Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

What Headphones to get?

speedemonV12 said:
Also, would the Sennheiser's work as noise canceling headphones? Can someone sitting next to me hear the music?
Click to expand...

The 555 and 595s are open phones. They're basically giant speakers attached to your head. People around you will hear everything you hear, and you will hear everything around you (like the people telling you to turn it down!). If you need isolation, your best bet are IEMs or canalphones.

"Noise-canceling" phones aren't nearly as good, because they simply add noise to what you're listening to in order to cancel out the noise you don't want to hear. It's inefficient, and it lowers sound quality, because the sounds added take away from whatever you're trying to listen to.

Canalphones, on the other hand, are basically earplugs with tiny speakers embedded in them. With those, you can play your music at much lower volumes, because they form a seal between you and the outside world, enabling you to listen as quietly or as loudly as you want without disturbing others, or being disturbed by your surroundings.

A good pair of Canalphones are the Creative EP-630s. I use them, and the sound quality is great. Many people also like the Sennheiser CX-300s. Regardless, remember that the Sennheisers above are open phones, which means zero isolation. That also applies to every Grado phone in existence, if you're considering those too.
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Agurri said:
I have Shure E4C In-Ear and I love them... bought them used from a Macrumors member and I love them. Really, I love 'em !
Click to expand...

second these i've owned: e2, e3, e4, e5, se530's...the e4 were the best value, although if you listen to a lot of rap, the bass is not amazing....its clean but its not heavy
 
wow. I did not realize that the open air meant that everyone could hear what I was hearing. I really do not like that. But the Sennheiser's just look so darn good. They are like apple products, they look amazing. Im guessing that Sennheiser does not make the 555 or 595 in closed back. Does the open air provide for better sound quality? is that why they do that?

what are some good over ear headphones that have a closed back? Something that compares to the Sennheiser quality would be nice.
 
V-Moda Vibe earphones are great, and amazon now has them for about $70. (apple still sells them for $100, but still worth it). I tried sennheisers, the bose pair, and the shure headphones that were all $100 price range, and these were by far the best. Sure, for $200-300 dollars there are better earphones, but for the price range these have by far, the best sound. Reviews will tell you that the bass is overpowering, but from personal use and experience I can tell you this is not true. Apple stores almost everywhere have earphone test kits now, so try them out. oh, yeah THEY ARE ARE ALSO BEAUTIFUL. check them out online.
 
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...

I've spent around $1000 going through headphones trying to find the right one for me. I started with Bose but quickly realized that companies like Sennheiser, Grado, and AKG were of much better quality. I finally settled on the HD-25's since they're just AMAZING for taking on the road (I've gone through the Sennheiser HD650 and Grado RS-2, but i needed a closed-air headphone.)

Replace the HD-25 stock cable with the HD600/HD650 stock cable and you'll immediately get an improvement.
 
how did you get ahold of the cable from the 650/600's?

Can someone with a pair of open ear headphones let me know just how much the people around you can hear? Is it really that bad? or you can hear the music in the background?

esco,
do the HD-25's sit on your ear, or around it? If its on ear, how do they feel after being on there for a while??
 
speedemonV12 said:
Can someone with a pair of open ear headphones let me know just how much the people around you can hear? Is it really that bad? or you can hear the music in the background?
Click to expand...

As I (and others) have said, open means just that--open. They are not meant to be used in noisy environments because they let as much sound in as they leak out. People *will* hear what you're listening to, and you *will* hear doors opening, conversations, comments about the annoying guy two seats over listening to music through those oversized headphones, and so on. Ignore this at your peril :^)
 
I have the sennheiser HD595 headphones, the sound is just amazing, and they do not need an amp, and they can still get really loud. and they are prett comfortable, my dad likes them because he doesn't need to take off his glasses if he uses the headphones. The HD 555 are just about the same as the 595s as far as quality of sound and comfort and style. i reccomend Sennheiser hd 595s for your needs because they are simply great perfect headphones.

speedemonV12 said:
wow. I did not realize that the open air meant that everyone could hear what I was hearing. I really do not like that. But the Sennheiser's just look so darn good. They are like apple products, they look amazing. Im guessing that Sennheiser does not make the 555 or 595 in closed back. Does the open air provide for better sound quality? is that why they do that?

what are some good over ear headphones that have a closed back? Something that compares to the Sennheiser quality would be nice.
Click to expand...


everyone cannot hear your music if you have open air headphones, the person sittinging next to you can a little bit, if its at a moderatly loud volume, and the open air, backless headphone style helps for a crisper sound quality.
 
Jesseton,
With the volume at a moderate level, how much of the outside world gets in? would an airplane be a pain to listen with these in? or how bout in a car?
 
Those HD-280 Pros that I have are closed - they block out a LOT of the outside noise, and allow you to really listen to the music. I personally like them even better than noise-canceling headphones.

-Bryan
 
speedemonV12 said:
how did you get ahold of the cable from the 650/600's?

Can someone with a pair of open ear headphones let me know just how much the people around you can hear? Is it really that bad? or you can hear the music in the background?

esco,
do the HD-25's sit on your ear, or around it? If its on ear, how do they feel after being on there for a while??
Click to expand...

http://www.headphone.com/products/a...ts/sennheiser-hd-580600-replacement-cable.php

and the hd-25's sit on your ear, but with the velour pads (as opposed to the pleather ones) make it very comfortable for extended usage (the newer packaged hd-25's come prepackaged w/ the velour pads, the older versions did not)
 
thanks for all the help.
I have a few more questions though.

What do you guys think about the AKG K271 closed back studio monitoring headphones?
And what about the Audio-Technica ATHA700 audiophile headphones?

They are both closed back, so it might be better for me. But i do not want to get them if the sound quality is not as good as the Sennheiser's. I can deal with the open air if it allows for much better sound quality.

And last but not least, if I were using the Sennheiser HD 555 or 595's headphones, and was on an airplane with the volume at a moderate level, would the I be able to hear the sound well, or would the outside noise be too much? Also, same question, but if I were in a car.

Thanks for all your help. I want to order these either today or tomorrow so that they get here next week before I go back to college, so I'm asking the most specific questions just to be sure that I get the right ones.

Thanks
 
speedemonV12 said:
thanks for all the help.
I have a few more questions though.

What do you guys think about the AKG K271 closed back studio monitoring headphones?
And what about the Audio-Technica ATHA700 audiophile headphones?

They are both closed back, so it might be better for me. But i do not want to get them if the sound quality is not as good as the Sennheiser's. I can deal with the open air if it allows for much better sound quality.

And last but not least, if I were using the Sennheiser HD 555 or 595's headphones, and was on an airplane with the volume at a moderate level, would the I be able to hear the sound well, or would the outside noise be too much? Also, same question, but if I were in a car.

Thanks for all your help. I want to order these either today or tomorrow so that they get here next week before I go back to college, so I'm asking the most specific questions just to be sure that I get the right ones.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I've heard great things about Audio Technica (was considering the A900 at one point) but one thing that put me off was just how big they were. Do you need your headphones to be small (for portable use?) I looked up the AKG's and many have said that they're quite similar to the K701, so that's definitely a plus. It also depends on what music you like. AKG tends to be better for classical and jazz music since their headphones are pretty analytical.

I had a pair of Sennheiser HD580's and took them onto a plane once without an amp. I could barely hear anything at any volume level, I definitely advise against it :D
 
hm... I listen to Trance, Rock, Alt. rock, House, Hip hop, Rap, some oldies. I like to mix it up.. but mostly Trance, Rock and Rap.

I have noticed that there are some inexpensive amp's out there, with an amp, would I be fine on an airplane?

What kind of portable amp would you recommend?
 
Personally, I just bought the V Moda Vibes ($70 on amazon)

These are said to be as good as headphones more than twice as expensive. They got the highest rating from CNET for their price.

Some models to stay away from... Sony's $100 earbuds do not live up to Sony's standard and neither do the Bose in ear headphones. Spend your money on the V Moda and you will not regret it. Also these have great customer service and they will replace your earbuds if they break.
 
ya I checked those out and they look really nice, but I was looking to buy full sized headphones. What do you think about the Akg k271 studio headphones? Will they give me some high quality sound without an amp? Or do I still need to get a portable amp to get the best sound?
 
Don't mean to be pushy, but I really want to order these headphones before the weekend is over.

I have narrowed my choices to only closed back headphones, as they will be best for the environment that I will be in.

Here are the ones that I have settled upon:

http://www.amazon.com/AKG-Closed-Back-Design-Monitoring-Headphones/dp/B0002LD35G/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1198627596&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATHA700-Audiophile-Headphones-Metallic/dp/B000E9VKUQ/ref=pd_ybh_5?pf_rd_p=280800601&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_t=1501&pf_rd_i=ybh&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=14CFZDK94QPPDGWF7V0M

http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-A55-Full-size-Closed-back-Headphones/dp/B000CMLZDW/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1198960308&sr=1-1

Like I said earlier, I listen to a lot of Trance, Alt. Rock, Rock, Rap, and I also like to listen to some Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, and Jack Johnson. As you can tell, I like to mix it up. I would also like to not have to buy an amp, but if I need to, I will probably get the Boostaroo Headphone amp from Boostaroo.com Out of those three headphones, what would you recommend?
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
I really want to get one out of the three that I listed, Do you have an opinion on those?
 
I'm not clear on why you are limited to those three, but among them, I would pick the AKGs.

If I were buying closed back, around the ear headphones, I'd look seriously at the Beyerdynamic DT770 pros.

I own Etymotic ER6i, and ER4p IEMs for listening in noisy environments since they block so much noise and allow you to play at lower volumes (not to mention their superb bass response). I have an assortment of Grado headphones for rock, AKG K701s for reference cans, and Sennheiser hd555s for my wife. I use a Xin Supermacro III for my portable amp, and I'm in the process of putting together a new DAC/Amp combo for my home setup.

Honestly, all headphones are going to benefit from an amp. In my opinion, IEMs are the only headphones that can be used alone with portable players, and even they sound better with an amp. Headroom's entry level amps are a nice start. If you are an audio junkie, their are tons of other amp manufacturers going up the line (Meier Audio, Ray Samuels, Xin, etc), right now, there is a special buy going on for the Meier Audio HeadSix amp over on Head-fi.org, it's a limited edition portable amp for $150.
 
I was limiting it to those three because of price.. I wanted to keep it below 150. And I want to have a pair of full sized headphones, so I didnt look into any IEM's and dont really plan to.
 
speedemonV12 said:
I was limiting it to those three because of price.. I wanted to keep it below 150. And I want to have a pair of full sized headphones, so I didnt look into any IEM's and dont really plan to.
Click to expand...

If you want closed headphones then look into the Beyer Dynamics, something like the 770/880, both of which are great headphones. I have the Sennheiser HD595s, and while they are open headphones, there really isn't that much noise pollution. In a car with the music at a medium level I cannot hear any outside noise unless someone speaks loudly to me. As for sound leakage: unless you are playing them at max volume there is hardly ANY sound leakage aside from maybe a little bit of bass, which even closed phones will leak out.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Beyerdy...losed-Studio-Headphones-102512019-i1126937.gc
A little bit more than the Sennheisers though. Also they have quite a bit more bass as well.

I would personally narrow it down to:
Sennheiser HD595
BeyerDynamic DT770
AudioTechnica A700
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back