Recommend a pair of headphones for me

do those sound any good? because they are damn good looking

that is insane. i've never had a pair of headphones for over a year - one ear usually going out tends to be the problem. plus, i don't treat them totally well: their either on my head or stuffed in a backpack, admidst whatever.

my porta-pros i only keep returning to b/c of the lifetime warranty. as for the jack being l-shaped, the ones i just got back from the refurb place are just that. that said, i wonder if these are refurbed ones i'm getting or entirely new pairs? i notice all my scratches are gone on them, leading me to think they're just trashing the ones i send in. i don't particularly care either way, just saying.

i meant to quote this:

I was slightly disappointed my first pair of Portapros only lasted 4 years, but the 2nd pair have started crackling in the left earphone after just 4 months.

― useless chamber, Tuesday, 7 August 2012 13:32 (6 days ago) Permalink

weird enough, i was asked for the first time on the bus where i bought my headphones. i told the guy who bought them that they sounded great, but he didn't seem to care: he just liked the style.

I've settled for now on a-JAYS earbuds for travel. The flat no-tangle cable works out really well, and they seem very durable. Sound quality is pretty good, if not astonishing.

my porta-pros i only keep returning to b/c of the lifetime warranty. as for the jack being l-shaped, the ones i just got back from the refurb place are just that. that said, i wonder if these are refurbed ones i'm getting or entirely new pairs? i notice all my scratches are gone on them, leading me to think they're just trashing the ones i send in. i don't particularly care either way, just saying.

― kelpolaris, Monday, 13 August 2012 02:31 (11 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

oh yeah they are new pairs for sure i think. i've sent things to grado & got my headphones back but i figure they just reach into the portapro barrel & give you a new pair. that said it's awesome you got a pair with an l-shaped jack - i have a big pile of dead pairs upstairs that i'm waiting to send back (actually at the risk of overstepping can i ask which repair contact you sent them to?)

mh? tma-1s?

I like the sound. It's slightly bass-heavier than some other cans in the range, but in a good way, and not a "ultra bass-boost" way. The fit is interesting -- they don't really clamp to your head in any sort of firm way, but the rubberized inside of the band keeps them from slipping. The detachable cable is very nice. I bought mine before they swapped to the iPhone-style in-line controls, but I don't believe anything else has really changed. I'm curious how their newer studio ones differ other than the pads.

The other aiaiai headphone released recently, the capital, is quite nice, too, but really do not work correctly if you're wearing glasses with thicker/firmer arms. Makes my upper ears sore and also pushes the top of the headphone out enough that they don't quite seal to my ears.

Speaking of bass in headphones, a friend of a friend has these:
http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&searchType=search&storeId=10151&catalogId=10551&productId=8198552921666310329

Yes, they really are that large and look like tractor tires on your head.

that's good to know about the capital, i have the same thick glasses problem and one of the things i like about the hdj-2000s is the amount of clearance around the different parts

those sonys look like they should be cross-branded w/ tonka or caterpillar

yup

btw, the TMA-1s with the default pads have none of that problem

it makes me sad because the sound of the capitols is quite good. I'm hoping they make alternative pads.

my porta-pros i only keep returning to b/c of the lifetime warranty. as for the jack being l-shaped, the ones i just got back from the refurb place are just that. that said, i wonder if these are refurbed ones i'm getting or entirely new pairs? i notice all my scratches are gone on them, leading me to think they're just trashing the ones i send in. i don't particularly care either way, just saying.

― kelpolaris, Monday, 13 August 2012 02:31 (11 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

oh yeah they are new pairs for sure i think. i've sent things to grado & got my headphones back but i figure they just reach into the portapro barrel & give you a new pair. that said it's awesome you got a pair with an l-shaped jack - i have a big pile of dead pairs upstairs that i'm waiting to send back (actually at the risk of overstepping can i ask which repair contact you sent them to?)

― , Blogger (schlump), Monday, 13 August 2012 12:37 (Yesterday) Permalink

I just sent them to Koss itself, located in...Milwaukee, I think? Whatever place they have outlined on their own website... the new $9 fee and everything.

I didn't know there were alternatives?

it might just be by country, i have used a couple of addresses in the past. ty so much for the info, though, i am super psyched if it's possible to get the right-angle-jack ones. i like them so much & their decline bums me out.

hey i'm looking for a new set, under £50 (will go like £75 at most), most be durable more than anything because i'll wear them everywhere (like on bike rides and stuff)... any recommendations?

did you not ever read the informative document included with every pair of sorny headphones ever about not doing that?

well i'd need to buy them first to get such a document, no?

basically it's said to be real bad news

ok well either way i need a new set of all purpose headphones.

budget? in-ears or hphones?

hphones, not in ear. up to £75 at most

Koss Portapros. You'll have £50 leftover.

aiaiai capitals?

sweeeet

Re: Koss Portapros, to rebalance the straight-vs-right-angled jack comments upthread, I've had a pair of straight-jack Portapros for 4+ years, without any problems at all. Best value headphones I've ever bought in terms of price vs sound quality, they are ace.

good, because i ordered them off amazon

Got sick of returning yet another pair of Klipsch S4s with a banjaxed cable, so have just swapped them for a pair of RHA buds. Haven't had good experience with fabric cables in the past, but they do seem really well made and at first blush sound every bit the equal of the S4s. Maybe even a bit better.

My second pair of S4is just shorted out in one year, less than a year after I had the first pair replaced. They're sending me a third pair. I asked the warranty person over email "so are you guys going to redesign the plug yet?" and never got a reply.

So now I'm going to have THREE pairs of $99 headphones, two of which only work out of one ear. Their willingness to just mail me new ones every couple of months means that it must cost them like five bucks to actually manufacture these.

I guess I should find some replacement plugs and fire up the soldering iron.

Such a shame, because they do sound great - they're just not built for everyday use.

That's what seems so crazy to me - what else are you supposed to do with earbuds? The whole point is to carry them around with you.

Absolutely!

plug them into your headphone amplifier at your desk in your study so you can't hear your family

just emailed my klipsch warranty claim. i guess they look at it and are supposed to send me back a return authorization number -- anyone know how long this process takes?

couple of weeks

arghh.

i kind of hate klipsch but my current headphones are just not as good (despite being similarly priced) and are already starting to fritz out. With my luck I'll have two headphones in a warranty return process. what i get for being lazy and not doing this months ago.

I emailed Klipsh via their website on the 21st, confirmed my shipping address on the 22nd, and received my third(!) pair of headphones yesterday, no questions asked. Plug design is the same so anticipate these dying out sometime next May.

that's comforting! the speed of your new headphones anyway.

Their willingness to just mail me new ones every couple of months means that it must cost them like five bucks to actually manufacture these.

yeah, they aren't even asking me to send them back! i could have gotten warranty on my other klipsch that i destroyed totally by my own carelessness.

i can expect them within 7-10 biz days. woo!

(i don't understand the plug design thing. my old klipsch shorted out within 10 days -- amazon replaced with ones that had the l-shape...so they do make them. does amazon just keep em in reserve for headphones that die quickly?)

does klipsch never ask for the defective ones back? if so, i might try to get the other one replaced too--the two years will be up in a few months.

audio technica m50s vs ad700 's?

basically: closed vs. open.

to be used primarily at home (porta-pros for bus, etc) so the open feature isn't so much an issue. intending on 75% music, 25% film/videogames. i really want to experience this whole "sound stage" phenom, especially having coming from a lineage from super-budget closed headphones (porta pros, whatever sony charges more than $30 for) but at the same time seem to continually find that m50 has an fairly decent soundstage for a closed headphone and has a vastly larger following.

budget: under $130 if anyone else has other recommendations. i'm new to the whole game, really. porta-pros are the best thing i've heard yet.

AKG are my home headphone. Will check model and price later.

AKG K601s, but price is probably nearer $250.

what do you guys think of beyerdynamics? builds (ultra-foamy earpads, etc) + included case (not just the standard bag) suggests a sort of market for luxury. i'm thinking the dt 990 pros... retailing about $168. open.

i'd like to go off the enthusiastic reviews off amazon for recommendations but, honestly, after hours of searching it really seems like the enthusiasm level for headphones is always unanimous with the purchase. seems like everything i'm looking up is supported by a fanbase which absolutely, absolutely loves everything about what they just bought.

Head-fi is where you want to research this stuff

Only if you've got a LOT of money. Hanging out on head-fi cost me about £500 a few years ago, and I was a light, hesitant user. VERY easy to get sucked down the wormhole.

i love my beyerdynamics...
though if you want to go open design....Grado's lower end stuff like the SR 60s/80s are just a ridiculous value

I've had a pair of DT 880s (the 200 ohm version) for about 2 months now, replacing some Denon cans that wore out after 3 years of heavy use.

They're super comfy and they sound marvellous to my taste, but I get the feeling that I should pick up a headphone amp sometime in the future to get the most out of them. My iPhone packs *just* enough juice to drive them acceptably loud if I'm wearing them on the couch or in bed.

Yeah, be careful around head-fi.

i just ordered audio technica m50's and then immediate regretted it, despite them being apparently great headphones. see, i'm in that state where the purchase is so costly that i just *need* to find a headphone i absolutely adore, or at least want to adore, before i even.... you know, use it. it's ridiculous, because now i'm torn between having these ship and using them - and being delighted by them - but missing out on that open-ended sound i've been craving and even prompted a headphone purchase in the first place.

god dammit amazon one-click

i'm seriously thinking about buying a pair of ad 700's and having 2 new pairs.