Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › What would you gift your girlfriend?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

What would you gift your girlfriend? - Page 4

post #46 of 104
11/23/12 at 5:42pm

http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-Portable-Headphones-Red/dp/B005DB9RUU/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1353721280&sr=1-2&keywords=ws55

Reply

Gear mentioned in this thread:

post #47 of 104
11/24/12 at 12:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rosbife View Post

[Sony MDR-V6 for $40 on amazon]
What a great deal. Unfortunately, I don't know how much she'll appreciate the design, sigh...

[MOLEY MOLEY MOLEY!]
Yikes, that also stroke me! Must be highly esteemed haha [ever seen the Austin Powers movies?]

[MEElectronics IEM canalbuds]
Thanks! Also tabbed, she does occasionally run so that's a good added bonus ^^

Well guess I have a huge bunch of options right now. Too bad she's so careless about this. I don't want to gift her something that looks good to "me", because headphones are a pretty personal thing, but even though she's come to borrow mine almost every single day she just won't seem to focus the slightest on this. 

I guess all I could do at this point would be to give her a blind test, just the headphones without the price tag, and have her pick a favorite. But this still annoys me, I'd much rather know her preferences really well and pick one out myself for surprise. I'm actually on the verge of quitting this whole idea, sigh.

I know how you feel. Truth is, you simply can't make someone take up your hobby. Introducing it is all you can do, the rest is up to her choices & taste.

You're probably ready to get her the gift. Will it be for Christmas, or just-because? I would not force her to go through a bunch of blind tests at this point - it would only be a drag, possibly ruining the joy of music in the same way that people usually don't enjoy books they are assigned to read by school

Instead of worrying about "the perfect choice," think about it this way: any of the choices we've mentioned will be better than what she has. It sounds like she's enjoying music anyway, perhaps addicted (yay!), so she'll probably use whatever you get her. She'll like your choice (wearing two furry mice on your ears probably isn't typical fashion tho). If there are one or two things she'd like to be different... then that means she's interested in headphones! That's when you can show her all the research you've done, and she can pick. But for now, pick one, give it to her with affection, and enjoy the personal satisfaction that comes from being decisive smily_headphones1.gif

A part of me wonders if she comes over every day and borrows your headphones, just because she likes being around you wink.gif

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9PYiIGAsM8
Reply
post #48 of 104
11/24/12 at 9:17am
Thread Starter 

Thanks, not sure those are the same as mentioned above since there's no model name, but they do look good!

 

 

And Evshrug, you're right. It's my hobby and I really can't project it on her. Which is why I haven't insisted ever since. But truth is she also borrows mine often because she says "music is that much better", so I have no idea why she doesn't focus the slightest on this. Just feels like laziness to me! She carries her Ipod virtually everywhere and always studies with music, always has music going on in her apartment, etc. I didn't necessarily want the 'perfect' choice. Ideally I guess I just wished she'd go "My, I love these ones!" after seeing a certain set, and I'd be like "Yeah they're sweet" and surprise her with them in December. Not going to happen though :)

Also, the blind tests weren't trying them out, we don't have that in Portugal. It'd be just looking at them in a slideshow or something. As you said, anything I've listed is a huge upgrade for her, perhaps with a couple exceptions, so pairing that with the ones she liked the most in terms of looks seemed like a sweet deal.

Reply
post #49 of 104
11/24/12 at 5:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rosbife View Post

...

Also, the blind tests weren't trying them out, we don't have that in Portugal. It'd be just looking at them in a slideshow or something. As you said, anything I've listed is a huge upgrade for her, perhaps with a couple exceptions, so pairing that with the ones she liked the most in terms of looks seemed like a sweet deal.

Rosbife,
I'd be really curious how you would achieve a "blind test" by looking at a slideshow!
Out of my own curiosity as someone in a similar situation (girlfriend casual about quality yet living with her own personal soundtrack), which options did she most like the looks of?

Also, the above Audio Technicas are ws55 model headphones.
Edited by Evshrug - 11/24/12 at 5:33pm
Reply
post #50 of 104
11/24/12 at 6:39pm
Thread Starter 

(I chuckle at how this thread has nearly become sort of a conversation between the two of us)

First of all I missed this on your last post:
"A part of me wonders if she comes over every day and borrows your headphones, just because she likes being around you wink.gif"
Hah, that's a sweet way to look at it ^^


Anyways, by "blind" test I meant blind relative to the price! I don't want that to influence her, since she'll obviously go for one of the cheaper ones. I'm not looking to spending an absurd amount of money, since her own preferences and priorities don't even justify it, but I don't want to get her something subpar either just because she doesn't want me to "waste" money. 

And I don't know which ones she likes the most because I haven't showed them to her yet. Only a handful, as I added them to the list. But I'm kind of confused here, I don't know if she doesn't want to be proactive in this matter because she doesn't want that "nagging for a gift" feel. Obviously it'd make no sense since I'm the one who made the suggestion, and got pretty caught up in it all the while, but we all fear feeling like we're the ones asking for a gift right?

Also thanks for the clear up on the model ^^ weird to me they'd name it "Portable Headphones" in the item description.

(on a different note, I did get the E10 in the end. Don't know if you followed Black Friday deals, and the infamous AD900 fiasco / amazing HD650 deals, but there was a great deal on the E10 - $45, free shipping. Now, they did say it was the "Newest version" in the description, but I'm kind of fearful it was one of the older ones hanging around in their warehouses :P)

Reply
post #51 of 104
11/24/12 at 7:24pm
Uh oh, what fiascos? I missed all the sales, mostly catching up with family during vacation. FWIR, it was mostly just the first few batches of E10 that had QC problems, they addressed the issues after it was brought to their attention and they were losing money from having to replace defects.

I couldn't tell you what difference there is between the WS55 and the SJ55 headphone, so dunno how helpful I was.

I'm glad you're not sick of me yet - I just can't help but reply once I get interested.
Reply
post #52 of 104
11/24/12 at 8:28pm
Thread Starter 

For the second time, Buydig had them on eBay for a mere 80 bucks. For a second time, they cancelled all orders claiming a typo in the pricing, but from what I could gather, noone was convinced and they lost a lot of regular customers for cheap marketing. Plus, it's been quite a while now and most if not all people still haven't been refunded through Paypal (I don't know what the surprise here is, since Paypal is known for their business of holding people's money for absurd reasons and amounts of time, so it can use it in parallel to invest the derivative surplus they currently don't need for covering client transactions, to generate more money).

Aaah that's great to hear, build quality was the one thing keeping me in doubt regarding the E10. Well, that and looks/portability, which are minor. 

How's the tracking on your hybrid tube amp, btw?

Reply
post #53 of 104
11/24/12 at 8:34pm
I just got my wife a pair of Klipsch reference one's for 74.50 from wwstereo and she really likes them. For the price they are an absolute steal.
Edited by gus6464 - 11/24/12 at 8:44pm
Reply
post #54 of 104
11/25/12 at 1:01pm
Oh, did I not update you? The amp arrived last week, Tuesday I think. Unfortunately, it was packed with the tube in the same box, rolled in foam paper right next to the amp, and the amp crushed the tube against the box. Some bits of glass were so fine, like powder, that I couldn't scrape them off my smooth glass tabletop with a piece of paper. Some of the powdery stuff got into the 6.3mm headphone jack, and a just-so sized shard of glass was wedged in one of the RCA jacks.

I've VERY carefully cleaned and picked out glass from the amp. In the meantime, I've bought a new tube (Amperex ECC88) from eBay for $20 that should arrive next around Thursday, and possibly may win two other tubes I bid really low on (45 mins till I win an Syvania JAN 6DJ8 for $15).

The amp itself is very handsome, and surprisingly small. Looks very well-constructed. I'll let you know how it goes.
Reply
post #55 of 104
11/25/12 at 3:06pm
Thread Starter 
Yes you did, but since you said "So, I will have to wait like ANOTHER week to hear it", I thought you had a full replacement being shipped to you. So you have to pay for new tubes yourself?? That's rough man, how come?

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by gus6464 View Post

I just got my wife a pair of Klipsch reference one's for 74.50 from wwstereo and she really likes them. For the price they are an absolute steal.

Jesus, really? They're selling it for $179 now! What a steal indeed.

 

Reply
post #56 of 104
11/26/12 at 10:51pm
Well, a tube is easy to replace, you simply plug it into the socket (being careful to match up the pins), and then you use a screwdriver to adjust the bias so the tube "sees" the right voltage reaching it through the circuit.

I don't think I'm going to have to pay full. I was getting a discount because I had agreed to write and photograph a depiction of it that he could use on his eBay page, and I paid 2/3 already (covers the cost of all the parts). But, I'm thinking I'm going to tell him he won't get the other 1/3, because I experienced numerous delays and setbacks for being his guinea pig. He is entirely capable of addressing and preventing each of the problems I've had for future sales, but I'm more than a little annoyed that I had to teach him how to do business, when I could've bought an E11 or even a Little Dot I+ for cheaper AND been listening to it over a month ago. Supposedly this amp is better than those, but all I have on hand for comparison is my FiiO E5, my receiver, and the built-in amps of my other media players (like iPod).
Reply
post #57 of 104
11/29/12 at 12:03am
It's ALIVE!!!
Reply
post #58 of 104
11/29/12 at 8:53am
Thread Starter 

Come on! Impressions? :D

Reply
post #59 of 104
11/29/12 at 10:15am

I am 23 year old girl and own a pair of Grado's SR80. I would never try to leave home with any of these. It's too retro stylish for me, too old looking plus the cable is really bulky. Not to mention the weird looks i am going by the street. Headphones for home, earbuds for the street.

 

I do enjoy more the music experience on headphones. As the pads sits as pillows to my ears. The more comfortable, the most likely a winner is. (This said my Grado's are the exception as i find the pads rather harsh to my ears).  I would only use a closed back headphone on the street. If flying or want to use them in my room, as i don't like how they mess up my hair. This being said i digging the looks of the AKG 550. I know these are out of your price range but i find it so refreshing that they look opposite to my Grados. I would certainly be able to take these into public with me. They seem well padded, sound great and cutting edge. 

 

 

Buy her some Ethymotics or Sony Fontopias. She will use earbuds more. The earpiece i most find myself reaching is a cheap Samsung headset that came with my Galaxy Note 2.

Reply
post #60 of 104
11/29/12 at 10:42am

Listen to this Song:

 

But seriously, if you want to give your GF headphones for X-mas, make sure they have a nice looking sturdy pouch, because if there is none, women tend to throw their headphoned in their bag. In a month they are broken. At least this was my experience.

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Headphones (full-size)

Gear mentioned in this thread:

Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › What would you gift your girlfriend?