Best <$200 headphones for gift to 12 year old w/Touch?

[MotionMan]

My nephew is graduating from grammar school and it has been decided to get him a nice pair of over-the-ear headphones for his iPod Touch (and other/future uses, too).

I have been given a hard budget of $200 (If I can buy the item from Amazon Prime, it will be tax and shipping free).

I know nothing about headphones (Of course, many of the others involved have suggested Bose).

Help!

MotionMan

This thread seems to have spiraled out of control.
-ViRGE

 

[vi edit]

It's not my money...but $200 for headphones for a 12 year old? Seriously?

An ipod isn't going to remotely push a good set of cans to their fullest. For a kid that age I'd be worried about them being destroyed or stolen.

If you must...I'd scale back the budget to something more reasonable...
http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD5...316379&amp;sr=1-27

 

[dpodblood]

Two things.

1) I would never recommend Bose.

2) Don't get $200 headphones for a 12 year old. They aren't old enough to care about good sound quality at that age, and the headphones will get destroyed within a matter of months.

I would look at getting some earbuds in the $30-$40 range.

 

[MotionMan]

Two things.

1) I would never recommend Bose.

2) Don't get $200 headphones for a 12 year old. They aren't old enough to care about good sound quality at that age, and the headphones will get destroyed within a matter of months.

$200 is my budget cap. I am willing to spend less if we can still get good headphones.

I would look at getting some earbuds in the $30-$40 range.

We do not want earbuds. We want over-the-ear. Any suggestions?

MotionMan

 

[vi edit]

The one thing I would also worry about with the higher end cans is that they usually have a the larger 6mm plug. To get them to work you have to use a 3.5mm adapter. That gets to be pretty chunky/heavy and adds a lot of unneeded torque to the headphone plug of small portable device. This is a concern with a more...uhh...active user of that age.

 

[MotionMan]

It's not my money...but $200 for headphones for a 12 year old? Seriously?

An ipod isn't going to remotely push a good set of cans to their fullest. For a kid that age I'd be worried about them being destroyed or stolen.

Like I said, I do not know anything about headphones and I was GIVEN a budget of $200. If we can spend less and still get good over-the-ear phones, so be it!

I completely agree with you regarding most 12 year olds, but they will not get broken, lost or stolen with this 12 year old.

If you must...I'd scale back the budget to something more reasonable...
http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD5...316379&amp;sr=1-27

Why do you recommend those over others in a similar price range?

MotionMan

 

[MotionMan]

The one thing I would also worry about with the higher end cans is that they usually have a the larger 6mm plug. To get them to work you have to use a 3.5mm adapter. That gets to be pretty chunky/heavy and adds a lot of unneeded torque to the headphone plug of small portable device. This is a concern with a more...uhh...active user of that age.

Yeah, that is why I mentioned that it would be used with a Touch. I am looking out for that issue as well.

(I am just a private taking orders from the generals... )

MotionMan

 

[vi edit]

What type of music does he (she?) listen to? That makes a difference too. Some models will boost the low end to give you more boom boom at the cost of clearer mid/highs.

 

[LikeLinus]

Koss PortaPro

That's all you need to know.

 

[MotionMan]

What type of music does he (she?) listen to? That makes a difference too. Some models will boost the low end to give you more boom boom at the cost of clearer mid/highs.

No clue.



MotionMan

 

[kornphlake]

I work with boy scouts that are all about that age and the must have headphones are Beats by Dr. Dre. I personally think they sound like garbage and they cost too much for what you get, but the kids are all gaga over them. If your nephew is really into music more than his image it's hard to go wrong with Sennheiser, Grado is pretty respected as well, but I'm not sure how well respected they are in your price range. Koss and JVC make good affordable headphones, do some research first though, they each make some not so good headphones as well.

 

[MotionMan]

I work with boy scouts that are all about that age and the must have headphones are Beats by Dr. Dre. I personally think they sound like garbage and they cost too much for what you get, but the kids are all gaga over them. If your nephew is really into music more than his image it's hard to go wrong with Sennheiser, Grado is pretty respected as well, but I'm not sure how well respected they are in your price range. Koss and JVC make good affordable headphones, do some research first though, they each make some not so good headphones as well.

This thread is my research!



MotionMan

 

[Smoove910]

Get these and be done with it:
http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-EH-.../dp/B00067OF80

Use the extra $140 and buy yourself something.

FYI - I do own these and have had them for about 3 years. I absolutely love them, they are a high impedance so the IPod should have no issues pushing them. Mine are connected to a Sansa Fuze and sounds wonderful.

If you are wanting to get saucy, get these:
http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-.../dp/B000065BPB

And something like this to power them:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...e5f7551&itemid=230592630172&ff4=263602_304652

It's your dime, but personally I would never spend $200 on a pair of headphones for a 12 year old. Especially if the kid wasn't even mine. Good luck!

 

[vi edit]

Yeh the Dre Beats seem to be the new status quo of young trendy yuppie kids. I've heard the 300 pair of them that a cousin of mine had and was left completely underwhelmed. Sad part is that most of these kids probably don't even know a Dr. Dre song if they heard it.

Anywhoo...I suggested Sennheiser because it's a good combination of name recognition, sound quality, and build quality. While Koss may have some price point gems, in the image conscious mind of a 12 year old...you don't want to be the one rocking the Koss cans.

The 202's are the entry level Sennheisers. They have very good bass levels (maybe more important to a 12 year old) and are more portable friendly.

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-...9960972&amp;sr=1-1

 

[uhohs]

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread...beyerdynamic-dtx-300-p-koss-ksc35-added-05-06

 

[mshan]

Sennheiser HD555 sound really good with my dad's previous generation iPod Nano.

Nephew may have an issue with looks of the headphones while he is wearing them, though.

Audio Technica A900 might also work, but probably pushing just over $200 if buying new.

 

[Doclife]

I'd recommend the tried and true Sony's MDR-V6 Studio Monitor headphones. This headphones have been around since the 80's and the design has not been changed since. It is rugged and can be folded for travel. The sound quality is superior.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-V6-Mo...5323798&amp;sr=8-1

 

[dpodblood]

Get these and be done with it:
http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-EH-.../dp/B00067OF80

Use the extra $140 and buy yourself something.

I agree with this 100%. They are a good sounding entry level headphone. Good sound quality for the price while remaining comfortable and portable. Senn's are hard to beat for the price. Dr Dre beats are a waste of money and they are way too chunky to use with an iPod. Bose are just garbage (for what they cost). And for the love of god stay away from Skull candy. Grados are amazing, but they are also expensive and style and comfort are not exactly a priority.

 

[mikeford]

Over the ear headphones for a 12 year old seem like a VERY poor choice.

Silly to wear outside.
Too large to carry when not in use.
You won't be able to tell if the music being played to loud potentially damaging hearing.

Sennheiser MX series are cheap and VERY decent quality. Everyone in my family has at least one set of the MX400 earbuds, and we routinely make our son turn his down. With sealed headphones he would likely be deaf by now.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Sennheiser HD-25 II. They'll take any abuse a kid can dish out and sound great.

Also the Audio-Technica ESW9 and M50 are worth considering.

Some others to check into as well: Phiaton MS400, Ultrason HFI-780, and there's some Beyerdynamics too.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Sennheiser HD555 sound really good with my dad's previous generation iPod Nano.

Nephew may have an issue with looks of the headphones while he is wearing them, though.

Audio Technica A900 might also work, but probably pushing just over $200 if buying new.

The A900 are likely way too big and bulky for a kid. I like them a lot, but they're not portable at all. Denon has a couple of portable headphones that should be in this price range as well (AH-D1100 and AH-D1000).

HD555s are good, but they're open so if portability or listening in an environment with other people will happen, I'd recommend close headphones instead.

Over the ear headphones for a 12 year old seem like a VERY poor choice.

Silly to wear outside.
Too large to carry when not in use.
You won't be able to tell if the music being played to loud potentially damaging hearing.

Sennheiser MX series are cheap and VERY decent quality. Everyone in my family has at least one set of the MX400 earbuds, and we routinely make our son turn his down. With sealed headphones he would likely be deaf by now.

This is terrible advice simply because earbuds are actually about the very worst headphones you can use as far as causing hearing problems. They don't fit well with human ears, which greatly impacts sound quality and necessitates turning up the volume to compensate. Just because you tell them to turn it down doesn't mean they aren't cranking it elsewhere (and there's a reason they're cranking it beyond just being kids and wanting to crank everything). Its not difficult to tell if the volume is too high on over the ear headphones, as even closed ones don't seal so well that if its too loud you can hear it.

IEMs are better, and while you can't monitor the noise levels as much, you likely won't need to as the extra isolation can help a lot with keeping the volume in check (getting a seal helps a lot with bass which is what they're going to want, and earbuds in general suck for getting bass). Same for closed over the ear headphones.

You can also install a volume limiter and/or adjust the gain on the songs to limit them.

 

[sdifox]

http://www.amazon.com/Grado-Prestige...ref=pd_sim_e_2

 

[hans030390]

Audio Technica ATH-M50. From all my browsing around on Head-Fi, most people seem to think they're the best under $200. I had them for a while, and they are quite good. Very sturdy, and they sound awesome.

 

[0roo0roo]

You are better off getting him a pair of 50 dollar headphones....he will shred em as said. At that price you can even afford a spare.

 

[0roo0roo]

Over the ear headphones for a 12 year old seem like a VERY poor choice.

Silly to wear outside.
Too large to carry when not in use.
You won't be able to tell if the music being played to loud potentially damaging hearing.

Sennheiser MX series are cheap and VERY decent quality. Everyone in my family has at least one set of the MX400 earbuds, and we routinely make our son turn his down. With sealed headphones he would likely be deaf by now.

naw those are the kind that have almost no seal against outside noise, and thus destroy your hearing if you turn them up to compensate...as a 12 year old will do. you have it entirely backwards, sealed headphones allow you to hear with low volume, it is when people try to overcome ambient noise with leaking headphones that they get into trouble.