Ear Speakers...what to get?

Motzart

I'm on the hunt for headphones(Ear Speakers)

Who makes Pro quality that aren't gonna land me in the poor house?
I want something really nice but not huge dinero. ($75 tops)

Sennheiser and AKG come to mind.

Maybe Sennheiser HD 280's??

Idea's or anyone got something for me?

Kchill

Good question, how come polk don't make headphones?

I'd love some polks as I run with the mp3 player.

Mike Kozak

Shure ec2 99.00

Motzart

Kchill wrote: »

Good question, how come polk don't make headphones?

I'd love some polks as I run with the mp3 player.

Gosh that woulda been great if they made headphones!!! :eek:

My MP3 plugs into the front of my receiver.....maybe if I strap my book shelf RT15's to my head.....naaaaa maybe not.

Motzart

Sorry I didn't specify.....:o
Like a over the ear Pro DJ type or pro studio.

bluzrip

The Sennheisers you listed are a good deal, often available cheap from a variety of places. Don't forget that headphones are an even more "personal" choice than speakers. You not only have to like the sound, you have to like the way they fit your head.

Good advice available here: http://www.headphone.com/

Motzart

That HD 280 looks tempting gets good reviews.
See I can score em for about $75.....that a lil pricey for what they are?

Beringer looked tempting till I saw the reviews!
I had a nice pair of AKG 45's years ago when my kids were small and they wrecked em! :mad:

As for fit......more worried about em fitting over my big lobes!! LMAO

bluzrip

I think the 280's are a deal at $100. $75 sounds like a REAL deal. Have you been able to try them out?

Motzart

bluzrip wrote: »

I think the 280's are a deal at $100. $75 sounds like a REAL deal. Have you been able to try them out?

Wellll errrrrr uhhhh no. :rolleyes:
But I know German's don't make junk and they have been around for YEARS!

Oh did I mention I'm 3/4 German?

sucks2beme

How about some real earspeakers.
They're called stax!
Not for $75, though.

It's kind of a crap shoot to find out what you like.
Comfort, sound signature, and price are all factors. Shopping
by others opinions is hard, since headphones vary so much by
personal tastes. There are Grado's in that price range that might suit
you better than the Senn's. If portable is your thing, AKG K26.
If you need pro quality(dj style) go to Guitar Center. They have a
buttload.
Go to the Head-fi website and do your homework!

Motzart

Ok I narrowed it down...

Sennheiser HD or Ultrasone HFI?
Which do ya think?

John30_30

Motzart wrote: »

I'm on the hunt for headphones(Ear Speakers)

Who makes Pro quality that aren't gonna land me in the poor house?
I want something really nice but not huge dinero. ($75 tops)

Sennheiser and AKG come to mind.

Maybe Sennheiser HD 280's??

Idea's or anyone got something for me?

I guess wireless isn't an option. I've got some Senn buds, and they're great. I forget what model, but they're right up there in bang-for-buck, design, etc.

Motzart

John30_30 wrote: »

I guess wireless isn't an option. I've got some Senn buds, and they're great. I forget what model, but they're right up there in bang-for-buck, design, etc.

My Palm TX is my MP3 player(And then some)
I use a pair of Philips SHE5910 ear buds and they sound awsome!
They have Virtual Surround Sound with screen vent on the back.

psomers

I use Ultimate Ears. I find them to be the best.
Here is their most affordable series. I love my Super Fi's.
http://www.ultimateears.com/_ultimateears/products/metrofi/metrofi2_description.php

Motzart

Holy smokes!
Just scored a pair of Sennheiser HD280's off the bay for $50 shipped!!
Never seen a set go threw that cheap yet!!
Well they are used and the person is a newbie.
Everyone hasta start somewhere.....I did 9yrs ago.

Hope they are in as gooda shape as He told me?

I'll let ya know after I get em.

Motzart

Motzart wrote: »

Holy smokes!
Just scored a pair of Sennheiser HD280 Pro's off the bay for $50 shipped!!
Never seen a set go threw that cheap yet!!
Well they are used and the person is a newbie.
Everyone hasta start somewhere.....I did 9yrs ago.

Hope they are in as gooda shape as He told me?

I'll let ya know after I get em.

Just a follow up on these.
Just like new....fit and sound super!
$50 shipped.....what a deal!!! :eek:

Nicest headphones I've ever had so far....even nicer than the AKG's I had years ago!

zx_toth

I just ordered some 'ear speakers' as well from Flea-Bay. I too went with the Senns HD. I was allowing a bit more for the budget as I know I will be using these for many many late night HDTV movie and music nights when the wife goes to bed at 9:00pm and I stay up until 2:00am .... I cant allow 6 hours an evening x 2 (Friday and Saturday) go to waste for the next 50 years of my life ---- approx. 31,200 hrs of possible listening go to waste !!!! (pending that I dont go deaf) I was tugging between the Senns HD595 or the Senns HD650 and was leaning towards the 595s from advice from McLoki re: the need for an external headphone amp. When I saw the price of $350 CAD for the Senn HD 650s on flea bay from a reputable seller compared to $649 CAD at my local audio specialty shop I pulled the trigger. Id like to buy local and I was prepared to buy the Senn HD595s and support local bussiness but I couldnt justify paying 349$ for the HD595s when I could get the HD650s online for the same price. Ill try using the headphones through my Denon 2807's headphone jack ... on Head-fi.com it is suggested that they need a head phone amp but I do not know whether this means only if you are intending to play them through a portable CD player that they need a headphone amp or whether they need this too if you are intending to play it through a reciever as McLoki suggested. What confused me is the assertion of the Local (well 1.5 hrs away) audio speciality guy stating that they work fine with the head phone jack but would simply sound better with a quality headphone jack which coincidentally he could sell me :rolleyes:

Anyhow after chatting with the local dealer he may still get my business as a Bryston 2-way speaker switch which has a headphone jack could use the power of my Rotel 1085 to power the HD650s better than my Denon .... what have I gotten myself into? Oh well, I couldnt help it .... its the nature of this hobby to always want the thing that is slightly out of reach

Once I get these headphones I REALLY NEED TO CONCENTRATE ON saving for rear surround speakers (LSi9s) ... I keep losing focus and making other purchases (PS3, Headphones, etc).

Anyhow hopefully mine arrive in just as good condition as yours. Enjoy!!

Zsolt

sucks2beme

Senn's tend to sound lifeless from most headphone jacks.
It's a valid warning. Even a cheap homebrew in the classic
altiods tin sounds better. I had a CHA47 that sounded pretty
good with hd650's, just not a lot of volume.

Motzart

sucks2beme wrote: »

Senn's tend to sound lifeless from most headphone jacks.
It's a valid warning. Even a cheap homebrew in the classic
altiods tin sounds better. I had a CHA47 that sounded pretty
good with hd650's, just not a lot of volume.

Mine work great with my Yamaha Silent Cinema.
Haven't used em yet with anything else much.

SILENT CINEMA makes it possible to hear large-scale surround sound through ordinary headphones! This is a variation of CINEMA DSP technology that Yamaha developed to let you listen in private to movies and other multi-channel sources for hours without listening fatigue.

TNRabbit

If you ever want to upgrade, try this:

zx_toth

sucks2beme wrote: »

Senn's tend to sound lifeless from most headphone jacks.
It's a valid warning. Even a cheap homebrew in the classic
altiods tin sounds better. I had a CHA47 that sounded pretty
good with hd650's, just not a lot of volume.

Would the aforementioned Bryston 2-way speaker selector with headphone jack work well in your opinion? Im going to give it a try with the headphone jack in my Denon reciever for a couple of weeks and if it is infact is terrible or not and I will pick something up to sweeten the experience if necessary. Any recommendations for it if I were to use it exclusivley for home theater and main music rig applications (that is to say its not going to be used for portable gear).

Thanks.

TNRabbit wrote: »

If you ever want to upgrade, try this:

What do you got there? Since my main rig is far from where I want it I doubt Ill be dropping much more cash (or credit ) on head phone gear in the foreseeable <sp?> future. Like I said I need to focus on my main rig for now (surrounds, pre-amp, stand alone bluray, upgrande sub) but am willing to try to get the most out of the Senns 650s this winter if I need something else to get bluray movies sounding awesome through them.

Zsolt

sucks2beme

I've heard of the Bryston. There was someone using one over on head-fi.
I haven't listened to it myself.
I use a ASL MGhead with the Senns. But currently, I went nuts
and switched over to Stax. Different animal.

Motzart

Who makes those TNR?
What's the "do dad" they are plugged into?

zx_toth

My Sennheiser 650HDs arrived a couple fo days ago!!! I was pumped ....

The funny thing is that I plugged them into my reciever' headphone jack (Denon 2807) and turned up the volume a slight bit while they were on my head. I could hear the music but it sounded like they were coming out from my speakers as I was right next to my speakers. I thought 'WTF!! the headphones DONT WORK' ... I turned up the volume a bit more and AGAIN it sounded like it was coming out from my speakers. I turned it up even more expecting my sleeping dogs to wake up from the sound .... and they didnt .... strange I thought ... I took off the headphones and was FLOORED!!! the sound was in fact coming from the headphones rather than the speakers .... they sounded that GOOD that I thought the sound was coming from my LSi25s rather than the headphones.

Of course after more critical listening they lack the bass of my LSis but the initial impression was quite supernatural when I thought they wont working and it was my speakers. I was expecting a much lower quality sound to come from them as I am only used to El Cheapo headphones so my brain was confused by the high quality sound coming from them.

I dont know how much better they would sound with an external headphone amp but Ill wait before I spend that cash ... I watched Black Hawk Down on Bluray in DTS HD MA and the sound was extremely detailed and rich. The surround sound effects dont work well on headphones as much as I would like but given that the other alternative when the wife goes to bed is not watching the movie or watching it at an underwhelming volume I would rather go with the headphone effects.

I compared the Senn 650s to the $1100 Grados while at Bay Bloor Audio in Toronto and the Grados certainly blew away the 650s in bass and detail but for the price that I got these puppies at (~326$) I really cant complain.

Z

hockeyboy

Hi guys- I got a slamming deal on some Sennheiser 555's which I would like to use in my reading room with an I-Pod. Does anyone have any input on a good headphone amp that won't break the bank?

jflail2

I've loved my Senn 485's for years now. Good purchase Motzart. I just picked up a pair of the AT ACHN7's for noise cancelling at work, and have been more than pleased with both the sound quality and the noise cancellation. Much better than the Bose and Denon offerings if you take the $200 difference into account...

Hockeyboy: Look for the Altoids amps online. Cheapo, and you can even find instructions online on how to build one yourself. I'm sure there may be other options near the same price, but that seems to be the cheapest way to go.....but I'm not sure so I'd be curious what others say.

ShinAce

My vote is for Apex HP90. Not expensive and very clear midrange.

My only complaint is that the bass is weaker(but still neutral, or flat) and power handling is fairly low. Really designed for listening at home/studio below reference level instead of giving to a teen to be abused.

edit: also look into crossfeed for the headphone amp. It makes extended listening much more comfortable.

hockeyboy

Jflail I started looking at your recommendation and ended up ordering one of these. I felt pretty crazy entering Altoids amp, but got quite a few positive hits. This guy in Germany makes them and has a nicer case so I am giving a try. Thanks and I will let you know how it works out.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Portable-Headphone-Amplifier-CMOY-AMP-HEADAMP-HI-FI_W0QQitemZ260323598603QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item260323598603&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1234%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

sucks2beme

Motzart wrote: »

Who makes those TNR?
What's the "do dad" they are plugged into?

Those are AKG k-701 and the DAC 1 usb.
http://www.benchmarkmedia.com/dac1/

The Altoids CMOY amps work pretty well. There's lots of steps up
in the homebrew market, as well as in the small fabbers.
Many of those designs are very solid. Please let us know how it sounds.

hockeyboy

I have been using my CMOY amp now for a while. The thing really fires up my headphones man! If I turn the CMOY up over 4 it is too loud. It works great and IMO there is no reason to spend more.

comfortablycurt

I think I'm just gonna make a bracket for my Monitor 7A's so I can wear them on my head. Nothing like a 70 pound pair of headphones...lol

I've been looking into headphones lately myself. Sennheiser seems to have some pretty nice options in that price range.