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Full size headphones Vs. Canalphones (Below 50$)

post #1 of 10
1/14/06 at 5:08pm
Thread Starter 
im looking for a new pair of headphones for my new Iriver 899.

i saw 2 kinds of 'phones which are my canditates: over the head like the sennheiser HD series, and IEM such as the sony MDR-EX81.

in the same price what would sound better, full size phones or IEM's?? or more correctly should i go with the Senn HD201\HD202 or Creative EP-630? another option for me is to get the budget a bit up and then the choice is between the HD212 or the Sharp MD-33. (or possibly the new Senn CX300 but ill have to wait for some reviews..) maybe even the HD201 sound better than the MD33 but the diffrence is portability? i dont have a clue here so give me a hand.. ive also seen the Creative EQ-1700 which have great specs but they arent very popular so i couldnt find any reviews, someone here can tell me about them?

portability is not so important to me but i will be using these headphones in public (walking down the street, buses and so on) and i need a closed phones that will let me hear the music.

BTW my favourite music genres are rap, hip hop and a lot of electronical music if it matters.

thanks.
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post #2 of 10
1/14/06 at 5:11pm
Generally, at this price, the full size phones will sound better than the cheap IEMs. If you don't mind using them in public, and they're not too bulky for you, you'll be happier with them. Get the IEMs only if you want more isolation and ultra-portability.
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post #3 of 10
1/14/06 at 5:27pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jagorev
Generally, at this price, the full size phones will sound better than the cheap IEMs. If you don't mind using them in public, and they're not too bulky for you, you'll be happier with them. Get the IEMs only if you want more isolation and ultra-portability.
thanks for the very quick response. what about the 20 Bucks HD201 Comparing to the duoble priced Sharp IEM??

also, i understand from many posts here that the HD201 sounds better than the 202. than how does it compare to the HD212? i heard they have too much bass but how they compare on mids and treble?

and BTW had someone here heard the new eH 250? are they better than the 212? and the eH150?

thanks again
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post #4 of 10
1/14/06 at 5:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by joe84
thanks for the very quick response. what about the 20 Bucks HD201 Comparing to the duoble priced Sharp IEM??

also, i understand from many posts here that the HD201 sounds better than the 202. than how does it compare to the HD212? i heard they have too much bass but how they compare on mids and treble?

and BTW had someone here heard the new eH 250? are they better than the 212? and the eH150?

thanks again
Yes, I think the 201 is a better headphone than the Sharp IEM. But it isolates less. I would use the IEM on a bus.

Can't compare to the 202, but headphone.com thinks rather highly of the 212. It might be worthwhile. I'm not a huge fan of the 201, but it is quite balanced and clean for the price.
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post #5 of 10
1/14/06 at 5:39pm
Do not buy the HD201s and HD202s you will just be wasting your money, they sound terrible. The EH150 are also rubbish, haven't heard the 250s but if they are anything like the 150s don't buy them. I would personally go with the HD212s they are a little bass heavy, but still have relatively clear mids and highs. They are also closed back to isolate you somewhat from noise, and they still look pretty damn good. As for the sony ex81s I don't care much for the styling and if the cords are like the ex71sls they'll break in about a month. The Senns are your best bet I think, in this price range, although if you are wiling to shop on ebay you can get a new set of shure e2cs for about the same fifty bucks, and these will provide you with more sound isolation and are also more portable.
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post #6 of 10
1/14/06 at 5:45pm
Do a forum search for the HD 201. I think a lot of head-fiers think that they're really quite good for the price, and what they do. They're better than most cheap IEMs, including the e2c. Compared to more expensive full-size headphones, they're not so special, but c'mon - it's a decent $20 CLOSED full-size headphone. It fills a niche perfectly. The 212 is probably better sounding and more isolating, but twice as expensive.
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post #7 of 10
1/15/06 at 6:25am
The Creative EP630 is ALMOST the same thing as the Sharp MD33, except that it's better. That's the public opinion that arose when i was making this very same choice. I went with the Creative EP630, and i've been happy with them for about a week now. I have to admit, i'm not very experienced in judging sound quality, but the EP630 sounds nice and full, and isolates nicely. Do a forum search on it to get more opinions. What i found out is that the sony's should be out of question as they are worse and more expensive than their competition. The sharp's are a worse value than the creative's, and the next step up would be the Panasonic HJE70. But that's a lot more expensive. Also, koss is out of the question.

If you don't need isolation however, i think the headphone to get would be either some Koss KSC-35's or KSC-75's, Sennheiser PX100's, or the like.
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post #8 of 10
1/15/06 at 7:38am
It appears that the thread starter is a little confused with terminology...

Sony EX71 / 81 are not classified (at least by me, so maybe its me thats wrong lol) as IEMs - but as earbuds... there is a slight overlap in price / performance between the higher costing earbuds and the lowest priced IEMs, but as a general rule you have to spend more on the IEMs to get a better sound than that of the earbuds...

For your selection of music, the Sony EX71 should be pretty good if you like blooming bass (and can bear the treble for a couple of hundred hours until it settles down - then again, a lot of people like it the way it is out of the box)

I doubt that you'll get a better performance in your price bracket from full sized headphones, other than maybe something like the BeyerDynamic DT231.
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post #9 of 10
1/15/06 at 2:53pm
Thread Starter 
ok, thanks.

today ive been at the local audio store and tested both on my head coupled with my private player. the 201 is more comfortable and seems to have a little better mids and highs but the 212 bass wins hands down.. also the 201 gives me more volume (24ohm vs. the 32 of the 212..) maybe they are at diffrent break-in levels so i dont know if its true, can you give me some more epinions about them?? which sounds better overall?

i also listened today with a HD202 of my friend (which are completly burned in off course..) and i must say i wasnt really impressed, both of the other models gets much better than this? if not ill consider saving up some more money and going with the eH350 or something similair..
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post #10 of 10
1/15/06 at 5:13pm
keep in mind we're talking 50 bucks here. If you don't mind the lack of bass in the 201s, you're not going to find anything better that provides some sort of isolation.

If isolation isn't a priority, then koss KSCs win hands down.

I think the e2cs are like the cheapest IEMs on the market. I have a pair of sony ex71s - they're certainly not IEMs but are comfortable and provide slightly more isolation than the HD201s. It's a very unrefined sound, but for the price and isolation properties, I'm satisfied.
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