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What Headphones to get?

S

speedemonV12

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 29, 2005
319
0
Hi everyone,

I plan on buying a nice set of headphones after the holidays, and was wondering which I should get. I have been looking around and noticed that there are a lot of different types of headphones for different users. I am an avid listener, and love techno, trance, house music. My headphones will be for use around my dorm, and on the road. Im looking for an around ear set. I already have an in ear set that works just fine. Im going to need the headphones to work well off of an ipod or laptop running off battery. I checked out some of the higher level audiophile headphones, but most of them require an amp, so that wont work well for me on the road. But I still want to get a really nice pair, with great sound quality. I love listening to music, and I want to be able to pump up the volume high without the headphones losing quality. Any ideas?

I've checked out some Sennheiser's, and they look fantastic. Would they be something I should look into?

thanks
 
I have some Bose Tri-port "over ear". Those are really good for anything that you play on them... great bass response without any kind of EQ. I listen a lot of classical music and I'm very picky about my electronics and I've been satisfied with those.
 
Do you have a particular price range. I support Bose products although a lot of people like to say that they are overpriced for their quality.

The Bose In-Ear headphones are $99 and they have a bunch of comfy over the ear headphones that are good at blocking out noise.
 
i was looking to spend less than 200$, but I could probably make a little more than that if need be.
 
I am a big fan of AKG's K66 headphones. They're about $40 and don't require an amplifier. They're by far the most comfortable headphones I've ever owned in my life.
 
I have a pair of Sennheiser HD-25 MKIIs and they are fantastic.

I use them for my DJing and production work and cannot fault them. Your ear drums will bleed before you max them out. They are quite pricy at around £150, but well worth the money in my opinion.

All the parts are user-replaceable, so if anything breaks, you wont need to splash out another £150.
 
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simontarr said:
I have a pair of Sennheiser HD-25 MKIIs and they are fantastic.

I use them for my DJing and production work and cannot fault them. Your ear drums will bleed before you max them out. They are quite pricy at around £150, but well worth the money in my opinion.

All the parts are user-replaceable, so if anything breaks, you wont need to splash out another £150.
Click to expand...

If it's a pair of portable *head*phones you want, it's hard to go wrong with simontarr's recommendation. I spent a very long time looking for a pair of portable, closed headphones that I could live with for a long while. The Bose Triport and the Sennheiser HD25-1 Mk II are the two best portable closed headphones I've found so far, with both having different areas of 'best'.

Bose leads with comfort and a casual usability, and the Sennheiser leads with everything else. The Triports do a good job in that they're very comfortable, easy to wear, and the isolation is OK, but they aren't that great sounding (a boosted, muddy bass is the biggest offender). The Sennheiser HD25-1 Mk II on the other hand sounds noticeably better, you hear more of the music because it isolates far more effectively and it's more durable. The HD25-1 has extra points for your use as it's used by many professional DJ's.

Sometimes I appreciate the Bose's usability and comfort more than the Sennheiser's absolute ability and modularity. It's a bit like the Mac vs Windows argument... :p If I had to pick one though it'd definitely be the Sennheiser.
 
I recently bought a pair of Audio Technica ATH-AD700, all I can say is wow.

They look fantastic, sound awesome (the soundstage and clarity is brilliant) and are very comfy.

If you're buying a pair of headphones don't look any further than Audiocubes they have the best selection at the best prices.
 
speedemonV12 said:
thanks for all the replies.

i have a pair of Solitude headphones
http://www.digitalreviews.net/reviews/audio/solitude-headphones.html
I have had them for about 2 years now. How would the headphones suggested compare to these?

I really like the way that the Sennheiser 595 and 555's look.. are those options that would work with an ipod, iphone, and laptop?
Click to expand...

I have the Sennheiser HD 555s and they're great. I use them for everything from listening to music on my iPod to monitoring guitar when laying down tracks for my band. I really recommend Sennheiser for the type of headphones you're looking for.
 
i like my akg k81dj for road trips and stuff. i also like the fact that they don't leak so i can use them in the library. however, they are a bit small so you might need to stretch them a little before use. i also have a pair of jvc marshmallow IEMs for running/working out/etc. they are comfy, cheap to replace, and sound quite decent.

chk out head-fi.org to get an idea of what phones may interest you, then go to your local guilter center to try them out.
 
speedemonV12 said:
thanks for all the replies.

i have a pair of Solitude headphones
http://www.digitalreviews.net/reviews/audio/solitude-headphones.html
I have had them for about 2 years now. How would the headphones suggested compare to these?

I really like the way that the Sennheiser 595 and 555's look.. are those options that would work with an ipod, iphone, and laptop?
Click to expand...

I'm about to pick up a HD595 for stuff like listening on the couch with my laptop. While I don't doubt that it could be powered from an iPod or a laptop - indeed, I'll be using it with one and I don't see anything in the specs that would make it a bad match - but the thing is that it is a large headphone, so not as practical as a portable headphone. It's also an open design.

You are definitely better going for something more compact and closed if you want one phone to pull double duty for road and home. As I've said above I find the Sennheiser HD25-1 a very good all-round closed headphone - and could well be the best of the type. The only issue as I obliquely pointed out is that since it sits on your ear and not around it, and clamps enough to give you excellent isolation, it can be uncomfortable for long periods of listening.
 
thanks for all the responses. I really like the way that the Sennheiser 595's and 555's look. They are stunning. If I were to get a pair of one of those, would I need to get an amp ? Would my laptop and iPod be able to work with these headphones? Also, what kind of stores would carry these things? So that I could go and check them out before I buy them online? Maybe hear the sound quality. Im guessing that the 595's are the better and newer version, but the 555's are a bit cheaper and in my price range. Are the 595's that much better than the 555's?
 
Jasonbot said:
Sennheiser HD 595's would be great, I also think they're cheaper than the Tri-port's.
Click to expand...

2nded
Best set of headphones I've EVER used. They work well with/without an amp. Sound great on my ipod/MBP and my hi/fi setup. Pretty cheap now considering how great they are, can be had for $120/130 on amazon/ebay. Much better quality in sound/build than Bose imho.
speedemonV12 said:
thanks for all the responses. I really like the way that the Sennheiser 595's and 555's look. They are stunning. If I were to get a pair of one of those, would I need to get an amp ? Would my laptop and iPod be able to work with these headphones? Also, what kind of stores would carry these things? So that I could go and check them out before I buy them online? Maybe hear the sound quality. Im guessing that the 595's are the better and newer version, but the 555's are a bit cheaper and in my price range. Are the 595's that much better than the 555's?
Click to expand...

AFAIR there really isn't a terrible difference between the two, check out reviews on head-fi.org or I think its headphonereviews.org. As for testing them out; check and see if a local Musician's Friend or Guitar Center has them, they usually do. And no, you wouldn't need an amp. They sound fine w/o one.
 
I have to add to the vote for Sennheiser, but I picked up a set of Sennheiser HD 280 Professional headphones at Guitar Center for about $90. I just looked them up on Amazon though, and you can pick them up there for $75.

I, too, love listening to music, and these headphones are really balanced - not too bass-heavy, but the bass does punch through. I also use them to record my guitar and 5 string bass through a Line6 Toneport UX on my system.

Check them out!

-Bryan
 
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thanks for you help chaos86.

anyways, does anyone know how the Sennheiser 555's and 595's compare against the Solitude headphones?
http://www.digitalreviews.net/review...eadphones.html

I was also wondering what it means when the description says stereo headphones?

Also, would the Sennheiser's work as noise canceling headphones? Can someone sitting next to me hear the music?
 
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