Headphones for commuting, being in public, etc

Well, I'm a tiny bit of an audiophile, so I might sound a bit elitist here, but in a prog forum I think I'm allowed :P

Anyway, in my opinion getting a full size headphones for under 150$(for the cheapest possible experience) is kind of a bad investment.

My favorite solution for portable music is IEM(In Ear Monitors) or as they are often called "canal phones". These offer a fair level of quality, great isolation(meaning less noise and no need to boost your volume too high and thus damage your ears) and they fit in your pocket with no problems.

If you want a great sounding cheap IEM's you might want to consider the JVC FX66. In the US you can get them on amazon for 16$(cost around 35$ in retailers) yet they have a well balanced sound which in my opinion defeats some more expensive and popular Sennheiser phones. I use them as my spare phones and even going down from more expensive pairs I can still enjoy my music a lot.

If you want to up your game a bit, you might want to try the Hippo VB. They only cost 80$, but they don't fall short from 200$ pairs which I have owned in the past. They offer deep bass without compromising the mid range or treble and come with changeable filters that change the level of bass according to your taste.
Here's a great review from a great site that I really trust. http://www.anythingbutipod.com/archives/2009/11/crossroads-mylarone-bijou-23-quattro-hippo-vb-hippo-boom-review.php


p.s charlessmall18, it's legal to wear it on one ear in California.

I wish I owned a pair of 650's
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Edited by Rottenhat - May 02 2010 at 10:59

mine are Sony too, MDR-XD200. There are great for going around, they're comfortable, the sound quality is fantastic... And they shouldn't cost much. 

It looks like we like to spend good money on good headphones. No more of earphones for poor old Marty.

Oh and Rottenhat, i just realized you're post, with the Grados sr80, or any other hi-fi headphones, they require a "burn in time." They get better with at least 80 hours of burn in time, they sound MUCH better as you break them in. But if you put those kinds of headphones with an amp, that's where the really shine. 

Marty McFly: Dindn't like the Portapros at alll. I was disappointed with the sound of these, they did't quite match the hype. Same thing with Grado SR80's that everybody seems to like but me :) Couldn't stand them, gave them away to my brother.

Edited by Rottenhat - April 09 2010 at 12:04

Mike, I was wondering about your earphones and unfortunately, these are the ones that I'm not able to wear.

Simply reason, they don't hold in my ear :-D I have too small ears, even I hear very well. I'm carrying these Koss to city because they're small, but at home, where I listen 75% of music, I use those that are in my signature, big headphones with closed environment.

I currently wear these:

And they have interesting attribute - when I concentrate on music, I can listen it well, very well, but I also hear perfectly noise/sounds around me - also when I want to. Without changing volume. They're quite open and people say that they provide quite good music experience. Who knows, I like them.

Koss Porta Pro aren't bad, but there's another problem. Yeah, they cost about $40 here in Czech Republic, but half of people with headphones are wearing them, so this is something I don't want.

Another thing - filtering noise from the street is good thing for music listening, but I wondered if this is good thing at all. Because with some headphones, you can hear music well and still hear car sounds, tram sounds, people shouting at you, car horns, policeman shouting to stop at once ... you name it.

I sometimes don't even look left-right when crossing a street, I just listen. Beware of silent cars then :-)

http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheiser/home_en.nsf/root/private_headphones_sport-line-cx-380?Open&path=private_headphones_mp3_classic-line



I strongly recommend these for outdoor listening ... first of all, they filter out a lot of the surrounding noise by design (since they fit in your ear canal), secondly they're water and sweat resistant. And thirdly, they don't drain the batteries less than big headsets, since due to the closer proximity to the ear they don't need to be as loud. Sound quality is excellent, and whether they damage your ear or not depends on the volume that you set, not on the proximity to the speakers to the ear. If the latter was the case, you should be perfectly safe at any rock concert ...