Headphones..

[germanturkey]

@capt, both those headphones don't fit your needs. the Bose have an abundance of bass that washes out the rest of the music. the akg701 are open backed headphones, which means sound will leak in and out. i would suggest you try the Denon d2000s.

[Guernsey]

What headphones are good for running and are resilient?

[reggiewafu]

Originally Posted by Guernsey

What headphones are good for running and are resilient?

Sennheiser HD25-1 II

These are closed back headphones. Audiophile grade. Costs around $200.

@CaptnAwesomee

dislike leaking? Stay away from Mio phones (AKG K701)

I will suggest Sennheiser HD25-1 II or Beyerdynamic DT1350

[germanturkey]

i would not go running in HD25-1 II... just get a pair of those adidas/senn hybrids that they sell for people who run and listen. i wouldn't bother with a good pair of headphones if i'm running.

[houkoholic]

I find IEMs better for workouts/gym as they tend to stay in regardless of vibrations. But could be dangerous as they isolate well, maybe too well, if you plan to run on the streets in which case you want to hear some of the environment noise otherwise you might put yourself in dange eg cars.

@capt & reggie
The K701 are open headphones ie sounds leak like hell. Anyone with sound knowledge will scuff at active noise cancelling phones because they will add noise and cause distortion to the sound because that's how they physically/electronically work, so if you really value sound quality "as how the music is meant to be heard" then you probably don't want them.

The HD-25 and DT1350 are on ear headphones, as such I don't recommend them for home use as they get rather uncomfortable for extended periods of use. I have the DT1350, while they sound excellent, they just get uncomfortable after 1 hour of use, planning to sell them once I get my replacement portable closed phones. For closed headphones for home use you can try the new AKG K550 which is just under $300, but it sounds like you might be wanting them to be portable. Again if going for portability go for balanced armature IEMs such as the Westone 3 or Ultimate Ears Triple Fi Pro 10 - you get awesome isolation as well as clarity that is hard to match from dynamic headphones of the same price.

[Afternoon Tea]

thank you for the advice I'm still a novice at this headphone stuff, so I guess I'll let sound leakage slip for the sake of sound. I came up with a list of head phones I plan on getting for my audio needs in the near future (Orchestra, Jazz, 60/70 music, Indi/Alternative/J Pop)


AKG K701 $278.59

Audio-Technica ATH-M50 $160

Grado RS1i Reference Series Headphones $695.00

[Hiroi Sekai]

From personal experience, I'd definitely recommend getting the Grados if you've got that much money. Hell, if you have that much, look into some professional sets from Sennheiser as well.

The AKG's are nice, but I am already having thoughts of what to later replace them with for several reasons.

One, the AKGs leak a LOT of sound. Reduce the sound to barely nothing and someone in the same room will listen to what you're listening to.

Two, they're bulky and even fragile in parts. The ear cups are huge, and the supporting headband has these grooves that actually dig into your scalp after a while. You'll literally feel shaped bumps on your head after using them. Also, there are a couple bits of loose plastic holding the stretch elastic system in place, and those break easily. They'll hold together, but it'll be a little more fidgety.

Three, you better have a lot of time to break them in and a powerful preamp to power them. From my experience, it took about 250 hours of use before they even began to sound like the stereo headphones I paid for, and since I don't exactly have a powerful preamp, it's nowhere near as good as it could be.

Therefore, I think you should look into some other suggestions unless all of the above terms are met and you REALLY want a pair. There are better options even in this price range, like the Monster Beats (higher models) and a few lower-quality Grado and Sennheiser headphones. I don't really trust Bose and their durability (or even quality at times), despite how they've made a name for themselves with their QuietComfort series. They ARE insanely comfy, and they do a good job of blocking out sound. Still, the audio quality is what matters, and it seems lacking there.

[Afternoon Tea]

Originally Posted by papermario13689

From personal experience, I'd definitely recommend getting the Grados if you've got that much money. Hell, if you have that much, look into some professional sets from Sennheiser as well.

The AKG's are nice, but I am already having thoughts of what to later replace them with for several reasons.

One, the AKGs leak a LOT of sound. Reduce the sound to barely nothing and someone in the same room will listen to what you're listening to.

Two, they're bulky and even fragile in parts. The ear cups are huge, and the supporting headband has these grooves that actually dig into your scalp after a while. You'll literally feel shaped bumps on your head after using them. Also, there are a couple bits of loose plastic holding the stretch elastic system in place, and those break easily. They'll hold together, but it'll be a little more fidgety.

Three, you better have a lot of time to break them in and a powerful preamp to power them. From my experience, it took about 250 hours of use before they even began to sound like the stereo headphones I paid for, and since I don't exactly have a powerful preamp, it's nowhere near as good as it could be.

Therefore, I think you should look into some other suggestions unless all of the above terms are met and you REALLY want a pair. There are better options even in this price range, like the Monster Beats (higher models) and a few lower-quality Grado and Sennheiser headphones. I don't really trust Bose and their durability (or even quality at times), despite how they've made a name for themselves with their QuietComfort series. They ARE insanely comfy, and they do a good job of blocking out sound. Still, the audio quality is what matters, and it seems lacking there.

What kind of Headphone amp do you use to power your AKGs? Either way I need to get one of these, any suggestions? Thank you for the advice!

[Hiroi Sekai]

Originally Posted by CaptnAwesomee

What kind of Headphone amp do you use to power your AKGs? Either way I need to get one of these, any suggestions? Thank you for the advice!

See, that's the thing...I don't have one. That's why I don't recommend them to begin with. With the price of a new preamp along with the headphones, you might as well get the higher quality ones that work well off the bat. They'll also be highly durable compared to the AKGs, of which even the company is difficult to get into contact with if they happen to break.

[germanturkey]

the amp will cost more than the headphones. if you're going to be spending hundreds of dollars, i would suggest you get a good pair of IEMs. they're portable, and dollar per dollar, they're just as good, if not better, than full size headphones. since to get the most out of a high end pair of headphones, your entire chain: source, pre-amp, amp, headphones, and the interconnects between them need to be good.

but if you insist, the matrix m-stage will be a good pairing for the AKG-k701, and run at around $250.

[Tempester]

Originally Posted by papermario13689

There are better options even in this price range, like the Monster Beats (higher models)

The consensus I usually see in online tech communities is that Beats headphones can have decent sound (as in, better than $10 earbuds), but they have hugely inflated pricing which doesn't make them worth getting at all. They're mostly a fashion statement.

[Hiroi Sekai]

Originally Posted by Tempester

The consensus I usually see in online tech communities is that Beats headphones can have decent sound (as in, better than $10 earbuds), but they have hugely inflated pricing which doesn't make them worth getting at all. They're mostly a fashion statement.

That may be the consensus, but I've personally tried them. They're comfy, they block out sound nicely, and the higher priced models have a nice sound with a slightly heavy bass to give songs a bit of a bottom line. I agree that they're not worth how much they cost, but hey, what is these days, right? Bose headphones aren't worth that much. AKGs aren't worth that much. Grados and Sennheisers (despite being awesome at times) aren't worth as much as they are sold for.

[Hooves]

Using a Turtle Beach Ear Force Z1 Gaming Headset.

[Yuno]

I have Somic Headphones which are a Chinese knock off of... god knows what. It's cheap as crap and I got them from China. They're amazing, so I am happy.

Here they are: http://www.somic-elec.com/product/20100525/236.html

[germanturkey]

Originally Posted by papermario13689

AKGs aren't worth that much. Grados and Sennheisers (despite being awesome at times) aren't worth as much as they are sold for.

well, this is a false statement.. K701s are stigmatized on anime forums because of K-on. In all regards, they're absolutely a top tier headphone prior to 2009. Running them straight out of a source will make them sound anemic and thin, but plug them into a proper amp and they have one of the highest bang/buck ratios.

[houkoholic]

I've tried all the Beats (Solo, Studio, Pro), as I don't like active noise canceling as they distort the sound so the Studio were not for me, the Solos are rubbish and don't compare to the HD-25 at the same price point plus the HD25 is much better built. The only one that sounds good and build well (though a little heavy) were the Pros but even then I don't think they sound good enough for the price they ask (even though now I've got 2 pairs of phones that are over $1000 - Beyerdynamic T1 and recently Ultrasone Edition 8, both are awesome because they have some seriously new technology in them that aren't found in other headphones).

On top of that I wouldn't recommend Beats for J-pop and anisongs. J-pop and anisongs aren't known for bass, I would even dare say the bass on most J-pop and anisong are down right boring, very rarely would you find J-pop and anisongs with a nice bass guitar or drum part - instead they are more electric guitar/treble focus, most anisong and J-rock will have some sort of electric guitar riff in the middle and recently a lot of anisong tends to have a very strong string focus (eg a lot of them uses violins, any song composed by Elements Garden for example will have violins) That's why people love Audio Technica for J-pop because high end AT phones does treble really well. I think Grado also has a reputation for doing guitars right but I've never tried a pair (I must make a note to try a pair someday).

Also for good bass phones which works with Jpop/anisongs you can try the Denon D5000.

But if you have about 600 dollars to spend on something that is portable focus I would recommend something like Westone 4 or Shure 535 IEM, like germanturkey say IEM has pretty good bang for buck as portables and they usually work well with anything like mp3 players and smartphones without getting into things like amps. Headphones usually requires much more investment, especially full size ones.

[Hiroi Sekai]

Originally Posted by germanturkey

well, this is a false statement.. K701s are stigmatized on anime forums because of K-on. In all regards, they're absolutely a top tier headphone prior to 2009. Running them straight out of a source will make them sound anemic and thin, but plug them into a proper amp and they have one of the highest bang/buck ratios.

I just meant that stuff costs too much, nothing more.

[gsilver]

I've got a pair of AKG-702s (basically, the 701 but with a detachable cable). The sound is quite nice, but they had a "feature" where I could turn up the volume and have them act as (low volume) speakers... Not what you're looking for if you want sound isolation.

[HurricaneHige]

I finally got a pair of decent cans:



Worth EVERY penny.

[iceyfw]

nice! i'm sure those m50 will treat you good and might even give you an itch to upgrade to something else much later. my m50 is currently sitting on my desk collecting dust as i type this.