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iPod Good Headphones
- Thread starter john159
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Koss Porta Pro is a good choice. And Bose Triport if you can afford them (not sure of the price outside of Norway)
this is what i plan on buying: Sony's MDREX71SL Fontopia® Headphones
http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/se...0n32260n100128n100133n100129&productId=165588
80 bux Canadian
http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/se...0n32260n100128n100133n100129&productId=165588
80 bux Canadian
Can anyone recommend me a good pair of headphones that are not "in ear"? Im looking for something comftorable, lightweight and easy to travel with. I'm not a fan of the in ear headphones. Ive gone through 3 pairs of the apple in ears and they break way too easily. This most recent set acutally started shocking my ear when running on the treadmill.
Grado SR80's. I love mine, and so will you. Read some reviews... you'll know they're the right choice.
Capt Underpants said:
How big are they? They look big and bulky. I need something lightweght and easy to travel with. I don't want something that's gonna be getting me caught in between the subway doors.
Capt Underpants said:
How do these compare to the Bose triports they sell at the apple store? http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APP...92LjTIucW/14.SLID?mco=50847B29&nplm=TA695ZM/A They are about 50 dollars more but they look a little slimmer... Have you tried them at an apple store? Can you compare the two?
by and large, bose headphones are pieces of crap. They have poor build quality and the sound they deliever can be attained at 1/3 of their cost. Its like buying Nike running shoes: you pay for the name, not the quality. It depends largely on what you're looking for. Apparently, since you want portability, you don't want cans, and for a device like the ipod, you certainly don't want something like the grado, while great sounding are open (basically, you hear a tinnier version of the song out of the back side of the earpiece so everyone can hear exactly what you're listening to) and sizely. Sony makes MDR-EX81LP/B which go for around 32 at Amazon, are comfortable and give you good sound quality with decent isolation (moreso than apple's pack in buds in both categories). I'd say go for those, or head to head-fi.org and post there. They will point you in the right direction for the best quality portable phones for the price.
JUST DONT BUY BOSE.
JUST DONT BUY BOSE.
I've listened to Bose headphones before... you cannnot compare the Grados to Bose. Grado wipes the floor with Bose. I own the Grado SR-125's and have owned the SR-60's before and have listened to the SR-80s as well. I would agree that the SR-80s are probably the best match for the iPod as any higher (the 125s I have) have the 1/4" jack and you'd need an adapater for the iPod. The SR-80's still have the minijack. These are not ultra-portable headphones. They are not huge, but they are in NO way small or compact. If you had a case they wouldn't be bad to tote around.markjones05 said:
The Grados are truly an amazing pair of headphones. They are not compact at all and they are not even stylish at all but the sound is amazing. I recently bought a pair of Etymotic ER6i's to have a good set of in-ear phones and they are good but for roughly the same cost the SR-80's kill them.
If compactness or style are very important to you the SR-80s might not be for you but when it comes to sound, I haven't heard any better for the money and I've listened to many headphones.
Another vote for Grado SR-80s.
I have to disagree with you about the external sound coming from the Grados. While it is true they are open-air and if you crank them up you can hear the music outside the headphones, at normal listening volumes very little sound leaks out and you'd have to listen for it in any room with average to low background noise.kellte2 said:
The open-air design may also not be for everyone as you can hear what's going on around you through the headphones. There is NO noise cancellation going on here. This can be good or bad depending on your listening situation.
Whether or not the Grados are a good match for you and your iPod depends on how you listen and what you are looking for in a set of headphones. Personally, I listen to my iPod mostly while at my desk at work (I'm a programmer). It works out perfectly for me because the sound is great and I don't worry about them being very portable because I'm just sitting there - in fact I usually leave my headphones at work. Also, the open-air design is nice because if someone walks up to my cube I can hear them well enough that they don't have to tap me on my shoulder or anything.
Konradx said:
Yes, I bought a pair of these about a week ago and, whilst you can get better quality if you're willing to pay for it, the MDR-EX71 and MDR-EX81 seem to be the best value for money in the lower price bracket. They're certainly a lot better than the Apple In-Ear earphones in my experience.
The only thing that I don't like about the MDR-EX71s is the cord design, because the weight of the cord is balanced towards the left bud, which seems to create a tugging effect on that side, while the section of cord running to the right bud doesn't seem to move smoothly around the back of your neck as you turn your head.
Previously, I had a pair of Sennheiser PX-200s which I was generally very happy with, but I wanted to replace them with in-ear earphones because the headband on the PX-200s makes it impossible to wear a sunhat while wearing the headphones. This, of course, is purely a personal preference.
Alasta said:
I thought these stank, quite frankly. Very good at sound isolation and comfortable to wear, but tinny sound, not much volume and an artificial-sounding, disjointed boomy bass. Nasty.
Try the Sennheiser MX-450/550 (identical, except for a volume slider on the 550) for the MDR-EX71 price bracket.
What the Sennheisers and the Sony have in common is that you will have to look after them; ie no wrapping around your iPod, as they have a tendency to stop working otherwise.
I know we have gone over this whole thing of not recommending larger headphones, but you can't go wrong with the grado...
On that note, I also can't recommend a non-inear headphone to fit your requirements. I just find that on the whole you either get something huge or something tiny, there isn't much worth looking at in between. I made the mistake of buying the Apple in-ears that were like $40 and came with different sized rubber sleeve things...they really just don't do it for me, but if you held it in your ear you realized that they weren't that bad sounding. I later read an article somewhere about buying replacement foam sleeves. It was a done deal from there, they sounded great....until they fell apart about 6 months later, but I treat the grados nice...I abuse the in-ears.
Foam thingys can be found here:
http://www.shurestore.com/earphones/eseries_accessories.html#FOAM
On that note, I also can't recommend a non-inear headphone to fit your requirements. I just find that on the whole you either get something huge or something tiny, there isn't much worth looking at in between. I made the mistake of buying the Apple in-ears that were like $40 and came with different sized rubber sleeve things...they really just don't do it for me, but if you held it in your ear you realized that they weren't that bad sounding. I later read an article somewhere about buying replacement foam sleeves. It was a done deal from there, they sounded great....until they fell apart about 6 months later, but I treat the grados nice...I abuse the in-ears.
Foam thingys can be found here:
http://www.shurestore.com/earphones/eseries_accessories.html#FOAM
I'll add my .02 cents in here as well... The Bose Triports are crap. I got a pair for free from a Bose training and used them for five minutes and sold them off. The Sony models listed above are pretty good headphones given the price. The Bang Olfsen A8's are amazing I really like them, great sound, comfortable. I would also look into Shure headphones as well. They are pretty good and you can get a set for around 100.
How much do the Grado SR80's go for and are they available in Canada?
And if want portablility their is Sony MDR folding headphones but i think they cost around $200 Canadian. Forget the model number
And if want portablility their is Sony MDR folding headphones but i think they cost around $200 Canadian. Forget the model number
After searching around for some portable headphones that are sound isolating (my apartment is 20 feet from the train tracks and I also am a nervous flier so I don't like hearing anything on planes), I finally took the plunge and ordered a pair of Shure e2c earbuds.
I would have loved to buy the Grados because my friend has them and they are amazing, but I needed sound isolation and want to be able to throw them in my pocket.
For my price range, it came down to either the e2c, er6, or er6i in-ears.
As far as asthetics, I prefer black over white because it is more descreet and also doesn't show as much dirt. This led me to the er6 first. After listening to them, I decided that they just simply need a headphone amp to bring out their shining glory. I heard that the er6i were adjusted with a bit more gain to work with iPods better, so I checked those out. They did sound better without an amp than the er6. However, the cords just seemed very flimsy as if they were going to break easily during travel.
So, I ended up ordering the e2c buds. They have a bit more low end and mids than the er6i buds, and are much more sturdy. I also found them for $60, which is nice compared to the $80 or so I found er6i buds for.
I do wish that the e2c buds had the same pristine high end that the er6s had, and also wish that the buds didn't protrude out so much. The jury is still out on the funky over-the-ear thing too, with the e2c.
I would have loved to buy the Grados because my friend has them and they are amazing, but I needed sound isolation and want to be able to throw them in my pocket.
For my price range, it came down to either the e2c, er6, or er6i in-ears.
As far as asthetics, I prefer black over white because it is more descreet and also doesn't show as much dirt. This led me to the er6 first. After listening to them, I decided that they just simply need a headphone amp to bring out their shining glory. I heard that the er6i were adjusted with a bit more gain to work with iPods better, so I checked those out. They did sound better without an amp than the er6. However, the cords just seemed very flimsy as if they were going to break easily during travel.
So, I ended up ordering the e2c buds. They have a bit more low end and mids than the er6i buds, and are much more sturdy. I also found them for $60, which is nice compared to the $80 or so I found er6i buds for.
I do wish that the e2c buds had the same pristine high end that the er6s had, and also wish that the buds didn't protrude out so much. The jury is still out on the funky over-the-ear thing too, with the e2c.
TrenchMouth said:I know we have gone over this whole thing of not recommending larger headphones, but you can't go wrong with the grado...
On that note, I also can't recommend a non-inear headphone to fit your requirements. I just find that on the whole you either get something huge or something tiny, there isn't much worth looking at in between. I made the mistake of buying the Apple in-ears that were like $40 and came with different sized rubber sleeve things...they really just don't do it for me, but if you held it in your ear you realized that they weren't that bad sounding. I later read an article somewhere about buying replacement foam sleeves. It was a done deal from there, they sounded great....until they fell apart about 6 months later, but I treat the grados nice...I abuse the in-ears.
Foam thingys can be found here:
http://www.shurestore.com/earphones/eseries_accessories.html#FOAM
Thank you for your post. It was insightful, i was starting to get frusturated as everyone continued to recommend in-ears while i specifically tried to avoid that in my original post. I will look into the grados, they sound great and will probably be usefull for me when im doing audio work or monitoring the levels comming into the camera on a shoot. As far as what i set out to learn, it looks dismal. maybe ill just settle for the apple ipod headphones for my everyday travel, although i wish they werent made so poorly.
P.S. I have a pair of these http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/se...0n32260n100128n100133n100129&productId=165588 and can't get rid of them... why the **** is one wire longer than the other? terrible design, awful comfort factor. Anybody wants em im willing to sell em off cheap.
Check out HeadRoom for easy guides to buying great headphones. Personally, I'm looking at the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro's or the Sony MDR-7506 because both offer a great seal around the ear, have good sound quality for the money and fold up for better storage.
What some people don't realize is that to some of us in ear phones are annoying. I have a pair of Panasonic's that have great treble and midrange but the bass is lacking compared to higher end shure's and ultimate ears. Also what really gets me is that after about an hour they start to make my ears hurt no matter what size foam or rubber inserts I use.
I really want to try the Grado SR-80's because everyone seems to love them but I don't want to be able to hear any outside noise (use for travel and around a noisy house).
What some people don't realize is that to some of us in ear phones are annoying. I have a pair of Panasonic's that have great treble and midrange but the bass is lacking compared to higher end shure's and ultimate ears. Also what really gets me is that after about an hour they start to make my ears hurt no matter what size foam or rubber inserts I use.
I really want to try the Grado SR-80's because everyone seems to love them but I don't want to be able to hear any outside noise (use for travel and around a noisy house).
Well, you guys have convinced me to look into the Grado SR80/SR60's a bit more. I've been reading alot of reviews and in some it said that they use an amp. An amp? Do you really need an amp to use these? Can someone with the Grados put some more insight into this matter? Also is the head phone connecter on them compatible on the iPod head phone jack or do you need a converter.
I listen to all types of music with my iPod, how do they hold up to different types of music? Especially rap, rock and classical... Are the SR80s or 60s better with the iPod?
I was also looking into the Bose TriPort's but these seems better.Any have the TriPorts?
Thanks guys...
I listen to all types of music with my iPod, how do they hold up to different types of music? Especially rap, rock and classical... Are the SR80s or 60s better with the iPod?
I was also looking into the Bose TriPort's but these seems better.Any have the TriPorts?
Thanks guys...