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Top 10 Travel Headphones

post #1 of 33
12/3/07 at 5:05pm
Thread Starter 
Hi All,

I have a set of Grado SR60 which sound great for the price but not in a noisy train station, airplane, train or mall.

What do you recommend for this type of scenario? I am a commuter and have ultimate ears but do not like the build quality(keep losing ear attachments). I am researching but for the top brands it is hard to try them out.

Sincerely,
Larry
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post #2 of 33
12/3/07 at 5:08pm
erm IEM's...honest the portability cant be beaten, if your worried bout losin tips try the new shure se line, you cudnt lose the tips if you tried
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post #3 of 33
12/3/07 at 5:12pm
Budget?

Ultrasones fold up which is pretty cool...PROline 750 perhaps?
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post #4 of 33
12/3/07 at 5:19pm
If you wanted the best isolation, IEMs are the way to go. I'm not sure if there are issues in build quality with Ultimate Ears IEMs as you have encountered, but all the IEMs I've tried seemed like they could last a long time.

If you are considering options other than IEMs, you could try giving portable supraaural headphones a shot. For the best isolation and decent sound quality (better than most IEMs, IMO), you could consider the Sennheiser HD 25 (often called the HD25-1). If you want the best sound quality you can get out of a portable supraaural headphone, the Audio-Technica ATH-ESW9 might be it, but it comes at a price.

Beside those options, there's also noise-canceling headphones, which apparently work pretty well in noisy situations. Usually, however, they are not sought for sound quality, though you could probably find some that sound pretty good anyway. One that sounds as good as a Sennheiser HD555 (based on a review) is the Sennheiser PXC450, which are quite expensive as well, not to mention that they're somewhat less portable.

What exactly is your budget?
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post #5 of 33
12/3/07 at 5:29pm
Thread Starter 
Hi All,

Sorry the budget I am trying to keep is under $300

Sincerely,
larry
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post #6 of 33
12/3/07 at 5:31pm
I'ld go for some nice IEMs
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post #7 of 33
12/3/07 at 5:38pm
Thread Starter 
Hi DeathWish,

Which ones?
Shure
Etymotic
Sennheiser(CX500)
Ultimate Ears

Sincerely,
larry
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post #8 of 33
12/3/07 at 5:52pm
Shure SE530 is my recommendation to you. They are comfortable enough with foam sleeves that I don't even feel them in or around my ears. They are not fatiguing at all, they have a very large soundstage, and they're very portable.
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post #9 of 33
12/3/07 at 6:04pm
Thread Starter 
Hi Denver,

All the reviews I read say the sound of the Shures is flat. Have you listened on them and heard otherwise

Sincerely,
Larry
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post #10 of 33
12/3/07 at 6:05pm
Thread Starter 
Anyone listened on the Sennheiser CX series?
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post #11 of 33
12/4/07 at 8:08am
Thread Starter 
Hi All,

I decided that IEM's are too fragile for me. I would like to know are there any CANS under $300 that you could listen to on a train or in a train station.

Sincerely,
Larry
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post #12 of 33
12/4/07 at 8:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ltucker305 View Post
Hi All,

I decided that IEM's are too fragile for me. I would like to know are there any CANS under $300 that you could listen to on a train or in a train station.

Sincerely,
Larry
If you want isolation and portability, the best option would probably be the Sennheiser HD 25 (aka HD25-1). With the extra money in your budget you could get a pretty good cable to replace the stock steel one. Skylab just informed me that the HD 25 is in another league in terms of isolation in comparison to the ATH-ESW9. The HD 25 is also very durable.
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post #13 of 33
12/4/07 at 10:35am
Yes the ATH-ESW9 sound a little better, but the Senns have it all over them in isolation and durability. And they are more discrete looking than the very up market looks of the ATs. I would go for the HD25-1s for everyday use.
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post #14 of 33
12/4/07 at 12:54pm
IEMs work great for me on airplanes, or if I'm not in the mood for music I use these:

Advanced NRR 34 high blocking Ear Plugs, Earplugs for Swimming too!
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post #15 of 33
12/4/07 at 1:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ltucker305 View Post
Hi All,

I decided that IEM's are too fragile for me.
The only ones really fragile are some of the Shure models.
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