Hi there,
as you can see i'm a total noob so apologies for my ignorance, and any advice will be much appreciated...

i currently use a pair of senn mx500 for mobile use. but i'm looking at purchasing some mid range phones (£40-£120ish) for use at home mainly for music but also DVDs. most commonly i guess i'll simply be using the 3.5mm jack on my pc as an output.

one thing i'm looking for in particular is good bass (obviously my mx500 are pretty lame for that) . i took a look at the review of those senn HD555 (linked from this forum) and it mentioned the following:

"Our only criticism is that the bass doesn’t go
quite as deep as we would have
liked, something that’s particularly
noticeable with action-movie
soundtracks and some forms of electronic
music."

i feel this could be a problem for me as i tend to listen to a very broad range of music, some of which features very low frequencies. can anyone recommend alternatives that might provide better bass capabilities?

thanks in advance for your help

[alexs2]

At the top end of your budget there are some very good phones available.....my own favourites at that level would be Sennheiser 600s',but there are also things like the Beyers to be considered,and some of the other contributors will no doubt give you opinions on the others as well.....

Bear in mind that everyone's opinion is just that,and you must try as many as you can...use the forums for information and then make a list and try as many as possible.

the best advice i can give, is to set aside an hour or two, go to a hi-fi shop which carries headphones and have a listen (I know my local SuperFi has over 20 pairs on permanent demo, running from a shared and split CD player output...and best of all, they carry 'hi-fi' as well as 'profesionnal/DJ' headphones)

this is what i did before taking the plunge and splashing out on those £200 five-star Sennies....best 2 hours i ever spent, as I found them unlistenable.

i discovered that reviews, price and reputation didn't count for anything to my ears...its not to say you'll find the same, but i think that truly is your only way to guarantee satisfaction

PS if it were me, I'd want a pair of Senheisser HD-25s for music, and a budget (£30 or less) pair for DVDs (comfortable with an airy sound that is clear on dialogue would be my preference over the ruthlessly accurate and very bassy HD25s...). but as i say...choose what you like best only!

thanks for the advice guys

i'll find out what is available for trying in the stores, sounds like a good plan.

could someone tell me though if there is any significant difference in the sound from open and closed headphones, i can see that you might want the closed design to block out external sounds, but are there any advantages to the open design?

[extremelydodgy]

It's easier to design open headphones to sound better.

noripsni - in general, there is a massive difference in sound between closed and open headphones.

open headphones tend to be more airy and spacious, and will in this way probably be what you are used to in a headphone. IMO, these would be best for DVDs since dialogue should be clear, and the stereo effect will be pronounced. They may feel less claustrophobic on your ears too - a good thing when watching a 2 hour DVD.

closed headphones tend to have much more bass - extension, quality and quantity - but sound more 'direct'. IMO, these would be best for music (seen as you want bass). The Senheisser HD25s I mentioned are closed-back - they are like a best friend to me...! Oh, and closed headphones can usually go louder than open ones.

[TameRacingDriver]

I'd recommend the Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro (80 ohm), they are good sounding closed phones with excellent, subwoofer-esque bass.