Calling all Audiophiles :(

Tangerine

Tangerine

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So, I'm in need of decent headphones considering my Sennheiser PX-100 died a while back and I want to try new headphones now. I avoid ear/canal phones because they never fit into my ears well so I end up getting really odd sound unless I press them into my ears which is rather annoying. So if you are going to recommend me an earphone please keep that in mind ;_;

If anyone could help out, it'd be much appreciated! So here's what I'm looking for

1) Portability. I use my headphones with my iPod all the time. I also use them at home or the Library with my laptop.

2) Speaking of which, since I use them in the Library, I would prefer it if they didn't leak any sound out in really really quiet places(the PX 100s did that so I couldn't use them which sort of sucked)

3) Price. I'm actually willing to spend up to 100 dollars for this! But I think most portable headphones are < 50 dollars so I'm not really worried about it.

4) Sound. I don't want anything with too much Bass. I think all I'm looking for is clear and precise sound that is nice and warm. I listen to mostly Classical, Pop, and Rock. I really liked my PX-100s so if you could compare the sound to that it would be great.

5) Durability. Usually when I break headphones, the wire right near the headphone usually slowly tears away, so I'd like either something that is very durable (although I heard PX 100 is pretty damn durable ^^;) etc. Also, I hate it when wires tangle so please no wires that are "too long" o.o

Thanks :D
 
Well, my sister recently got new Sennheiser ear canal headphones which were extremely easy for me to use even though ear canal headphones are normally too large for me. If you're interested I can check the exact model in a few days.
 
NikLink said:
Well, my sister recently got new Sennheiser ear canal headphones which were extremely easy for me to use even though ear canal headphones are normally too large for me. If you're interested I can check the exact model in a few days.
Click to expand...

Sure! Let me know

Come on there has to be more people who is obsessive over headphones :(
 
Well I have a pair of seinheiser headphones as well, pxc 300, they're pretty decent and lightweight, and they don't seem to leak too much sound. From what they have been through they seem fairly durable. I'm not sure what you consider overpowering with bass but they don't seem overpowering. However they cost at minimum around 150, but looking at CNET's review they suggest the pxc 150 if you want a cheaper and comparable option (also mentions more limited bass response, which I guess might be a plus for you :P). And btw, CNET is a pretty good website to look to for reviews on electronics and stuff
 
just bought the skull candy blazin buds for 19.99, they are great
 
DO NOT BUY SKULLCANDY HEADPHONES.

They're cheap and the quality won't last <_<. Also not durable, mine broke a couple of weeks ago. Still looks good though, just broken :pirate:.

I'd recommend getting some Boise headphones; they have great quality and cuts out noise really well... bit pricey though.
 
Bose is by far and away the best brand for anything sound related, but yes the pricing is often absurd
 
head-fi.org will tell you all you need to know about good headphones, as well as how skullcandy and bose are not good. Maybe go there and look around for a bit, or ask some questions.

Anyway, I have a pair of Audio-Technica ES7s, and they seem to fit everything you need. They're pushing your budget though, I believe mine cost $110 but they were well worth it.

Really though, I recommend just taking a look around the head-fi forums for a little before making a decision.

[edit: have you ever tried foam tips with your in-ear 'phones? it might help with the fit, seal, and comfort.]
 
A $5-$10 pair of headphones you can pick up anywhere works fine for me, seriously, if you're in any type of place with any type of background noise "sound quality" doesn't really matter anyways. I have a decent set of noise-canceling ones for trips on a plane and such, but even those didn't cost me more than about $30.

Can any of you really hear a quality difference that's worth $100+ for, especially when you're most likely listening to burned CDs or mp3s?
 
Syberia, try going to a local hi-fi place if you know of one and take a listen to some of the headphones they might have on display. I'm sure you'll be able to hear a difference.

file quality is important though, and if you don't listen at a mid to high mp3 bitrate or in a lossless codec, the 'phones won't make as much difference as they potentially could.

Some closed headphones (as opposed to open, which don't block anything in or out) can block external sounds pretty well, and some in-ear monitors (IEMs) with a good seal can completely isolate you.

I, for one, can definitely hear the difference between my ATs and the Sony IEMs I had before, and even those Sonys weren't particularly bad. Much better than iPod earbuds and the inkd and smokin' buds skullcandys.

I think everyone who knows of a hi-fi audio place should bring some familiar music and go take a look, take a listen, you just might be surprised at what you hear.

Here is a little headphone buying guide from head-fi. It's missing some good ones, but it's worth looking at.

Tangerine, I know you don't like in-ears, but there is a big sale on Shure SCL3 and SCL4 IEMs at guitar center. the SCL4s are $250 regular, but they're on sale for $79 while supplies last. Catch is that the $79 deal is for white only, but they're definitely quality.
 
My friend is a huge audiophile, and like pirate0 said Bose and skull candy are not great. Also sound quality of songs matters, 256 kbps is minimal imo, 320 kbps is perfect, and 720 kbps is god.

anyways I'll ask him about some stuff and see what he says, I'll update this post later with what he says.
 
Syberia said:
Can any of you really hear a quality difference that's worth $100+ for, especially when you're most likely listening to burned CDs or mp3s?
Click to expand...

Uh, 80% of my music are 320 KBPS/high quality VBR/FLACs

I wouldn't have posted this thread if "I couldn't tell the difference between 5 dollar headphones and 100 dollar ones", lol. Can you stop posting shit like this?

Anyway, I ended up getting a Sennheiser CX500 (for now, I need to also buy headphones sometime soon) and I'm hoping it is just an improved version of cx300s which apparently has its strength in rather clear midrange (which seems to be what I am looking for) and the added volume control is nice since iPod touch volume control is still annoying.

I wish I knew about the Shure earphone deal though, I would have loved to try them out.

I will see how this goes and see if I need to get headphones :D

and thanks for all of your help, especially pirate0
 
Jackal said:
Bose is by far and away the best brand for anything sound related, but yes the pricing is often absurd
Click to expand...

a common misconception. bose is overpriced for no real reason; digital noise cancelling is awful.

skullcandy and all that other shit is awful.

do you want IEMs or cans? i'm using hd280pros (senn) and they're huge but they're amazing. i don't mind wearing them on the train/at the library as they're over the ear and don't put out sound, but if that's not a concern look at grado's SRs.

if you're looking for IEMs look at shure (SE210s can be had for 150ish, i think 110s are about 100 or less). either way if you're able to get stuff from amazon you'll find a good deal.

take a look at head-fi and just browse around for what's in your price range.

edit: oh you already got them. either way don't buy bose guys that shit sucks. you're better off getting $30 sony cans than $200 bose cans.

edit 2: also if you were looking for mids and treble, grado srs were the way to go. either that or senn hd580s (lol $300). if you're looking for bassy shit go for over the ears (beyer dynamics or the hd280s i have)
 
i would agree that bose is overpriced for no real reason, but you cannot really question the sound quality imo...I have the companion series speakers for my computer and i mean the sound is just great, so i assume their headphones would be also?

and the blazin buds really are not bad if you dont feel like spending a million dollars. And they are better than the ipod buds!!

plus if im walking down the streets of toronto with some heavy fucking duty over the ear headphones im just gonna get mugged anyways
 
Jackal, the thing is that for the same price you could have got better sound equipment from a better company.
 
I myself am also looking for some new headphones, as my $15 Sony headphones leak sound horribly. It's really awkward during class / studying in the library and people around me can hear my music, and I hate keeping my music too low or else I can't hear it too well.

I don't know where to start, so what are some affordable, comfortable, headphones (If possible not inner-ear earbuds) that don't leak a lot of sound!
 
Sony MDR-V6 sound like a good fit. These can probably be found for around $70USD online. If you don't find them comfortable as is, the pads can be replaced with different kinds (probably ~$20). They are closed 'phones, so by design they keep sound from leaking out. They also fold up and are supposedly pretty durable. Some people have owned theirs for over a decade!
Some find them a bit on the bright side, but they sound like a good choice.
AKG K81DJ is another for about $70. [edit: the AKGs are likely to be more bassy than the Sonys]

There aren't many good closed headphones for less than that though. Maybe the Sennheiser HD201 could be considered (I think they're around $20)
 
pirate0 said:
There aren't many good closed headphones for less than that though. Maybe the Sennheiser HD201 could be considered (I think they're around $20)
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I have a pair of these. I'm not an audiophile (128 bit rate MP3s and up are fine in general) and I can't compare them to other headphones since they're the only ones I've used, but they sound nice as far as I can tell. My only complaint is that they have weak bass, so they aren't for people who love thumping subwoofers (I don't). If you're not extremely picky about sound fidelity they're a good value for the price.
 
Received the Earphones.

The volume control is nothing but a gimmick considering its like a tab in some really tiny piece of plastic and it's pretty annoying to reach.

I'm missing some details in terms of highs, but in terms of bass and mids CX500 sounds pretty great. A lot more bass than the PX100 though, and the beats really stand out, etc.
 
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