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Topic: Headphone Recommendation? (Read 6042 times) previous topic - next topic
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Headphone Recommendation?

I'm looking to buy some new headphones to replace my old cheap sony ones.

I was hoping somebody of hydrogen audio can give me some good recommendations on a great pair in my price range. If it helps, I mainly listen to various genres of metal, and I'll be using the headphones either on a sony ericsson walkman phone, a PSP, and maybe and iphone in the near future once I replace my walkman.

My budget is anything under $100 so my friend recommended me the Sennheiser CX 380 Sport II headphones. I'm not really going to use them for active use (which I told him), but he recommended them anyway. He also mentioned Ultimate Ears MetroFi 220 headphones, which as far as I know aren't for sale yet.
Thanks

Headphone Recommendation?

Reply #1 –
What kind, in-ear, or ordinary? I would suggest Koss PortaPro or Sennheiser PX100. Both of them are way below your price range, and both of them sound great. I would tell that Koss have a bit more bass, but not that much - both sound great.
I listen to all kinds of music, from time to time I listen to metal
TAPE LOADING ERROR

Headphone Recommendation?

Reply #2 –
If you're looking for closed headphones, I can recommend those three:
AKG K81DJ (or K518) (~$55)
Sennheiser HD-280 (~$85)
Audio-Technica ATH-M50 (~$120)

For metal and rock many people recommend Grado headphones. They are open so they will not mute ambient noise as much.
I wouldn't buy cheap in ear phones because sooner or later you will want to upgrade to real headphones.

Headphone Recommendation?

Reply #3 –
I probably should have mentioned this earlier (woops), but I was actually aiming more towards in-ear headphones because they're more portable Despite it being collapsible, the only thing I don't like about the PX100 is that there's no noise isolation, something else I wanted from in-ear canal headphones.
There's also the PX200, but all of the reviews on that say the sound quality is not as good.

The HD-280 also looks really attractive at that price, but it just seems too big for me.

I listen to music daily on a somewhat noisy public bus, so the noise isolation is something I really want. Do you guys have any recommendations for any good in-ear headphones??
Thanks.

Headphone Recommendation?

Reply #4 –
Etymotics, Etymotics, Etymotics.

Headphone Recommendation?

Reply #5 –
The Sennheiser HD-555, Grado SR80 and Audio-Technica ATH-AD700 are under $100 on amazon, etc. and are arguably the best 'traditional' (not in-ear) headphones edit: at this price bracket.
The A-T and Sennheisers are larger circumaural headphones and so completely enclose the ears. They are all open-backed and so do not  attenuate outside sound much.

Headphone Recommendation?

Reply #6 –
The Etymotic ER-6i can be had for under $100, and will easily destroy anything in that price range in terms of pure clarity. They lack bass (or rather, are just very flat), but they respond VERY well to equalization if you want to boost the bass.

Headphone Recommendation?

Reply #7 –
I looked into the ER-6i, and the only reason I'm not considering them is (here's where I get really nitpicky) that I saw the video thing on their site that tells you how to put them on and it just seems like a whole lot of effort goes into just that: putting them on and taking them out. I want something more "on-the-go" if that makes any sense. Something I can just pick up, easily pop in my ear, and start listening to, and that's comfortable to keep in my ear for a long time.

Headphone Recommendation?

Reply #8 –
IME, with other brands of in-ear phones, the fit in the ear canal is crucially important, especially for the bass. I have no experience with Etymotics, but it sounds like they're being responsible here. You do learn to fit them quickly, with practice.

Headphone Recommendation?

Reply #9 –
That's just the instructional video. When you get good at it, you'll be able to do it quickly, even one handed and on the go. It's almost like putting in contacts. It's hard at first but after a little while it's effortless.

Headphone Recommendation?

Reply #10 –
Every headphone/earphone has some compromises, you'll have to pick one matters to you the most.

Open headphones - little to no sound isolation.

Headphones in general - bulky, sound isolation can vary from little to a lot (HD280), and many can fall off easily.  I've seen people walk around with headphones, but IEMS are much more convenient.  The HD280 is a small headphone in comparison to many other over the ear headphones, but it's got a iron grip on your head.  I found them somewhat painful to wear.

Ear buds - little to no isolation, fall out of ears easily, but they don't go in your ear canal.

IEMs - good to great isolation, can have incredible sound quality if you get a good fit and buy ones with a sound signature you like.  How much fit varies depends on the IEM.  As for putting them in or taking them out, it's only confusing when you get them.  Eventually it'll be easy.

A basic but well reviewed IEM is the Sennheiser CX300 (~$30 on Amazon.com). 

Let me give you one warning about IEMs.  With almost all IEMs, the cable will eventually fail.  It is VERY important to buy from a company that has good customer service so they will replace/fix the unit without a fuss.

Headphone Recommendation?

Reply #11 –
I have a Sennheiser CX 500 (in-ear earphones) and I'm more than satisfied with it, the sound is crystal clear and the bass is powerful. You can find it for under $50 in some stores.
 

Headphone Recommendation?

Reply #12 –
Quote from: murky44 on
There's also the PX200, but all of the reviews on that say the sound quality is not as good.


It's very subjective, I actually prefered the sound of the PX200's. I found the PX100's somewhat muddy in comparison.

As for in-ears, I use a pair of Sennheiser CX400's and they're great. I do have to shove them in my ear a bit to get the best out of them but i've got quite small ear canals.
Dan

Headphone Recommendation?

Reply #13 –
look up Yuin PK3 on the web, read the reviews, get them, be amazed 

Headphone Recommendation?

Reply #14 –
Quote from: Goratrix on
look up Yuin PK3 on the web, read the reviews, get them, be amazed 


I've heard some Yuin earbuds and was absolutely amazed.  Half the surprise, however, comes from being habituated to the typical tinny earbud sound.  The Yuins have some great sound.

They are still earbuds though - poor noise isolation and they can fall out easily if you've got the right ears.

Headphone Recommendation?

Reply #15 –
Quote from: danbee on
It's very subjective, I actually prefered the sound of the PX200's. I found the PX100's somewhat muddy in comparison.
I have PX100 and can back this comment. I listen to metal mostly and for this genre, I don't think that PX100 is particularly suitable. For my taste, it has way too much bass and lacks clarity on the higher end. When you listen on a higher volume, hearing fatigue comes rather quickly (1 hour or even less for me) due to overbass. I haven't ever listened to Porta Pro but given that people say it has more bass, I guess it would be even worse for metal.
My point is - if you have a flat response headphones, you can alway turn on bass-boost (or whatever feature enhancing bass) but you can hardly do that vice versa (usually, there's no bass-suppression switch on the portable).

Headphone Recommendation?

Reply #16 –
I will second any recommendation for the Sennheiser PX100.  I've had a pair for over a year now and they work great on jazz, classical, or instrumental pieces.  The bass gets a bit messy on rock recordings, but it is also largely dependent on how well the source material was recorded because these will show the flaws.  The PX100 are easy to power so your portable devices should be able to drive them fine.
foobar 0.9.6.8
FLAC -5
LAME 3.98 -V3

Headphone Recommendation?

Reply #17 –
Quote from: danbee on
It's very subjective, I actually prefered the sound of the PX200's. I found the PX100's somewhat muddy in comparison.


This all depends on the size of your ears. This is because the PX200 are closed cans, but they are rather small. If your ears are small enough to get a proper seal, then the PX200 does sound better.

Headphone Recommendation?

Reply #18 –
Quote from: Martel on
I haven't ever listened to Porta Pro but given that people say it has more bass, I guess it would be even worse for metal.


Yes, the Porta Pro does have more bass than the PX-100 (I have both). However, I find the bass on the Porta Pro's to be rather boomy. Out of the two, I prefer the PX-100.

Headphone Recommendation?

Reply #19 –
For portable use, my preference these days (for your price range) are the Ultimate Ears Metro-Fi 200. For IEMs, you might also want to consider Crossroads Mylar.