First, what is cheap? Are you asking about sub $100? Sub $20? Second, how picky are you about audiophile? What qualifies? FWIW, I've found that I'm decidedly mid-fi at best. I love my Philips 9500 for unamped listening (got it for $50). For amped listening, I use a used pair of Meze 99...

Just going to add: 1.) Thanks for this mega-thread. It helped me to buy a used pair of silver/walnut meze 99 classics last year. *excellent headphones* and great for releasing stress in waves. 2.) The Cavalli CTH amp on massdrop pairs amazingly well with this. 3.) It's surprisingly close how...

1. Yup! To block out loud Cantonese people at home 2. I don't care so much about looks. 3. Not super clinical. I think that Malfunkt nailed it on the head.. I've been trying to avoid Bose, due to all the hype but have to say that the NC technology is quite good. Between the QC35 and the Sony...

Dear Headfi, I've been ramping up and working on a ton of improvements at my dental office. We've had good returns, but it's honestly really stressful. My parents want to "help"---and talk about my business incessantly all hour of the day. Being Cantonese--it means talking very, very...

Just to clarify my previous post:   The UE Roll was actually pretty good from a UI standpoint: Rugged, compact, simple, easy to use, loud, clear.  no bass (as expected).  Dunkable.  Dustproof. You could play frisbee with it and be fine.  For a workout speaker or workshop speaker, it's almost...

hmmm.  Thanks for the input.   The Sonos Play 3 sounds much better than a play 1. The main draw is that it's pretty idiotproof--like everything apple; and good enough--again like apple.   In contrast, I've never tried Harmon Kardon (but understand that it's a great company, like Bower and...

  Hwy abm0,   Does it sound better than a Sonos Play 3? I'm not really too well educated regarding the different stuff out there, and have limited references to draw from. I remember that my UE roll was loud, but lacking in various things in a good room.

How do you think those M24 speakers will compare to the lgk 1.0?   I haven't opened the overnight sensation kit yet, so I can still return it. While I'm cheap, I've found that being too cheap results in false economy.

Oh yeah...I forgot to mention that I build guitars for fun. I was also planning to kit out my workshop with festool-like tools (high precision, good dust collection, great ergos) to make cabinetry for my dental office (just some rolling carts for implant/root canal work) since most "dental"...

  Link?   Anyways, I've already put my money down on the Paul Carmody Overnight Sensations and the Jeff Bagsby Quark kit. If they turn out nice, I may definitely not mind spending $220 on the speakers.   Surprisingly, good tweeters and woofers can add up pretty quick (in addition to...

Thanks for the tip!   I'll look into it.   In the meanwhile, I'll be building him some Overnight Sensations (and some Quarks for myself). If things go well, I may build a lot more.

I'd like to get my buddy some speakers for his office.   A few weeks ago, my buddy told me that he just became a dental director for a non-profit in Sacramento. His one wish is that he can have some good background music when he's doing admin work. He specifically requested a bluetooth...

I'd be totally up for a meet. However, I'm tied up the next two weekends. Also, I'm not carrying anything fancy--just AT-M50s and the AT-ANC-23.   I can bring the guitar that I built though.

Dear Headfiers,   I'm thinking of buying some iems to replace the nuforce ne-6's that I lost. I'm fairly rough on my stuff, so I'm really attracted to Koss' lifetime warrentee.   Any thoughts on the Koss kdx 300 vs the kdx 200?   The kdx 200 looks better made and is cheaper...

Dear Headfiers,   I'm thinking of buying some iems to replace the nuforce ne-6's that I lost. I'm fairly rough on my stuff, so I'm really attracted to Koss' lifetime warrentee.   Any thoughts on the Koss kdx 300 vs the kdx 200?   The kdx 200 looks better made and is cheaper...

Are they any good unamped?

What sound are you looking for? Will you just be sitting, or biking too? What type of music? Is fashion a big thing? During my brief time in Akihabara, I had a chance to listen to a few cans...mind you there was no control of the source and it had earsplittingly loud female J-pop. Audio...

Mine's pretty modest: iPod Touch 2g > no amp > nuForce ne9: song: Raphael Rabello, "Tua Imagem" (the airiness of the guitar is something I use as a reference for other phones when I compare)--wav There are other songs, but frankly I'm usually content with med-fi since my headphones are...

I'm thinking of getting a better set of headphones around the $100-150 range. After getting duped buy some ebay guy on fake es9's, I'd like to get something nice--but where I won't get too ripped off. I'm considering between the AudioTechnica A-50 and the Ultrasone HFI-700. I'm using a...

Yes, it took a while to get it right. I didn't show you the mistakes or the nasty cleanup behind the process. The hardest part was coming up with combinations that work. Some stones that look good in pictures, look terrible in person...just don't work. For example, the amethysts that I...

I think that I should have called this thread "My Pretty Earphone Project." It's supposed to be the anti-skull candy... I'll be pricing it to match Skullcandy. Standard: $60 ($50 to Headfi people for a limitted time) Black/Genuine Tiger's eye Pink/Synthetic Opal Limited edition: $120...

They're not skull candies! They're meant to be the opposite in every way: look good, sound good, be good. I see it as the perfect gift your significant other who thinks that your obsession with HD800's or Denons are overpriced when "Skullcandy is soooo much cheaper." Or you can buy them for...

The second ones are the pinks. Sorry for the bad pics. I was using an old point and shoot. The only way to get lighting that would register was to balance precariously on the edge of the couch to the side of a halogen torchier. After I earn some money, I hope to get a better camera. I'll...

About a month ago, I posted about making IEMs that looked pretty, but don't suck. I started by looking at Skullcandy, and doing the exact opposite: Skullcandy: tasteless, flashy, cheaply made. Bloated sound, lacking in detail. For people that don't know better. I started with Soundmagic...

I got infected with H1N1, probably two weeks ago from my dad. I'm 26, have very mild asthma, and I've never been sick for longer than two days for the past six years. This H1N1 laid me out for a week and a half, but strangely doesn't affect middle aged people as bad. I would have gotten the...