Comments on Profile Post by Skyline

that's easy, CAsolaris.

That would be great, but keep in mind we're talking about a broke HS student. I'd say $200 or under.

Wanna go cheap? Wanna have a mic? Try the modded Hifi Walker A1.

I did not have $200 to spend on headphones when I was a broke HS student. I’d say $75 for purple heart or whatever the sub $100 FoTM IEM is.

Or portapro.

Haha, I doubt he actually has $200 either, but is probably factoring a Christmas present into the equation.

I'm sure you have checked @shotgunshane 's thread, there's some good info there. I'm sure it depends on what Sound he's looking for, but almost anything will be a step up I think. He'd be the one to ask though.

Just get him RE00s or whatever IEM has a FR that he likes for cheap

Paging @shotgunshane

Do you know their sound preferences?

I don't think they really know their sound preference. Brand new to this sort of thing...they listened to my work setup and got the bug. Best educated guess would be something that's forgiving to bad recordings with a slight bass elevation.

Massdrop EDC3 or Emu purpleheart or AT M50x is a safe bet

IE80 / something from Periodic / MD IEMs seem to be safe bets at a reasonable budget. I feel like these options will give better performance than most full-size closed cans at similar price points.

Ditto on Portapro or Cal! for sound quality, but fragile build is an issue.

Agree with the IE80. Another possibility is the Audio-Technica ATH-CKS1100iS.

EDC3 or Brainwavz B400 for armatures; AKG N20 or RE00 for dynamics.

If this HS student is like my two, get one from a company that will stand behind it. They mostly have cord issues because of the wonky way kids store or get snagged on stuff. My choices would be Shure and Senn since I have been pleased with warranty replacements. Also, Koss and RHA are strong. That leaves out most Chinese Brands, without a strong presence in the US. Try Advanced S2000

Brainwavz HM5. Detachable cables, ear pad rolling and it responds well to most sources. If you want something more durable Shure SRH840. I tried both headphones. The HM5 sounds a bit clearer for me.

Honestly porta pros. They build character.

Thanks all. I'll give him this list tomorrow. He likes to "stand out", so I wouldn't be surprised if he went for the portapros simply because there is NOBODY else in high school walking around with those things :P

PortaPros are legendary.

Yeah, I think a lot of the Massdrop stuff is very good value. Like the NuForce EDC collaborations. Tell him to check there

I'm thinking of getting some cheap Beyer closed backs Tyll recommended. $70 on Amazon