Shure SRH440 vs Sennheiser HD280 Pro vs Audio Technica ATH-M50 vs Grado SR60i/80i

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juventino

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I am planning to buy a headphone for use on my PC and cellphone. I am not a big fan of hip hop, so I'm bass neutral. I might occasionally listen to one or two hip hop hits. I usually prefer classic rock or music like kasabian, house, stuff like prodigy.

Plus I would also use it to watch movies and tv shows. So clarity is very important. I'm not gonna be buying an AMP for the time being.

I'm gonna start gaming again but this is not as important as I might buy speakers in the near future. I believe most speakers in the 4-7k range are bass heavy. That would help gaming.

I would prefer buying from a local dealer in Delhi with warranty. If I buy online I would prefer to buy from someone who will deliver it in a day or two.

As far as my knowledge goes the current prices are:

Shure SRH440 - Rs. 5,200/- (directly from distributor) comes with Indian warranty
Sennheiser HD280 Pro - Rs. 5,690/- (Nehru Place) comes with Indian warranty
Audio Technica ATH-M50 - Rs. 7,400/- (pristinenote.com) don't think it carries Indian warranty
Grado SR60i - Rs. 5,150/- (pristinenote.com) definetely doesn't carry any warranty. needs to be purchased from an authorized dealer to carry even US warranty. Grado don't have a dealer in India.
Grado SR80i - Don't know price or availability.

I have no knowledge of highs, mids, lows etc. and not gonna bother to learn for a 7.5k expenditure. So I would be relying on you guys for info.

Thanks in advance.
 
I would remove the srh 440 and the hd280 from the list to begin with since I personally do not like their SQ. The M50 and Grado's offer much better detailing.

Between the Grado(open back headphones) and M50(closed back), the Grado sr80i offers a much better detailing and has a bigger soundstage at the compromise of outside environment isolation. The M50 offers better isolation but does not have the open soundstage of the Sr80i. Also the Sr80i have lesser bass quantity and also slightly lesser treble quantity than the M50. Basically making the Sr80i more mids/vocals oriented headphones. Very good for rock music. The M50 are really fun sounding, the mids are neither as upfront as the Sr80i nor as flat sounding. M50's are more of an all rounder, fun sounding, not really neutral or reference. But they are very very popular for just that.

The M50 does benefit from a better dac/amp but the Sr80i sounds good or if I may, sounds the same with all rigs as long as there is no coloration.

I hope this helps you decide.
 
I would not go for HD 280 Pro too! since I have one :-) man, it will take long time to burn-in and the SQ is not great with any audio source I tried (as of now I don't have amp), but around the world they are extremely popular. With better source & amp it should def have improved SQ. In movies & gaming, they might impress you far more than music listening. They are terrible with portable music players/iphone/etc. Like any Senn product build quality is excellent, but they have horrible cables kind of telegraph cable. In your list Grado's even though I don't have one, have excellent SQ but heard they don't have comfort, be warned about it before hand. Also checkout head-fi gift list, you'll get many good choices, Check Out Head-Fi's Fall 2011 Holiday Gift Guide!.
 
How are the Grado's for movies? and what about house/electronic music? The warranty for Grado's and Audio Technica will be provided by dealer and he is located in Mumbai. That's not very convenient.

I have shortened my list by removing the Sennheiser's and SR80i (not available). Now I have to decide between SR60i, Alessandro MS-1, Audio Technica and Shure SRH440. Honestly I listen to a wide range of music and watch A LOT of movies and tv shows. So I need something that would do well at all these things. The poor warranty coverage does on the Grado's and Audio Technica does concern me a lot.
 
hey dude.. i have a very similar list to choose from .. sr60i, ath ad700 ath ad500.. ath t500 and the alessandros.. i have been researching from the past 3 weeks as this the first time i am personally spending over 5K for headphones.. last time was 2.5K sonys from my uncle.. after all the reviews and recommendations that i have on my personal thread..http://www.techenclave.com/audio-zone/confused-grado-audio-technica-sennheiser-203565.html
and these other threads from users wanting to buy similar products too .. .http://www.techenclave.com/pristinenote/audio-technica-headphones-t200-t500-m20-183160-10.html#post1981193.
all the recommendations point to that though the grados are excellent, they have a unique sound signature and shouldn't be bought before listening to them.. everyone may not like them.. .audio technica ad500 and ad700 have received a lot of praise.. and are a much safer bet.. although they are open headphones and known to leak noise as well as not too great with sound isolation... if u want sound isolation Audio technica t500's should be better and lower price tag of 3.5K.:huh:
i will most probably be buying in the next week.. so i dont mind giving a hands on review .. although i am not sure.. i tend to delay expenditure right at the last moment. .. :S:@
 
juventino said:
.......The poor warranty coverage does on the Grado's and Audio Technica does concern me a lot.
Click to expand...

PristineNote sells both Grado and AT and he is known for his impeccable after sales service. I would personally recommend it. Not that I am getting paid to market for him or anything. Its just my opinion.

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

@puneetritehere your views will be much appreciated. From what i've read about the M35 is that it is very good at the same price as the T500.
 
@bennysachdev.. sure .. i have finally settled on the AD700's .. not the M35 or the T500's . sorry bout that..i know many guys are looking out for reviews on the M35's and T500's . A lots already available for the AD700's .. they are quite popular. will write a review for the AD700's . .but on this thread.. http://www.techenclave.com/pristinenote/audio-technica-headphones-t200-t500-m20-183160-10.html#post1981193. and same over here.. http://www.techenclave.com/audio-zone/confused-grado-audio-technica-sennheiser-203565.htmlits with good help from these threads that i have finally made up my mind..
 
I used to have the shure 440's. they got amazing clarity, but that gave me headache, it was so damn clear. also the drivers could handle so much frequency that it absolutely denies to sound bassy, yet they are reproducing the bass properly. if you like your beats they are definitely not for you. and uncomfortable and hot, especially if you got a big head, which i do. sennheiser hd280's are bit better, the sound is more soothing for longer listen time, though not so clear, which is good. but heavy and headache inducing nonetheless. for easy listening and clarity too you gotta have an open type one. namely the grado 60's ( absolutely delicious and lush). would have bought them had i not bought senn' hd485's secondhand. but i bought them for next to nothing
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if you don't mind outside noise, go for open types then. a grado or a senn 500 series should keep you happy for a long time, for almost any kind of music.
 
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