The Budget Kings Series
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Full Guide
Individual Reviews
- Philips SHP9500 Review!
- Sony MDR-7506 Review!
- Creative Aurvana Live! Review
- AKG K240 Studio Review!
- Status Audio CB-1 Review!
- Grado SR60e Review!
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- Headphone Reviews & Comparisons
- Microphone Reviews & Comparisons
- Amps, DACs, and Audio Interfaces
- The Budget Kings Series (You Are Here)
- Studio Monitors
- Beats, Production, & Turntables
- Gaming, Movies, & Pop Culture
- Build a Home Studio Guide
- Best Of
- Resources
- 6/4/20. Replaced the V6 with the 7506 as the V6 was discontinued by Sony after 35 years! R.I.P. Sony MDR V6 (1985-2020).
- 12/29/19. Replaced the Audio Technica ATH M40x with the Creative Aurvana Live! The CAL is a more balanced headphone and also more comfortable. The M40x, while a good headphone, is outclassed by the more focused, less metallic sound of the CAL. There are also no mid-bass issues on the CAL. The 40x tends to be a bit “bump happy” around 100 – 200Hz.
- 6/2/19: Replaced the Samson SR850 with the venerable AKG K240. The SR850 is a great headphone, but suffers from a sibilant, somewhat harsh treble. While I do love it for Gaming and Movies, and it does sound great for Rock, the K240 just does everything better. The quintessential studio headphone deserves a spot in the Budget Kings series for sure.
- 3/30/19: Replaced the Sennheiser HD558 with the Samson SR850. Reason being that the 558 is no longer budget and was discontinued. It’s going for roughly $200 as of this update. The 850 is also a phenomenal value and seemed like an easy decision/replacement given how much I’ve recommended it lately and how much I love it. It’s a perfect Gaming headphone as well, and has a fantastic Soundstage. What is Soundstage? The SR80e was also replaced with the 60e because after demoing both again, I found no audible differences between the 2. The 60e is a true under $100 headphone also, while the 80e toes the line at around $99 most of the time.
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All the best and God bless,
-Stu
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6 Comments
Thank you very much for everything you teach on this page. Sorry if the question is out of place but you could advise people with a rather limited budget like me (about 100-130 dollars). I am listening to classical music, always in a quiet place, with my cell phone and a Sony mdr-xb450 that I try to equalize by raising mids and highs to the maximum. How is the best way to improve the audio quality: investing everything in a headset, or in a simple dap like the E10k and a headset? What headphones do you recommend (I think the phillips sph-9500 are good, others I have seen recommended are the Superlux HD 681 or 668; Sennheiser HD-518 or 559, Ath-m40x; Grade SR80e or 60, AKG K240)? As you can see I am a newcomer and I am quite lost. Thank you very much.