I searched for threads like this, but the search engine gave me an error (:rolleyes:) and Google only found one thread, which was from quite a while back.
I’m looking for some decent headphones to listen to music while at work. Here are some of my criteria:
[ul]
[li]Budget – up to $100 if they’re really good[/li][li]As little sound leakage as possible since I like to crank up my music and am surrounded by other people[/li][li]Noise cancellation nice to have, but not essential[/li][li]Comfortable to wear for long periods (but I’m a big guy so they don’t have to be tiny)[/li][li]Good frequency response – I listen to lots of different kinds of music, from pop to rock to hip-hop to Rock en Espanol[/li][li]Work well just plugged into a computer or iPod (i.e. they don’t need an amp or anything…something to do with impedance, maybe?)[/li][li]Don’t need to be foldable since I’ll keep them at my desk.[/li][/ul]
On Amazon it looks like Sennheiser rules the world. The HD 202s are best-sellers, and get very high ratings, like the HD 280s and HD 555s. I’m not an audiophile, but I know how I likes my music. The 555s seem like really good quality, but they don’t seem to have the “cup” style ear pieces to prevent noise leakage. Other than that I’m having trouble differentiating even the various Sennheiser models.
Anyone have any thoughts, or would suggest other brands/models?
You might want to do some reading in Headroom’s recommendations. It looks like they also have the HD280s for a hundred bucks, which is a good price. I own a pair; I wouldn’t call them audiophile-grade, but they ain’t bad.
I did some research on them a few months back and read a lot of reviews. I pretty much decided that if I was going to spend less than $100 I was going to go with the Grado SR60i. If I was going to splurge a couple hundred I would go with Denon.
The site that Hunter Hawk linked to has the DENON AH-D1001S on sale for $100…anyone have experience with those?
In general, can you just plug these type of headphones into a PC “speaker out” or iPod and expect them to work well? Right now I have a pair of Panasonic noise-cancelling, but they don’t sound that great, there is “clipping” and if I crank up the volume even a little bit, I get distortion, when they’re plugged into a PC.
The Sennheiser HD280 Pro. I have a pair that I got brand new on ebay for around $80, and IMHO, worth every penny.
I did some research, and most reviews of these raved about how clear the sound is and they were right. They were a bit snug at first but loosened up after a week or so of wearing, and you do have to burn them in. The burn-in is something I don’t understand, but basically when you get these headphones you put some music on a loop and let it play through the headphones for around 15-20 hours. Once you do this, they sound amazing. Seriously the best headphones I’ve ever used, pretty much studio quality. If you’re an audiophile (and it sounds like you are), check these out. You won’t be disappointed. I believe the ear pads and cord can be replaced (though I haven’t had to replace mine). They sound great plugged into a computer, ipod, stereo, anything I’ve tried. I do have some serious hearing problems and listen to it loud, and they can handle it without needing amplifiers or anything like that. The only negative I’ve heard is they don’t have a ton of bass, so if you’re into rap or hip hop (ugh) you might want to get some 'phones that make your fillings rattle instead.
I’ve heard the 555s aren’t that great. My friend has a pair of 595s which are really nice, but significantly more expensive.
I have 280s and I love them. They take some getting used to - the sound is very flat and accurate, and it takes some getting used to when you’re used to headphones and speakers that add their own color and biases. They’re sort of… dispassionate… analytical. If you have a crappy sound source (either the hardware you’re listening it on, or a bad recording) it may actually sound worse because you’re hearing all the flaws.
They also serve as very serious soundproofing - you won’t hear outside noises and no one will hear your music.
They’re pretty tight at first but they’ll loosen up and be comfortable eventually.
This is largely a function of impedance. The higher the impedance, the lower output volume you’ll get for a given piece of hardware/volume setting. Portable players don’t drive the output very hard generally and so it’s best to get something with an impedance of 64 ohms or below. Most portable headphones are around 32 ohms.
I’ve had my Sony MDR-V6s forever, and I love them. They’re pretty much the industry standard for studio headphones. The price is pretty reasonable at Amazon.com these days.
My Cowon Iaudio U2 is able to drive them just fine. Most PC audio line-outs don’t have enough power to drive them, though, so you’d need to go through a headphone amp or the headphone jack on external speakers.
Given the recommendations, and my own research, it looks like the Sennheiser HD 280s are perfect for my needs – great sound quality, easy to drive, excellent isolation. I already have a set of wireless Sennheisers for home and I’m very happy with those.
Having second thoughts about the HD 280s. They seem like excellent headphones, and the price is right, but a couple of things trouble me:
[ul]
[li]Many of the reviews I’ve read mention the so-so bass response, and I do occasionally like to listen to bass-heavy music[/li][li]Another common theme is that they reproduce the sound cold, clinically and exactly…more for analyzing music than for enjoying it, is the impression I get.[/li][/ul]
I’m also looking at the Audio-Technica ATH-M50 and the Denon AHD1001K
I guess I need to go try on a few at the store for comfort too. But then I always feel kinda bad heading off to buy them online where they’re invariably cheaper.
Many many headphones and speakers “color” the music to provide more bass because that’s what the ignorant rubes like ( ). Their bass response is less dominant because in general they produce an uncolored, objective sound.
But… that doesn’t mean they’re incapable of making good bass. Just use a quality equalizer to set the bass level that you like and the headphones will respond well to it.
As far as analyzing vs enjoying, it’s sort of a weird semantics thing. You can certainly enjoy accurate, uncolored music - but it foregos some easy tricks that most audio systems use (like colored bass) to make it more appealing. It’s sort of like how every processed food nowadays is loaded down with sugar to sort of overload your taste buds and make it feel good without really being a complex, complete taste. The HD280s are the natural food that isn’t loaded with sugar that doesn’t taste quite as good at first if you’re used to it but a lot of people enjoy the more natural, complex flavor.
Of course, we’re talking about some headphones, so that analogy may be taking it too far. I wasn’t a huge fan of the 280s at first but they really grew on me and now I’m bothered by listening to most other audio sources.
Sony makes a fine in-ear monitor for C$99 that meets all your requirements. It’s not their top-line model either. I love these. I’ve worn these since the 76SL model. I’ve gone through a few pairs because wearing them to bed is NOT RECOMMENDED, but I can wear these 12-15 hours at a stretch at work and home, comfortably. And they sound great. There are better headphones out there - Denon is really nice too - but I’m not willing to pay for them. $100 is enough.
Just get the 280s. If you’re going to be driving them from a computer or iPod, they’re probably not going to be the weakest link in the audio chain anyway.
Greatest headphones available, at least for someone not on an expense account. I keep trying (and have an earlier, slightly less able, Koss to tide me over) and will someday own a pair. Frequency response beyond both sides of Typical Human, so you can perceive, if not hear, the transonics that give music some of its depth. You’re screwed out of the ones over 25mhz (they go up to 50mhz) but it’s better than speakers, but they still sound sweet, even if they make your ears sweaty.
Er, 60 bucks is better than the $69 I last saw them for. If Wife keeps tossing her paychecks my way…
Oh, and you MP3 player users, if your player weighs more than your headphones, you’re doing it wrong. The 1/8" to 1/4" adapter should be close by itself. The headphones? With good ones you will quickly regret wasting money downloading tunes at a low bitrate.
Open-backed headphones give better sound for the money, but of course they’re not very useful in a noisy environment or if you have people close by who don’t want to hear your music.
Ignore frequency response specifications. They’re usually just made up by marketers.
I’d second this.
I still occasionally use a pair of a predecessor model to this, that is at least 35 years old, and still working great.
These are designed for studio use – by audio engineers who have to wear them for hours at a time – comfort is designed into them, along with good audio quality. The around-the-ear design is both more comfortable for long periods, leaks less sound, so you can turn them up high, and does better at excluding external noises.
Somewhat expensive, but you will still be using them years more the more fragile types.
). Their bass response is less dominant because in general they produce an uncolored, objective sound.