Cheapest over-ears headphones with some sound quality?

[hex168]

I like the JVC HA-S500 on-ear available from the auction site from Japan for under $50, if EQed based on Tyll's Innerfidelity measurements. Not comfortable for long periods though. One can add full-size pads and hold them on using a 2 5/8"- 3/16" O-ring; no idea what effect that would have on the needed EQ though.

I meant to add: very easy to drive.

 

[dasdoing]

superlux 681 is the best value ever

 

[nas]

Superlux r hard to drive. Apple dongle is too weak. Welcome to the HiFi club. Cheap doesn;t mean good here

It is exactly the opposite... There is too much sound from Apple dongle. 6-8/100 is normal listening, ~12/100 is for more energetic listening, 20+/100 only for song or two. I am a bit silent listener. And while listening many sub-100EUR DAC stuff I can say that Apple dongle is by far the best by quality and by ergonomics - you cannot beat piece of wire.

 

[nas]

That's a very good and fair review of the Superlux. See also https://www.stereophile.com/content/superlux-hd-668b-and-hd-681-headphones

Tyll described the Superlux like so: "...sounded like listening to good headphones through razor blades." I think he was being a little kind. Unfortunately these were a hyped up flavour of the month at head-fi several years ago and it seems people still recommend them. They have some really serious faults, only some of which are correctable. Yes, I have owned a pair. I gave it to a charity shop and 5 or 6 years ago and have missed it for zero seconds.

Seriously when you can't stand them any longer (probably it'll be in hours and days, not months or years) try the cheaper Koss. They are vastly superior in every way. If you can do a return and refund or exchange then I'd so so.

I do not agree to that review at all. Overall 681 I have are... not bright enough. There is no "razor blade" feeling at all. You would like to EQ up mid but not EQ down the highs.
My hearing is not the worst, I can hear up to 14kHz (depending on day and daytime from 13 ti 14kHz).

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

Takstar Pro82 sounds really good. Super comfortable too...

I got these for my girlfriend a few months back and they sound quite good as well...
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00CAG1ZAQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[julian_hughes]

I do not agree to that review at all. Overall 681 I have are... not bright enough. There is no "razor blade" feeling at all. You would like to EQ up mid but not EQ down the highs.
My hearing is not the worst, I can hear up to 14kHz (depending on day and daytime from 13 ti 14kHz).

If your hearing goes to 14 kHz but no more then it is actually very limited, to the point that you would not notice some very severe faults. The good thing about this is that you can enjoy Superlux headphones. The bad thing would be if you encourage people with better hearing to spend money on Superlux's very defective headphones. I'm 53 but my hearing sensitivity goes well above 14 kHz. When I owned Superlux headphones I was 5 or 6 years younger with correspondingly better high frequency sensitivity. They really did sound horrible. Exactly like they measured! Nasty.

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

If your hearing goes to 14 kHz but no more then it is actually very limited, to the point that you would not notice some very severe faults. The good thing about this is that you can enjoy Superlux headphones. The bad thing would be if you encourage people with better hearing to spend money on Superlux's very defective headphones. I'm 53 but my hearing sensitivity goes well above 14 kHz. When I owned Superlux headphones I was 5 or 6 years younger with correspondingly better high frequency sensitivity. They really did sound horrible. Exactly like they measured! Nasty.

have you tested that hearing lately?

Besides that, most of what happens in music is below 14khz including the highs.

 

[julian_hughes]

Yes, and if you think that what happens at or above 14 kHz doesn't matter then I wish you luck. Anyway the Superlux have problems that go way beyond frequency response. Have a look at the distortion & square wave responses. I'll just reiterate: I'm not only talking measurements, I owned these. They are horrible. They sound horrible, they are crudely made of low quality materials. Their audible horribleness coincides perfectly with their awful measurements. Fancy that!

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

I don't want to go overboard defending the Superlux stuff because you know, cheap headphones and all that...but they don't seem all that bad.

https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/superlux/hd-681

I'd apply some EQ to that treble bump of course.

 

[julian_hughes]

I don't want to go overboard defending the Superlux stuff because you know, cheap headphones and all that...but they don't seem all that bad.

https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/superlux/hd-681

I'd apply some EQ to that treble bump of course.

Apply all the EQ you like, you won't fix the distortion and the appalling square wave results. Tyll's review at innerfidelity is really very fair, generous even. Again, I'm not coming at this from a theoretical angle. I bought the things. They are horrible. Their audible horribleness exactly matches the measured horribleness. If anyone would prefer to believe that to be a coincidence that's up to them.

 

[Chromatischism]

You're basically looking for something disposable and replaceable when it breaks, but is still good. I used the Koss KSC75 for many years in that way.

 

[julian_hughes]

You're basically looking for something disposable and replaceable when it breaks, but is still good. I used the Koss KSC75 for many years in that way.

Yes the KSC-75 and Porta Pro are the *perfect* fit for this use case. My favourite headphone: Porta Pro drivers either in a parts express headband or on KSC-75 clips. Technically my Hifiman planar magnetics or Sennheiser Momentums or Massdrop Plus are all better in one respect or another, but for a package of a truly enjoyable listen, huge compatibility, unmatched comfort and no worries about money if you lose or damage them I'll take the Koss every single time. I prefer IEMs in any noisy environment but otherwise the Porta Pro drivers on a simpler headband are so good that it's ridiculous.

 

[nas]

If your hearing goes to 14 kHz but no more then it is actually very limited, to the point that you would not notice some very severe faults. The good thing about this is that you can enjoy Superlux headphones. The bad thing would be if you encourage people with better hearing to spend money on Superlux's very defective headphones. I'm 53 but my hearing sensitivity goes well above 14 kHz. When I owned Superlux headphones I was 5 or 6 years younger with correspondingly better high frequency sensitivity. They really did sound horrible. Exactly like they measured! Nasty.

You cannot beat age of the human being. The 13-14kHz is very good for mine If you are 53 and still can hear above 14kHz - this is almost miraculous! The dude in the review looks even older... So if he feel "razor blades" I somehow think that is not related to the sounds above 10kHz or similar.

Btw, I cannot describe that I enjoy those superlux headphones, this is not correct word - I say that they are OK for the price I payed and better than expected. If my dog takes them from the table to play with them my heart will not hurt much.

 

[nas]

have you tested that hearing lately?

Besides that, most of what happens in music is below 14khz including the highs.

Agree.

Yep. Month or two ago, by simple sine wave. Limit is 13-14kHz depending on day. A bit better in the morning(s).
I am a science person, so 14 to 20kHz is a half of octave, I dont feel that I am missing that much.

 

[julian_hughes]

You cannot beat age of the human being. The 13-14kHz is very good for mine If you are 53 and still can hear above 14kHz - this is almost miraculous! The dude in the review is even older... So if he feel "razor blades" I somehow think that is not related to the sounds above 10kHz or similar.

Hearing well over 14 kHz in your fifties is not unusual at all. I can distinguish tones to a little over 15 kHz. I lost about 0.5 kHz over the last decade. Most adult women of a similar age can hear well above even this. But yes, the Superlux have multiple problems, some of which are not described by looking only at frequency response.

 

[nas]

I don't want to go overboard defending the Superlux stuff because you know, cheap headphones and all that...but they don't seem all that bad.

https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/superlux/hd-681

I'd apply some EQ to that treble bump of course.

8.0 for the sound????? EIGHT???
I am surprised.

 

[nas]

Hearing well over 14 kHz in your fifties is not unusual at all. I can distinguish tones to a little over 15 kHz. I lost about 0.5 kHz over the last decade. Most adult women of a similar age can hear well above even this. But yes, the Superlux have multiple problems, some of which are not described by looking only at frequency response.

How you measure your hearing? Are we talking about the measurable or subjective definition?
I do with simple youtube 20-20000 test tone and look at the digit when it goes totally silent. If you hear sine wave of 15kHz+ this is very very good. Most of my age friends hear even a bit less than me, that is LESS than 14kHz and all of us are 38-45smth.

 

[ZolaIII]

Yes the KSC-75 and Porta Pro are the *perfect* fit for this use case. My favourite headphone: Porta Pro drivers either in a parts express headband or on KSC-75 clips. Technically my Hifiman planar magnetics or Sennheiser Momentums or Massdrop Plus are all better in one respect or another, but for a package of a truly enjoyable listen, huge compatibility, unmatched comfort and no worries about money if you lose or damage them I'll take the Koss every single time. I prefer IEMs in any noisy environment but otherwise the Porta Pro drivers on a simpler headband are so good that it's ridiculous.

Looks like to me you have a lot of bad one's (at least to me) which you paid a lot more than the Superlux. Anyway the title says it all. I don't really like the Superlux HD681, you can't even EQ highs nor will you get a good lower bass (resonance) but they aren't all that bad. I did try to suggest something better still restricted to over ear one's but for the lad the price whose crucial. I do like Koss as a brand for sentimental reasons, consistency and repairability but not the sound. I dislike the EMI's (irritation & failing out). Found my ideally ones regarding comfort in pair of earbuds. The Creative Aurvana Air. They are cheap enough, good enough & durable enough. They aren't the best ones I ever had or heard but they are good (surprisingly good actually for what they are). The response curve is similar to Hifiman HE400i (mesured hire) but more smooth overlay. Try the Aurvana Trio for EMI's if you wish.

Now a serious question. Did any one of you ever tried one's tuned as speakers to a flat response curve? The Rings site by the way evolute & give their ratings based on 0 dBs deviation. Well i did with mentioned earbuds, with most it will sound bad but with those it whose good. It did need some time for my audithory system to adopt but in the end that whose what sound is curves and everything else is psycho-acoustic (subjective).

 

[Chromatischism]

Flat with headphones isn't flat with our perception.

 

[ZolaIII]

Flat with headphones isn't flat with our perception.

Flat is flat (not necessarily a place to live) while perception is subjective (even as objective introspection). We don't hear flat to begin with & our brain will try to compensate to what it finds normal and safe. I do appreciate a bit of boost in uper mids and lower highs but that's about it & still less than popular curves tend to go, don't have anything against (as it can pass) a subtle deap around 3.5 KHz absolutely hate anything that ain't flat regarding bass but that's just me.