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Topic: Portable headphones wanted, please advise! (Read 5342 times) previous topic - next topic
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Portable headphones wanted, please advise!

Hey folks,

Just was reading the prev. thread and realised my queries were kind of in a different line, so under the TOS I thought I'd start a new topic.

At first, reading the last thread I was Ebaying HD650/etc, but then I realised it wasn't what I wanted.
I also went to head-fi.org, but those comparisons are not scientific enough for me, a bunch of muso's saying "this one sounds good" for whatever reason and then another's review states the opposite isn't uber-helpful, IMHO.

I'm looking for some portable (i.e. not bulky amp controlled) headphones that are not canal ones (I have some ear troubles, and can't risk it anymore! Another story, though).

My purposes- I record video game MIDI files digitally. While not professional, I consider myself an audiophile. Not a wonderboy or anything, but I care about quality (I wouldn't encode my WAV's as 128 kbps MP3, for example). I'm an OGG Vorbis man, and can hear the difference between OGG/MP3 (as meaningless as that statement is without clarification, I'll say it asa general-purpose statement anyway  ), though I should take listening tests/etc. (Still don't know what ABX is.)

Anyways. I use 4 synth modules and record the mixed output I create as WAV files. Basically, I want to ensure my headphones give me sound I can rely upon, so that people will roughly hear it the same as me. But, I also need good quality so I know that panning, reverb, bass levels/etc are corresponding to what's actually happening. But but, I don't want the phones to change the sound so much that the WAV output file is dry or under-bassed but the sound I personally get is rich and full of life.

Can someone give me recommendations? Price isn't really what I'm caring about right now, but there are balances (like, I can't afford an Echo Layla, so don't recommend me 1000 dollar phones  ). But it's fine to include some as the high-end comparisons, so I know the differences and limitations of choosing a 'lesser' product.

(Sorry if my first post here isn't great and cohesive, but it's 1:30 am and my ears are bleeding, literally. One of those days you might say.)

Regards,
- Spike

Portable headphones wanted, please advise!

Reply #1 –
There are some things in this world that are the benchmarks by which other things are measured.  As far as mics, the benchmark is an SM-58, like it or not.
In the world of headphones, I'd have to say the benchmark is the Sony MDR-7506, at about $100.
Other headphones will be larger, smaller, better, worse, but they all will compare themselves to the 7506.  They are very good, very accurate, general purpose, nicely made headphones. 
At least in my humble opinion. 

JIM

Portable headphones wanted, please advise!

Reply #2 –
Quote
At first, reading the last thread I was Ebaying HD650/etc, but then I realised it wasn't what I wanted.
I also went to head-fi.org, but those comparisons are not scientific enough for me, a bunch of muso's saying "this one sounds good" for whatever reason and then another's review states the opposite isn't uber-helpful, IMHO.


Yes and the other 30,000 goons that are over there. 10,000 of which probably can remain objective 

Quote
My purposes- I record video game MIDI files digitally. While not professional, I consider myself an audiophile. Not a wonderboy or anything, but I care about quality (I wouldn't encode my WAV's as 128 kbps MP3, for example). I'm an Ogg Vorbis man, and can hear the difference between Ogg Vorbs/MP3 (as meaningless as that statement is without clarification, I'll say it asa general-purpose statement anyway  ), though I should take listening tests/etc. (Still don't know what ABX is.)


Look it up what an ABX test in the wiki. It's not as difficult as it apears and it's gone through the test of scientific rigor.

Quote
But it's fine to include some as the high-end comparisons, so I know the differences and limitations of choosing a 'lesser' product.


I would look into Sony and Grado. I have a pair of Sennheiser PCX250 closed-cans. I mostly use them here and for when I am travelling around. They are durable and pretty good. They have noise cancelling as well.
budding I.T professional

Portable headphones wanted, please advise!

Reply #3 –
Cheers for the replies.

Will check out the Sony's. Always used Sony's until now anyway. (In-ear ones.)

Quote
Yes and the other 30,000 goons that are over there. 10,000 of which probably can remain objective

Hah!

Quote
Look it up what an ABX test in the wiki. It's not as difficult as it apears and it's gone through the test of scientific rigor.

Heh, before you replied I read the moderator's post. Having studied statistics thankfully I know what a p value is and significance and such, so it wasn't complete jargon to me. Sounds good- I just wouldn't want to do a double blind test every time I wanted to express a point of view here. Though I guess that's the point of this place.  And I do care about audio quality, so maybe it's time to get serious. I care a lot about codecs, which is another reason I joined- the video game music community, of which I am a member, isn't so cluey about it (codec quality or encoding, even).

Quote
I would look into Sony and Grado. I have a pair of Sennheiser PCX250 closed-cans. I mostly use them here and for when I am travelling around. They are durable and pretty good. They have noise cancelling as well.

Thanks a lot, will look into that as well.

Regards,
- Spike

Portable headphones wanted, please advise!

Reply #4 –
Try the Koss KSC-75, they're really cheap ($10 + shipping from Amazon) and compare favorably to my HD-600 (no, I'm not kidding, they're really good.)

Portable headphones wanted, please advise!

Reply #5 –
You can't give purely objective advice about headphones. Numbers don't describe how something sounds.

Portable headphones wanted, please advise!

Reply #6 –
Anyone else's thoughts on the KOSS? They're evidently cheap, and if they supposedly compare to the HD600.. Hey, don't look at me like that guys, it's worth the risk at 25 US.
Here's the specs:

Frequency Response 15-25,000 Hz
Impedance 60 ohms
Sensitivity 101 dB SPL/1mW
Distortion <0.2%
Cord Straight, Dual Entry, 4ft

EDIT: CSMR, sure. I know that. I'd like some advice in both numerical terms and subjective personal feeling terms. I don't want to *just* hear that it has X frequency response, but equally I don't want to *just* hear that it sounds nice with bass according to person X. Some objectivity and subjectivity in combination is nice

- Spike

Portable headphones wanted, please advise!

Reply #7 –
There have been a lot of these headphone threads recently. I've also been poking through them to try and summarize them in the wiki. And my conclusion is that you all have way too much money and too stingy with real results.

IMO for portable headphones you should only spend as much as you're willing to forget in a hotel dresser.

As for what I use? I've got the Sony MDR-EX71 ($30). I like it.

Portable headphones wanted, please advise!

Reply #8 –
I can't compare them to any high-end cans, but I'll say that they sound - to my ears, anyway - a whole lot better than any other headphones I've used. That's not saying a lot, since the only other headphones I've owned are the EX71s (which are too bassy for me), but you really can't go wrong for the price. Worst case, you decide the sound isn't good enough and keep them around for portable listening.

As for objective support, here's the frequency response curve for the PortaPros, which use the same drivers as the KSC75s: http://www.headphone.com/products/headphon...ss-portapro.php
I don't know how meaningful that really is, but at least it's a pretty picture.

EDIT: Actually, I'm not sure about whether they use the same drivers. The KSC35s definitely use the same drivers, but some reports seem to say that the KSC75s use an updated version. So take that last paragraph with a grain of salt.

Portable headphones wanted, please advise!

Reply #9 –
Unbelievable how nobody has recommended the akg k81 dj. better in most aspects than sennheisers hd25-1 which is more than double the price and was the king of portable closed headphones that I knew of last year

Portable headphones wanted, please advise!

Reply #10 –
Grado SR-60 did the job for me! I also got a portable amp from headroom when I realized my portable player just wasn't effeciently powering my headphones. I'm in heaven when I use them. About $270+ total for everything...  but worth it!

Portable headphones wanted, please advise!

Reply #11 –
Quote from: Donunus on
Unbelievable how nobody has recommended the akg k81 dj. better in most aspects than sennheisers hd25-1 which is more than double the price and was the king of portable closed headphones that I knew of last year

On the AKG's, they're "designed for small clubs and parties", so although that's kind of an obscure statement, it implies to me that the sound will be factoring in loud external noise, etc. Therefore the sound will be altered to fit the scenario. How, I have no idea, but.. 

All I've ever used is 20 buck Australian Sony Twin Turbo ones, and now something from Sony USA which my wife bought me while I was there (which are nicer). (EDIT: I think there's a shot of the older ones I used in the link below!)

EDIT: On the Koss, here's a lower end one than the 75 reviewed (the 55):
http://arstechnica.com/reviews/other/headphones.ars/4

That seems to be rather an uninspiring review, though for 20 bucks, what do I expect. And, maybe the sound is nicer on the 75. I'd have no idea though

Keep 'em coming, folks.

EDIT 2: I guess, I'd spend up to 100 US. Too many bills to go higher, just yet. Sigh

- Spike

Portable headphones wanted, please advise!

Reply #12 –
You want to go lower? There are 5 USD earcans here in my country. And those are offered at reputable audio stores. Outside the stores, in general electronics store, there are even 2.5 USD earcans.

Me? I use a Philips ... um forgot the series. It has those black rubber-plastic things which clips over the ear. I have to use those kind of ... things because my left earhole is slightly deformed and can't hold usual earplugs.

I am considering changing to some Sony earcans though. The Philips I'm using still have to be forced into the earwell, while the Sony's aren't. They're like mini-cups, so my deformed ear should not pose a problem.

Portable headphones wanted, please advise!

Reply #13 –
I am going to also recommend the Sony MDR-7506 for the price range. It is a very accurate tracking/monitoring can, and generally works very well for general listening purposes. It is by far the best built headphone for the price range -- if this is a factor. You can save about $30 USD and get the Sony MDR-V6(not the MDR-V600, which is a different and inferior product). The Sony MDR-V6 is the Sony MDR-7506, but re-badged for consumer distribution(the MDR-7506 is only distributed through Sony Professional) channels. If you look around enough, you can sometimes find Sony Factory Refurbished MDR-V6 for $50-$55 dollars. The factory refurbished ones are in LIKE-NEW condition, with no evidence of being used, based on my inspection of two different examples.

-Chris

Portable headphones wanted, please advise!

Reply #14 –
Pepoluan: You're from Jakarta I see. Doesn't that mean we should be enemies?  (referring to our countries' recent lack of diplomatic ties)

No, I didn't say I want to go lower than 20 US dollars. Just don't want to go higher than 100 USD just now.

I don't want rubbish, either. Though, the 20 dollar Sony ones I used weren't bad. (Though, I can't clarify that statement because I've only ever used Sony earbud headphones, hence making it hard to know what I'm (and probably anyone else) looking for!)

Thanks for the replies, both of you  Will check out what the Sony MDR V6 is going for.

- Spike

Portable headphones wanted, please advise!

Reply #15 –
@Spikey: huh? Where are you from, actually?

Portable headphones wanted, please advise!

Reply #16 –
I will vouch for the Koss PortaPros...but I had to pay $30 (this was after accidentally breaking a previous pair, as I like them that much).

Portable headphones wanted, please advise!

Reply #17 –
For portable headphone my choice was Sennheiser HD 25-1. Closed cans with great sound. Almost reaches my HD 600 regarding fidelity

Portable headphones wanted, please advise!

Reply #18 –
Quote from: vinnie97 on
I will vouch for the Koss PortaPros...but I had to pay $30 (this was after accidentally breaking a previous pair, as I like them that much).


I also give props to the Koss (and even the Radio-Shack relabeled version with the cheaper plastic headband).  They're cheap enough you can wear them to the gym and wash the sweat out of them every once in a while, replacing as necessary.

For more precise work (editing/eqing live DATs), I use my Sony MDR-7506s.

-brendan

Portable headphones wanted, please advise!

Reply #19 –
Pepoluan: I'm from Australia

Thanks for more replies guys

- Spike

Portable headphones wanted, please advise!

Reply #20 –
Quote from: vinnie97 on
I will vouch for the Koss PortaPros...but I had to pay $30 (this was after accidentally breaking a previous pair, as I like them that much).


These can be hard to find in Australia, and pricey when you find them. Much better value are the Sennheiser PX100, which you should be able to get for about A$85 from somewhere like JB HiFi. I much prefer the PX100 to the Koss Porta Pros - they are definitely more comfortable for me.

Portable headphones wanted, please advise!

Reply #21 –
Hey man, good to see a fellow Aussie on the board. Saw this on Headroom:
http://www.headphone.com/guide/by-manufact...iser-px-100.php

Doesn't set my world on fire, either.

I think I'm looking at the Sony MDR V6/7506 currently, we'll see what comes of it. But keep the comments coming!

- Spike

Portable headphones wanted, please advise!

Reply #22 –
I really like my closed Sennheiser PX200, but they really have to fit to sound good.

Big_Berny