Best Headphones?

[debrey]

First of all, I would suggest the head-fi forum:

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=2

You will find many more expert opinions than we will every come up with. Now for my 2 cents:

From recearching on head-fi, I'm seriously considering these Altec Lansing in-ear head phones (which use Ety technology):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...f=pd_bbs_1/104-3295430-6565514?_encoding=UTF8

These are $200 headphones which you can get on Amazon for $80 (used to be $60 -- clearly I didn't act fast enough).

-- David

 

[Scenicroadways]

Grado Sr-60 gets my vote. I love my pair

 

[Lucky8]

Has anyone try Ultimate Ears?
Thinking about getting the Super.fi 5 pro
http://www.ultimateears.com/superfi/superfi-5-Pro-white.htm

 

[QuarterSwede]

All of these suggestions are good to say the least. A suggestion to those looking for in ear monitors, go for Ultimate Ears (which are on Head-fi). I'd suggest the EB (extra bass) versions because a friend of mine has a pair of super.fi 3's which sounds excellent in every range but bass which it lacks severely unless you use it with a device that tends to add extra bass (a lot of Sony CD players). It would noticeably lack bass on an iPod as it did with my PowerBook ... at least I would think they outputs would be similar. Maybe not.

Edit: Nice Lucky8, got there a full 10 min before me = ) Darn TV.

 

[ChrisA]

Do any audiophiles out there have any good headphones to recommend that would be good for listening to music on an iPod.

AKG K240 has got to be the must used studio headphones. Kind of an industry standard.
I have owned a pair for over 20 years

It has what you migh call a "studio refference" sound. However people who like rap or rock might prefer an exagerated bass, the AKG does not have that, they are flat and nuetral.

The price is resonable too. Just under $100.

Do a Gogle on "AKG K240" and you will find many reviewes and retailers

That said, the big AKG is impractical for the gym and I use some Sonys that look more like ear _plugs_ that fit inside the ear. It's Sony model MDR-EX71 Paid like $30 at the Apple store and they are almost as good as the AKG (but I have some hearing loss in the high freq. rng so don't ask me.

 

[leidendude]

Thanks

First of all, I really appreciate the response from you guys. It's really terrific to know that I have so many people that want to help me out. Secondly I was checking out some of the reviews on Amazon and I gotta say, the Sennheiser HD-280's seem pretty good. Do you think these would work for my cause? Muchas Gracias.

 

[mulletman13]

Hey there!

I don't mean to sound conceited or anything, but I'm a head-fier first, and then a Mac user second if you catch my drift

I have used a TON of different headphones out there and can offer a lot of advice, but you need to be a bit more specific on what you want.

A full size phone? A portable phone? An open or closed phone?

Big low end, details, smooth mids, or tight high end?

If you can be as specific as possible then I'll do my best to help out.

Head-fi.org will help you immensely, but here are my reccommendations.

Grado SR-225: Top end of Grado's low end -- this is a great phone with attention to detail but lacking a bit in the low end. Can be gotten for sub $150. These can be portable, but are open and would leak sound everywhere.

Etymotic ER-4s/4p : EXCELLENT in-ears for the prices you listed, and trounce the UE5's in sound quality. The UE5's make up for clean low-end, but do not hold a candle to the ety's for sound quality.

Sennheiser HD555: Pretty good all around phone, leak a bit of sound, but are extremely comfortable. They sound good enough, and are pretty balanced. Can be gotten for sub-$120.

I haven't listed any closed cans because the better ones require a bit more power than the iPod can put out.... but people have said good things about the Senn SR-280 if you need closed cans. They are HUGE, and IMO do not sound too great at all, but they are low priced and pretty good. A step up would be the BeyerDynamic DT770/80 ohm version... can be run from the iPod, and has punchy bass, is a closed phone, can be found around $120, and very comfortable.

Please PM me if you have any specifics or want some more advice

 

[cmac101]

Shure!!

Definitly go with the shure E2C. They fit in your ear and are barely noticable. They are extremely comfortable and sound great. Thats the best thing I've ever bought (except my iPod and MacBook of course!)

 

[Sesshi]

First of all, I really appreciate the response from you guys. It's really terrific to know that I have so many people that want to help me out. Secondly I was checking out some of the reviews on Amazon and I gotta say, the Sennheiser HD-280's seem pretty good. Do you think these would work for my cause? Muchas Gracias.

They sound over-even (is that the right way of saying it? Not very fun sounding) and when looking at myself the HD280 are the silliest looking pair of phones I've ever had.

The Shures and Etymotics have a lot of tradeoffs in the sound for how much they cost and should only be bought if you need the very high noise isolation they give (e.g. plane travel, subway travel, etc). The E2c is OK, the E3c sounds very tinny, the E4c less so but it's not worth $300. The E5c is the only really nice-sounding phone Shure makes but the price is a joke. Etymotic earphones are like Shure E3c's with a flatter response and less tin in the sound, and are really quite deadly boring to listen to.

If you ask me for iPod use I say get a Sennheiser CX300 for $50 and be done with it, forget value and buy the Shure E5c or throw value for money completely out of the window and get fitted for an Ultimate Ears custom. Big phones like the Grado SR60 and Sennheiser 555 are pretty useless outside.

 

[nihilisticmonk]

Shure E2C's all the way,

I went through two pairs of Etymotic ER6i's before I saw sense and switched brand...

THe ER6i's sound quality was very good, but the build quality is appaling.
It was the same fault with both, the headphone connection to the molded plastic at the bottom appears to become interally frayed, and one of the channels will turn off. Move the cable at the bottom and it'll come on....

Walk with them, and it's on/off/on/off

The first pair...fair enough, I coulda been a little rough....
I treated the 2nd pair as gentle as a lamb....then one day, BOOM, one side of the audio goes off....

Got a pair of Shure e2c''s, sound qualitys great, they're more comfortable than the etymotics, and the cable is so fat you could swing off it in an emergency like Indiana Jones' whip.

 

[spinne1]

I'll have to say the tried and true studio standard Sony MDR-7506's. Flattest response out there for headphones and can generate an insane amount of noise without distorting (which means they can be EQ'd to your exact liking). In fact, I've never heard them distort even when I boost the EQ +12 in bass. Just to let you know, these are sealed cans (they go completely around your ear, like the triports) and only emit sound when the volume is cranked. You can't hear anything else and no one can hear your music.

Also, they are built like a tank (out of actual metal) and fold up into a nice plethor drawstring bag. Plus you can get them at your local Guitar Center for $99, or less if you can find a better price (say online). They'll honor it.

I've had a pair for 11 years, and they still sound GREAT. I cannot recommend them highly enough. GREAT for bass response.