Headphones x Prog???

oliverstoned wrote: You're right. For portable use: Etymotic research ER4P.

Edited by Slartibartfast - May 02 2007 at 22:26

You're right.
For portable use: Etymotic research ER4P.

Edited by oliverstoned - April 30 2007 at 03:45

Man, I knew someone would come along and move it, it's just a complicated game.

This is a thread for Oliver. He knows a lot about audio.

Slartibartfast wrote: Hey guys I think I may have the definitve word on this subject, from Consumer Reports 12/06 (I missed this article when the magazine came or I would have brought it up earlier):    The Quick Picks Best for music, especially at home: Grado SR-60 $70 CR Best Buy Grado SR-80 $95   Best for airplanes: Sennheiser PXC 250 $150 Bose QuietComfort 2 $300   Best for use with portable audio players: Sony MDR-ED21LP $20 CR Best Buy Sennheiser CX 300 $50   BTW the prices they list are retail, you can often do better, but they're great for relative comparison.  Get this, Amazon has the Sonys for $8 pre shipping. You can subscribe to the magazine and/or the web site, consumerreports.org (The links above will bring you to the site).  The web site has the latest articles on whatever they've been reviewing.  You can read an overview article and get the complete list ratings.   I highly recommend Consumer Reports, they are very independent, they buy all the stuff they test (no freebies), and don't allow advertisers of the products they review to use their endorsements.

I disagree wholeheartedly.

First off, don't get me wrong. Bose aren't awful, per se. They're just insanely overpriced, and there are products at half and less the price of Bose equipment which sound far better.

Now, as for your rankings... You've found yourself a Grado-hater.

But here's the lowdown for those who need to know:

Grado headphones are incredibly bright. Blindingly bright. Their sound is laser-cut. They can make Karajan and his Berlin Phil sound like Berstein and an army of French violins. For those who like a bright sound, the Grado RS1 or SR325i are about as good as it gets. That is, unless the GS1000 are better, as I have not heard them. But I digress. I personally don't like the bright sound.

I'm more of a Sennheiser fan myself. Sennheisers have a much darker soundstage with slightly rolled-off highs (intentionally). They sound amazing, especially for large orchestral pieces and higher-intensity rock music (specifically metal). If you're on a budget, the HD280s (about 75 bucks) are a great set of closed cans for the price. If you can afford it, though, grab some HD580s (175 or so).

For audio on airplanes, you're basically stuck with two options: active noise-cancelling headphones (which sound terrible, Bose QC2 included) or IEMs (which sound great, block more sound than anything, and are portable -- but they can be uncomfortable for some people). Because active noise-cancelling headphones basically suck by design, I'll use this as a segue into portable!

The only great option for portable high-quality audio are IEMs. The Senn CX300s mentioned above are actually IEMs. IEMs (In-ear monitors) are tiny little mites that deliver audio fidelity rather than volume. But you'd never notice. That is, they are essentially music-playing earplugs. They dramatically reduce ambient noise in the same way regular earplugs do. And so, you hear nothing but your music. But for the same reason, they can be uncomfortable for some people. I personally don't have a problem, but others have had issues.

Anyway, I personally use Altec Lansing iM716s, which I got for 60 bucks. They sound excellent, especially though the line-out of my ZVM. Etymotic ER4P or S (S sound better but really need an amp) are also great options. For those who like a bassier sound, the Ultimate Ear UE-5 (super.fi) sound great. UE line aren't quite as well-defined as Ety's, but they are bassier, which makes them more accessible for some people. Shure E4c are good as well, and down the line as price goes (E2c go for 60 bucks or so).

If you can't do IEMs, I recommend going with the Koss KSC75 clips. They sound pretty good for portable phones and have an excellent price point (15 bucks or so). I don't recommend bothering trying to find better earbuds than the standard iBuds or whatever your player comes with. Earbuds aren't exactly known for their quality.

So for my picks:

For home music:
Sennheiser HD280 ($80)
Sennheiser HD580 ($170)

For airplanes:
Etymotic ER6i ($70)
Etymotic ER4s ($170)
or Ultimate Ear super.fi 5 ($170)

For portable audio:
See Airplane, or
Koss KSC75 ($15)

And as a final note, for all those searching for headphones, I ask you, I implore you, ask the guys over at http://www.head-fi.org/ first. They know what's best for what you're looking for.



//EDIT: And to respond to slartibartifast, it's all about sound quality and enjoying the music at its finest. Strads don't fetch 1.5 mil to be looked at. I've actually heard these phones hooked up to a pretty nice (see: huge) amp system:

http://www.headphone.com/products/headphones/full-size/akg-k-1000.php

Fellow paid only 500 or something for them, the lucky dog. T'was at at Head-Fi meet. They sounded absolutely incredible. MAN did they sound great. Don't know if I'll ever go so far as to spend that, but jeez. Incredible.

//EDIT 2: A note about the CX300s -- they're not true IEMs like the Etymotic ER4s but sort of shallow canal phones. They drive a greater volume of sound to make up for the lack of reverberation and true seal, but they consequently don't sound as good.

//EDIT 3: And one more not to slartibartfast: for doing strength training, IEMs are great. They will leave you in a world of you, your music, and the bar in your hands. But for running, you'll hear a tremendous "THUD" every time your foot touches the ground. As such, I don't recommend them for that particular activity. For running, the KSC75s are about as good as it gets, especially since they're more disposable (sweat and humidity will not be nice to your phones).


Edited by Gamemako - April 27 2007 at 23:59

I think its a matter of budget really,
if you want to be blown away there is a pair of audio technica for a grand, (Aus) but i think you have to have a proper headphone amp as well. musical fidelity x3 for example. there is nothing like having an elevated musical experience of a true 3 d nature!
eitan

weaverinhisweb wrote: I also use Grado headphones, and highly recommend them to anyone interestred in amazing quality at a decent price. I bought the Grado SR125 for 150 American dollars. If you enjoy good sound quality, then it is worth every bit of what you spend.  The sound is crystal clear, and the tone is perfect. I fell in love with my headphones the second I put them on my head. They are pretty comfortable, and very sturdy so they wont break easily. I would not go with Bose. They are incredibly overpriced if you ask me. I would swear by Grado.

I haven't used home stereo headphones in a long time, but I do have a little experience with portable device headphones.

i had a pair of sony in ear phones. they were great until the outer sheath split (i do a lot of cycling and the sweat across back of neck wore through the silicone sheath-black crap everywhere!) they lasted about a year of heavy duty use (at least 2-3hours a day) in fact they wore through within the warranty period first and a i got a new pair and then the second lot stuffed up too (does this make any sense??). oh and they were expensive $80 Australian. i looked around for ages and came across creative in ear phones. i've had them for about 2 yrs, no probs. they don't go around the back of the neck which is better and they seem louder than the sony ones. good for bumpy roads, they don't fall out the ears. and they were only about $30 australian. they're cool cos they're black and tiny little fellas. good luck with the purchase. you gotta have good listening product for prog huh!!!

I own a pair of Koss sportapro, which is the even more portable version of the portapro. They are ugly but the sound is quite good for about US$20. I use them for jogging only.
For more serious listening I own a pair of Grado SR60, the sound is awesome, I compared them side by side with the Bose triport which made me even happier with my purchase since they sound MUCH better, and they cost less than half.
The Grados are ugly too, though. they look like headphones you'd see a 1950's radar operator wearing in movies, but they sound so great I don't give a rat's rear end. I guess that if you're into prog you probably prioritize sound over style.
If interested in Grado headphones, but stylish,  they came out last year with a much nicer looking model, SR50 I think, for about US$50. I haven't tried them, but I am certain that they beat virtually anything in that price range.

In-ear buds sound good but are dangerous, and you have to periodically clean the ear wax build up. No, thanks.
All other ear buds I've tried just sound like garbage.


Edited by frippster - April 27 2007 at 17:16