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Headphones vs. MP3 bitrates... how much headphone upgrade is worth it for me?
Hi. Just recently found this forum and can see it's going to cost me some money if I'm not careful!
I've been thinking about getting some new phones, but I'm wondering how far to go with it for me considering that most of the time I listen to music on headphones it is MP3 from my iPod touch, unamped.
Most of my music is encoded MP3 at 192Kbps, some of it is at 300Kbps, and a small portion of it is 128Kbps. The 300K stuff is the stuff I've purchased recently and ripped. The 192/128 stuff is CDs I ripped years ago. I don't want to go re-rip everything.
Most of what I listen to is progressive/metal. Opeth, Porcupine Tree, Tool, Rush, Behemoth, Cradle of Filth, Project Failing Flesh, Lamb of God.. but I do definitely listen to all sorts of music. Prog/metal is dominant though and all of it is at 192Kbps or 300Kbps.
Currently I have SONY MDR-V400 from years ago, and some Sennheiser CX300. I like the CX300 since they were cheap, isolate reasonably well and are very portable (yeah I know they're not the best...). I'll probably keep those for my "put stuff in my pocket and go" rig. So I'm looking to possibly upgrade the cans for my at-work-during-the-day listening, and on airplanes when I travel for work (which is rare). Open headphones that others can hear are not a good option for me.
So.. given the quality of the music I have (the BITRATES people.. no comments needed on the bands lol), the fact that I'm unamped from an iPod touch, and my intended use... how much would a headphone upgrade help me out? How much of an upgrade would make sense and how much would be just stupid since my source and/or source bitrates would limit the quality anyway?
If you're not going to re-rip your music then I wouldn't upgrade your headphones. If you do get better headphones, you are gonna re-rip your music out of frustration, because they will reveal crappy encoded music easily.
Try and get you're hands on a pair of AKG sextett's, there nor to revealing whilst bieng great for rock/metal. But will need an amp to frive them. IT all depends on you're budget
It's all part of the audiophile process. Buy the headphones and train your ears to recognize deficiencies in bitrate, if possible. If you have the capabilities (money to afford diskspace? CDs to re-rip?) then you will gladly invest days (weeks, months?) in ripping files to lossless. In the end, you will smile.
If you're not going to re-rip your music then I wouldn't upgrade your headphones. If you do get better headphones, you are gonna re-rip your music out of frustration, because they will reveal crappy encoded music easily.
for those bands, you might consider one of the lower end Grados.. the SR60s or 80s have gotten good reviews and are, supposedly, good for that sort of music. I've listened to Porcupine Tree and Opeth on Grado 325is, and it was pleasant. Most of my stuff is lossless, and I have an amp, but if I had to dial everything back a few tech levels, I think the SR 80s straight out of an iPod would be alright.
Re-ripping some of my Mozart to apple lossless right now. I'll do some Opeth and Porcupine Tree over the next few days. Maybe in a couple weeks when my kids have gone to visit grandparents for a week I'll have time to head to one of the higher-fi shops in downtown Toronto and do some comparisons.
I don't know what your source is. I'd guess that at work you may be using a computer, but it could be an ipod or something. That would help.
I think your bit rates are fine for quality headphones. 192 done right is very good. Some can hear the difference compared to lossless, some can't. Please notice, I said done right, using EAC or something like that.
So, having said all that, I'd say the Grado SR-225 would be right for you.
Good luck.
If you're not going to re-rip your music then I wouldn't upgrade your headphones. If you do get better headphones, you are gonna re-rip your music out of frustration, because they will reveal crappy encoded music easily.
x2 Source and how well the music is ripped, pressed or whatever determines on the quality of headphones you might want.
If you re-rip to the best format (which I know none of, I use CD's) then upgrade your source with maybe an iMod, then upgrade your headphones.
Like the above poster mentioned, better headphones will reveal more...
Headphones vs. MP3 bitrates... how much headphone upgrade is worth it for me?
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