Need HeadPhones/EarPhones;Budget 2500 Max

[swiftshashi]

Guys,I need a HeadPhone/EarPhone(in ear type),and the budget is Rs.2500 Maximum.

My requirements-
1.Should not be too heavy,so that prolonged usage is not cumbersome.
2.I prefer balanced sound.I prefer bass to an extent such that clarity and other beats are not compromised.I'm not too much of an audiophile,but this is the best I can explain.
I'm open to Net Purchase.
3.Will be used for movies/games and bollywood songs.

Models in consideration-
1.Sony MDR-XB400 Headphones - Sony: Flipkart.com
2.JBL Tempo J04B Over-the-ear Headphone - JBL: Flipkart.com
3.JBL J88 On-the-ear Headphone - JBL: Flipkart.com
4.*www.flipkart.com/sony-mdr-xd200-he...RMZZ&ref=d633cca7-9aea-4c56-b229-595dbbb3647a
5.Tekfusion - Twinwoofers In-Ear Headphones - Tekfusion: Flipkart.com


Are there any good products suiting my requirements from Sennheiser/SkullCandy??

Anyone? ?

 

[5fusion]

Stay away from tekfusion as many ppl have reported build quality issues and the candys. xb400 is decent for the price, on the bassy side of the spectrum and looks quite cool.
But as you can go for more and prefer a more balanced sound i would like to bring in the Audio Technica SJ33 headphones.
Audio Technica ATH-SJ33 DJ Style Portable Headphone (Black) from Audio Technica | Headphones / Earphones | Electronics | HomeShop18.com
they are pretty solid in sound for the price. feels quite sturdy despite being plastic. these are the portable ones, very light weight, swivel & fold design and can be tossed around anywhere in a pouch. the sound is far better than any iem in that range and nicely balanced. treble may be slightly peaky out of the box but that settles well after some burn-in. vocals are right in middle upfront. almost as good as AD300 with better low-end response(infact bit better overall IMO).
Sennheisers like 202, 203 are decent but for me SJ33 were much better.

 

[swiftshashi]

Ok thanks....Whats ur view on the JBL??

 

[5fusion]

cant spill anythin about Jbl as i never got to hear them..though j88 looks pretty nice. but i wonder why u put j88 as an option when it cost +4k, way out of your budget?

 

[swiftshashi]

AFAIK, I saw J88 within my budget.....Wonder what I was thinking. ...

 

[samudragupta]

cant comment on the jbl's... but the audio technica and the sony are good bassy headphones... do you have a sony retail outlet in your area?? i suggest you should visit the store for on hand experience... i would still suggest the sony xb400

 

[swiftshashi]

Yes,I do have a Sony Centre,will check it out tomorrow.I was inclined towards JBL as I've JBL Speakers in my dad's Civic and also the JBL's of the erstwhile XPS sounded awesome.

 

[samudragupta]

you can certainly try it... i can vouch for their speakers, but just that i or any of my friends have never tried jbl head/earphones. if you do get it pls post your review on it

 

[swiftshashi]

^^Sure

 

[sandynator]

Stay away from tekfusion as many ppl have reported build quality issues and the candys. xb400 is decent for the price, on the bassy side of the spectrum and looks quite cool.
But as you can go for more and prefer a more balanced sound i would like to bring in the Audio Technica SJ33 headphones.
Audio Technica ATH-SJ33 DJ Style Portable Headphone (Black) from Audio Technica | Headphones / Earphones | Electronics | HomeShop18.com
they are pretty solid in sound for the price. feels quite sturdy despite being plastic. these are the portable ones, very light weight, swivel & fold design and can be tossed around anywhere in a pouch. the sound is far better than any iem in that range and nicely balanced. treble may be slightly peaky out of the box but that settles well after some burn-in. vocals are right in middle upfront. almost as good as AD300 with better low-end response(infact bit better overall IMO).
Sennheisers like 202, 203 are decent but for me SJ33 were much better.

good to see your comment on ath sj33.
Since last week seriously thinking of getting some portable cans instead of new iems as sony ericsson hpm 70 & 75 have done lots of damage to my ears since last 7 yrs
Audio technica street jockey, koss sportapro & koss ksc75 were only option in front of me.

So now I'm droping my plans of getting vsonic gr02 BE / signature acoustics elements c12 / brainwavz m1 for ath sj 33.
Could you just mention about mids & high frequency delivery by Audio Technica ATH SJ33 compared to SoundMagic PL30?

btw it retails for 2200 on flipkart.
*www.flipkart.com/audio-technica-ath-sj-33/p/itmd8yewzysknzep?pid=ACCD8YENGKKHDMCZ&ref=e79554bf-9cbf-4cbc-a332-231f1decdb32

 

[swiftshashi]

Visited Sony Centre today and my choice was XB400....Is ot okay or should I consider something else? ? Is there any IN ear model with similar sound as the XB400? ?

So, , XB400 vs Audio Technica ATH SJ33.???

 

[samudragupta]

check out this thread ATH-SJ11 or ATH-SJ33 or ATH-SJ55 these guys are audiophiles and make a lot of sense when they speak music...
if you decide to get in ear headphones for a more balanced sound look at the brainwavz M1, these are good earphones...
did you like the xb400?? because if the bass did not hurt your ears then the sony xb30ex should be the best bet...

 

[5fusion]

good to see your comment on ath sj33.
Since last week seriously thinking of getting some portable cans instead of new iems as sony ericsson hpm 70 & 75 have done lots of damage to my ears since last 7 yrs
Audio technica street jockey, koss sportapro & koss ksc75 were only option in front of me.

So now I'm droping my plans of getting vsonic gr02 BE / signature acoustics elements c12 / brainwavz m1 for ath sj 33.
Could you just mention about mids & high frequency delivery by Audio Technica ATH SJ33 compared to SoundMagic PL30?

btw it retails for 2200 on flipkart.
Audio Technica ATH SJ 33 - Audio Technica: Flipkart.com

i have the c12 and i had the SM e30 before. as i said sj33 are pretty much better than any other iem in that range. Headphones are different story than iems and i guess someway or the other, better than any similarly priced iem overall.
c12 is excellent for bass heavy genre & got a pretty warm sound with good highs but i feel its somewhat congested on busy tracks. but what you gain with it is a stunning build quality. heavily source dependent as it scales up well with better sources.
i had the pl30 long time back and as e30s were the upgrades to it in almost every aspect, i'll say w.r.t to e30s. Now e30s are my personal favourite iem in the price range with nice and airy open sound. very good neutral iem with excellent soundstage & a nice blend of very detailed mids and good sparkle on highs. the mids are very slightly warm which makes it a nice musical iem with neutral sound. the vocals sound a bit distant like one is sitting in 5th row which i prefer.
Now what sj33s adds over to the e30s is the bass. the bass is really good and goes deep. the difference is, its got more body to it. Now the bass on e30s is very tight with a fast decay but on sj33, its tight with a little slower decay giving it more body still maintaining a good pace. vocals are forward, right in your face like one is sitting right in 1st row and sounds narrower than e30s. highs extend well with decent sparkle but may be a bit peaky or grainy but after some burn-in, it settles down well and smoothen up some. better soundstage as its a headphone.

check out this thread ATH-SJ11 or ATH-SJ33 or ATH-SJ55

check its short review on "headfonia" as well

 

[samudragupta]

i have the c12 and i had the SM e30 before. as i said sj33 are pretty much better than any other iem in that range. Headphones are different story than iems and i guess someway or the other, better than any similarly priced iem overall.
c12 is excellent for bass heavy genre & got a pretty warm sound with good highs but i feel its somewhat congested on busy tracks. but what you gain with it is a stunning build quality. heavily source dependent as it scales up well with better sources.
i had the pl30 long time back and as e30s were the upgrades to it in almost every aspect, i'll say w.r.t to e30s. Now e30s are my personal favourite iem in the price range with nice and airy open sound. very good neutral iem with excellent soundstage & a nice blend of very detailed mids and good sparkle on highs. the mids are very slightly warm which makes it a nice musical iem with neutral sound. the vocals sound a bit distant like one is sitting in 5th row which i prefer.
Now what sj33s adds over to the e30s is the bass. the bass is really good and goes deep. the difference is, its got more body to it. Now the bass on e30s is very tight with a fast decay but on sj33, its tight with a little slower decay giving it more body still maintaining a good pace. vocals are forward, right in your face like one is sitting right in 1st row and sounds narrower than e30s. highs extend well with decent sparkle but may be a bit peaky or grainy but after some burn-in, it settles down well and smoothen up some. better soundstage as its a headphone.


check its short review on "headfonia" as well

i agree with your review on the SM E30... i was really impressed with the presence of its soundstage... perhaps a little better than my sony xb30's

 

[swiftshashi]

cant spill anythin about Jbl as i never got to hear them..though j88 looks pretty nice. but i wonder why u put j88 as an option when it cost +4k, way out of your budget?

Well,here I saw j88's within my budget...

JBL J88 On-the-ear Headphone - JBL: Flipkart.com

KEY FEATURES OF JBL J88 ON-THE-EAR HEADPHONE (BLACK)
On-the-ear Headphone
Wired
3.5 mm Headphone Jack
Circumaural
Over-the-head Design
32 ohm Headphone Impedance
Closed Headphone
50 mm Headphone Driver Units
8 Hz - 24000 Hz Headphone Frequency Response

Should I buy it??I'm damn confused...Still unable to find that warm surrounding sound which isolates all external sounds...

XB400 had superb bass,but other vocals were not that much evident.
Actually I've been spoilt by the awesome sound of Bose and Beats by dre in-ears I heard when I visited Bangalore last year....

 

[darkv0id]

^ Even I was looking for the JBL J88s, since their actual price is ~Rs. 7000, I thought it was an insanely good deal. But for all my online research, I found barely a couple of reviews- both of which said that the sound quality was okay, but the isolation was poor.
I don't know, when a headphone which has received little to no attention gets a big price drop, it makes one suspicious.

So, I've settled on the ATH-SJ33, ordered them yesterday on Flipkart. From what I've read about the XB400 and the SJ-33- it seems that the XB400 has got a more "punchier" bass, but the SJ33 is a bit better sounding overall.

EDIT: However, if there is one budget headphone which is universally loved- it's the JVC HA-S400. It's available for $27 on Ebay.com (not .in). Check out it's reviews and discussions on Head-fi; people are absolutely crazy about it. Unfortunately, the shipping+ customs charges are likely to push it to the $40-45 range. But if want to take the risk of international shipping and Indian customs, I think you should definitely take a look at the HA-S400.

 

[swiftshashi]

Thanks for the great view. I have read excellent to poor reviews about JBL J88's and I'm in a dilemma which review is to be trusted. If any TDF member has a first hand experience with the J88 , that would be greatly appreciated.