Buy from ebay shouldn't be that expensive right?

What you save in monetary terms, you make up for the extra effort.
But if below than RM500 should have no tax and maximum delivery time of 3-4 weeks.

I'm more interested with your shipping secretly thingy.

JVC HA-S500 if you're ok with on ear, Superlux if you want over ear.
I personally own the S500 and tried one Superlux model, i think the HD 668B. Sound is alright, treble too piercing, feels very unnatural. S500 is pretty much superior in all aspects for me.

Then ATH M50 is very good choice for you. If you want cheaper, get used ones, maybe can check out garage sales if someone is selling.

You need DAC more than amp I guess. What budget do you have? Go here and post your query Amp DAC Recommendation.

Hi Stefan.

DAC stands for Digital to Analog Converter.
Music stored in your computer/phone/music player is in digital format. In order to translate the binary code into analog sound signal, it will pass through a DAC. The sound signal is usually a line level analog output.

Amp is an amplifier for the line level analog signal.
After the sound signal is converted from digital to analog, the amplifier is used to amplify and control the volume of the audio signal before it is sent to your headphones/earphones/speakers.

All music players/phones/computers have their own DAC and amp, however they may not always be good quality. When people buy other DAC and amp, they want a better quality component to process the audio signal.
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Good quality headphones are revealing, meaning that they are transparent enough to let the listeners know if the source of the music is good or bad. When you use good quality headphones, you will also need good quality amps and DACs, or else the headphones won't be able to sound their best.

Headphones also have different impedance. Higher impedance headphones are harder to drive, so they require more powerful amps. Lower impedance headphones are easy to drive, but they hiss if the amp is not suitable or too powerful.

If you have any more questions don't be shy to ask.

There's no specific name or category for different soundstage characteristics, but there are descriptions of the soundstage characteristics.

If you want isolation in public transportation, I highly recommend using IEM instead of portable on ear headphones. I own an S500 which has a ton of bass quantity+quality. In bus and trains, the low pitch rumble of the engine and ambient will diminish all bass response. It's also bad when you're walking and there are cars around with their rumbling engines and tires hitting the pavement.

Get a Shure SE315 maybe, spend the rest of the money on tips.

I have a Vsonic VSD3S and I can vouch for the sound quality. Easy to drive through your phone and computer too.

Hi guys, need a recommendation for a friend. Not quite versed with headphones with mic as his request.

- Your rig: Computer only
- What type of usage: Music, movie, Skype
- File format used in your source: mix lossless and lossy
- Genre of music you listen to: Mix
- Headphone/ earphone type: Headphone only, no iem or earbuds.
- Other requirements: Has a microphone built in
- Budget: RM500 and below.

Bump for question

Goodness I can't thank you enough for your recommendations. So hard to find headphones with mics that aren't "Multimedia" and "Gaming" styles. The noontec looks promising since their Zorro gets praises even by Tyll.
Thanks a lot man

Get a JVC HA-S500 with a Digizoid Z0 2 headphone amp.