The Headphones Thread - Page 23

wow cool. send them over here after youre done comparing. I'd like to see how they compare to my d66 eggos. I've got good open phones and good canalphones, but i wonder if the hd25-1's are really worth the extra $$. PM me and I'll send you my address

Sony MDR-7506 are quite nice but an amp might make it better. The size is just nice, covered my ears but bigger would be more preferable, it is very light. Somehow because of the good sound quality mp3 with ripples are easy to be noticed when played in Winamp.

Somehow i feel abit dizzy sometime if i have the headphone on for a while even without turning any music on. Maybe its the isolation effect.

But i think Sony MDR-7506 is a rather old headphone (not sure), the tech is 20years old. There are new series of the MDR but haven't tried it. Anyone tried the new models?

First off, thanks GS for a fascinating and enlightening (not to mention looong) thread/advice column. I read your resume and you’re very generous with your time and knowledge. Your DYNAHI line is beautiful and, judging by its specs, I imagine even nicer on the inside (geek porn hehe).

I got caught up in the whole audiophile thing many years ago. I was lucky enough to work at one of the first 12 Audio Research (luscious, warm sound) shops in the country. We also carried Mark Levinson (gorgeous build), Dahlquist (was lucky enough to talk to Saul Marantz when he was developing the Dahlquist DQ-10 with John Dahlquist), custom-built Dynaco tube amps and preamps as well as several other high-end brands.

lol people talking about Bose. We used the 901’s to sell against and turn people on to “the absolute sound” (which also debuted during that time), depth, transparency, warmth of tubes, etc. People would ask why we used Cat Stevens/instrumental/classical music as our standard, even though most of us were rock freaks. The usual answer “because electronic music has too many variables, lack of harmonics, etc. but we KNOW how an acoustic guitar, piano, violin sounds.”

Like some of your comments, it’s a never-ending adventure/struggle to find the “best”. Occasionally one of us would sell all his equipment and get a very basic system only to turn around again in a few months and strive to reach that elusive goal again.

I sold all my Audio Research/Magnaplaner/SME gear. Wish I stil had it - still the most realistic sound stage and midrange I've ever heard. Some years later I did go digital and have a Theta, Class A amp, etc. but I’m no longer chasing the perfect sound. However reading this entire thread HAS brought back the itch lol!

Sorry to bore everyone with an old guy’s reminiscing, but it’s very exciting to see others setting out on the same great adventure. Have fun! Enjoy!

Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80Ohm. I've been using them ever since I got rid of the Sony MDRV700DJ (crap headphones). I do gaming, listening, movies, and music producing with these babies and they shine in all aspects.

Hey all, great thread... you can spend days in here, lol. I've done some searching, but couldn't seem to find any info on my question...

I'm just now have the urge to upgrade my crappy headphones, mostly for mp3s and dvd watching, plus for use with my portable CD player.

From what I've read I was going to start with either the Grado 60's (or 80's) or the Senn HD 280's...

BUT I am listening to these sets of CD's that require my headphones to be able to handle a very low frequency, they need to be rated down to 5 HZ! These cans don't have that low a rating... I haven't done a ton or research, but the only ones I've found so far that go that low are the Sony MDR V600 & MDR V900 (don't know that the 900's are worth twice the price, especially since I'm just getting into the whole high-end headphones scene).

I'm suspecting some here will have an opinion: what do you suggest for someone just entering the experience of high end headphones, but needs something rated down to 5 HZ?

I'm comfortable spending between $100 & $150 (I'd go higher if I was convinced the money was well spent)...

Thanks for any suggestions and/or resources regarding this inquiry of mine!

HD-497's=Great choice, i definitely recommend. Bought mine for $65 and love them.

gsferarri, I've still got my HD 212 Pro's. I like their bass, but I'm going to upgrade to some better headphones sometime. Right now I'm trying to decide on an amp. I've looked at the Headroom "Airhead" at headphone.com, but I was wondering if the "hand made" amps on ebay would be better? Or what would you recommend?

Examples of what I've been looking at:
Maxi Moy Headphone Amp
XMoy2 Amp
Super Mini Moy

how much do you want to spend?

Well since this is my first amp and I really don't know what to expect.... not very much. $200.00 max .. maybe a little more if really needed. Could you also recommend a better set of headphones than the HD 212 Pro, but with the same bass?(or better)

Sandman, the Super Mini Moy is an excellent choice for portability among the three you mentioned, it is built extremely well and has a higher quality sound than you might expect. I use them with the HD 555's and they're paired pefectly together. The guy (Drew Dunn) who builds them offers a lifetime warranty and is also great to buy from.
Here's a picture of the Super Mini Moy with the HD 515's and the Axim X30 for streaming radio, against a fitting background.

Thanks for posting the pic. Nice setup. If I'm not looking for portability, what do you think about the Maxi Moy?

How would the Maxi Moy compare to the Headroom "Airhead"?

The Maxi Moy is somewhat more potent than the mini moy and is best paired with a higher quality soundcard or receiver, yet it is small enough to use in a portable setting as well, just with a bit extra bulk, and if this is what your looking for I would definitely recommend it.

As to your question about how it compares to the airhead, I've never tried the Airhead, but to get extensive user opinions on both go to Head-fi.org. It's the best site for everything audio related and I know GSferrari would recommend it.

I also wanted to mention that there is extensive options when it comes to amps, some of which can run into the hundreds, if not thousands of dollars so be careful, many of the people at head-fi are true audiophiles.

if you are willing to spend up to $200, I'd look at the portaphile v2; it's supposed to be the best portable amp <$200, and is what I have (in addition to the $60 pocketamp v2, which is good for its price).

You can save yourself a ton of research and time.

There arent any headphones or even speakers that handle 5 hz. 5 hz is barely audible above background noise and resonance in construction structures. From my experience room resonance is around 9-18 Hz and ground resonance is around 3-5 hz at 50dB. Low enough to go uunnnoticed but high enough to mask out any signal you have at those frequencies.

Forget about hearing even 20-30 Hz...let alone 5Hz with a pair of headphones. 5Hz is hard to achieve at decent levels even with pricey subwoofers.

gs

I would recommend it if not for the fact that you can do better with your money building your own amplifier. You can get an amp that spanks the Airhead for less than $100.00

See if you can find an A47 or a MINT for sale on headfi. I think Jon (JMT of headfi - www.jmtaudio.com) can build a nice example of the mint for $80.00 or less.

I am a big fan of xin's amplifiers...and my reference is the Ray Samuels Audio Emmeline SR-71.

gs

One Answer : beyerdynamic DT-770 pro

They dont call it the Darth-Beyer without reason

Prepare to shatter thy tympanum

Another good deal:

Sennheiser HD-201. You can get two of them for less than $35.00 nice gifts!

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.as...145074&loc=111

use this coupon : http://www.buy.com/retail/coupon.asp...54&dcaid=17654

check the expiry date!!

LMFAO ROF!!! You forget that you are addressing an audience that uses audiophile and MP3 in the same sentence.

Hey everyone and gsferrari, first of all, I would like to say: I DID IT! I READ ALL 31 PAGES! (and have already forgotten all the details and particular model names )

Anyways, would you guys have any recommendations for me for a decent set of value headphones or earbuds that are available for me here in Canada?

My criteria:
- My price range is around the $50 CDN mark, and I'm not an audiophile, although I do play the violin and piano.
- I'm planning on using the headphones with my onboard Inspiron 9300 sound for music, gaming, and listening to online talk radio broadcasts, and possibly sometimes with my CD player on the go (so hopefully they aren't too big and don't make me look weird).
- Also, comfort is a consideration, and I wear glasses, so I don't want headphones that will make my ears hurt (maybe I should stick more to circumaural, then?).
- Finally, as far as I can tell, I'm not a "basshead", so I don't really need overwhelming bass. So maybe I should stick with open headphones, even though I will probably use them a fair bit in a close-quarters research lab/office setting.

Equipment types under consideration:
1) a USB headset w/ mic and its own sound chip. I'm looking at the Logitech Premium 350 USB that I can get for $50 CDN, which offers 1-cable neatness, a high-quality mic ready to go, and arguably good sound quality. But the Logitech 350 USB might be too uncomfortable by some reports (and they're supra-aural), and reports of their sound quality are conflictory. Excellent noise-cancelling mic by all reports, though.

2a) A good value set of headphones, in which case I'll just use a separate mic for voice transmission in games (either shirt-clip on, headphone cable clip-on, or the dreaded free-standing type).

2b) A decent set of earbuds; I don't know if earbuds sound as good as headphones for gaming and movies (or even music, for that matter). Also, because they usually have a lower impedance than headphones, then will that make them less suited to laptop use due to noise from the onboard sound? Or would I not really notice it?

Anyways, I'm probably going to go with either headphones, in the interest of sound quality, or earbuds, because of sound quality + convenience and portability.

Choices I'm looking at for headphones and earbuds:
The main choice for headphones that I'm looking at are the AKG K-66 semi-open headphones for $47.09 CDN. I've heard these at a National Gallery of Canada exhibit (3D binaural soundtrack with video), and they were AMAZING and life-like, to me. It was life-like, because it had amazing clarity and "fidelity?" to go along with the realistic 3D audio positioning (my first time listening to a 3D binaural soundtrack). I think I liked them largely due to the fact that they are semi-open, which I think helps give them improved clarity and "life-likeness". I'm NOT a big basshead and I think I care more about the mids and highs (maybe because I can sort of be considered a musician). These headphones have an impedance of 32 ohms, so they will hopefully sound decent off an onboard sound chipset without too much hissing/noise. But, I should reiterate that I'm not an audiophile. Anyways, anyone know how the AKG K-66's would compare to the Grado SR60's? My main reservation with the K-66's is that they look kind of stupid (huge, weird looking "cans"), they're fairly bulky and look hard to pack in a backpack, and I don't know if I'd want to be seen wearing them on the bus, or even in my lab.

I'm also considering the Sennheiser PX100 Collapsible Stereo Headphones - PX100 for $65.93CDN (a bit more than I want to pay, but probably more versatile than normal bulky headphones). These have the advantage of looking less "stupid" than the K-66's, and are smaller, less bulky, and foldable and portable. I don't know how the sound performance for music and games would compare with the K-66's, though.

Another choice would be to cheap out and get SOME RANDOM SET of Sony headphones around $29.99-$39.99 CDN from Sony Styles Canada to go along with my onboard sound experience I don't know whether I'd be much happier making the marginally larger investment in the K-66's or whether I wouldn't notice the difference and be satisfied with cheaper Sony headphones for music and gaming. Hmm, also, GSferrari has recommended Sony's MDRV150 Studio Monitor Series Headphones in this thread before (for its "tonal quality"), and I can get them for $29.99CDN. However, they are supra-aural, so I hope they won't hurt my ears with my glasses (and they're closed, too). But they look pretty light and versatile, so I can imagine wearing them on the bus. How would the MDRV150's compare with the other Sony headphones in that price range?

In terms of earbuds, I'm also considering Sony's MDREX51LP Fontopia® Headphones which can be had @ $59.99 CDN from Sony Style Canada.
http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/ser...n100133n100129
These have the advantage of being very portable, so I could use them with my CD player (I'm still contemplating running my i9300 as an MP3 player out of my backpack, lol). I don't know how they'd be for gaming and stuff, though, or if they'd have overwhelming bass for me. The sound reduction isn't too big a deal for me, although I guess I'd rather have semi-open headphones where I can hear everyone around me in my lab naturally, or go all the way and have crazy sound reduction with the in-ear shaped buds. Anyways, I might even be content with going for cheaper earbuds that are COMFORTABLE and offer good sound performance for music and games (I don't care too much about sound isolation; but then again I'm not too experienced in headphone/earbud listening).

Conclusion
So, plz let me know what you guys think about my choices and possible options. I think I'd Here's my thread in the i9300/XPS2 forum:
Help me choose headphones+mic for my i9300! I would seriously take a look at the Grado SR60's if they were also around the $50-60CDN mark and readily available in Canada. I don't know how much "better" they'd sound over the K-66's, though. I can get the Grado SR60 for $129.99CDN including shipping, and also the Sennheiser HD497 (Open headphones) for $120.11CDN including shipping, but I that those prices are out of my price range, especially if cheaper headphones will perform clearly and well enough for me (not to mention the onboard sound that I'd be pairing them up with).

If I get a decent pair of headphones/earbuds for a reasonable price, then I MIGHT consider upgrading to an external sound card or something for my laptop down the road. But I'll probably just cheap out and stick with my onboard sound for music and games (even though there's no EAX that would come with a USB 5.1 Live! or Audigy). I DO have a set of Creative Inspire 5300's (5.1) speakers that I'm currently using on my desktop with my Audigy 1 OEM sound card, but I'll probably leave them behind when I move into residence (just bringing my i9300 w/ its onboard sound, and possibly some Creative 2.1 speakers).

So, thanks to everyone who's spent the time reading my thoughts and thanks in advance to those who will reply!