Headphones..

[Desu]

I am currently using a pair of Audio Technica AD900's driven by a ASUS Xonar Essence STX soundcard/amp. I find the headphones really comfortable compared to others I have owned but do lack a bit of bass.



For a long time I have wanted to upgrade my setup with better headphones and a dedicated amp but I can never justify the investment. I guess I will have to wait until something breaks.

[Ledgem]

Two recommendations on my part, as someone who always felt that the cords on headphones (even the super-long, super-flexible cords on DJ headphones) get in the way:

1) Nokia BH-905i (or even just the BH-905). Pricey, but amazing headphones that also have noise-cancelling capabilities. Sound quality is the best that I've heard, and switching from Bluetooth to corded doesn't provide much of a sound quality boost (which speaks really well to the Bluetooth audio quality, which is partly due to Nokia's "band boosting"). The materials used to make the headphones make it feel like a luxury product, and it's like putting pillows over your ears. Wear it for 5+ hours and it might get slightly uncomfortable, though. Does well with signals through walls, and the range seems to be Bluetooth's advertised maximum range (~30 feet, or 10 meters).

I bought this set primarily for the noise cancellation feature, and I have not been disappointed. It cancels out the hum of an air conditioner unit, lawn mowers, and to an extent, the barks of large dogs. It does less well with higher-pitched sounds (like small, yappy dogs). As the ultimate test, I listened to piano music in a Starbucks. Conversations around me were practically inaudible, although the higher-pitched parts of the Starbucks' music got through (but could be blocked out by boosting the volume of my own music). This won't completely silence the world around you, but it gets pretty close. You won't need to up the volume to drown things out as you might otherwise have had to.

2) Motorola S805. Way cheaper than the Nokia. Traditional "ear muff" design. Build quality is fine - it doesn't feel like a luxury item, but it feels a bit more solid as a result. Sound quality is good over Bluetooth, but gets a noticeable boost when plugged in. In both cases, the sound isn't as good as the Nokia, but then this is about a tenth of the cost - and it's still better than most earbud-type headphones. Even after getting the Nokia, I keep this around and occasionally use it. Doesn't do as well as the Nokia in terms of signal through walls or dealing with disturbances (such as microwaves running), but seems a bit better about distance.

Battery life on both is fine. If I'm remembering it correctly, I would go for three to four days of 3-5+ hour usage without having to recharge the headphones, even without shutting the headphones off between days (the headphones go into suspend mode).

A brief note about Bluetooth audio: it's a slight drain on your computer's resources, and if you're doing processor-intensive tasks the music may skip or require stopping and restarting (this partly depends on your operating system's Bluetooth driver). While some media programs will sync video with audio over Bluetooth, in general there's a brief delay between sound events occurring vs. playing over Bluetooth. For example, in my experience, Youtube videos are slightly out of sync with the audio over Bluetooth (the audio trails behind the video). Definitely not recommended for gaming, but highly recommended for music and people who don't want to be tied down with cords. I can't imagine going back to corded headphones.

[Lenne]

An update I got a few more

Shure SRH440, Sony MDR-V6, Audio technica M50, Beyerdynamic DT990 (600 ohm), Ultrasone Pro900, Audio Technica ONTO (pink ones)


AKG K701, Sennheiser HD598, Beats Studio (purple)
I know the beats suck but when I saw the color I was like I need the purple ones!

[problemedchild]

Originally Posted by Lenne

I know the beats suck but when I saw the color I was like I need the purple ones!

lol, I was wondering an audiophile like you would spend money on a beats of all things.

Anyways, I currently have an E7+E9 setup much like the OP.

Headphone wise, I have a Sennheiser HD-25 II, PC 360 and an Audio Technica ATH-A500.

[Varaxis]

I'm on the same set of Sennheiser HD590s for 8 years now. I use iZotope Ozone to tune things to my liking.

[3AnimeGirl333]

SkullCandies!!

[kaitok]

Am using a AudioTech SJ11 for going out now, but thinking of changing to Sennheiser or Bose soon. Using SHURE SRH440 at home.

And woooowww *drolls at the sight of those headphones up there*

[Tempester]

Just recently got a pair of Audio Technica ATH-AD700 headphones. I'm very much satisfied with them, and I don't see myself having to upgrade anytime in the near future. The earpads are incredibly comfortable. I'm not an audiophile (yet?), but I do notice a monumental improvement over my old earbuds. Every register is clearer, and much less tinny. I can detect instruments in orchestral segments that I never noticed before. This is awesome!

[LastManStanding]

wow, I feel a tad poor here...

I use the cheap headphones from the one pound store...

I am all jealous now!

[Tempester]

Originally Posted by LastManStanding

wow, I feel a tad poor here...

I use the cheap headphones from the one pound store...

I am all jealous now!

Hmm, you might like to try out some not-too-expensive but decent quality headphones. Some thing like Sennheiser HD201, perhaps? I have an old pair of those and they work much better than anything else of the same price. This is assuming you want to upgrade, of course. Some people make do with less and are happy for it.

Just don't fall for the Beats by Dre scam like so many trendsters have already done.

[sa547]

Originally Posted by Tempester

Just don't fall for the Beats by Dre scam like so many trendsters have already done.

I'm seeing too many of these faddish phones (and a lot of fakes, too)... Maybe I'll settle for a decent pair of discreet (read: black-colored) quality earbuds on a budget.

[Darkbeat]

Trying out some new Sennheiser HD418s. They were/are cheap, so I wasn't expecting much, but the sound is actually really nice. The bass is very warm, punchy, fluid and noticeably enhanced from the normal. They are also really comfy, could wear them for hours without any difficulties.

That said, they could be a bit louder. Most people should already be using a Fiio E5 headphone amp for on the go and the E10 DAC for desktop anyway, as the sound quality is so much better than raw. So really, the volume isn't that much of an issue.

All in all, quite recommended, especially given how relatively inexpensive they were.

[LastManStanding]

Originally Posted by Tempester

Hmm, you might like to try out some not-too-expensive but decent quality headphones. Some thing like Sennheiser HD201, perhaps? I have an old pair of those and they work much better than anything else of the same price. This is assuming you want to upgrade, of course. Some people make do with less and are happy for it.

Just don't fall for the Beats by Dre scam like so many trendsters have already done.

thanks for the advice :3

Ill have to note it down for later, as my finances are non-existent and I am struggling with buying food :/

But I appreciate it, thanks

[Guernsey]

Can anyone give some advice on which headphones are good running? All of my headphones tend to last for a few weeks before giving out.

[Tempester]

Originally Posted by LastManStanding

thanks for the advice :3

Ill have to note it down for later, as my finances are non-existent and I am struggling with buying food :/

But I appreciate it, thanks

Whoa, there. If you're seriously having trouble affording something with paramount importance like food, you shouldn't be worrying about the quality of headphones you listen with. Please stick to your priorities. I don't want to cause you any additional trouble.

[LastManStanding]

Originally Posted by Tempester

Whoa, there. If you're seriously having trouble affording something with paramount importance like food, you shouldn't be worrying about the quality of headphones you listen with. Please stick to your priorities. I don't want to cause you any additional trouble.

lol, well duh - thats why I said later, I was merely going to note it down for future reference...

O.o

[germanturkey]

well, if you can, i suggest you look into ATH-CKM50s. they're something like 24 bucks on amazon, or at least they were. they're easily better than most headphones in the 50-100 dollar range. i ordered a pair, and while they're bassy, they have a fair amount of clarity to them too. plus ATH is consistently underrated as a headphone company. you just need to like their house sound.

[Guernsey]

Can anyone give some advice on which headphones are good running and jogging? All of my headphones tend to last for a few weeks before giving out.

[Afternoon Tea]

I like to listen to Rock, Hard Rock, Rock n Roll, Classic Rock, Pop-Rock, Orchestral band instrumental, Jazz, Blues. I Basically like 60's-70's music and pop stuff

Top bands I listen too
1.The Beatles
2. Led Zeppelin
3. Houkago Tea Time
4. Wings
5. Dead Girls Monster
6. The Who
7. Queen

On too the question I have a budget of $300. Based off what I listen too, I like listening for clearness, and details of the music. How the songs were intended to be herd. I also DISLIKE music leakage (I like to put my music in a fairly high level when I jam ) and I don't want others listening in too my music, I also don't hearing other noises (e.g plane noise, train rail noise, city noise, car noise etc) So I want a fairly good noise Cancellation, with minimum to no music leakage. Yet I want a clear, on the detail, but still in your face kind of sound! I came too the conclusion of two head sets

QuietComfort 15 Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphones

AKG K701 headphones


I went to the bose store in my local mall, and tried out the Bose headphones with my IPod, it does cancel out the unwanted noise, and prevent the music leakage, but it has a really soft or quite sound to some of the songs on my Ipod even when I blast it :/ I also herd negative feed back about the sound of it, and its not worth the money. I'm native when it comes to headphones so I know the AKG needs like a pre-amp to power it up. which one is worth my money? please help

[Guernsey]

What headphones are good for running and are resilient?