Recommend a pair of headphones for me

I'm so new to this idea of amping. 80 percent of my listening will be via Android spotify. The other 20 vinyl and movies. Can an amp be used for these things? I assume the investment isz mostly for hi fi systems.

sure, if there's a line-level out option or you find a good standard output for the headphone jack you can use it, or there appears to be a digital audio-over-usb standard some may support.

amping & DACs can be awesome with laptops. I hear they can also add to ipods and the like but then it just seems too much of a bother to carry that stuff around.

Fiio E6 not massive or a bother to carry around:
https://www.decrescent.com/admin/ebay/product_images/FIIO-E6-04.jpg

my klipsch replacements arrived! i'm surprised they don't require you to send the old ones back--how do they know you're not like, stockpiling klipsch headphones?

Looking into those Fiio amps but unsure whether my Audio Technica ATH-M50's can take full advantage of them? Again, majority of listening will be via phone + Spotify. I don't understand all the technicalities behind it, but I certainly know these aren't .FLAC files I'll be booting up. (Is there a noticeable difference at just 320k?)

Sure, it has a lot more to do with volume/power boosting or some audio massaging depending on the unit.

some recs from (yeah, i know) lifehacker: http://lifehacker.com/5949489/five-best-headphones

Loved my Koss PortaPros, much recd on this thread, but one of the channels went out permamently (had 'em for maybe four years). Seems like they're no longer being made, but Koss UR40 or UR 40 are real good. Big cans (look like flies' eyes) but light, comfortable even after several hours, good range--the bass might be less obtrusive than Porta Pros, but it's def there (I worked in Dirty South CD stores for many years---I must have my bass!) UR 40 is what they require: 40 bucks American, but worth it.

Good treble and midrange too.

I am gonna say this once. I am not a hi-fi guy. But I recommend my Panasonic RP HT225. These are the standard headphones at my work (a film production company). They sound very good, to me at least. I have been frustrated with my Sennheiser headphones that I bought for about £50. And my work headphones are genuinely comfortable to wear all day. I am not a hi-fi guy, but these headphones sound good enough and are comfortable enough that I googled them thinking I'd get my own pair for, I dunno, hopefully less than £50. Turn out they are around £15 (£12 in Argos even!). I recommend them very highly. I can't imagine you'd get better budget headphones. I only mention these things to contribute to eternity.

Not making Portapros anymore? Sadface.

Is there a the source for PortaPros being discontinued? Love mine, and am thinking of getting a spare set for when they (eventually) give up - still seem to be widely available and the Koss site has a live page for them. But will def. get a spare if they're end-of-life.

i think 'no longer being made' was wrt ', but Koss UR40 or UR 40 are real good', not portapros.

i sent back a couple of pairs of PP (inc the nylon-cord BBC set i was hoping would mark the end of of the frayed-wire problems) a while ago, making do w/o bass response for the time being

Oops sorry, another version of PortaPros may well be available, but this was the excellent model I had, now marked "no longer available" Note that it had 4.8 out of 5 stars, based on 52 customer reviews
http://reviews.bestbuy.com/3545/9492391/koss-portapro-portable-headphones-black-reviews/reviews.htm

Can someone recommend a set of earbuds that doesn't crap out after a year (or less)? I'm on like my fifth or six pair (some Shures, some Sennheisers). Either one of the buds craps out or the wiring falls apart (or both.) I think at this point I care more about durability than I do about fantastic sound.

My current set of Jays are by far the most durable set of earbuds I've owned.

Koss UR40 or UR 40 are real good. Big cans (look like flies' eyes) but light, comfortable even after several hours, good range--the bass might be less obtrusive than Porta Pros, but it's def there (I worked in Dirty South CD stores for many years---I must have my bass!) UR 40 is what they require: 40 bucks American, but worth it.

Thanking u for this recommendation. Got a pair of UR40s at Best Buy tonight, was just what I needed.

I think I've given up on durability and don't seem to have the right shape ear canals for really good sound, so now I just want them to be cheap enough to replace every year.

I feel like a decade ago in-ear headphones were complete pieces of brand X crap that you bought for £2 and they were uncomfortable and sounded terrible and fell apart within a year (sometimes as soon as you opened the packaging), and then Sennheiser brought out a pair for like £12 that actually were good, and everyone was like "whoa, these are actually good, imagine that"

so now there's a market for actual good earbuds, there are a hundred companies including Sennheiser selling ones which sound maybe at best as good as those old £12 Sennheisers, except now most of them cost £30-£50 and the build quality is worse

(tl;dr version with model numbers: I got some Sennheiser CX 300-IIs last year for £20, but they crapped out within a year. So I went to buy new ones last month and they were now £40, so I got CX-475s for £25, the cheapest Sennheisers in the shop. Then 2 weeks later I wanted another pair to keep one at work, but the 475s had also gone up to £40, still the cheapest Sennheisers in the shop. So I bought some Maxell "metallics" for £13 and they sound just as good, seem maybe a bit sturdier, and at that price I won't care so much when I lose or break them.)

Picked up a pair of Grado/Alessandro MS-1i's on the advice of this thread and other internet sources and they are really fantastic. This is whole new territory for me as I've never purchased a pair of headphones > $35, so take that for what it's worth, but I'm super impressed with their sound.

Anyone got bluetooth headphones they really love? Can't decide between buds or over-ear, so interested in either

The Wirecutter had what seemed like a comprehensive round up of bluetooth HPs

speaking of the Wirecutter - these guys are raving about the Velodyne vPulse - has anyone tried them here?

what buds are you all using these days, buds?

i've been a devotee of the same sony pair for 3/4 years but it has been discontinued now. there is a similar newer model but one amazon comment saying it doesn't fit in the same way has me a bit paranoid. need a new pair asap.

I've had good times with these: http://www.rha-audio.com/earphones/ma350.html

They have a fabric cord which has failed on me once, but five year warranty and they got a replacement to me the next day.

(wait no, 3 year)

do you run or exercise with them? if so, how do they fit?

just reading the amazon reviews, pretty conclusive, 300 reviews and 4.5 average.

Nothing high impact like running, no, but I walk with them for a couple of hours a day to and from work and they fit me pretty well. They're very well made (metal not plastic) but still nice and light. They take the standard silicon tips and fit about as well as my old beloved sennheiser cx95s did (which is to say, much more comfortably than the klipsch s4s I've had since). Definitely pretty happy with them.

lol

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Another Greatest Buds June 3, 2012
By Choi
Amazon Verified Purchase
To begin with, the tonal sound of these phones is closest to that of Beyerdynamic Tesla among all earbuds. But the timbre of these buds is tighter and more accurate than that of the Tesla, as the timbre of Shure earbuds is more positive and more accurate than that of Shure SRH840. These products are great enough to compare with Shure and Westone. Indeed, this set seems to be a brother of Westone and Etymotic in not only the tonal sound but also the highest quality of the tone human being's technical skill could reach.

Meanwhile, the aggressive but attractive and greatly clear timbre with rather conservative character of Westone usually has some imperfect stability in it, but these buds possess more aggressive personality and stable tonality than Westone do. Still more, the tone of this set is as dynamic as that of Etymotic, but not as weak as Etymotic. The tone of these buds is most complete among all headphones and earphones, and the quite a stability with the strongly aggressive personality of the timbre of these ones says as if it is the French's typical will in self-realization of the French's individual existentialism.

On the other hand, as far as Shure phones are concerned, the reason why Shure earbuds are so most popular among all is that the timbre of Shure includes the strong attractive points of the three cultural and spirit apeals. For instance, the romantic warm of the Far Easterners Denon AHD2000/5000/7000 and Vsonic earbuds(the tone of Vsonic is more powerful than Denon AHD2000/5000/7000, the former flagship Denon AHD950 is as powerful as Vsonic earbuds), the frequency response of the German's rationalistic sharpness Sennheiser HD800 or Beyerdynamic DT880 also the Tesla and AKG K701/702, and the dynamic or even overwhelmingly aggressive will of American cans Grado and LCD-2/3 or the sensational Dr, Dre Monster.

My nephew has asked for headphones for his birthday. So, any recommendations for headphones for a child. Up to £40.00. Thanks.

Koss portapro

like bigass headphones or just whatever? children don't need much.

they need so much

Thanks.

Not really sure what I'm after except a) they probably won't be as careful with them as you'd wish and b) I expect they have criteria for them being "cool" that doesn't involve how they sound.

Portapros are excellent, but not sure they're the best choice for a child (am assuming yr nephew is younger than say 15/16 in that case?) - because they're open-backed he will likely find they're too quiet if he's out and about, and will put the volume of his player up accordingly.

The "cool" brands currently (Dre Beats, Bose, etc) are out of your price range, so what about some decent closed-back foldable 'phones? Pioneer's SE-MJ31 Street Moves fit this, have good sound, and are about £27 online currently.

Also, worth a look at this roundup, which includes a few pairs that include volume limitation (worth considering for young ears). There's a few of Skullcandy's garishly styled sets, but you'll know whether he's into the more colourful end of youth fashion:

Best Headphones for Kids and Teenagers

urban outfitters is trying to make their own headphones now. so you can usually find the headphones they previously carried at a sale price in the back. if you go on a day when everything is 50% off (don't know how many of these there are) you can end up with $70 headphones for $20.

Thanks all.

ok everyone that is looking for headphones should do this right now, unreal deal

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/akg-k-430-closed-back-on-ear-headphones?src=3WDTWXX&clickid=0004d345dcef2abf0a430aad87006801

I keep looking around for the Velodyne vPulse IEMs but these guys seem to have really confidential distribution...

brother got me a pair of akg 450s for Christmas - they're excellent.

after reading some stuff on the headfi.org boards and also lifehacker, got these earbuds from Monoprice....Monoprice 8820....these are just remarkable! $9 with shipping!

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10823&cs_id=1082303&p_id=8320&seq=1&format=2

man i fucking suck at soldering why did i think this was an idea

having me a little gamble on these monoprice 8323s, wish me luck

meantime can i ask again if any of you uk guys have redeemed their koss warranties recently and if so where? i sent an email to "hama" last week and got no reply, but iirc a couple of years ago they were asking a tenner handling fee anyway which i couldnt be bovd with the postage fuss for so i just got a new pair

schlump u look like my man here

Hama got back to me after a week or so at the back end of last year quoting £5 handling, tho I never used them cos I got some headphones for Christmas. I've got a direct contact email if they don't get back to you?

I've had good times with these: http://www.rha-audio.com/earphones/ma350.html

They have a fabric cord which has failed on me once, but five year warranty and they got a replacement to me the next day.

these are the business.

got some shure SE215s last fall, no troubles so far. hoping that if they go bad it will be the cable, since the earpieces are detachable. great sound after a little break-in period for the fit, but now the ear attachments are getting a little too worn-in - probably time to switch them for a fresh pair.

yeah thanks fizzles that email would be good actually, still getting no word

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Monoprice-Premium-Hi-Fi-Style-Headphone/dp/B007SP2CO2

so these are pretty great! impressive build quality despite all plastic. proper detachable cables even! not really used to a, uh ~soundstage~ this immersive but i think i'll overcome fatigue in time

although admittedly i am a totally disgusting savage when it comes to audiophilia what with listening to totally disgusting savage 128kps mp3s all day

sent a dm to the email you used to set up yr account, r|t|c.