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Need Headphone Suggestions for my Daughter's Birthday

Haywood

Haywood

Well-Known Member
Famous
My daughter asked me to get her a pair of headphones for her 16th birthday. She has destroyed about 20 sets of cheap IEMs over the last couple of years and has concluded that she'd be better off with something sturdier. She's got a good ear and I want to get her something that sounds good. Full-sized cans are probably out, because she will want to use them outside the home. The budget is probably $100-150.

Any suggestions?
 
All the cool kids are wearing Beats. :music-listening:

And I gotta think a young girl might like something chic, trendy, cool and pink.

Pink-Beats-Solo-HD-Headphones-Discount.jpg


They're currently at the limit of your budget on Amazon.
 
Haywood said:
Beats are trendy, but over-priced and sound like crap. Very muddy and boomy.
Click to expand...
My bad. I didn't realize she was a budding golden-eared audiophile. Perhaps you should take her headphone auditioning and let her decide what sounds best to her ears.
 
I would love to get her a pair of Sony MDR-7506 cans (which I know she would love), but she needs something more portable. I'm thinking about going with something Bluetooth, given her propensity toward destroying cables and plugs on IEMs. Klipsch Image Ones are a possible contender, as are Sennheiser PX210BTs and Creative WP-450s (a more portable option).
 
I would recommend the Superlux Evo. I got both the kids a pair for Christmas and I must say that I am impressed with the sound of these. They are full sized but appear to be pretty sturdy so far. The Boy got black and the Daughter got white. THey love them!

Evo-Superlux2.jpg
 
I picked up a pair of the Klipsch Image One Bluetooth headphones on Woot for $99 just before the New Year. Can't complain much about them for that price.
 
Your worried about the audio quality but are considering a Bluetooth set????

I got a pair of the pink BEATS pictured for my teenage daughter for XMAS, yes they are overpriced, yes the can be beat audio wise by much cheaper products BUT..... She loves them, and that's all that matters.

Me personally, pretty much can't ever go wrong with a pair of Senn!
 
The Bluetooth sets I'm looking at can be either wired or Bluetooth, giving you better audio quality when you want it and wireless convenience when you need it. That seems like a reasonable compromise. I'm not necessarily looking for audiophile grade headphones, but I want something with a well balanced sound. My daughter and I have listened to headphones in stores a few times and I know that she does not like the over-accentuated bass in the Beats line. I'm looking for a good set of versatile workhorse headphones that are perhaps equivalent to my Westone UM-1 IEMs. Well built, balanced sound, fairly compact. Bluetooth would be nice, since she's notoriously hard on cords. Perhaps non-BT headphones with a removable (and thus replaceable) cord.
 
What kind of device will she be using it with?

I have some Klipsch S4i IEMs that work pretty well and also function as a hands free headset for making calls with my iPhone.
 
She has destroyed a long string of earphones, usually by either breaking or shorting out the cable or plug.
 
I think all headphones should come with a detachable cord, usually the first thing to go. That's why as far as portables go I stick with the fantastic sounding yet cheap Ksc75's. Not gonna beat them audio wise with IEM's in the $100 or less range and they are only $15-20.

IMO everyone should try a pair of these, they don't praise the crap out of them over at head-fi for nothing.
 
If sonic quality is a priority, IEMs will kick the crap out of on ear HPs all day long for half the investment.

Rope
 
Rope said:
If sonic quality is a priority, IEMs will kick the crap out of on ear HPs all day long for half the investment.

Rope
Click to expand...

As I said, she goes through about a dozen pairs of IEMs a year. Cords are not her friend. Sound quality is a priority to a point. I don't want boomy, muddy sound, because I know she won't like it. Durability is also very important. I'm really looking for a solid mid-fi solution that she won't break. I am currently looking at BT headphones that can also run in corded mode when she's home or on a road trip.
 
I sat down with her last night and ran through a bunch of options ranging from the wonderful Sony MDR-7506 to the Koss KSC-75 (I offered to buy her the Sony and the Koss to cover home and portable use. Thanks for the heads up on the Koss). As we talked through her use case and her problems and looked at all of the options available, we narrowed down to the Noontec Zoro W. She loves the way they look, the fact that they can run wired or wireless, the fact that they fold and that they are well-reviewed for their sound quality. She is VERY excited. The bottom line with these is that Noontec took the Zoro HD and added BT without removing the ability to bypass the BT altogether and run them wired. That provides higher audio quality when desired and wireless convenience when needed. I will let you guys know what we think once we get a pair. Her birthday is February 25th. The Noontec Zoro W runs $129 on Amazon.
 
walls said:
I think all headphones should come with a detachable cord, usually the first thing to go. That's why as far as portables go I stick with the fantastic sounding yet cheap Ksc75's. Not gonna beat them audio wise with IEM's in the $100 or less range and they are only $15-20.

IMO everyone should try a pair of these, they don't praise the crap out of them over at head-fi for nothing.
Click to expand...

Im no electronics wizard but to me cant the cords be spliced back?

When you buy a pair of headphones that dont have a detachable cord what is to stop you from putting in a inline plug to detach and re attach?
 
Srvy said:
Im no electronics wizard but to me cant the cords be spliced back?

When you buy a pair of headphones that dont have a detachable cord what is to stop you from putting in a inline plug to detach and re attach?
Click to expand...

I tried that once. Once. :happy-smileygiantred:

Headphone cables are coax like RG-59 just on a much, much smaller scale. I found working with the small amount of braiding pretty much impossible.
 
CMonster said:
Srvy said:
Im no electronics wizard but to me cant the cords be spliced back?

When you buy a pair of headphones that dont have a detachable cord what is to stop you from putting in a inline plug to detach and re attach?
Click to expand...

I tried that once. Once. :happy-smileygiantred:

Headphone cables are coax like RG-59 just on a much, much smaller scale. I found working with the small amount of braiding pretty much impossible.
Click to expand...

Yeah, while quality home headphones have replaceable cords, that's a cumbersome thing to put on ones intended for use elsewhere... especially for things that are basically intended to be disposable (it's one thing to put that feature on $200 Sennheisers, another for $50 exercise earbuds). And as for splicing the things, that's going to be extraordinarily difficult on something that small.
 
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