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I used to have Sennheiser EH-150 headphones for use on my MP3 player, but the fucking thing broke on me (not even 2 years in! Piece of shit "Outdoor Headphones") and since I already lost warranty because I replaced the jack (that broke before) I have to buy a new one.

Now I was looking in a, not too expensive substitute and came across the AKG K 512 as a pretty affordable alternative. But I couldn't find any proper reviews about it, so I reckoned that there would be enough audiophiles on Pouet to give me some insight, or maybe even tip other headphones in the same price range (say from 40 to 60 euros)

So plz, gimme headphone advice!

Not that is to much help but...

I'm a AKG fan and use AKG phones when doing music at home (AKG K271 Studio), and when listening to music at work (AKG K171 Studio)

Those headphones have a really good soundquality for the price, but it doesn't really give you any hint about your question other than "AKG is usually good quallity"... :)

Well, I kinda figured that, but thanks for confirming :)

For what do you want to use your headphones?

For critical listening? Listening to your mp3 collection while on the road? Do you need insulation and if so how much? Is it more important that they are sturdy than the playback quality? Do you want in-ear or large ones?

btw: they're cheaper than 40-60 euros here

regarding most reviews the AKG 530 is the best one you can get for 50-60.
better ones start at >100

torus: good point actually. I want closed, large headphones that give a good quality for my mp3 collection on the road (which is ranging from, say 160 to 320 kbps). I'm not a crazy audiophile that simply *MUST* hear every detail, but I like the sound to be 'solid'.

And I don't want to pay tons of money for 'm, because I will take them everywhere and it shouldn't be that big of a loss if I sit on them or forget them in the bar :) And yeah, they should be sturdy. Sennheiser promised me good sturdy headphones with the EH-150 but that was kind of a let down.

Okkie, you get what you pay for. The cheap Sennheisers aren't indeed that good, and sennheiser headphones aren't anymore what they've used to be 10 years ago. Quality went downhill.

I personally can't stand the sonic coloration of the AKGs, but that's a matter of personal preferences. Lots of friends like them.

Imho it's always worth to spend 150 euros and get a good pair of headphones. They will last much longer and sound better than the budget ones. Oh - and it makes a difference for listening fatigure as well. You'll enjoy the music more..

If in-ears are an option check these guys: http://www.etymotic.com/

They have islolated in-ears which is nice if you want to use the phones at noisy places (public transportation, office ect.). Not cheap though, and you can't replace the cables.

Yeah, I share your exact sentiment about Sennheiser. I was severely disappointed in the quality, even though they only cost a few tenners.

You have a good point about quality, I'm afraid to spend a lot on it because I might forget or break them by accident. I'll take your advice in consideration though, cheers! :)

I use the AKG K412P -- small, foldable, semi-open but sound quality is still pretty good.

torus, 150 euros for on-the-road headphones? maybe you're great at avoiding disaster, but for me that'd be 50 euros per month average, just for a tid of extra sound quality.

Skrebbel, you really kill a headphone once a month?

Mate - I'm anything but gifted when it comes to gross motor skills, so my headphones suffer a lot, but they still survive longer than a year.

Most of the time the cable breaks somewhere, and replacing the cable is not much of a problem if you know how to hold a solder iron.

My in-ear sennheiser headphone is now 4 years in use and has been through quite a lot :) Unbreakable it seems.

I can recommend Sennheiser's HD 280 Pro. It's a bit more expensive though, but you should be able to find one for around 100 euros. For example here (Dutch webstore) .
It's a very sturdy piece of kit, with large shells (closed). Maybe not the best looking headphone out there, but it gets the job done.
I've used it dayly for over a year and a half now and there's no sign of any wear and tear yet.

I travel by train a lot, and this headphones just shuts out all noise
and at the same time, other people aren't bothered if you turn up to volume a bit.

Last but not least, I think it sounds great, but I must say I haven't realy compared it to many other headphones. Online reviews seem to agree though.

AKG K271 Studio are prof headphones. i think its studio standard.
i like them very much. its good against my bleeding ears, i got after many hours of wearing them. :)

just try to avoid the AKG K81DJ and the K518DJ. i killed them in only 3 months and i read that many people have similar problems with them. i have now Grado SR80i and i love them :D

no, it licks nuts

My Sennheiser HD 570 earmuffs survived nine years of rather extreme use before getting stolen on the train back from Evoke and the stupid Sony in-ear silicone earbuds will probably be out of use courtesy to the "replaceable" earpieces running out (they're not available anywhere else but at the "do you have the XL spare for me" swap meets) rather than actual wear and tear. I marvel at the idea that people wear out headphones that fast.

I've been quite happy with the 990pro for a year or so.

Same as hermes. A couple of things though. They have a long "burn-in" time" wich means they sound their best only after having played continously for 50+ hours. really low sinusoid basslines can get blurry. I can't figure out why the cans themself are of the most horrendous cheap plastic when the bar between them is solid metal. They are semi-open which makes them practically useless outside of a (non recording) studio. The cheap plastic can start to ressonate if you make really hard music, which is audible and really annoying. There are ways to counter it, but they are hacks, and in the price range it shouldnt be neccerey to hack you phones to make them work properly. So all in all, I really enjoy the sound of the DT990 Pro's but I yeld a bunch of reservations towards it after having been the owner of a pair for a year or so.

torus, i just guess we're different people then. if i'd spend 150 euros on headphones and the cable breaks within a year so that i have to solder it up, i feel like i wasted a lot of money on a crap product. most other things i buy that cost 150 euros don't break within a year and require me to do diy to get it fixed.. but yeah, headphone cables always break, and that sucks, which is really why i've never gone over 20 euros for a set of headphones :-)

I have 3 headphones here (150, 50 and 30 euro), all older then 4 years... None of the cables ever broke.

Dunno what you guys do with it.

Come on people... it's been almost a day and still noone has posted "AK 47!!!!!" and a link to MFX Holiday with president??

Korvkiosken: WAKE UP!

Ah, thanks! I knew I could trust you guys...