a headphones recommendation thread

Grado SR-60s are great. I use them with the SR-80 foam pads (trick of the trade).

I have gotten accustomed to the pain and can now wear them all day with only minor irritation.

I'm an avid Porta Pro user (for listening while out and about). My main problem has been one of the channels going, seems to happen after 6 months or so. I'm not very delicate putting them away mind you. Despite that I can't fault them, great sound at the price. I'm sure they come with a lifetime guarantee, although it would probably cost more than they are new to send them back to Koss.

I picked up a pair of Allesandro Ms1's on the basis of reccomendations and the fact they are really just Grado's a few years back. I haven't done much headphone listening over the past few years but I put them on recently and found them really harsh and fatiguing.

Yeah? Alessandro MS1s are some of my favourites - I much, much preferred them to Grado SR60s.

If you are a person who likes earbud-style headphones at all, I'd recommend getting some Comply foam tips that fit them.

Wrote about my recent addition for dedicated doom listening! http://fastnbulbous.com/cans-of-doom/ ‎

Thanks f&b! Your endorsment fo the DT770 (by the way surprised you didn't pick up on the Beyer reference in Sunn's logo ;-) has led me down the rabbit hole of headphone hunting and I've now convinced myself I need yet another pair (even though I hardly ever listen to music since having a baby and driving to work). I was tempted to get the low impedance DT770s but now I've discovered Beyerdynamic's Custom One Pro, which seem extremely tempting. Has anyone tried them out?

anything particularly good out there right now for in-ear headphones? i've been through a few pairs of sennheiser cx200s at this point, they sound good but they give out in one ear after half a year or so just like all other earbuds i've ever had. decided to try for something else now in case there's anything out that that actually lasts longer.

I actually think the more recent design iPhone earbuds sound surprisingly good. No idea what lasts longer, generally don't like earbuds.

I stopped using in-ears a while ago (also Sennheisers) but there are good write-ups/recommendations for under $30 options here and $30-$100 options here.

FWIW I was just in the Apple Store and trying out some of the mid-high-end headphones they sell including the beats shit and the B&W models, and I kind of thought none of them sounded very impressive. Wondered if it was just a case of low quality mp3s or something, but you'd think the Apple Store would know better than to do that.

I assume all the files on those ipods are itunes plus file from the store so should be no issue qualities there

I think the B&W's might have been P5's? Are they well-regarded? I really felt like there was nothing particularly compelling about their sound.

Actually the first review here describes my impression:
http://www.amazon.com/ss/customer-reviews/B00GT36MGI/ref=cm_cr_dp_qt_hist_three?_encoding=UTF8&filterBy=addThreeStar&ref_=cm_cr_dp_qt_hist_three&showViewpoints=0

The most obvious impression is that these phones are missing in the high end. There is a distinct lack of detail (compared to other phones I have). The cymbals don't have that sizzle. Musical elements seemed oddly isolated from each other. It was as if I couldn't hear the air between the notes.

I noticed that exact same "isolation" effect.

Probably? Not sure

Apple stores in NYC are very poor places to judge sound imo, too noisy

I do think though that the iPhone sound output is very good - it's much better than the shit audio outs on their laptops and desktops

When your earbuds short in one ear or at the jack, send them back to the manufacturer. They generally have a 2yr warranty and will replace with minimum hassle. I've been using the Klipsch Rugged S4? or something. The remote is a little big but I like them. Woot regularly sells them for ~$30.

my shure se215's have held up for several years now, not the most perfect in-ears i have used sound-wise but still fully satisfactory, and certainly the most reliable headphones i have had in like the past 10+ years.

detachable cords for the inevitable short, too.

Shure's have really thick and durable wires imo

the trick of getting the tips lodged in your ears is not for everyone, and it may be that some experimentation with different ones, or different materials, helps. i manage fine with the largest size and occasionally have to tweak them to keep a good seal for the fullest sound.

Do you use the foam or the rubber tips

Do you use just the tip

buy some comply foam tips imo

I use the rubber tips on mine and they work great. Haven't used any foam tips that I like yet. These shipped with foam as well but they were too big.

skullcandy titans are def not reference quality, but mine have lasted > 1 year with daily use

it is also easy to remove the little skulls from the backs

i use rubber tips, maybe those were the only thing in my size the shures came with, but i have generally found them better than foam in the long run; sometimes foam is nicer but it loses too much resilience

whoa man, take those pro modding tips to the enthusiast forums xp

it's a pretty cool hack

it's v similar to my sew-sleeves-onto-a-sleeveless-hoodie hack

i'm a big fan of monoprice in general, i'd totally give these a shot. i have an older model of monoprice earbuds that they don't sell anymore that have been great...for the money why not?

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=108&cp_id=10823&cs_id=1082709&p_id=12235&seq=1&format=2

I do think though that the iPhone sound output is very good - it's much better than the shit audio outs on their laptops and desktops

― 龜, Wednesday, November 5, 2014 9:36 AM (12 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah, this is otm.
On a (somewhat) similar tangent, how much does shitty laptop i/o hardware effect sound quality when the signal is routed to a stereo receiver? Is the shit signal coming out of the laptop too fucked for the receiver to provide much improvement? i know that those "class c" amps supposedly do all kinds of freaky "cleaning" manoeuvres on input signals, getting rid of transients and odd ordered distortion and stuff.

Get a receiver that does digital and use your laptop's hdmi/displayport port to connect it. I've connected my laptop that way (displayport to hdmi adapter) and the audio decoding happens at the other end.

YEah the answer is digital out. Macbooks used to output digital over TOSlink/optical not sure if they still do

If your receiver has a USB input that would work too

or airplay! you could get an airplay thingy or appletv and then the decoding is done right before going into your receiver

Airplay might compress or transcode it I"m not familiar with the specs

You'd also then be tied to the DAC output of the airplay device

they all have optical or digital out though

it works great shut your mouth

The AirTunes part of the AirPlay protocol stack uses UDP for streaming audio and is based on the RTSP network control protocol.[12] The streams are transcoded using the Apple Lossless codec with 44100 Hz and 2 channels encrypted with AES, requiring the receiver to have access to the appropriate private key to decrypt the streams.[13] The stream is buffered for approximately 2 seconds before playback begins, resulting in a small delay before audio is output after starting an AirPlay stream.[14]

The protocol supports metadata packets that determine the final output volume on the receiving end. This makes it possible to always send audio data unprocessed at its original full volume, preventing sound quality deterioriaton due to reduction in bit depth and thus sound quality which would otherwise occur if changes in volume were made to the source stream before transmitting. It also makes possible the streaming of one source to multiple targets each with its own volume control.[15]

Its' all good

yeah!!

main complaint with airtunes seems to be frequent loss of connection, but that may be fixed now

I never have that issue

Thanks guys

these threads need some guy re-summarizing the takeaway points every 200 posts

ok, I need a rec here, just accidentally snapped my (kinda crappy) pair of Sony MDR-NC7s

I have a pair of Grado SR80s and they sound awesome but I can't really wear them all day. After 30 minutes my ears start to hurt, they're just too heavy for me. Furthermore the sound kinda leaks out of them which isn't ideal for work. Willing to spend, I dunno, like $80 or so?

Yeah, Grados leak like crazy. You want closed headphones for work. If that's a strict budget check out Beyerdynamic DTX 350p. They fit on the ear like your Grados but have a closed design. At little over your budget but with a bit more robust build quality and over-ear (rather than on-ear) fit check out Audio-Technica ATH-M40x.

yeah those look good but honestly I'm more concerned with the headphone weight. it doesn't say how heavy they are, but the shipping weight of 2.2 lbs is concerning. like I said those Grados just crush my ears, I can't even listen to a full album without feeling uncomfortable. I was thinking something like this but I'm worried the sound isn't as good:

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-100-II-Ear-Miniheadphone-Black/dp/B002VPDOH8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1428422684&sr=8-1&keywords=Sennheiser+PX+100-II+On+Ear+Miniheadphone

audio-technicas look heavy but sit pretty lightly on my head

is it actually the weight or the clamping action that is getting to you?

Yeah, I don't think the weight is necessarily the problem. I used to have Sennheiser HD25s, and I had similar issues as you, after using them for a couple of hours they started hurting my ears, they were pressing them so hard. (I have a fairly large head, which made the clasp even tighter.) Then I bought a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 770s, which are pretty heavy headphones, about twice as heavy as my Sennheisers, but because their frame is so sturdy and well designed, and because the cushions are so big and comfy, the clasp is actually much lighter, so I can use them for hours without my ears getting sore.

Sony's made the MDR-V6 for 30 years for a reason. Comfortable, closed, fold into a desk drawer, very accurate (the lack of coloration is often considered a flaw by some listeners).

is it actually the weight or the clamping action that is getting to you?

um. I guess I don't really know. I do have a big head. I can't even wear a hat, for instance