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Shootout: 98 Portable Headphones Reviewed (Sony MDR-PQ2 and Philips O'Neill SHO9560 added 01/02/12) - Page 8

post #106 of 2929
11/21/09 at 12:49am
please update your shootout faster, number "13" is not good...
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Koss KSC75 Portable Stereophone Headphones
$10.4 at
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Sennheiser PX 200 II B Closed on Ear Mini Headphones (Black)
$58 at
See it »
Audio-Technica ATH-EM7 GM Adjustable Aluminum Clip-On Headphones
$0.00 at
See it »
post #107 of 2929
12/5/09 at 9:26pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by a_tumiwa View Post
please update your shootout faster, number "13" is not good...
Right you are. Updated with the addition of the AKG K81Dj and a major overhaul in terms of wordiness .
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post #108 of 2929
12/10/09 at 4:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ljokerl View Post
Right you are. Updated with the addition of the AKG K81Dj and a major overhaul in terms of wordiness .
Awesome update, |joker|. K81s seem to be an amazing bang for the buck; for some reason I never realized they were only 60$!

I've traded the HD25s, but I'm still going to have a pair of portables (K140), but after I get the rest of my rig set up, I'm headed straight for the K81s

EDIT: You rated them a 9/10 on the isolation scale. How would you rate HD 25 isolation? It's the only one I'm familiar with, and I thought that they would be amazing isolators, while they were more sealed/leakage-free than anything else. I couldn't drown out background conversations in the library with music on [pleather pads].

EDIT2: Table is much more follow-able(?). This is an excellent post to link to for the numerous threads asking for recommendations (I'm sending it over to a few of my non head-fi friends who are looking to upgrade from iBuds!).
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post #109 of 2929
12/10/09 at 6:10pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by iPoodz View Post
Awesome update, |joker|. K81s seem to be an amazing bang for the buck; for some reason I never realized they were only 60$!
Yep, they are pretty darn good value. I'd probably end up keeping them as beaters if they weren't redundant in my collection due to the K181.

Quote:
Originally Posted by iPoodz View Post
EDIT: You rated them a 9/10 on the isolation scale. How would you rate HD 25 isolation? It's the only one I'm familiar with, and I thought that they would be amazing isolators, while they were more sealed/leakage-free than anything else. I couldn't drown out background conversations in the library with music on [pleather pads].
That's odd - how loud were those people talking in the library? I don't find myself turning the K81s up when I get on the bus, which is pretty loud. I'd probably rate the HD25 either the same or a half-point below in terms of isolation, but it really depends on the pads. Both isolate less with the velours but the comfort tradeoff is worth it for me.

Quote:
Originally Posted by iPoodz View Post
EDIT2: Table is much more follow-able(?). This is an excellent post to link to for the numerous threads asking for recommendations (I'm sending it over to a few of my non head-fi friends who are looking to upgrade from iBuds!).
Thanks, that's kind of what I was originally going for. Glad to see that the table is improving. Graphic design is not really my forte. Planning to add another pair of portable by the end of next week .
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post #110 of 2929
12/10/09 at 8:17pm
just wondering in terms of SQ, roughly how would you rate the HD25 and K181DJ you have. I have had an igrado and was thinking about moving up so was wondering how these two would compare.
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post #111 of 2929
12/10/09 at 9:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ljokerl View Post
That's odd - how loud were those people talking in the library?
That's what I thought to myself, too! I first thought that maybe they were yelling, but then I took them off, and found that they were talking at just above average volume. I was getting a good seal with pleather, and had to do a little adjusting once in a while, but for some reason, I was not getting a lot of isolation.

Another explanation is that I didn't listen to music very loud (25% system volume, and maybe 30% on MediaMonkey), because they sounded so damn good at low volumes, unamped

I never used the velours, but I'm sure the tradeoffs are worth it for general use in terms of comfort. A great pair, but I'll probably go for the AKG K81DJs now, if I ever need a pair for the same purpose.
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post #112 of 2929
12/11/09 at 1:31am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by slazenger View Post
just wondering in terms of SQ, roughly how would you rate the HD25 and K181DJ you have. I have had an igrado and was thinking about moving up so was wondering how these two would compare.
The HD25 and K181 are quite different. HD25 has that typical sennheiser smoothness while the K181 sounds like a K81 with all of the faults fixed and some extra muscle added. My k181s are new so I haven't given them a proper listen yet. Probably going to be a few weeks as I'm pretty backed up in terms of portables. I will say that they are MUCH bigger than both the HD25 and K81. But at least they fold .
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post #113 of 2929
12/11/09 at 1:37am
ahh ok i never got a good look of em on anybody except a video of some guy on youtube putting them on =) (He had a hood on so it looked err well not that big lol)

As long as both are a step up in sound quality from the igrado i guess ill be ok. Thanks
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post #114 of 2929
12/14/09 at 12:41am
Thread Starter 
Added Creative Aurvana Live! and JVC HA-M750
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post #115 of 2929
12/14/09 at 1:09am
Nice review, I do want to say that the build quality of the HA-M750 well in my opinion is rather low (just my experience) I managed to break mine in just a couple trips in my backpack. The earcup hinge thing just completely snapped apart. But again just my experience, I even had more luck with my igrados =)
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post #116 of 2929
12/14/09 at 1:25am
Very good distinction between score and score with value incorporated. I know that both are important to different buyers with respect to their circumstances.
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post #117 of 2929
12/14/09 at 3:24am
Hmm, my K81's plug is really puny, nothing like yours :\

I also think it's crap at all frequencies.
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post #118 of 2929
12/14/09 at 3:35am
Thanks for the new additions.

Any chance of seeing PX 100-II and PX 200-II added?
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post #119 of 2929
12/14/09 at 3:52am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the comments, guys. All criticism is appreciated and taken into account. Compliments are appreciated even more .

Quote:
Originally Posted by slazenger View Post
Nice review, I do want to say that the build
quality of the HA-M750 well in my opinion is rather low (just my experience) I managed to break mine in just a couple trips in my backpack. The earcup hinge thing just completely snapped apart. But again just my experience, I even had more luck with my igrados =)
Thanks, I am considering adding a long-term user comments section to the review. Personally I differentiate build quality from longevity. I can only assess how well-built a headphone is as well as the user-friendliness and fit-and-finish based on how it feels and my short (usually 2-3 week) stint with it. There are factors in longevity such as user treatment that I can't account for. I wish I could abuse all of my headphones until the break for the sake of science, but I have neither the time nor the resources to do that.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jp_zer0 View Post
Hmm, my K81's plug is really puny, nothing like yours :\

I also think it's crap at all frequencies, maybe I got a fake or some crappy revision.
This is the only K81 I've had and the plug is massive and has a screw-on adapter. Same plug as my K181Dj has. Maybe someone can confirm a different revision with a puny plug?

Quote:
Originally Posted by applaudio View Post
Thanks for the new additions.

Any chance of seeing PX 100-II and PX 200-II added?
PX 200-II may be in the works in the near future (if a certain fellow head-fier will be willing to lend me his pair ), but not until I clear up my current backlog. Hopefully more updates coming next week.
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post #120 of 2929
12/26/09 at 12:05am
Some more headphones...

Yamaha RH5MA - a musician friend considers them superior to K-271S.
Denon AH-P372 - the "little brother" to AH-D1000/AH-D1001. Those are foldable, lightweight, resistant, etc. etc. Dynamics similar to AH-D1001/CAL, but lacking spatial detail and resolution. "Phun" rock/metal/energetic-music headphones. ~$50 shipped off EBay.
Roland RH-50 - a bit dull/old-style/slow, but its midrange lift makes it very musical (they're like lower-impedance, less detailed, mini K-240 Studio). $40-50 shipped. Those are quad-driver headphones, there're tweeters mounted atop main diaphragms.

A little mod for Denon AH-D1000/AH-D1001/Creative Aurvana Live: glue some cotton inside the cups to improve isolation. Helps a lot.
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Koss KSC75 Portable Stereophone Headphones
$10.4 at
See it »
Sennheiser PX 200 II B Closed on Ear Mini Headphones (Black)
$58 at
See it »
Audio-Technica ATH-EM7 GM Adjustable Aluminum Clip-On Headphones
$0.00 at
See it »
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Portable Headphones, Earphones and In-Ear Monitors › Shootout: 98 Portable Headphones Reviewed (Sony MDR-PQ2 and Philips O'Neill SHO9560 added 01/02/12)