Headphone recommendations?

[Pitter_Patter]

I use Audio Technica ATH M30’s in my home studio. About $60. They are comfortable, accurate, and do a good job at blocking outside sound.

[DarrenS]

@Pitter_Patter

I use Audio Technica ATH M30’s in my home studio. About $60. They are comfortable, accurate, and do a good job at blocking outside sound.

I’m looking at the Audio Technica ATH M50s which seem to get rave reviews everywhere. They can be had for $95 on EBay, including shipping. My local guitar center appears to have them so I may even get some today!

[DarrenS]

@dropzone

The headphones? With good ones you will quickly regret wasting money downloading tunes at a low bitrate.

This is a good point. I believe Amazon MP3s are 192kbps? Is that high enough for good sound? At what bitrate would I, as a mere mortal and definitely not an audiophile, be able to tell the difference?

Also, I have ripped a bunch of my CDs to my iPod…apparently CDs have an uncompressed bitrate of 1,411.2 kbit/s. Does that mean I should consider re-ripping them? At what bitrate?

[vivalostwages]

Ah, the search for monaural headphones…

I went to Radio Shack. The gal had no idea what “monaural” meant and looked it up online. I ended up with Logitech ClearChat comfort USB, then figured out later that I probably spent too much. Califone International has deluxe monos for $20 but I don’t know if they can get them to me by Sep. 10, when my transcription class starts.

I called a local educ. supply place and asked for monaural headphones. The woman had no idea what I meant. I said mono, as opposed to stereo. She asked if it was a brand name. I said no, it’s a type of headphone. She didn’t have a clue.

Sheesh.

[JimOfAllTrades]

@vivalostwages

Ah, the search for monaural headphones…

I went to Radio Shack. The gal had no idea what “monaural” meant and looked it up online. I ended up with Logitech ClearChat comfort USB, then figured out later that I probably spent too much. Califone International has deluxe monos for $20 but I don’t know if they can get them to me by Sep. 10, when my transcription class starts.

You don’t need mono headphones. Get any standard stereo headphones you like, then go back to Radio Shack and get a mono to stereo adapter. This kit:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102695

Includes what you need to make just about any headphone work with a mono output. You may wind up using two adapters (1/4 inch to 1/8 inch, then stereo to mono) but it will work. If you know exactly what size jack your stereo headphones have, and what size jack you need for class, you can buy a single adapter for probably $5 to $10.

[gaffa]

I wish I could find some damn rugged headphones. They all seem to be made of ridgid, brittle plastic these days. I used all sorts of Sennheiser models when I was a teen back in the 70s, 414s, 424s and the like, and they were all made of this flexible, but tough, plastic and seemed to last forever. The HD-457 looks like it might be in that tradition, but some of the reviews indicate that they run small, and my head of larger than average.

[vivalostwages]

@RJKUgly

You don’t need mono headphones. Get any standard stereo headphones you like, then go back to Radio Shack and get a mono to stereo adapter. This kit:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102695

Includes what you need to make just about any headphone work with a mono output. You may wind up using two adapters (1/4 inch to 1/8 inch, then stereo to mono) but it will work. If you know exactly what size jack your stereo headphones have, and what size jack you need for class, you can buy a single adapter for probably $5 to $10.

Thanks for the info…I will look into that. I wish I could contact the instructor ahead of time or get a peek at the classroom, but these aren’t options.

[DarrenS]

@vivalostwages

I’m going to be taking medical transcription, and the brochure indicates that monaural headphones are necessary for the class.
Any recommendations?

Strangely enough, while reading reviews I came across this on Amazon:

I am a medical transcriptionist. We all require comfortable headphones for daily workday wear and these are pliable, fit just close enough without pinching or causing headaches. I forget I have them on!! We also must have very clear, detailed sound so we can quickly recognize the difference between sounds to get things like medications and dosages EXACT; these headphones are perfect, playing even the finest details in the softest, unintelligible words!! Designer looks and practical too!

Regarding my own adventure: After much research (thanks for the links here!) I ended up with a set of Audio Technica ATH-M50Ses. I have been using them at work for a couple of weeks, and so far I’m delighted. Comfortable, amazing sound quality, great bass and treble. To test the isolation I cranked up the volume until it was almost painful, then took them off and asked my team, who sit adjacent to me, if they’d heard any leakage…they told me they didn’t even know I’d be listening to music.

[vivalostwages]

Well, I’ve got one pair plus an adaptor set now, plus another arriving in a couple days just in case the first one is wrong (it can be returned). Those in the Amazon link look really nice, though.