Most overrated headphones? - Page 29

Quote:

Originally Posted by estreeter 

And that, right there, is why I will never be an audiophile.

 

You simply shouldnt have to suffer for the sake of the 'art' of enjoying music. It conjurs the image of John Atkinson sitting in a basement in New Jersey with 350K of gear, listening intently to a rare vinyl pressing for some obscure artefact that 99.9999% of us could care less about. Sad. 

 

Good post, and I agree, but it is a bit puzzling to see that point made on an internet forum (ie alone on a computer) about audiophile headphone gear.  I mean you do have 3k posts here.  But I guess you think you enjoy your gear, and don't analyze it?  Do you enjoy music more than the guy wearing earbuds?  You clearly analyze your gear more than the ibud guy.  Do you enjoy music more than the looser in the basement? 

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhythmdevils 

Good post, and I agree, but it is a bit puzzling to see that point made on an internet forum (ie alone on a computer) about audiophile headphone gear.  I mean you do have 3k posts here.  But I guess you think you enjoy your gear, and don't analyze it?  Do you enjoy music more than the guy wearing earbuds?  You clearly analyze your gear more than the ibud guy.  Do you enjoy music more than the looser in the basement? 
 

Audiophiles listen to their equipment through the music.

Normal people listen to their music through the equipment.

I put myself in the normal category.  At least in this instance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by maverickronin 

 

I put myself in the normal category. 

That's just bias.  

I think if you even have an opinion on being an 'audiophile' that means you are anything but 'normal'.  Stop the pretense guys.  We are all messed up pretty bad.  D'Nile ain't just a river in Egypt.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anaxilus 

That's just bias.  

 

I think if you even have an opinion on the matter that means you are anything but 'normal'.  Stop the pretense guys.  We are all messed up pretty bad.

There are plenty of other areas where I'm quite far from normal.  I just stop listening to the gear and start listening to the music after I've decided I'm going to keep it.  That's not perfectly "normal" since the majority of the world just seems to stick with ibuds, but its way closer to that side.  Of course being "normal" isn't always the good or right thing to be.

I suppose I just should have said "music lovers" instead

When ever I come across the sort of condescending insinuation that the weight of one's opinion should be directly proportional to their income or gullibility or the inane suggestion that your 'phones would sound better if you'd just listen to different music that you don't even like I have to stand up and say their either doing it wrong or missing the point.

Estreeter alluded to this sort of audiophoolery which gives this hobby a bad name.  The stunningly high levels or arrogance and wallet depleting levels of gullibility in this hobby are a lethal combination which draws the ridicule of others and rightly so.

Quote:

Originally Posted by maverickronin 

There are plenty of other areas where I'm quite far from normal.  I just stop listening to the gear and start listening to the music after I've decided I'm going to keep it.  That's not perfectly "normal" since the majority of the world just seems to stick with ibuds, but its way closer to that side.  Of course being "normal" isn't always the good or right thing to be.

 

I suppose I just should have said "music lovers" instead

 

When ever I come across the sort of condescending insinuation that the weight of one's opinion should be directly proportional to their income or gullibility or the inane suggestion that your 'phones would sound better if you'd just listen to different music that you don't even like I have to stand up and say their either doing it wrong or missing the point.

 

Estreeter alluded to this sort of audiophoolery which gives this hobby a bad name.  The stunningly high levels or arrogance and wallet depleting levels of gullibility in this hobby are a lethal combination which draws the ridicule of others and rightly so.

I agree for the most part but as long as people like what they like and don't get in the way of others doing the same I say go for it.

People that care about the bolded part have bigger issues to worry about IMO.  

My goal has always been to put on my kit, flip on the power, close my eyes and be transported 'there'.  Most of my kit is about that 'there' experience while some pieces like the IERM has been more about the recording itself rather than the music.  It's musical, enjoyable and neutral but I can't escape the recording but that has it's uses.  The HD800 w/o synergy is very much the same.  The ES5 and the HD800 w/ the right synergy are my modes of out of body transport.  So not sure what that makes me, not that I care anyway.  Just try to enjoy what you enjoy.

It's all about the Astral Projection....man.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anaxilus 

I agree for the most part but as long as people like what they like and don't get in the way of others doing the same I say go for it.

 

I do too.  Its the arrogance part that crosses the line, at least when actually they put it into words or when it influences their actions.  Besides plain rudeness, it often manifests as the spreading of misinformation.  If someone keeps it to themselves then yeah, I don't care what they do.  A person's life, body, and possessions are theirs and they may do with them what they please.  As soon as it starts to directly effect other people then they've at a minimum opened the door to debate, however minor the effect.

They have the right to say it and I think their full of it I have the right to say that as well.  That's the proper application of free speech.

My vote goes for Grado SR80i. Built like a cheap toy. For some reason it really annoys me.

I don't mind the sound but that is the thing - I like all my hi-fi headphones. I wrote it in another thread already that I don't really have a preffered sound signature. Instead I like each headphone for what they are, AD700 for it's soundstage, XD53 for their "live" sound for rock etc. 

So I like listening to all of them but only when I put on my Grado's do I always think to myself: "God, I hope they don't break as I put them on". Also who sends their headphones in a cheap cardboard box. I did not order a pizza.

Nobody claims that the SR80i is made of premium materials and ships in premium packaging.. How are they overrated in that sense? 

Though those Grados are made of a very cheap material, I never had any fear of breaking them during use. They're pretty solid. There was no creaking at all due to the basic design, can't say that much for most other headphones.

I also liked the box! I'm always glad when a product isn't shipped in a ton of plastic that requires a blowtorch and Wolverine's claws to open..

The only issue I had with the SR80is was the sound, not a fan.

Quote:

Originally Posted by burnliff 

Though those Grados are made of a very cheap material, I never had any fear of breaking them during use. They're pretty solid. There was no creaking at all due to the basic design, can't say that much for most other headphones.

 

I also liked the box! I'm always glad when a product isn't shipped in a ton of plastic that requires a blowtorch and Wolverine's claws to open..

Actually you are totally right. Overrated is not the right word to use here. Their build quality is not overrated. it just feels cheap and crappy... to me. As for box. That is where I will have to disagree. I don't want my headphones rapped in a ball of plastic but if I buy a nice pair of headphones I want a nice box where I can store them in case I don't use them for a while. A matter of taste I guess.
 

Grado's minimalist packaging helps keep their price (relatively) low. If you want a box to keep your headphones in, get a box! Grado actually used to sell a wooden box exactly for the reason you described: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/419222/received-the-grado-wooden-boxes-today

Not sure exactly why they stopped, but hey. They're out there.

Fancy packaging adds quite a bit to the price of a product. Grado's pizza box may not be good for much, but it keeps the headphones safe from the store to your house at the very least.. 

Just an FYI, Grado recommends removing their phones from the pizza box ASAP.  They fear the foam will deteriorate and harm the drivers.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anaxilus 

Just an FYI, Grado recommends removing their phones from the pizza box ASAP.  They fear the foam will deteriorate and harm the drivers.  

is it just the vintage green/blue foam, or the newer black foam as well?

Quote:

Originally Posted by buffalowings 

is it just the vintage green/blue foam, or the newer black foam as well?

New also.

Hilarious thread, after clicking on it and waiting for it to load I thought "AKG K701" to myself.

They were just so raved about, in various links on google, and on head-fi, I assumed they had a special flat FR or something and were a true "reference" headphone and didn't do anything excellent, just did everything right.

Well, that was my impression, until I borrowed a pair from a friend for 2 days, and the build quality was terrible, like a piece of plastic with carpet earmuffs on my head, compared to my SA5k which is finely crafted all-metal magnesium with cold leather earpads on my head, that was a huge difference.

Then I listened to the sound (after cranking the volume up unusually high) and I thought they sounded like a carpet as well, my head was just covered in carpet, and my friends brother wanted to sell them to me for $300 and said I'd realise that Sony sucked and my SA5k's were terrible, what an idiot, the difference was night and day in every department favouring the SA5k, apart from a unique smoothness and rounded tonality which the k701 had, however that was it.

Next up, well, I don't dislike the Koss Portapro, they are cool, but they are highly rated, so yeah, I'll chip in and say they're overrated as well.

Before I cared about headphones very much, I saw lots of people wearing the Koss Portapros, so I just assumed they were good from that observation, and bought a pair in a store for approx $100, I thought they sounded a bit muffled and had something missing, they didn't sound how they looked or something, I was never very keen on the sound but I've used them for years and years and they've served me well.

Next up, Sennheiser IE8, I demoed them at an airport and they sounded pretty weak, unless they were fakes, fakes on demonstration... yeah.

Next up, Shure SE535, demoed them at Jaben, they sounded - once again - very boring for the price, and I wonder again if they were fakes, because they sounded 95% identical to the Crossroads HR1 demo unit which I tried right before them, so I wondered if Jaben had some fake demo unit policy, however that makes no sense at all, Idk... if they were real, get a Crossroads HR1 instead, yup.