New headphones

[PorPorMe]

During a time of crisis ,i was fotced to sell mine
How does a person judge a good pair from a mediocher pair! Most of the numbers are Greek to me-just looking fir a place to start.
P.S. I don,t game!

[JimF]

I'm not sure what range you are looking for (hi-fi or general purpose) but for mobile use I got hooked on the Sony earplugs (MDR EX71 are the old favourites) and I now use them for everything that requires headphones except 5.1 mixdowns .

IMHO they have good sound isolation in both directions and low colouration with good bass - the newer ones sound OK but seem a little less robust.

I've found general purpose headphones from Plantronics to be good for the price but I haven't yet heard other headphones (Sennheisser, Sony, Pioneer - in what is now the sub $200 range) that I like as much as the earplugs - aside from the fact that the 'plugs' don't get so sweaty.

[robbie]

For me being a gamer (or just having the suckers on my head for hours on end) I have to say the MOST IMPORTANT THING IS COMFORT! They have to fit right the first time and feel well the first time. If there is ANYTHING that bugs within a few seconds don't bother. If it's bugging in seconds imagine what a few hours is going to do? It's going to drive you NUTS!

I would say, just try on pairs till you find a pair that fits. I don't know if you can get out and try some in the store, if you can do it.

I would also say... you get what you paid for. I've skimmped here and there a few times on head phones. The cheap one's are cheap and they won't last 6 months.

I think the next pair I"m going to get is going to be a REALLY nice pair. No more spending just $20 on them.

HTH

[PorPorMe]

Originally Posted by robbie

For me being a gamer (or just having the suckers on my head for hours on end) I have to say the MOST IMPORTANT THING IS COMFORT!

I think the next pair I"m going to get is going to be a REALLY nice pair. No more spending just $20 on them.

HTH

I learned both of those things with the last pair I had. I forget the name now but since I was trading parts, I could afford them. $120.
What a difference over these Joss headset I've been using.
It's maddening I've got a sound system that rivals a lot of home systems and I can't listen to it because at this stage in Mareens illness (going on about 4 months!) she absolutely has no desire ti watch movies or listed to music. all this beautiful hardware gathers dust......

[PorPorMe]

Originally Posted by JimF

I'm not sure what range you are looking for (hi-fi or general purpose) but for mobile use I got hooked on the Sony earplugs (MDR EX71 are the old favourites) and I now use them for everything that requires headphones except 5.1 mixdowns .

IMHO they have good sound isolation in both directions and low colouration with good bass - the newer ones sound OK but seem a little less robust.

I've found general purpose headphones from Plantronics to be good for the price but I haven't yet heard other headphones (Sennheisser, Sony, Pioneer - in what is now the sub $200 range) that I like as much as the earplugs - aside from the fact that the 'plugs' don't get so sweaty.

I don't think I want earplugs. I don't see how they can handle what I use my system for. A lot of music-Live DVDs and movies.
So I want a head set with a large ear piece to handle the sounds of some heavy rock or the complex tones of some female jazz vocals.
It will be a little while before I can go looking, but I was looking for a couple of recommendations first.

[JimF]

'A lot of music-Live DVDs and movies.' Exactly what I use them for - the tight coupling between ear and phone gives surprisingly good bass on rock (ie Siamese Dream, Songs for the Deaf) and more diverse material such as Sheikh Yerbouti, Standing Stone, NPR concerts and bass effects on movies.

Most of the bad press comes from the association with walkman type devices - I almost threw my first pair away before I realised that the MP3 player I was using then just didn't have enough power.

I'd be the first to admit that buds take some getting used to as they need a tight fit and some rationing as they can damage your ears if used for to long.

The highend versions by Etymotic were first used as an alternative to stage foldback speakers for singers but the same isolation makes them ideal for plane travel where I first used them and domestic harmony.

When I was bought the 'Love' deluxe pack a couple of years back I used my plugs as the front channels and some over-ear cans for the rear - this worked a treat for the surround DVD .

[PorPorMe]

I'm going to go down to Huppins Hi-Fi ( Yea, it's still Hi-F-! )
Just the idea that those little buggers can put down good music, I can"t get my mind round that! Noise, OK, but the good stuff?
K. D. Lang-Zucchero-Dixie Chicks- and the aging Dr. Hook and Van Morrison.They have to have a lot of range ad it's hard to see in those little things, and over time.

[MUff1N]

Originally Posted by PorPorMe

I'm going to go down to Huppins Hi-Fi ( Yea, it's still Hi-F-! )
Just the idea that those little buggers can put down good music, I can"t get my mind round that! Noise, OK, but the good stuff?
K. D. Lang-Zucchero-Dixie Chicks- and the aging Dr. Hook and Van Morrison.They have to have a lot of range ad it's hard to see in those little things, and over time.

Before making final judgment on the earphones, check them out at the store & listen for yourself!
I think you are going to be very surprised at the frequency range that the new ones have now.
The days of the terrible sounding earplugs phones are gone with todays technologies.

It doesn't take much power when the sounds are right next to your eardrums.
I personally love "in the ear" type of ear plugs instead of headphones & I'm a Musician with a discerning ear.
Most now have 20,000-20Hz frequency response so the music you listen to will sound great!

[PorPorMe]

Who'd da thunk it?

At Huppins you can listen to anything. If it isn't in their sound room they will open one up and install it,

[JimF]

You may be interested in some of the comments on Amazon: Etymotic ER-6i iIsolator In-the-ear Earphones: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

The Sony gets a back-handed compliment which is not bad considering the price point its competing with.

Its a good idea to try out the ear plugs but please bear in mind they take some getting used to and a tight fit to work well - even the Sony cheapies come with a range of cushions/washers to fit different ear sizes.

(I don't need the plugs for K D, the Dixes, Dr Hook or Van as my wife likes these but Astral Weeks stills sounds as good as ever on them !)

[PorPorMe]

I just paid $160 to have the car towed in and have the anti-theft device repaired so this headphone idea is dead for now.
Sold 7 P lll slot CPU's for $25-threw in 2 digital cameras that will only work with ME and under.
I've got 2 rigs here that need to be paid for and thats another $120, with $95 due on another deal.
I think I'm going to eat one of the rigs here so no headphones.
and there is a shadow of needing a motherboard so this thread is dead!
Thanks for the info!

[dsio]

Awww, new headphones > fixed car imo.

[PorPorMe]

Wife.

[PorPorMe]

I was picking up meds for Mareen at Walgreens and there was a surprise goodie. A package of 3 headsets for $10.
I wasn'nt looking for any thing fantastic or eve good. I mainly wanted to feel the different fits -behind the neck, ear phones, and inside ear phones..
Accualy, they wer better than my Koss headset but would't handle the power. I could hear highs and lows very nicely. I could also tell the cheapness of the product.
But know I'm going to be taking a serious look at the over the ear sets vs a full size head phone.
Not bad schooling for $10.

[ccperf721p]

I use a set of Sennheiser HD497's. Definitely worth a listen if you run across a set. Best I have listened to in the $50 range.

[PorPorMe]

Sennheiser-that name keeps poping up. I think I'll start makeing a bookmarker.
I was realy surprised at the sounds theese could produce-I could also hear the bleed and the snap-crackle -pop!

Edit:
Sometimes it's just the little things that can ruin your day. The sound software I have will come up auto when you plug in a speaker or any thing else. So I've the clip over the ears on, I mute Media Player and start plugging in my Logitech X-540's. then un-mute it and am happy listening to Bob Seger's Night Moves. Fold on! Rock on!
Out of the blue I get slapped alongside the head! Mareen politely reminded me that puting the headphone jack into the remote will mute the speakers-but no where else and Bob Seger & Nutbush City Limits will usually wake people-namely her-then she slapped me along side the head agian and went back to bed. Women------Wives----I'll pay in small ways, all day. Ain't they wonderfull creatures?

[raphael2040]

Originally Posted by PorPorMe

Sennheiser-that name keeps poping up. I think I'll start makeing a bookmarker.
I was realy surprised at the sounds theese could produce-I could also hear the bleed and the snap-crackle -pop!

Sennheiser's are great. I managed to pick up some HD201's for under 20 squids, and they're fantastic. I know there's a lot more that are better, but they're loud, clear, and very, very comfortable.

Whatever the use, Sennheiser are great. Bose also do some fantastic headphones, but they do so for a greater price. The quality, comfort and the fact that all of their products are fully noise canceling justifies their cost though.

SkullCandy are another great company. I'm not sure about their headphones, but their earphones are by far the greatest earphones I've ever come across. Cheap, comfortable, loud, durable - everything you need! Look into them.

Hope this helps!

[dsio]

Regarding the bose thing, in the headphone market their reputation is absolute mud. Generally considered to be about as good as an average pair of $40 cheapies, this includes Triports and the quietcomfort series.

[raphael2040]

Originally Posted by dsio

Regarding the bose thing, in the headphone market their reputation is absolute mud. Generally considered to be about as good as an average pair of $40 cheapies, this includes Triports and the quietcomfort series.

Really?

The one's I've had a play with (can't remember models) were quite impressive. Sucks that they have an awful rep. =(

Scratch my earlier comments about Bose then.

[dsio]

Its not that they're that terrible so much as the fact that there are so many other players in the industry that make vastly better cans and sell them more cheaply. Sennheiser's HD5xx and HD6xx series, AKG's K5xx K7xx series, Beyerdynamic's 8xx series are extremely high quality open headphones (they are not sealed, so the people near you can hear just as loudly as you can, but open cans nearly always have a significantly superior sound quality compared to closed cans), and the majority of these are in the same price bracket as the BOSE quietcomforts and triports, while all of them produce a much better sound.

Even in the closed headphone market, the likes of AudioTechnica and Sony make superior products for less money. As a result of the fact that these other makers have raised the bar so much and offer more competitive prices BOSE are typically seen by enthusiasts as something people buy "for the brand". So while they're not terrible on their own, its when held against the standard of the competition and the price that they are let down severely.

People see BOSE and think money and quality, which is true in some part, there's a pair of 1984 BOSE studiocraft speakers here that are just brilliant even after 25 years and being knocked around, while by comparison most people don't recognize AKG, Beyerdynamic and AudioTechnica as the top end brands that they are (Sennheiser's brand recognition is fairly good at this point). Funny thing is that the company often considered to make the absolute best headphones on earth is one that nearly nobody has heard of either, STAX of Japan. Welcome to STAX Earspeaker

The STAX SR-007s are worth investing in if you have saved up the money to buy a decent used car, but decide you'd rather some headphones instead