Headphones for iPods - Part 2

[MacBytes]

Category: Reviews
Link: Headphones for iPods - Part 2 (http://www.macbytes.com/link.php?sid=20050220225833)
Posted on MacBytes.com (http://www.macbytes.com)

Approved by Mudbug

[Sol]

I do not care how good the Grado Labs headphones sound; nothing that ugly should get plugged into the iPod.

Apple Legal has the slowest pages on the Internet. Scrolling down the page takes time and a lot of patience. It is a shame because this is a well researched article.

However I wish they covered in-ear headphones instead of monster-size ones. The iPods can drive in-ear headphones very well but the bigger kind need their own amplifier, making the device less portable. Just look at the pictures on the bottom of Apple Legal's page and ask yourself if you would want to be seen like that (and I do not mean the pink/purple shirt).

[JeffTL]

In-ears are in my experience uncomfortable for sustained listening.

So I keep stock iPod earbuds (hey, I'm cheap!) in my computer bag that I take to school, and sometimes I use them with my iPod and sometimes with my iBook.

But I got a 1/4 to 1/8 headphone adapter for an old pair of Realistic Nova 40 headphones - 70s or 80s headgear from the shack. They're big-a__ cans, and I doubt the sound is that much better than iPod earbuds (maybe even worse, I can't tell) but they were lying around the house and are a lot more comfortable than iPod buds.

When the Novas go bad I'll probably go with either Sennheiser or Grado. I tried Bose QuietComfort 2 headphones a couple times -- once at the Apple Store and once on the Apple rep's iPod mini at my school's tech fair. The sound seemed fairly good -- bear in mind that I am not financially capable of audiophilia so this is probably the best equipment I've heard -- and even the sounds of downtown Chicago or a university cafeteria disappeared leaving only my heartbeat, but I don't think a pair of headphones should cost more than my iPod did; it just seems wrong in some odd way, to hook $299 headphones to a $279 iPod.

[nagromme]

I agree, earbuds aren't comfortable for as long.

I recommend the Sennheiser PX-100 over-ear phones--first because they fold up really small, second for the sound/price!

[Sly]

I can thoroughly recommend the Grado SR80's the sound quality just has to be heard to be appreciated. These phones will make you want to re-encode your low bit rate music as these make poorly rip music stand out like a sore thumb. The ipod shuffle has no problem driving them although the cord is thicker than the shuffle! Downsides the cord is a bit too long and not very flexible, the headband is not of the same quality as the rest of the unit, everyone who sees you wearing these will laugh themselves silly.

[Ambrose Chapel]

I can thoroughly recommend the Grado SR80's the sound quality just has to be heard to be appreciated. These phones will make you want to re-encode your low bit rate music as these make poorly rip music stand out like a sore thumb. The ipod shuffle has no problem driving them although the cord is thicker than the shuffle! Downsides the cord is a bit too long and not very flexible, the headband is not of the same quality as the rest of the unit, everyone who sees you wearing these will laugh themselves silly.

i <3 my grado SR-60s. i really don't care how they look - it's the sound that matters.

as for the white buds, those included with the 4G pods are way more comfortable than those from the 1G pod. the originals were unusable for me. too painful.

[Sly]

i <3 my grado SR-60s. i really don't care how they look - it's the sound that matters.

as for the white buds, those included with the 4G pods are way more comfortable than those from the 1G pod. the originals were unusable for me. too painful.

The worst Apple buds were those silly ones they introduced early last year that were suppose to fit inside the ear but in reality didn't fit in anyones ears. Supplying 3 different sized plugs made no difference at all. They quietly disappeared pretty quickly. :confused:

[fpnc]

I really can't recommend the Grado SR-80s. I own a pair and although they have a nice mid-range and good stereo imaging they have only fair bass response which overall makes them only slightly more satisfying than a typical set of inexpensive headphones (and by inexpensive, I mean those that cost significantly less than the SR-80s). The bass response is the real weakness on the SR-80s. I would add only one caveat to my comments on the bass response. I appears that the quality of the bass response delivered by the SR-80s is highly affected by how well the SR-80's ear pads seal against the side of your head. So, if you have very short hair AND have very small ears then you may experience better bass response with the SR-80s. I'm not kidding, the seal between the side of your head and the headphones and how closely the headphones sit against your ears makes a big difference with the SR-80s. That's probably true with any set of headphones, but I think the Grado SR-80s are particularly sensitive to this problem.

However, I agree with the review on the Koss PortaPros (the PortaPros are very nice sounding headphones). The PortaPros have a really clean, solid, powerful bass and are actually quite decent in every other respect (for sound quality). I much prefer the PortaPros over the SR-80s and the PortaPros are less than one half the price of the Grados.

[JonHimself]

I'm going to have to agree with the opinion on the PortaPros. I bought them like 3 years ago on the advice of my friend who was a DJ/Audiophile. They are really awesome. It's just that simple. They're only like 80 bucks (Canadian) so you really can't go wrong! If only they made them with white covers and white cable... ;)

[sacear]

In-ears are in my experience uncomfortable for sustained listening.

I tried Bose QuietComfort 2 headphones a couple times... this is probably the best equipment I've heard -- and even the sounds of downtown Chicago or a university cafeteria disappeared leaving only my heartbeat, but I don't think a pair of headphones should cost more than my iPod did; it just seems wrong in some odd way, to hook $299 headphones to a $279 iPod.
I agree that most in-ears are uncomfortable, especially for any sustained listening, 30 minutes or longer.

IMO, headphones are the very most important component of the iPod listening experience, just as speakers are the most important component in a car or home stereo system. When creating a "killer" sound system, choosing the right/best speakers first, then wiring, then amplifier, then other components is the recipe for success. No matter how good your player components are, if your speakers aren't good enough to reproduce the fidelity of those components, then it's pointless and wasteful. Bad speakers can make an excellent system sound bad.

The opposite is also true. Good speakers (and headphones) will reproduce whatever is sent to them and can often make mid-level components sound much better. An iPod actually provides very high quality playback, depending on the quality of the song files. Using just "good" quality headphones on an iPod increases the sound quality and listening pleasure one hundred times. Using excellent headphones, such as Bose or Sony (pro quality), is just amazing, thousands of times better than the provided ear-buds.

I would easily spend twice the cost of an iPod on headphones. The headphones will last years longer than the iPod and can be used on other systems. I've had my Sony pro-level headphones for over fifteen years and they are still in brand-new condition, which makes them an excellent investment. Various sound systems have come and gone for me in the past twenty years, yet I still have my Polk Audio speakers and my Sony headphones.

I also have a pair of the Bose QuietComfort 2 headphones. I bought them a year ago, because I travel often by plane. All I can say is that I should have bought them sooner. They are absolutely amazing, well worth twice their price!

[Sol]

I agree that most in-ears are uncomfortable, especially for any sustained listening, 30 minutes or longer.

I disagree. Initially you may experience discomfort with the in-ear headphones but gradually you get used to them. At first I did not know how far into my ears the Etymotic ER-6i were supposed to go so I pushed them too far in. That was painful. After a couple of months I know exactly where they should be and my ears are so used to them that they are now as comfortable as any headphones I have ever used. By the way, the Etymotic ER-6i headphones come with foam ear-tips as well as the three-flange rubber tips. The foam ear-tips are bliss to wear and they block out all environmental sound, making the headphones sound absolutelly brilliant.