You're right--this thread seems to be going nowhere.
I don't know if I started this thread or have just made a few contributions to it, but in my view, the purpose of it was to give everyone the opportunity to talk about the best headphones they've heard or to make comments on points raised by others.
Maybe this isn't the most noble of ideas, but I think it has merit and should be continued.
Originally posted by Knerty5 Etymotic ER-4 series are the best things I have ever heard. A few weeks ago I wasted my money on a pair of Sony MDR-EX71LP's and uuggghhhh. What a terrible set of cans. I would urge anyone to skip these headphones right off. I couldn't hate them more. Tin can sounding and high impedance for serious volume reduction. A downgrade from the stock headphones that came with my iPod.
Anyway, the Etymotics are excellent. I got an airhead amp to go with them...and i could not be happier.
True, the Etys will blow the Sony's out of the water--for the price, they had better!! But the Sony's are definitely NOT a downgrade from iPod buds, and are, all in all, not too bad for the price. If one does the silver mod, they improve even more.
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Home System:
Cambridge Audio Azur 640C->Nordost Black Knights->PPA->Sennheiser HD 650
For portable use, I wouldn't consider anything but Etymotics - either the high end, or their newer "more affordable" model. The isolation design is the way to go for airplane travel, or other noisy environments. Of course, some people can't stand to have things in their ears. Being in construction and/or the military for most of my life, I'm very used to ear plugs. If you've never had to wear them yourself, go to a hardware store and pick up a pair - they cost next to nothing.
For home use, I absolutely love my HD600s. I can't justify spending the money for the new 650s, especially when these sound so good. I've had them for over 3 years, and the stock cable is shot, so a replacement cable will be my next purchase. The stock cable is definitely the Achilles of the Sennhesier product.
After experiencing and buying some headphones that are available in Indonesia, like MDR-D77, MDR-NC20, MDR-E888, MDR-CD750, Sony Budokan Headphones,
I would say my favorites are come to Three:
For all-time used: Bang and Olufsen A8 which is sooo comfortable and sounds great.
For Accoustic jazzz sound is Sony MDR-D77, great mid tones for teh accoustic bass.
For Classical and other music: Bose Quietcomfort 2 (anyway it is just being endorsed as the best investment value headphone by Forbes magazine) (no flame please ;-)
As quoted in Forbes:
"Bose QuietComfort 2
Sound Quality: 4 Comfort: 5 Price: $299
VERDICT: A good investment for music junkies who find inner-ear
phones intrusive or uncomfortable.
Bose has come up with yet another way to deliver great sound. TheQuietComfort headphones use noise-cancellation to keep out most external noise, but the sound is less intense than sound-isolating earphones--even if you turn them up. There is no hiding these buds; they fit over your ears instead of inside them."
Okay---I'm biased--but I've NEVER heard a Bose product that sounds accurate or musical--either loudspeakers or a headphones.
I'd have to admit that the headphones are better music reproducers than the speakers are, but in an ultimate sense, they don't cut it. If they were half the price, they would still be twice as much as they're worth.
All Bose products lack the resolution, transient response and imaging that are necessary to recreate the realism of music.
IMHO, there are a number of brands and models that are several orders of magnitude better than Bose.
Bose are horrible, I auditioned the Triports today.
Anyway, for someone actually on a budget:
Koss KSC-50s - I don't know what everyone has against these, it took a while to figure out how to put them on, but I found out that if you pull your ears through the clip after putting them on, they stay completely secure.
That and you can stretch the clip over the phone to make it tighter.
Retails for 18 at Best Buy, cheaper online.
I have sportapros too, but KSC-50s sound the same.
Sennheiser HD202s - Haven't heard anything about these in a while, probably because they're cheaper than 100 bucks. :P
They're excellent at isolation and are really comfortable for me.
Also, they sound better than HD 212 Pros to me.
They're more balanced and have less boominess.
And they're easily driven without an amp.
30 bucks in stores, cheaper online.
And Grado SR-60s are probably the best dollar for dollar, but that's irrelevant here. >_>
Today, I went to an audio store with a friend who used to be a DJ. We tried out the Grados from SR 60 to SR 225 as well as the Senn of the 500 series. To both of us, as far as sound was concerned, it was obvious that the Grado SR 225 were by far the best .
Didn't really pay much attention to this thread till now.
Ok, I'll just list the headphones I've owned, and comment on each.
From cheapest to priciest:
Koss KSC-35: For the price, I don't think you'll find anything more balanced than this. It has a very "fun" quality to it which makes it great for portable use. Doesn't handle subtleties like soundstaging too well, but what can you expect at this price. The clips are comfortable, at least for me.
Koss PortaPro: Take the KSC-35 and press them against your ears really hard, and you get PortaPros. The result is overly boomy bass, just way too much for me. People have succeeded in bending the headband creatively to remedy this, I've never tried it.
Sennheiser PX200: Pretty accurate mids and bass, but treble extension is rather poor, resulting in a rather closed-in sound. Upper registers on violin were particularly affected by this. Pretty good isolation, enough for most purposes. If you need cheap, good portable headphones that isolate, this would be the ticket. Decent soundstage for the price.
Sony MDR-V6: My first good headphones, sentimental value. Incredible bass response, often too much but hell, it's fun sometimes. Midrange is disturbingly absent and sterile. Highs vary from bright to unbearably harsh depending on the source/amp and recording. Good isolation.
Sony D66 Eggos: Bass is quite lacking, midrange/highs nice, except for a strange "glossy" smooth colouration that I just couldn't get used to. They look ugly in my opinion. I can't remember how they isolate...
Sennheiser HD497: I'm going to be honest, I didn't do much listening to these, so I won't comment.
Grado SR-80: Wanted to give Grado a chance, so I tried these for a couple weeks... I dunno, Grados (at least the current generation) aren't for me. Too bright. Mind you, I only tried them with bowls. But even then, I didn't even remotely like them, so that's that.
Etymotic ER-4S: Accurate and detailed as hell, a bit on the lean and "dry" side for me. Somewhat cold sounding, but it can really bring out details that you never knew existed. The soundstage it presents is truly unique, takes some getting used-to. A bit thin sounding without an amp, but it's still tolerable out of a decent PCDP heapdhone jack. For trains and planes, for me there's no alternative-- absolutely amazing isolation. For home listening though I get a bit claustrophobic with these after a while... so...
Sennheiser HD600 with Equinox: My current reference. I know they're not perfect, but nonetheless the closest to real live sound I've ever heard in headphones. Great sense of depth of soundstage, accurate imaging and there's nothing in particular tonally that bothers me. Doesn't bombard you with details, just shows you what's important... the music. No real desire to upgrade headphones at the moment-- gotta work on upstream components first. These cans really improve with every component upgrade; they won't be the limiting factor in my system for a good while.
__________________ "Ah! How sweet coffee tastes! Lovelier than a thousand kisses, sweeter than muscatel wine! I must have my coffee..." - J.S.Bach
Incredible bass response, often too much but hell, it's fun sometimes. Midrange is disturbingly absent and sterile. Highs vary from bright to unbearably harsh depending on the source/amp and recording. Good isolation.
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