Audiophiles, show me your cans! (headphones that is)

alasdairm said:
i just bought a pair of these and they arrived today:

grado sr60i


they sound great!

alasdair
Click to expand...

Very nice, sr60s are the shit.

I almost dropped 5 balloons on the new limited HF2. Wood chamber and aluminum housing. Beautiful cans and supposedly they sound like the $1500 PS-1000. Decided to spend that money on exotic chemicals instead :p:D

hf2_4.jpg


Ah well, maybe someday I'll pick them up for about $500 dollars more than they sold for. :(
 
Sony MDR-V700DJ for me as well, love these headphones, got them originally for audio engineering course. (What a waste of money that was) The course that is, not the headphones. The headphones are absolutely amazing. Haven't heard a better pair yet. But that's just me personally, I know there are better ones.
 
I'm looking at buying a pair of headphones to be used to listen to music on my pc and through my iPod, now im a complete noob when it comes to all the technical jargon so I thought I would ask you guys as to which might be more appropriate.

I'm prepared to spend up to around £200.

I've been looking through this thread and found these suggestions

Sennheiser HD 25-1 II
Sennheiser HD 600
Grado sr60i

Which would be more suited for listening to DnB + Dubstep.
Basically im looking to really feel the bass and want to be completely removed from this world when tripping with them on with eyes closed :D

Would really appreciate any advice that you guys (and gals) can give.

Cheers
 
I have used most of the high end phones, and evaluated them for realism of sound, under much tighter controlled conditions as compared to most people. As such, I recommend the Sony MDR-CD900ST studio headphone (Japanese import - available only from specialty import shops in the USA such as Audio Cubes). It has a similar level of realism for classical, jazz, etc. as compared to the Stax Omega II headphone - and defeats the Omega II for some things, like vocals, piano and some other instruments. If realism of tonal presentation is your thing, it's hard to beat. Build quality is also substantially higher than most phones such as the Sennheisers, for example. It does have a slight 'dark' treble presentation. It may bother some people - though no headphone is perfect - this is the particular weakness of this phone. The headphone is extremely voltage efficient - this means it will work extremely well off of most portable sources without the need of an additional amplifier.

Chris
 
Xtc <3 said:
Basically im looking to really feel the bass and want to be completely removed from this world when tripping with them on with eyes closed :D
Click to expand...

Headphones are good at completely removing you from this world, but bass is a weak point. For a dubstep / DnB fan, I'd definitely recommend a pair of speakers (and optimally a sub, if you're willing to go that far). This way you really do feel the low frequencies: kick drum thumping in your chest, wobble bass shooting up your spine...

Also, regardless of your decision as to whether to go with speakers or cans, if you're playing music from your PC, you'll want to invest in a better DAC (Digital-to-Analog Converter) than the one built in to your PC. The process of converting the 0s and 1s that constitute an MP3 file to an analog waveform is very important. And any decent cones will go completely to waste if the signal you're feeding them is no good. You'd probably want one with an onboard amplifier too, because otherwise you'll need a separate unit for that as well.

If you had a Mac, I'd highly recommend the Apogee Duet. Awesome DAC, with a perfectly acceptable built in amp too.
 
Equation RP-21s
EQUATION-RP21-2.jpg


They recently got stolen from my car along with a friend's laptop :D >__<
 
In ear or over?

So to me, the BIG question is in regards to the relatively new phenomenon of in-ear style headphones, the high end market of which was pretty much invented by Etymonic Research.

In the last ten years or so, this style of 'phone has really shoved it's way into the market, and I have to wonder if a pair of standard "over ear" cans can even compete.

I would venture to guess that a top end pair of in-ear phones would always trump high-end over-ear. As one of the reviews of early Etymonics said, "it's like plugging the music directly into your brain."

And I do admit, the first time I did some critical listening with them I understood what all the fuss was about - the sound was just so involving and intimate. And for so many technical and artistic reasons, having that tight seal which essentially fuses the headphone with your ear makes a world of difference.

Ok, have at it.
 
Sennheiser CX 300 (in ear), bought them about 2 years ago, gave 50€ at that time. I'm still lovin' them :)

Although, because of them I know my notebook soundcard is crappy.

EDIT: Just don't wear them when on a bike, got hit by a car once while listening to Slayer, luckily didn't get hurt! :)
 
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Xtc <3 said:
I'm looking at buying a pair of headphones to be used to listen to music on my pc and through my iPod, now im a complete noob when it comes to all the technical jargon so I thought I would ask you guys as to which might be more appropriate.

I'm prepared to spend up to around £200.

I've been looking through this thread and found these suggestions

Sennheiser HD 25-1 II
Sennheiser HD 600
Grado sr60i

Which would be more suited for listening to DnB + Dubstep.
Basically im looking to really feel the bass and want to be completely removed from this world when tripping with them on with eyes closed :D

Would really appreciate any advice that you guys (and gals) can give.

Cheers
Click to expand...

you def don't want the grados then. i listen to headphones so much my brain is probably polarized but after about a minute listening to these grados my ears felt like they were being raped. i found the midrange to be just TOO much, and i say that as a jazz fan. mellow highs but absolutely shit for bass.

looking at the specs, the HD 600 is clearly superior to the HD 25-1 II, but is it also worth the price? the 25-1 II offers 16hz-22khz while the HD 600 offers an intense 12hz-39khz frequency range. dnb is produced almost exclusively digitally, so producers have godly powers over all frequencies and generally stick with 30hz-15khz. if the producer can't even hear the sound, they're probably not going to find much use for it in their tunes. keep in mind, it's quite rare for a human to be able to actually hear past 20khz and most people top out between 16-18khz.

that said, the HD 600 also features a total harmonic distortion of 0.1% while the HD 25-1 II is considerably higher at 0.3%. still, 0.3% is pretty damn decent. if you're anything like me and use your headphones a LOT then distortion will eventually show up with age. the HD 600s are really audiophile headphones. these are not cans you plug into an ipod, these are cans that would probably max out the best solid state hifis. so yeah, i think it would probably be a waste of money for most people. the HD 25-1 II on the other hand seem like a good buy. I've honestly never been less than totally impressed by Sennheisers when it comes to bass, and I love bass. I still keep a set of HD 202s for street use and they have served me so, so well.

may as well keep those in mind too. they're a lot less expensive than the HD 25-1 II and very light, rugged and hella good cans overall.
 
Thank you ever so much people, really informative answers, just what I was looking for.
I'll be deciding which ones I get in the coming weeks... exciting stuff :)
 
^ Damn straight... some of the most profound moments of my life have come straight out of a pair of audiophile headphones.
 
i got a pair of superlux hd681 phones whilst my trusty sennheiser HD25's were broken and got the surprise of my life - £20 for the most ridiculously nice sounding headphones - bought 2 more pairs for the studio and 3 of my clients have since got them as spare pairs too! Not on a level with £300 phones but SO close its frightening.

I cant recommend these enough if you put all snobberies aside. they are almost always on ebay for 20-25quid

copies of akg's, a friend has the real thing and the main difference we found is that the akgs go a tiny bit louder before distorting, but thats beyond a comfortable level anyway!

Superlux%20HD681%20Headphones.jpg
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I present to you......


15.jpg


Allen & Heath Xone XD-53.

I've never worn a better set. So crisp and clear, they have great bass response, and can get loud enough to make you deaf.

The only downside is they are a litte big on my head. If I'm dancing will I'm cueing up, they'll fall off because they're too big, just a little big, but big enough to not be snug.

Great buy for $150
 
My favorite headphones I ever owned were the Bose Quietcomfort 15's. Great for travel, esp. with the noise cancelling option that works perfectly on long flights, when you just need to get at least a couple of hours on the trip (you know those international red eyes!). Unfortunately, I left those pair in our hotel in Italy.

Instead of paying upwards of $250-300 for some more Bose QC15's, I opted for some Skullcandy Low-Riders (Chrome and Black) for about $45 or so. They sound very good (not nearly the range I got from Bose) and for that price, they work for someone who just needs them to work out, travel and chill with. So if you're looking for something fairly inexpensive with great bass, go get you some SkullCandy. I love Snoop's blue bandana over the ear style, but I think the Chrome and Black on the ear look better and aren't as bulky or expensive. www.skullcandy.com
 
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