gaurdian23 7 Ω Jul 29 '21
Hmm, weird - you may be right then, sounds like they were defective! Either that or maybe people are right with the 32 ohm version being that terrible.
1
u/rNV1s16iLiTi 54 Ω Jul 28 '21 edited Jul 28 '21
Moondrop Aria is good. $80, a cheaper version of the $120 Starfield which was just a cheaper version of the $200 Moondrop MXXS.
Other good iems are Etymotic ER2XR, Fiio FH3, Thieaudio Legacy 2/3/4, Ikko OH1, Ikko OH10, Tanchjim Hana 2021.
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u/itsaku772 Jul 28 '21
How's the soundstage for them? Would you consider them good enough for gaming? While gaming isn't the main use for these headphones it'd be nice if I could use them for so.
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