Right: through the nineties they were still a go-to brand for me, but by the end of that decade the material/build quality issues got so bad I swore 'em off.
PS: got the 280’s. Supposed to arrive today.
Sony mdr earbuds are pretty decent considering the price. Every pair I’ve owned has lasted a year and a half at least. Only costs me like £12 each time and tbh I don’t really take the greatest care of them. For general use I’d recommend them
1 BigUp
GLO on the Sony buds, might have to give 'em a go. Feel like the stock Apple ones are dying on me [again] 
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So - listening to the 280’s now and man, the extra money is noticeable - I’m hearing artifacts in other peoples’ audio, for starters. Bigger headspace overall. Build looks much more solid too, esp. the cabling (it uses a thick, coiled version instead of the thinner gauge that’s standard for most non-pro cans)… like it was meant to be used in a working studio.
Yo guys, sorry to resurrect a dying thread, but I wanna jump off from the idea of cheap headphones. Except in my situation, I’m looking for well-priced DJ headphones. I don’t mind if they color the audio a bit, as it will be nearly only for DJing purposes, but I’m looking for a decent pair under 100 USD. Last time I spent too little, and I wasted 35 on some American Audio headphones that broke in half lol.
Any suggestions?
Sennheiser.
2 Likes
Any specific model? Like the HD 280s?
That’s what I’m using for headphone monitoring currently and it’s awesome. Pretty rugged build (esp. compared to the 202’s I had before.) Only complaint you might have is their overall bulk but they sound fantastic. I started hearing details in tunes that had escaped me before - valve noises from horn players and shit.
One thing I’m concerned with though is physical flexibility, how well is the part that holds the ears together built? When I’m DJing I use one headphone and have the other behind the ear, and the last pair I used broke because the plastic was too weak.
It feels like you’d have to torque it pretty hard - they’re semi-flexible.
Would recommend checking out a pair in person though just to be sure.
1 BigUp
I second Sennheiser.
You also can’t go wrong with Shure.
http://www.shure.com/americas/products/headphones/srh550dj-professional-quality-dj-headphones
2 Likes
I definitely feel like I’ve used the Senns in a studio at some point, will have to find some to try out! Big up the suggestions guys!
Sennheiser HD6 mix are $180 and i love them
I’ve been using these recently and they sound great. I don’t care for bluetooth so got cable version. The good thing is, the cable can be unplugged from the headphones, so when it will inevitably get fucked, you only need to replace the cable itself.
Actually got them for £50 from UK Amazon, so I bet you can find them cheaper on the US side as well.
Used to get sennheiser earphones all the time, but their average life span was 6 months.
ATH M50s they go for like 100 but you can find them on craigslist for cheaper. i think i paid 20 for mine and the frequency response is great. only thing is it doesnt have good noise cancellation and isn’t that comfortable, but the frequency response it great
Status Audio CB-1 deal ($67)
If you want extreme budget and don’t mind playing legos, most sennheisers can be rebuilt and have replacement parts for sale cheap. You can buy broken “as is” ones on ebay insanely cheap, sometimes the shipping is more than the sale price. I’ve done that then just repaired them.
It depends what exactly is “broken”, but just ask the seller. So far all I needed was a replacement ear cup and wire. I know not everyone is into ebay hunting though, I am quite the ebay warrior, they even send me birthday cards.
@_ronzlo
Interesting I will check those out. They look like clones of the Sony MDR series in design which although I loved, were pretty much built to break and were like 3x that price.
I love Sennheisers overall - most bang for the buck fo sho.
The Status Audios get impressive reviews w the caveat that they’re budget; I think their biz model attempts to cut out frills and hype. Specs sound decent, wonder about the build quality.
+1 for HD280s
Seriously, I’ve seen a Twitter post where these are mentioned first on list, by an artist who also has 2 different Audezes which are like 2k a pair.
has anyone had these:
they are not that cheap but at the top end of my budget
thought they sounded really good when i heard em last but am interested to hear anyones build quality and comfort oppinions
i have the 880 and the 770 i would say you cant do much wrong with either of them