[In need] of headphones.

Started by Stylo, February 19, 2010, 12:21:53 AM

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Stylo

Hey guys, I've found myself in need of some nice ovehead headphones. I was looking at Skull Candy's selection, but the actually really nice ones (Which is what I'm looking for) are like $89-$149, which is just out of the price I'm willing to pay.
So I'm looking for nice high quality, durable headphones. Anyone know good brands/kinds/whatever besides Skull Candy? Has to be over the head, because they usually give you the best sound.
;-;

Tai

Well, my suggestion is eBay. I have bought 2 headphones from eBay and it is super cheap (over 50% off some). As for brands, it all depends on your preference. Since you like Skull candy (I don't suggest them since they break down and I find there not that well balanced, once again preference.) you must be a bass person. I can't say you will like these brands since I don't know what you like, though if you want good quality I personally suggest Shure, Sennheiser, and Bose. Though a lot of them are expensive. Though it is all on your preference, people like different ranges and the blending of the ranges, and people listen to different music. So just read reviews and see what would suit you the most. Oh and stay away from the high ohm ones like the 16ohm ones.

Vanilla Skunk

Skull Candy's are pretty good.  I wound up getting a pair of Sony MDR-XB300's.  They have enormous ear cushions, and they don't collect sweat.

I even tried the 'push' test... where, if you push on the headphones into your ears, they tend to sound better, if they're headphones, as opposed to earbuds.

I found that these sound BETTER when you DO NOT push on the headphones.  Sure they get louder, but they lose bass when you push.

As for durability, the cord is quite a bit thicker, and flat all the way down, and even with me sitting on them, there aren't any stress marks in the plastic anywhere.  The only thing they lack compared to the skull candys, is the padded headband.  These are straight plastic.

Zephyron

#3
Skull candies have overbloated bass, not very healthy for the ears.

If you can up the budget to $199, I recommend the Shure SRH440. personally of thinking about getting the SRH840 myself.

If budget is a concern, I can let you audition 2 heaphones I own, one for studio use (Equation Audio RP-21) and one for easy listening (Goldring DR150).

Both headphones are circumaural, the RP-21 being closed and having a more neutral sound, and the DR150 has a more V-shaped sound to it that places less emphasis on the vocal range of things, but more towards the bass side of things without going flabby and out of control.

If you want, there's a place Downtown called HiFi Centre which stocks up on Grado/Alessandro headphones which are well regarded in the audiophile community as well, and I believe the grado SR60 and SR80 fall healthily into your price range.

Whatever it is, stay away from Bose. They may have the marketing, but their costs do not justify the audio reproduction quality of their products.

EDIT: They're cheaper than what I remembered

ADD:

Try these places for headphones:

Commercial Electronics
1335 Burrard St.
Vancouver, B.C. V6Z 1Z7
Tel: (604) 669-5525

The Sound Room
2025 W. Broadway
Vancouver, B.C. V6J 1Z9
Tel: (604) 736-7771

Hi-Fi Centre
578 Seymour St
Vancouver, B.C. V6B 3J6
Tel: (604) 688-5502


A couple of nice places to see/hear high-end sources:

Signature Audio
3025 Cambie Street
Vancouver, B.C. V5Z 4N2
Tel: (604) 873-6682

Sound Plus
600 W. Broadway
Vancouver, B.C. V5Z 1G1
Tel: (604) 873-4571

Tai

#4
Yes, the headphone mentioned above are great. Especially the Shure SRH440, once again I have to say ebay it, it goes for around $119.00 with shipping probably could find it cheaper.

Yeah. bose is a bit over priced for what you get, there are better choices out there.

Oh and if your looking for headphone with good bass, personally I have never found one though I haven't bought that many headphones, I have never found a headphone that will go low enough (Under 15Hz) for around $100.00. Though my expectations are high since I am comparing it to a 12" sub in a ported box. Though if you do find one post it. I have tried a few that are on paper suppose to go that low but didn't cut it for me.

Oh and you need a good source, it doesn't matter how good the headphones are if the source is bad, so if your running off a iPod with low quality mp3's you will be missing a lot. Or mobo on board sound, there quality are pretty bad too, even the high end boards, I have tried a lot of mobo's and and nothing compares to my Auzen X-Fi Prelude 7.1.

Vanilla Skunk

#5
Quote from: Zephyron on February 19, 2010, 02:55:52 AM
Skull candies have overbloated bass, not very healthy for the ears.

That statement would make me go for the skull candies. :P

As for onboard mobo sound, I found this to be very true, except in some Dells, where they have Creative APU's, or an amplifying system built into the motherboard.

If you hear way more bass at mid volume than at full volume, then you know it isn't amped.  In my case, I found adding a component amp to drive my headphones improved the sound tremendously.  Moreso than the 5.1 speaker system's headphone jack.

Stylo

Thanks guys, I'll continue to look into this and see what comes up.
Thanks for the help :P

Zephyron

Quote from: Tai on February 19, 2010, 04:08:18 AM
Oh and you need a good source, it doesn't matter how good the headphones are if the source is bad, so if your running off a iPod with low quality mp3's you will be missing a lot.

Cowon D2 + FLAC or high bitrate VBR MP3 format works for me, or iRiver H120 -> Lineout -> external amp -> DR150/RP21/Shure SE420.

Also, there's a work around to that. An iPod's connection port can be used as a Lineout source, as and the Wolfson DACs used in most iPods are actually not bad - Its just that the 2nd-4th Gen iPods have terrible reputation for using poor capacitors that cause a heavy amount of lower frequency fall-off when paired with low impedance headphones.

orwin

Oh gawd stay away from the skullcandy if you actually plan to listen to the headphones plugged into something.

Check the specs on the box...you will find they have WORSE specifications in frequency range than the $2 dollar store variety headphones.  It's all fashion with those things and nothing else.  If you only plan to wear them around your neck, and never actually plan to plug em in their fine (until the plastic breaks)

Stick with a brand that's been around awhile (Sennheiser, Koss, or even Sony aren't bad)

I found out the hard way, bought a set and took them back.  The sound on those things were terrible.


Acco

Yeah, skullcandy have always been about the look... and the pounding bass line.

Kithop

I can't say anything about their other models, but I have the Skullcandy 'SK Pro' DJ headphones that are quite nice for the price compared to some other ones I looked at.  They don't have some stupid secondary 'woofer', just a standard 50mm Neodymium driver and decent cushioning (not noise cancelling or extremely isolating, of course) - they actually aren't overboard with the bass like you'd expect, at least, on a regular flat EQ.  If you jack the bass up on the EQ (turning the preamp down and volume up to compensate, or rather - pulling the high end out I guess) they will drive that thumping bass properly without sacrificing the rest.  It feels like they almost need preamping or something to actually make them shine - they're capable of so much, but sound quite flat 'by default'.

I would never buy earbuds as I hate them with a passion (cans all the way!), and while I'd love even better headphones from a proper name brand, I actually don't have any real complaints about this specific model from Skullcandy.  Buyer beware on the others, though. :p

Vanilla Skunk

I agree on the earbuds... while I've seen some newer pairs that are a little smarter with their design, where they throw the sound into the ear instead of into the flat part of the skin just before the ear, some with foam "marshmellows" and others with silicone or neopreme suction cups, they tend to be painful after a while.

Unfortunately, at my job, you can listen to music but you must have earbuds, or speakers... and with earbuds, they only let you have one in at a time... which I found has a disturbingly harsh effect on my balance...

Kithop, with my sony headphones that I mentioned above, I found that at high volumes, you can hear the drivers 'flutter' with high amounts of bass.  Similar to the effect you get when you lose a muffler on a 4 stroke engine, and the exhaust valves flutter during deceleration.  Do you notice anything like that with your skullcandy's?

Acco

I think the foam noise isolation pieces are the best on in-ears. They're comfortable, and isolate noise the best... however, they wear out.

And besides, again, more portable. ;)

Kithop

Quote from: Felix McKline on March 11, 2010, 07:51:56 PM
Kithop, with my sony headphones that I mentioned above, I found that at high volumes, you can hear the drivers 'flutter' with high amounts of bass.  Similar to the effect you get when you lose a muffler on a 4 stroke engine, and the exhaust valves flutter during deceleration.  Do you notice anything like that with your skullcandy's?

I haven't noticed anything like that, but I tend not to go nuts with the volume either. <.<  Hard to say.

Vanilla Skunk

I don't particularly go nutz on volume either, but I am using an mp3 player that was made before the laws came out imposing on portale music players maximum volume...  I turn it up enough to drown out the engine of the bus, and it's enough volume to make the headphone frame shake slightly.

I had a pair of JVC over-ear headphones a while back that would make a high pitched flutter sound with the bass... the sonys I have now just sound like they're travelling further than they should be sometimes.  It wasn't as noticable when I first got them, but I also use these for late night bass guitar practice...  think I might be stretching the drivers' surrounds?