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ArmouredGuitar

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 16, 2004
94
0
Canada
Hi,

I have the lastest version of the powermac G5 and would like to get a pair of headphones. But I don't know what to get.

I' am looking for a good quality pair and if possiable wireless ones. Is there any companies that make headphones that have an opitcal in plug on it? if so, could be plugged into the G5's optical audio plug? (btw would sound come from that plug be any better quality?)

I was looking at a pair of sennheiser HD 650 or IS 380 those are not optical headphones but they interested me. Maybe some people could give me a couple product names and/or some sites that could direct me into the right direction.

Any help would be much appricated,

Thanks~
Ag
 

Chaszmyr

macrumors 601
Aug 9, 2002
4,267
86
I could be wrong, but I doubt you'll find any headphones that use an optical connection... I think optical is usually reserved for 5.1+ sound systems. I would recommend the Bose Quiet Comfort 2 headphones, but they are not wireless either, and it seems as if you may be looking for something even higher end than those.
 

MacHarne

macrumors 6502
Mar 3, 2005
321
0
Virginia, U.S.A.
An optical out jack sends multiple channels of audio data which is inconvenient for headphones since they are limited to two directions (left & right). Headphones that take optical data would have to re-encode the signal to just a stereo formation and then send it to their drivers, which is a ridiculous amount of work for an often non-processing piece of hardware. Some headphones do have miniscule processors to simulate surround, but no current headphones actually are able to split up sound to direct at different areas (because most people don't have five and one-tenth ears.

There are lots of threads around here for great headphones (and plenty of good arguments to go along with the recommendations). Just try a search.
 

zen.state

macrumors 68020
Mar 13, 2005
2,181
8
sony offers many in the 20-50 $ range that will suit you fine. mine have great bass.
 

Capt Underpants

macrumors 68030
Jul 23, 2003
2,862
3
Austin, Texas
Check out some grado headphones (website not compatible with Safari). And if you're going to get a nice pair of headphones, you should probably consider getting a headphone amp, as well. I personally use the grado SR80's (with no amp, but that will soon change), and I love them.
 

iMatt mini

macrumors 6502
Mar 1, 2005
316
0
Central New Jersey
I have the Bose Quiet Comfort 2 Headphones and love them. In fact, I'm listening to them now. :cool: Can't even hear nagging people talking to you 5 feet away. :)
My dad and I have them and we both use them a lot.
I highly recommend them.
 

Mechcozmo

macrumors 603
Jul 17, 2004
5,215
2
I have some $5 earbuds for travel. :D

Also the Bose Quiet Comfort 2 headphones. Very very very good. I love 'em.
 

SRSound

macrumors 6502
Jun 7, 2005
489
0
If youre willing to shell out the money for HD650s, there's nothing better. However, very few people can tell the difference between the upper HD series. I have HD 280s and, though a touch high in the midrange, sound wonderful.
 

dubbz

macrumors 68020
Sep 3, 2003
2,284
0
Alta, Norway
I have a pair of Beyerdynamic DT880(-80) that I like very, very much. Great sound and bass, and they block outside sounds/noise very well (something that people who try to talk to me while I wear them can attest to :D ), but it does leak some sound (so others will hear what you hear, if you play it loud). Not optical or wirless, but the cable is pretty long.
They're expensive (I think they cost somewhere around $300 in the US), but I use headphone all the time, so it made sense to me.

You might want to take a look at the product sections on HeadRoom. They're surprisingly honest with the description of their productions (at least they used to be. It's been a while since I read through 'em).

There's also a review section/forum on Head-Fi with user reviews (at least there used to be. Like with HeadRoom, it's been a while since I visited it, so it might have changed :p )
 

Poeben

macrumors 6502
Jul 29, 2004
346
0
I prefer Sony MDR-7506. They are great cans for about $100. I would take them over a more expensive AKG or Sennheiser just about every time. Also, don't bother with wireless; there's no replacement for actual wires when it comes to analog audio.
 

ArmouredGuitar

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 16, 2004
94
0
Canada
Thanks for all the Posts guys,

OK I have narrowed it down now :)

I found a really nice pair of headphones, but the downfall is there alittle pricely Victor HP-DX1000 the average price tag is about 105 000 yen. My second option is again HD 650 which is also a very nice head set. Which would you guys recremmend? They both are really nice headphones. When I looked at the pictures of them, the victors look like they have smaller ear cups and less ventalation.
 

Xenious

macrumors 6502a
Mar 22, 2004
685
46
Texas, USA
the HD 650s get a lot of good comments. I have been reading through the forums at headfi.com and they seem to be a good set with nice bass response.

I'm going through a search myself, but looking for a different style of headphone (custom in ear) of which I've decided on the UE5c ($550 - http://www.ultimateears.com/custom/item__view_item__prod-950.html) from ultimateears.com (true the UE10's are sweeter, but at $900 its a little more than I can spend right now for headphones). My goal has been something unobtrusive that is confortable while wearing glasses and fits comfortably in my ear. Obviously nothing is more confortable in canal ear phones than ones custom moleded to your ears (and they make handy ear plugs too, cutting out about 26db).

The BOSE noise cancelling headphones ($299 - http://www.bose.com/controller?event=VIEW_PRODUCT_PAGE_EVENT&product=qc2_headphones_index) are good for airline travel and comfortable, but after a while noise cancelling headphones seem to hurt my ears.

Another option for good bass and comfort is the Sony V700DJs. These can prob be had for around 100$ and have a good sound with emphasized bass. The earphones are circular instead of oval shaped (I forget the technical terms) so they do rest on your ear, but they are confortable. They have been my studio headphones for DJ and remix work.

If you do go for some high end 'phones it is worth picking up a headphone amp (read the forums at headfi for some more information, but a good portable one is Xin's Supermacro 3 - http://www.fixup.net/products/macro/).

The thing to remember on picking phones is to decide on your budget and pick the ones you like for your application. There are always more expensive 'phones to buy (people balk at UE10s being $900, but I've seen some 'phones with an MSRP of $5,000 discussed) and listening preferences vary.

You won't likely find any standard optical headphones. The way that normally works is you plug in an external DAC to your optical out then plug a headphone amp into that. You'll find examples of this config at headfi. The goal of that configuration is to have higher quality conversion of your digital signal to analog.

There may be a few dolby digital headphones that attempt to convert a 5.1/6.1/7.1 signal to a headphone application. These would have to use your optical out.

Good luck!
 
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