Need Decent Headphones (OT?)

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Wot I rote on Amazon.co.uk about Shure E2Cs;

Shure E2C headphones have been my first paddle in the waters of in-ear-monitor headphones, and I have enjoyed using them greatly over the last few months. They're not perfect though.

I'd recommend spending quite a bit of time trying the different tips - they're "isolator" headphones, meaning they go literally INSIDE your ear canal and cut out external noise so you only get music, and there are three kinds of tips - soft plastic, rubber, and foam. I used foam ones for the first few months but have been using the rubber and plastic ones for a bit recently, just trying. Each pair fits differently and sounds slightly different too - it's difficult to get good bass response with the rubber ones, for instance, because while comfy and easy to fit, they don't seal / plug very well, and you need them in tight for bass. The soft plastic tips feel very uncomfortable to begin with but this soon passes. Practice and preference with different tips is essential.

The sound is excellent, very clear and open with good bass (when they're sealed well), but if you're using them with an MP3 player they'll show up things encoded at less than good-to-excellent quality (i.e. encode your MP3s at 192kbps).

The sound is also slightly odd in some ways - as other reviewers have mentioned you can hear your own footfalls vibrating through your body, which can be strange and can also "eat away" bass frequencies as your body's rhythms and workings compete with the lower end of the music coming through the headphones. It is a very open sound though - less overwhelming than something like Grado SR60s and more refined than the (excellent, when found cheap) Koss Portapros, both of which I also own and use in certain conditions (Grados for home listening through my hi-fi amp, for instance).

Are they worth £50? RRP is nearer to £70, so yes they are in that sense. I use headphones for several hours a day and have found the Shure's to be comfortable and provide an unfatiguing listen, and have run them comfortably off an iPod, MacBook computer, Denon minisystem and hi-fi separates amplifier. They are perfect for listening to music on the train, for instance, as they do isolate external sound very well. If I had the spare cash right now I'd get some Etymotic ER6is, the E2Cs closest rival product, but not because the Shure's aren't very good - because I'm greedy with headphones!

Matt, you want some Koss Portapros, at a guess. I use Grado SR60s at home, Shures on the train, and Portapros... occasionally elsewhere when I fancy them.

www.headphoenworld.com is a good UK site for sales, and also gives lots of info. Other than that, www.head-fi.org

x-post GOD NO NOT PX200S - the PX100s are FAR superior, the PX200s have no bass.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Friday, 15 September 2006 13:48 (nineteen years ago)

i still think the westone UM1s are much much better than the etymotics, fwiw, and they cost the same. far more bass, no loss of detail.

― toby (tsg20), Friday, 15 September 2006 14:00 (nineteen years ago)

i don't want no open headphones mouthy

― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 15 September 2006 14:06 (nineteen years ago)

Get some isolators then. I couldn't stand the PX200s I got when my PX100s broke - I gave them away and got Portapors instead.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Friday, 15 September 2006 14:08 (nineteen years ago)

i can't really stand the form of the portapros... and i doubt they'd fit on my massive head! are px100s usable outside, on the bus, at work etc?

― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 15 September 2006 14:12 (nineteen years ago)

basically i have a giant pair of sonys i use for djing but i want something smaller, lighter, foldable if poss... i am thinking about returning these though as i noticed the store that sold them kinda ganked me on the price.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 15 September 2006 14:14 (nineteen years ago)

grados are all open right?

― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 15 September 2006 14:17 (nineteen years ago)

I used my PX100s on the bus, the train, walking around the centre of town etcetera, for two and a half years. Yes, they're open back and sound leaks both ways, but not masses, and they are VERY very good. You get an amount more detail with the PX200s because they're closed-back, but I also found them very clasutrophobia and cold - the PX100s are so much warmer and more pleasurable to listen to.

Grados are all open, aye, and way larger than the PXs or the Portapros. They're meant to be doing some "streetstyle" ones at some point, but they've been talking about them for two years and they've not emerged. I love my Grados to bits, but only indoors.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Friday, 15 September 2006 14:18 (nineteen years ago)

i'm going to take these guys out walking around today and i will return them if i'm not satisfied... maybe i'll try on a pair of portapros as the consensus is so... consensual.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 15 September 2006 14:19 (nineteen years ago)

The Portapro sound is very similar to the PX100s, but with perhaps a touhc more excitablity and bass.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Friday, 15 September 2006 14:23 (nineteen years ago)

I want these but they're like £180.

http://www.pjbox.co.uk/pics/er4-all.jpg

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Friday, 15 September 2006 14:24 (nineteen years ago)

what's really great about the portapros is if they break you can get a new pair for $7 (which is just shipping & handling IIRC) due to their lifetime warranty.

― T. Weiss (Timmy), Friday, 15 September 2006 14:26 (nineteen years ago)

even if you sit on them??? that's like perfect for clumsy me (i've broken literally DOZENS of pairs of headphones in my life)

― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 15 September 2006 14:27 (nineteen years ago)

PX200s aren't that bad ffs. I know what you mean about the 'claustrophobic' effect you get from them being closed back, but I hardly see how this is so much worse that the in-ear plugs people seem to love (I find the whole idea horrible). Mine are starting to break now :( There are probably better phones out there, but the price isn't exactly steep for what you get. 6/10.

You must have a pretty quiet town centre, buses & trains to cope with open-backed phones for two years!

― ten kebabs maaaaate (fandango), Friday, 15 September 2006 14:28 (nineteen years ago)

I've had my Koss (KSC35s) repaired twice on the lifetime guarantee fwiw.

― ten kebabs maaaaate (fandango), Friday, 15 September 2006 14:29 (nineteen years ago)

obligatory "ILX of headphones" link - http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=2

― ten kebabs maaaaate (fandango), Friday, 15 September 2006 14:30 (nineteen years ago)

The Shures have a much more open sound than the PX200s, even though they let less sound in - it's not about being sealed off, it's more... soundstaging, space, etcetera. As for a quiet town centre, a; it's Exeter (so yes!) and b; http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/seconds/disco-inferno-the-five-eps.htm

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Friday, 15 September 2006 14:35 (nineteen years ago)

I've had my Portapros repaired twice now.

― T. Weiss (Timmy), Friday, 15 September 2006 14:38 (nineteen years ago)

can we please stop comparing apples & oranges??
I didn't realise the Shure's were in-ear fwiw.

When I find (buy, soonish) a better (small-cup, I wear glasses) trad headphone than the PX200 I'll post it up.

― ten kebabs maaaaate (fandango), Friday, 15 September 2006 14:42 (nineteen years ago)

I got these ones:
http://www.mbquart.com/en/produkte/pro/kopfhoerer/produkt.php?nr=qp_805_hs

They're big, seriously indestructible, and they sound great. Not quite as compact as the in-ear type, though ;)

― schwantz (schwantz), Friday, 15 September 2006 14:43 (nineteen years ago)

xpost - sorry. grumpy reply, I do see how the px200's can be worse then, but just not (personally) bother'd.

― ten kebabs maaaaate (fandango), Friday, 15 September 2006 14:44 (nineteen years ago)

You could always go for some iGrados, shipping now for $49.

http://cache.gizmodo.com/gadgets/upload/2006/07/igrado.jpg

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Friday, 15 September 2006 14:51 (nineteen years ago)

wow, the px's look odd enough on my head already but those take the biscuit!
will look into them (when my current set finally give up & die) cheers :)

― ten kebabs maaaaate (fandango), Friday, 15 September 2006 14:55 (nineteen years ago)

KSC-75s are pretty much king of the performance/price ratio

http://www.amazon.com/Koss-KSC75-Portable-Stereophone-Headphones/dp/B0006B486K/sr=8-1/qid=1158337531/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-8659426-8116825?ie=UTF8&s=electronics

they sounded on par with if not better than my SR60s when I had them

those ER-4P are very good, a bit dry and analytical and sterile though.

― as cleaned on tv (daggerlee), Friday, 15 September 2006 15:26 (nineteen years ago)

The biggest problem I have been having with headphones is general decay (cords fraying, plastic breaking, etc.) I am sure there must be a process for returning them to Amazon or whatever, but it just seems like a pain.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 15 September 2006 15:36 (nineteen years ago)

All helpful advice, people -- but WHAT ABOUT EARBUDS?!?

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Friday, 15 September 2006 16:21 (nineteen years ago)

Look at this thread, but wait until mods delete passwd box: since i've bought my iPod....

Also Best sounding headphones?

― Run Ruud Run (Ken L), Friday, 15 September 2006 16:48 (nineteen years ago)

Suggest cheapish earphones (probably earbuds, but all considered) I can wear whilst on treadmill that will block out terrible over-loud commercial radio musics without having to deafen myself plz.

― danski (danski), Friday, 15 September 2006 17:20 (nineteen years ago)

I am think about those Koss Plugs - how are they for ensuring that extraneous crap does not make it through what I am trying to listen to?

― danski (danski), Friday, 15 September 2006 17:22 (nineteen years ago)

thinking. No more posts now.

― danski (danski), Friday, 15 September 2006 17:23 (nineteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

PX200's broked today :(

― eh (fandango), Sunday, 1 October 2006 23:04 (nineteen years ago)

iGrados are behind the head phones?? damn. Next!

― eh (fandango), Sunday, 1 October 2006 23:07 (nineteen years ago)

Bose TriPorts

― chakra khan chakra khan (sanskrit), Monday, 2 October 2006 19:21 (nineteen years ago)

picked up Portapros recently and it's true they do sound "exciting." Bass response brings reggae to life onna iPod.

― Dr. Alicia D. Titsovich (sexyDancer), Monday, 2 October 2006 21:17 (nineteen years ago)

only wish they were more "silent" to others around. Not great for office environs.

― Dr. Alicia D. Titsovich (sexyDancer), Monday, 2 October 2006 21:22 (nineteen years ago)

i (very sadly) mashed my px100s in the car door a while ago. just got a pair of px200s off ebay last week. the joy!

― gem (trisk), Tuesday, 3 October 2006 01:32 (nineteen years ago)

Avoid Bose.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 3 October 2006 06:54 (nineteen years ago)

Stanton DJ PRO 60 - Great sound and rather comfy.

― Kv_nol (Kv_nol), Tuesday, 3 October 2006 07:23 (nineteen years ago)

Does anyone want to buy my Grado SR60s for £50?

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Friday, 6 October 2006 07:34 (nineteen years ago)

Why are you selling them?

― Kv_nol (Kv_nol), Friday, 6 October 2006 08:39 (nineteen years ago)

SO I CAN BUY BIGGER ONES!

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Friday, 6 October 2006 08:44 (nineteen years ago)

anyone want to buy my Grado SR80s for £50? (seriously)

― sean gramophone (Sean M), Friday, 6 October 2006 09:08 (nineteen years ago)

Anyone wanna buy my SR125s (with mini-jack adaptor and 15ft extension cable) for £1,000? Seriously - I'll definitely sell for that.

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Friday, 6 October 2006 09:10 (nineteen years ago)

I've got some Koss Sparkplugs - really cheap on Ebay (about 10 pounds). I can't use 'hard' in-ear phones as they keep falling out and hurt when I replace them (somewhat violently), so have gone for these: they're like putty and inflate to fit your ear.

I've also got some large, cheapo over-the-head phones I bought from HMV for about 14 pounds. They do the trick perfectly, although have a slight bias towards the bass end.

― Jez (Jez), Friday, 6 October 2006 09:13 (nineteen years ago)

Sean, why you selling, what condition they in?

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Friday, 6 October 2006 09:20 (nineteen years ago)

Bose TriPorts
-- chakra khan chakra khan (mikeoptin...) (webmail), Monday 3:21 PM. (sanskrit) (later)

ive got a pair of these. theyre the peach.

― sunny successor (katharine), Friday, 6 October 2006 13:01 (nineteen years ago)

They're in good condition - I'd be willing to sell them for £40 + shipping, frankly. I bought them two or three years ago but used them sparingly, carefully. I bought the limited edition Grado HF-1s last year and so they've been boxed away (not in original box) since then, waiting for me to get around to selling them.

― sean gramophone (Sean M), Friday, 6 October 2006 13:09 (nineteen years ago)

Does anyone want to buy my Sony "ram them right in your ears" earbuds for £20 (equally seriously). These ones: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-MDR-EX71SLB-Fontopia-Headphones-Black/dp/B00008XYJL/sr=1-4/qid=1160144039/ref=sr_1_4/026-3945335-0330023?ie=UTF8&s=electronics

Actually that is not a very good deal. I'll throw in William Gallas.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Friday, 6 October 2006 13:15 (nineteen years ago)

Hmmm.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Friday, 6 October 2006 13:26 (nineteen years ago)

porta pros are the way to go.

they cost 35 bucks but have a lifetime warrenty where if they break you pay 6 bucks for brand new headphones.

― deej.. (deej..), Friday, 6 October 2006 13:31 (nineteen years ago)

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