Headphones anyone ?

[jblnut]

Thanks to all that responded to my query about outdoor speakers. As soon as I nab a cheap H/K receiver on the bay, I'll be shopping for them.

In the mean time I'm curious what you guys use for headphones. I've been using Sony MDR-V6 (same as 7506) for what seems like forever. I've been patching them up when they break but they are on their last legs. Here's what I'm looking for:

Cheap-ish ($100 or under)
Efficient (gets loud driven with ipod or similar mini unit)
Small/folding if possible

I'm taking the train more and I've found it's a good hour to just chill and listen to tunes. The laptop makes a great music machine but I need some better headphones. The V6's are too big to wear outside the house and my older Sony MDR-CD5's are totally beat. I wish Sony made them again - they were a mini/enclosed design which was really the best of both worlds. Small and light enough to wear for a long time (or anywhere) and sealed for less outside noise and better bass.

How about the newer in-the-ear buds ? Any good ?

Thanks for any and all ideas...


jblnut

[johnaec]

I posed this same question a couple weeks ago, but few responses. I mentioned my favorite years ago were the single element Koss Pro4 (AAA?), and was informed they've been re-released. I haven't looked into it yet, but that's where I'm starting...

John

[dancing-dave]

Check out: www.etronics.com for any Sony headphones. They sell most of them way below market price.

Also www.audiocubes.com

I like the Sennheiser soundproof headphones they have at Brookstone. I use them for train and plane rides often.

[andresohc]

I am looking into the Shure E3C and E5 series, noise cancelling ear buds. I read in a magazine about them but have no first hand experience.
Any one have experience with these Shure headphones? Seems like they would fit the bill.
They appear on ebay pretty frequently and I am bidding on a pair now
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...e=STRK:MEBI:IT

[SEAWOLF97]

I've got an iPod nano and love it. The 2 factors that affect sound quality are encoding bitrate and headphones. I currently use AKG K55s for over the ear - non mobile listening , and creative ear canal buds ( http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Labs/...695233?ie=UTF8) for mobile. The CLs are great but I'm always looking for improvement.
Sooo....have been lusting after some Shure e2c's and was ready to pull the trigger, when I noticed these CLs ( http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Zen-A...695233?ie=UTF8 ) the Aurvana set is new and looks nice.

Does anyone have any experience with either of these 2 ? or recommendations ?

[QwertyAccess]

I cant comment on the creative earbuds, since i generally never trust their products to produce peripherals, but you will never go wrong buying from Shure, which they develop the best "earbuds" anyway from what i can see, (anless your the type that have to customize the mold for your ear costing you a thousand)

However for full-size or portable "headphones" I would personally go for sennheiser, or grado's headphones. AKG headphones from what i know of them are mainly good for DJing/mixing purposes, but not for actual music listening when compared to other brands, but people may correct me if i am wrong.

For sake of saving your ear though, i would prefer to never use earbuds. I use portable "headphones" mostly since i believe it will reduce the damage to your ear, since earbuds tend to go in places you shouldnt even stick your finger in.

[Titanium Dome]

In the iPod thread, Bo speaks highly of Shure. Go to post #50.

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbullet...ead.php?t=9757

[boputnam]

Bo speaks highly of Shure....

Yea, I do. The E5c is amazing. I've trialed all the peers - that is, the top-shelf versions of each brand - and none have the even frequency response and bass reproduction of the E5c.

I saw a fellow traveller on an international flight using a pair with his iPod. Pretty surprising. That is an expensive bud, bud! I was using the Bose QC2 overear cup style, with it's fantastic noise cancelling - superb with the jet ambient noisefloor.

I use the E5c when performing; I use the Bose QC2 at FOH and when flying. Different pieces of hardware for different applications...

[SEAWOLF97]

I have Sennheiser HD-580s for serious listening, but they are not efficient enough for the Nano to make decent volume. The AKG K55 is very musical and comfortable. Dont know the specs, but they sound nice with the Nano and produce sufficient volume.

I agree about most CL products , but this particular model gets super reviews and is rebadged as Sennheiser and then sold at a premium. These are "in the canal" and not really buds. Most people think this style sux until they learn how to insert them. ( for left ear, take RIGHT hand , reach over the top of head, pull up on top of ear and insert with LEFT hand....and of course reverse with other one)

I cant comment on the creative earbuds, since i generally never trust their products to produce peripherals, but you will never go wrong buying from Shure, which they develop the best "earbuds" anyway from what i can see, (anless your the type that have to customize the mold for your ear costing you a thousand)

However for full-size or portable "headphones" I would personally go for sennheiser, or grado's headphones. AKG headphones from what i know of them are mainly good for DJing/mixing purposes, but not for actual music listening when compared to other brands, but people may correct me if i am wrong.

.

[jblnut]

I have a couple pairs of the Sony EX71SL buds which used to be $50 and are now about $30. They kick the s*it out of the ipod phones (comfort and sound quality) and they do a resonable job of blocking noise since they go into the ear canal. Not everyone can stand having something in their ear canal, but if you can these are great for the cash. They aren't Shures, but they aren't $300 either. We're listening to compressed digital music here after all so no need to get the panties all tangled up about extreme sound quality. Save your cash and go home to spin the vinyl through some JBLs for that .

jblnut

[SEAWOLF97]

Sennheiser CX 300 series was formerly launch into the professional musician market as Sennheiser IE4 In-Ear Monitor.

Sennheiser IE4 sold at ~150 US Dollar (Suggested Retail Price). As a competitor of Etymotic Er6 and Shure E3c.

Following the product's success in the professional market now it is time to harvest from the vast consumer market.

So the marketing description of this product now change from "the high accuracy reproducing of the sound" into the new hype "the bass driven sound".
Very common marketing trick. :-)

Sennheiser IE4 was a rebranding of the highly acclaim "Sharp MD33".
Sharp MD33 is one of the most succesfull IEM in the world.
It also described as a "giant killer".

After it got wide reputation around the world Sharp MD 33 was rebranded into Creative ep630 (which can be found in Asia) and Sennheiser IE4 (which goes directly to the most demanding professional musicians market.

Sound of this Sennheiser/ Sharp/ Creative IEM is solid and very clear.
Bass is decent, mid and high are details.

It need less maintenance comparing with Etymotic or Shure since it cleverly use metal grills instead of direct filter.
Once a month scrap your earwax out of the metal grill is enough to keep this decent IEM working for years.

Silicone ear tips are interchangeable with Sony's ex series ear tips.
If you want to do some experiment you can try Shure's ear tip on them.
Even somebody have suggested Shure's Ultra Soft Flex Sleeve (PA749M) on this IEM but I would like to suggest Shure's PA757M Flex Sleeves instead. (Please change the size according to your ear size)

With Shure PA757M Flex Sleeve this Sharp/ Creative/ Sennheiser IEM sounds as if the sound stage become expanded without deterioration in sound quality.

If you live in US this Sennheiser IEM is worth your money. And sound quality is much better than many expensive IEM.

[BMWCCA]

While we all love listening to our JBLs in a proper listening environment, sometimes it's not just possible. And yet we all still love our music. With a family of five in a small house, I've sometimes had to resort to using headphones. My favorite type is the fully enclosed variety and over the years I've really had a hard time finding any I liked any better than the Superex ST-Pro-B-Vs I've had since I was a kid. I paid up for them back then (they blew the Koss Pro 4As away) and they've certainly served me well for something like thirty-five years if not more. Alas, Superex is no more and their old digs in Yonkers is a real-estate office these days.

So, when it came time for me to buy a pair of enclosed headphones for my middle daughter to take to college a couple of weeks ago, I got interested in researching the topic a bit. Luckily for me she was happy with the first pair she tried, a $19.95 Sony set from our local Crutchfield store. They have a liberal 30-day return policy even if they don't allow any headphone auditions in the store anymore (hygiene, they say) rather than the next up Sennheisers for $49. Seeing cans priced beyond $400 got me wondering what you could get in the under-$100 range. So I hit the Internet.

One model that kept popping up was the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro, listed as a retail of $199, but with a street price of $99. I read the review at Headphone.com and another at Dansdata.com that seemed to be educated and complete. I was unable to find any review that didn't at least damn these with faint praise, yet all criticized them for a decided weak bass characteristic. So then I started shopping for price. Crutchfield had them listed on-line for $99 but they didn't have any in the store even to look at. I tried. On-line I found them for $79.99, plus shipping, and even a $79.99 w/free shipping at bav.com, but the free shipping was modeled after Amazon.com with a predicted 4-10 days. Then I came upon the old-semi-reliable J&R with a "click here for email low price". I did and they came back with $79.99 with a special link and included next day shipping via UPS at no additional cost. Tap, tap, and the order was done. Exactly two days and one-hour later they were delivered at my door.

First audition was plugged directly into a trusty Sony CDP-901 single-play CD loaded with Donald Fagen's Kamakiriad. Immediately I was grabbing for the volume control on the player to tame the assault on my ears. That was LOUD! Backed-off to half-way I was floored by how strong the bass was in these cans. So much that I put the old Superex back in for comparison on the same passage. All I can say is the Superex must be the D130s of all headphone, and the Senns the real LFs of the range. Then I tried the HD 280s in the Soundcraftsmen DX4200's headphone jacks, with about the same result. Just for fun I plugged them in next to the Crown PS400's monitor jack. For the short audition, the HD 280s sounded great (not much different than before, really) up to an extremely high level when they started to break up a bit, but the level was irritating enough already.

So what's up with the Internet experts, the graphs, and the ding for bass roll-off? Well, I next plugged them into my Powerbook G4 with iTunes and heard exactly what others had complained about. In fact it took some fiddling with the iTunes EQ to get the HD 280s to sound like much of anything, and I settled on the "Rock" setting as the most realistic (about a 6dB kick in both top and bottom extremes with a smooth curve). So, what's the deal? Do these reviewers sit there listening to their high-priced cans and pontificate using nothing other than an iPod for source material?

I know some of you may be due for some new cans, and I can recommend the Sennheiser HD 280s, so far, as an excellent choice for $80. I'd love to try some others in the $200-$400 range, or even those Euro-only aluminum Sony's, but in reality, when I took the Sennheisers off my ears and cranked up the Crown, even modern monitor headphones are no match at all for my 4412As, properly driven. And, for those of you who may recall, I thought those had overly accentuated bass at first. Of course that's what comes of listening to D130s in C37s in the 030 configuration for nearly fifty years!

If you want to get hold of the Sennheiser HD 280's quickly and efficiently for the best price I found, with free shipping, just follow this link to J&R's special unadvertised price. I have no affiliation with any of the reviewers, vendors, or manufacturers mentioned here other than to be completely happy with the service (and price) from J&R.

If anyone has any other headphone stories of success, recommendation, or warnings, feel free to jump all over this thread!

[SEAWOLF97]

I just read a discussion on Sennheiser HD 280 Pro's the other day.......

http://www.fatwallet.com/t/18/758873

I picked up a pair of AKG K-55 's and have been very impressed , comfortable
and very dynamic and was surprised to see on Parts Express that they were
on sale for about $30...really, no joke these are second in my collection only
to my expensive Senn Hd-580's.

[Ducatista47]

Well, I have enjoyed headphones a lot through the years. I admit that these days I only listen through them when my big rig is down for repair or modification.

I did start with Pro 4-A's back in the Hippie days, when I built my first "serious" system - Dynaco separates, Dual turntable with Shure cart, etc. Then in the late 1970's I discovered Stax. No turning back after that...

Stax is pretty pricey, but I have read of great NIB deals from Canada. I got a great NIB deal here in Peoria to bag my current pair, manufactured in the early 1980's I think.

I have spent many, many evenings over the last four decades enjoying music through headphones and could not think of single bad thing to relate about the entire experience. I find that I adapt very quickly - within an hour - to the different soundspace when I switch. Too bad there is not a wealth of binaural recordings out there to be had.

As if I were not already gung ho enough, having probably the world's best headphone amp, the Grommes PHI-26, certainly helps move the experience along nicely. It was voiced on Grado product, but brings out the best in everything I have tried on it.

Clark in Peoria

[Hoerninger]

If anyone has any other headphone stories of success, recommendation, or warnings, feel free to jump all over this thread!

I do second the usage of an electrostatic headphone. Today there seems to be no alternativ to Stax.
Although the whole thing is pricey a special amp (high voltage output) is highly recommended.

I prefer listening with open headphones, the sound is much clearer. And with the electrostatics I crawled in many sounds and music.
___________
Peter