Decent/Good Headphones for movie/home theater watching?

[Fallengod]

Just looking for some feedback. I have been mildly shopping around for a new pair of headphones for movie watching.

I already own like 4 pairs of headphones, I dont know what is wrong with me, I keep buying headphones that arnt the best or dont feel that comfortable. I have a pair of Sennheiser Hd497's, Sony MDR V6's from years ago, Sony CDR-580's and some shitty Koss headphones.

Does anyone have any recommendations for good headphones? Just curious what other audiophile movie watchers use.

I was looking at the Sennheiser HD555's which are only like $85 at amazon. I guess there some mod you can do to "upgrade" them to 595's as well, which saves quite a bit of money from purchasing 595's. A LOT of people seem to heavily suggest the HD555's.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Any particular budget?

The HD555s are good, and Sennheiser I believe just released an update of them (HD558?).

Some others to look into:
Denon AH-D1100 and AH-D2000
JVC HA-RX700/900
Audio-Technica ATH-M50, ATH-T500, ATH-A700

There's other models too that I'm forgetting, but I think those would be worth checking out. The Denon's especially I think would be good as they're very comfy and have good bass.

For movie watching you might also look into something that can give you headphone virtualization (Dolby Headphone, DTS Surround Sensation, some others). I know the channel separation of headphones makes them almost unlistenable for some people, so it might help.

 

[Pia]

I think the most important decision you have is whether you need to block out external noise while listening, and therefore, whether you need closed headphones or can go with open ones.

I have just been headphone shopping and surfing head-fi and other sites a lot. At that budget, the consensus seems to be ATH-AD700 (open) or ATH-M50 (closed).

 

[f4phantom2500]

I think the most important decision you have is whether you need to block out external noise while listening, and therefore, whether you need closed headphones or can go with open ones.

I have just been headphone shopping and surfing head-fi and other sites a lot. At that budget, the consensus seems to be ATH-AD700 (open) or ATH-M50 (closed).

ad-700 doesn't have a lot of bass, which is probably something the OP wants for movie watching. i've heard good things about the grado sr-80...really though there's a lot of choice at this price range. just go to head-fi and mill about your options.

 

[Fallengod]

Ya. I am seeing a lot of positive stuff on the audio technica headphones. Both closed and open. I am not that familiar with audio technica though.

I am also struggling to figure out if I want closed or open headphones. I really do not want to hear outside ambient noise or have others hear it either. All the other headphones I have owned have been closed so, id have to decide on that. For movie watching, I guess it probably would not matter too much if I had open headphones. It could depend on where I was or who was around at the time....

The world of audio is a complicated one. Why does picking out headphones have to be so complicated. This is why I have 4 pairs of headphones already and not a "good" pair yet.

Just skimming through some other forums, I see recommendations for all kinds of different brands and types of headphones. Gah...

 

[f4phantom2500]

Ya. I am seeing a lot of positive stuff on the audio technica headphones. Both closed and open. I am not that familiar with audio technica though.

I am also struggling to figure out if I want closed or open headphones. I really do not want to hear outside ambient noise or have others hear it either. All the other headphones I have owned have been closed so, id have to decide on that. For movie watching, I guess it probably would not matter too much if I had open headphones. It could depend on where I was or who was around at the time....

The world of audio is a complicated one. Why does picking out headphones have to be so complicated. This is why I have 4 pairs of headphones already and not a "good" pair yet.

Just skimming through some other forums, I see recommendations for all kinds of different brands and types of headphones. Gah...

it's worth noting that, typically, an open headphone will sound better than a comparable closed headphone, in terms of general reproduction of detail, ambiance, etc (e.g. audio technica ad-700 sounds better than a-700). however, a closed headphone is more likely to have more bass impact...but it really depends on how much you spend; you can get an open headphone that can sound just about however you want it to sound, or a closed headphone that can sound just about however you want it to sound.

regarding comfort, open headphones should keep your head cooler for longer periods of time, as closed headphones are essentially earmuffs. on that note, the ad-700 are very comfortable. i can wear them for hours without fatigue. for movies, they sound good in that they reproduce details very well and the spatial positioning of sounds is quite good. to me, these headphones sound better than my logitech z-5500 in pretty much any context (gaming/music/movies). the only caveat is that the z-5500, obviously, produces much more bass. that's not to say that the ad-700 don't produce bass, the bass is there and sounds balanced with the rest of the spectrum, so if you want head-rattling bass, look elsewhere. however, the bass *quality* of the ad-700 demolishes the z-5500. i rarely turn the z-5500 sub up past maybe 2~4 notches because it sounds like a big fart cannon.

 

[wadec24]

I find the Denon D2000's to be the best of both worlds, clarity and detail of open cans as well as good bass of a closed can. They are very well built and crazy comfortable. After using many pairs of headphones, I couldn't be satisfied watching a movie with open cans, they bass just isn't there.