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I use a pair of Master & Dynamic MH40 over ear headphones when I'm commuting or traveling. They're tough, heavy and sound brilliant. That said, they're too heavy for extended flights and / or walking around and I'm keeping my ear out for something new, lighter and more travel friendly, most likely a set of noise cancelling cans from B&O, Bose or Sennheiser.
 
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Recently bought these...

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I have a couple of expensive pairs of headphones. Saw that there was a HUGE hype around these and thought it was too good to be true. NOPE, these things are probably better sounding than most 2-400 dollar headphones, and definitely better than anything in it's range.

Philips SHP9500
 
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Recently bought these...

View attachment 712867

I have a couple of expensive pairs of headphones. Saw that there was a HUGE hype around these and thought it was too good to be true. NOPE, these things are probably better sounding than most 2-400 dollar headphones, and definitely better than anything in it's range.

Philips SHP9500

I tried those but they were physically too big for my head even at the smallest headband adjustment. Most headphones I have to use them at the smallest adjustable setting. Even the Sony MDR-1A was too big for my head at the smallest setting. I was disappointed as they sounded really good.
 
Recently bought these...

View attachment 712867

I have a couple of expensive pairs of headphones. Saw that there was a HUGE hype around these and thought it was too good to be true. NOPE, these things are probably better sounding than most 2-400 dollar headphones, and definitely better than anything in it's range.

Philips SHP9500
Are these for high end range listening or would you say they're better for audio monitoring? Despite my large collection of expensive cans, I often find myself going back to the sub $90 Sony monitoring cans. Just crisp audio. And is that cushion stitch fabric or glues?
 
I tried those but they were physically too big for my head even at the smallest headband adjustment. Most headphones I have to use them at the smallest adjustable setting. Even the Sony MDR-1A was too big for my head at the smallest setting. I was disappointed as they sounded really good.

Oh I almost know how that feels. They are perfect at the smallest setting, otherwise I wouldn't be able to use them, but I think you and I probably have smaller than usual heads. I think I have the smallest head out of all of my friends. Their motorcycle helmets are like sputnik satellites.

Sorry you can't use them cause they do sound amazing.
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Are these for high end range listening or would you say they're better for audio monitoring? Despite my large collection of expensive cans, I often find myself going back to the sub $90 Sony monitoring cans. Just crisp audio. And is that cushion stitch fabric or glues?

I'd side em on audio monitoring. These things are accurate as hell and minimally colored. They actually sound like my Adams F7s, which almost made me **** myself. I was like "You mean I can mix my music at night without waking my wife and when I play it back the next day on my adams, everything sounds the same INCLUDING my sub?!", blown away.

BUT my commercial music sounds good on em too. I would say that people like us, who can tell the difference, can tell these are definitely for audio monitoring, which explains why the only people you will find bitching about these, is gamers. "Bass is too low F these!". It's because the bass is exactly where it should be for non colored headphones.

So in short, music you just enjoy to listen to, sound great in these, especially with a headphone amp, but you will find that they are some of the best monitoring headphones. Better than my Shures, AKGs, Beyerdynamic, Sonys. But there is a place for those, and most of mine are closed back. So I don't think these will replace your Sonys, if you have the model I think you have. The model we all have.
 
Oh I almost know how that feels. They are perfect at the smallest setting, otherwise I wouldn't be able to use them, but I think you and I probably have smaller than usual heads. I think I have the smallest head out of all of my friends. Their motorcycle helmets are like sputnik satellites.

Sorry you can't use them cause they do sound amazing.

Yeah I ended up returning them. I have the Sennheiser 598 and they fit well at a slightly bigger setting given the amount of headband cushion. Also have the Sony MDR-10rbt which fit nicely at the smallest setting. Those are actually pretty comfy.
 
Yeah I ended up returning them. I have the Sennheiser 598 and they fit well at a slightly bigger setting given the amount of headband cushion. Also have the Sony MDR-10rbt which fit nicely at the smallest setting. Those are actually pretty comfy.

How strange is that? I feel like we should make a small head support group thread. I've met maybe two people with head size issues. The odd thing is, you couldn't tell by looking at me that my head won't fit most men's helmets/hats and all that.

I remember in school, my coaches were freaking out because my heat was too long for the football helmets, but too skinny for them. So I had to wear the bigger helmets and tape 3 ear pads together. It was pathetic. Although you can't see that, that's what the helmet dictated. They ended up calling me "fish head".
 
I'd side em on audio monitoring. These things are accurate as hell and minimally colored. They actually sound like my Adams F7s, which almost made me **** myself. I was like "You mean I can mix my music at night without waking my wife and when I play it back the next day on my adams, everything sounds the same INCLUDING my sub?!", blown away.

BUT my commercial music sounds good on em too. I would say that people like us, who can tell the difference, can tell these are definitely for audio monitoring, which explains why the only people you will find bitching about these, is gamers. "Bass is too low F these!". It's because the bass is exactly where it should be for non colored headphones.

So in short, music you just enjoy to listen to, sound great in these, especially with a headphone amp, but you will find that they are some of the best monitoring headphones. Better than my Shures, AKGs, Beyerdynamic, Sonys. But there is a place for those, and most of mine are closed back. So I don't think these will replace your Sonys, if you have the model I think you have. The model we all have.
Thanks. I'm definitely going to try them out. They were on sale a while back. I prefer the monitoring cans simply because they deliver accurate sound. The way the music should sound like. Too much base kills mid and high notes. I've got the Sony MDRs in red. I forget the model name as its worn out over the years. The blue models weren't as good, even if they were updated. Foldables.
 
Thanks. I'm definitely going to try them out. They were on sale a while back. I prefer the monitoring cans simply because they deliver accurate sound. The way the music should sound like. Too much base kills mid and high notes. I've got the Sony MDRs in red. I forget the model name as its worn out over the years. The blue models weren't as good, even if they were updated. Foldables.

Yea I agree with you FULLY. Let me know if you like them. The old Sony ones made in Japan?
 
Yea I agree with you FULLY. Let me know if you like them. The old Sony ones made in Japan?
The old Sony's were always made in three different countries, but final assembly was in Japan. It was a method for Sony to use cheaper labor while maintaining the Made In through legal means. Japan, Thailand and China were the sourced areas, with final implementation done in Japan. It's the same stuff. Anyway, yeah, it's the model Sony's been making for, what, 30 years now?

The best upgrade for these are switching to velour pads or stitched fabric. Better seal and placement of the speaker. If you're wanting to stay under $115 and maintain 90% of the clarity but keep the spirit of the music alive without going bass deep, Grado makes some fine entry level models. They're no MDRs, but they're close. I'd say they're even more durable than the MDRs of old, but that's dependent on your use case.

What are some good mold-able monitoring buds? Anything under $150? Sometimes I like having something lighter on my head as opposed to heavy cans.
 
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Got a pair of these yesterday. Great sound, great fit, great size. Not amazing battery life. But still happy with them.

As I already have Jaybird Bluebuds X and X2s I had considered the X3s. But the size of the freedoms are what convinced me. Plus, they didn't have black X3s in stock.
 
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Can anyone give me some suggestions for good earbud or IEM headphones for portable use? I don't like using over the head headphones for out and about as they're too bulky. Any ideas?
 
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Got a pair of these yesterday. Great sound, great fit, great size. Not amazing battery life. But still happy with them.

As I already have Jaybird Bluebuds X and X2s I had considered the X3s. But the size of the freedoms are what convinced me. Plus, they didn't have black X3s in stock.
Ok, I’ve used these quite a bit over the last few days and am very impressed with their quality and their fit and would definitely recommend them.

I’ll be travelling overseas soon and so I had thought about how useless these will be when not charged. However, as they can take a battery pack, I will look at getting a second one and so I can always have one fully charged. Basically, that gives them the edge over other Bluetooth earphones that only offer a charging case. The noise cancellation will be most welcome when flying long haul.
 
Ok, I’ve used these quite a bit over the last few days and am very impressed with their quality and their fit and would definitely recommend them.

I’ll be travelling overseas soon and so I had thought about how useless these will be when not charged. However, as they can take a battery pack, I will look at getting a second one and so I can always have one fully charged. Basically, that gives them the edge over other Bluetooth earphones that only offer a charging case. The noise cancellation will be most welcome when flying long haul.

How long is the battery supposed to last? Did it take a while to find the right size tips for your ears? I know in ear headphones come with various tip sizes. I just wouldn't want to have one get stuck in my ear when I pull out my headphones from my ears.
 
How long is the battery supposed to last? Did it take a while to find the right size tips for your ears? I know in ear headphones come with various tip sizes. I just wouldn't want to have one get stuck in my ear when I pull out my headphones from my ears.
You won’t have them get stuck in your ear. They come with comply tips which hold in place very well and are also very comfortable.

The battery without the battery pack attached will last 4 hours and then another 4 with the battery pack.
 
You won’t have them get stuck in your ear. They come with comply tips which hold in place very well and are also very comfortable.

The battery without the battery pack attached will last 4 hours and then another 4 with the battery pack.

Hmm okay. They seem to give you a battery pack when you buy the earphones but I can't seem to find the battery pack on Amazon. Also these seem to have really mixed reviews. $150 US is $188 Canadian. I can get the Apple AirPods for that as my brothers works at the Apple Store and they get discounts. And the Apple Earbuds fit my ears. I just looking for something with good sound quality and that will fit my ears well. I just don't want to spend a fortune trying different ones. Many places here won't allow returns of headphones for hygienic reasons so I'd have to try and sell them before buying a different set if I didn't like them. Lots of hassle.
 
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Yet, SO much better than my Bose QC35s.. I love those MDR1000xs!

I picked up a pair of the QC35s which sounded much better than my old QC15s. Then I bought the Sony MDR1000x and that was better still. But now I had to try out LDAC BT so I bought the Walkman AW35 for $150 and some 96/24 and DSD tracks. They do sound better. Just for fun I plugged in my ATH-M50X and of course they sounded best of all 3.
So the Bose are going back but I will keep the MDR1000x for travel and most likely the Walkman, LDAC does sound better Wireless and it is nice to play some Hi Res other than on my Yamaha CXA-5100 in the house.
 
I just picked up a pair of the Sony MDR100x as well...and I LOVE them. I was a Beats guy for a long time...but tried out these Sony's and I didn't know what I was missing. These are my daily drivers and my AirPods are around for the times I don't want to have cans on my head.

Boy...Beats really ARE overpriced.
 
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I just picked up a pair of the Sony MDR100x as well...and I LOVE them. I was a Beats guy for a long time...but tried out these Sony's and I didn't know what I was missing. These are my daily drivers and my AirPods are around for the times I don't want to have cans on my head.

Boy...Beats really ARE overpriced.

Beats aren't just over-priced, they are a triumph of the arts of marketing and are an example of the success of pure hype over any sort of serious substance.

There are far better (if perhaps less fashionable) headphones available, such as Grado, Marshall, some Sennheiser, Audio Technica, to name but a few, and my own current favourites, Bowers & Wilkins.
 
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I just picked up a pair of the Sony MDR100x as well...and I LOVE them. I was a Beats guy for a long time...but tried out these Sony's and I didn't know what I was missing. These are my daily drivers and my AirPods are around for the times I don't want to have cans on my head.

Boy...Beats really ARE overpriced.

I haven't tried any Beats headphones, but when i was shopping around for a set of cans last year, the only thing they seemed to have going for them(from reviews) was a lot of "bass", which I do not care for considering the type of music I listen to.
 
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