Which headphones?

[steviem]

I'm looking to replace my Sennheiser HD 205 headphones with something a little more practical for commuting. I've seen a few that I like the look/features of and narrowed it down to:

Klipsch ImageOne $149
Skullcandy Aviators $149
Urbanears Plattan Plus $59

I've tried the Aviators and Klipschs, the sound seems to be nearly the same but I just saw the Urbanears too online and they seem to be a much more affordable price, does anyone have them?

 

[jsh1120]

Don't mean to disagree with your choices, but if you're considering headphones for commuting, you might want to think about either the Sennheiser PX-100II or PX-200II (open vs closed). They're both foldable and fit in a shirt pocket. They're also well under $100 (check Amazon) and the sound is extraordinary, especially for the price.

I really appreciate the fact that I can fit them in my small messenger bag with the iPad. They're nearly as compact as my Shure in-ear headphones and much more comfortable than any headphones I have.

 

[DrSMC]

I don't know what is really a good choice but I can tell you what to avoid:

Beats by Dr Dre headset.

Low sound quality. I believe majority of the cost went to the packaging and the royalty for the celebrities. This headset is way overpriced.

I had the Tour headsets and the sound quality is just like a $20 sony headsets. My friend had the SOLO HD. I agree the sound quality is better but still doesn't worth $230+Tax.

Hope it helps!!

 

[steviem]

Yeah, out of all the headphones I tried, the Solo HDs sounded ok, but 2 out of 3 of the Beats headphones had no sound coming out of a headphone, I know they might be treated badly instore, but I just don't like that rate of failure...

 

[steviem]

Well I woke up early and dropped by the 5th Ave Apple Store before work.

I'd read a little more about the headphones and the Sennheisers seem to be a little narrow in terms of the headband, tried some and didn't feel too comfortable. The Urbanears were out because a lot of people say if you have a larger head, you'll find your ears hurt from the clamping. The Klipsch and Skullcandy headphones were nice, but a little too costly. I also don't like having a cable hanging from each ear, which you get with the Klipsch. I then saw some Philips/O'Neill Stretch headphones with iPhone controls. I'd tried the regular ones of these and liked the sound and fit, just without the controls/mic I wasn't sure on them. Anyway, with those, I snapped them up.

One problem so far is that they don't seem to play with my Samsung Epic 4G, but the Google Music app seems to not play any music even with no headphones connected this morning, so it could be that app's fault rather than the headphones themselves.

When connected to my iPad and MacBook though, they sound really good, drown out the ambient noise in this server room too even when no music is playing.

 

[FloatingBones]

Don't mean to disagree with your choices, but if you're considering headphones for commuting, you might want to think about either the Sennheiser PX-100II or PX-200II (open vs closed). They're both foldable and fit in a shirt pocket. They're also well under $100 (check Amazon) and the sound is extraordinary, especially for the price.

I really appreciate the fact that I can fit them in my small messenger bag with the iPad. They're nearly as compact as my Shure in-ear headphones and much more comfortable than any headphones I have.

I second these recommendations, with one modification.

The OP was asking for an iPad; he also mentioned he uses a Mac. Sennheiser makes a version of these products with a built-in microphone: the PX-100IIi and PX-200IIi. These will allow you to have a decent clip-on microphone for Skype calls or other recordings; the microphone will work on both Macs and the iPad. If iOS 5 is going to have enhanced speech-recognition capabilities, this option could be more valuable.

The worst thing about these Sennheiser products is their model number. The three I's are in a row and the third one is lower-case. Some retailers won't list the product that way.

The headphones come with a hard plastic case. If you use it, they will last much longer.

 

[jsh1120]

I second these recommendations, with one modification.

The OP was asking for an iPad; he also mentioned he uses a Mac. Sennheiser makes a version of these products with a built-in microphone: the PX-100IIi and PX-200IIi. These will allow you to have a decent clip-on microphone for Skype calls or other recordings; the microphone will work on both Macs and the iPad. If iOS 5 is going to have enhanced speech-recognition capabilities, this option could be more valuable.

The worst thing about these Sennheiser products is their model number. The three I's are in a row and the third one is lower-case. Some retailers won't list the product that way.

The headphones come with a hard plastic case. If you use it, they will last much longer.

Unfortunately, the hard plastic case that was provided in the older models no longer exists. Instead you get a little nylon bag. I truly miss the case, mainly because figuring out how to put the headphones into it was a hard earned skill that I enjoyed showing off. You're right though about its value in protecting the headphones.

In fact, the one down side of these particular headphones is that you have to trade some durability for their great portability and practically zero weight. In fact, I recently dropped my iPad with the headphones attached. It hit the floor on the headphone connector and shorted it out. I really hate headphones without detachable cables!

The good news is that a call to Sennheiser and they offered to replace my headphones free of charge. Good company. Good product.