Chrontius
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2006
- Posts
- 28
- Likes
- 11
I just got $300 to spend at the Apple store. I think I want headphones, and they sell what have been my Holy Grail, the B&W P5. But I'm going to open this up to anything the Apple store sells in the same price range. Audio source is an iPhone 4, and I have no interest in keeping an amp clipped to my belt when I'm on the go. These have to sound good straight out of a source; I don't have the luxury of owning anything resembling a good stereo - my best stereo component is a vintage SonicImpact T-Amp and THX-certified PC speakers (but their internal headphone amp is noisy!) I'm leaning toward mostly semi-mobile use; they should be comfortable enough to wear for hours, and both small and durable enough to throw in a backpack with a laptop (cases help durability, but hinder portability!). They may be used connected to a desktop PC with or without a USB sound card.
Another relevant point - I prefer an L-shaped plug to a straight one; the Beats low-profile plug is about ideal. I may eventually buy a Beats cable to use on whatever headphone I end up selecting, if that's feasible.
Here is my shortlist to prime the discussion:
Beats Executive - splitting from Monster seems to be one of the best things to happen to both Monster and Beats, but I'm not sure I want to use noise-cancelling headphones as my go-to headphone. They're very comfortable, however, and fail back to passive when their battery dies: http://store.apple.com/us/product/H9482VC/A/beats-executive-over-ear-headphones?fnode=3d&p=1
Bose QuietComfort 15: Mentioned for completeness, but I already have the ability to borrow the QC3 whenever I need them. The smaller siblings are exceedingly comfortable, but they need an inline mic. I haven't bothered picking up the cable yet. I won't consider these at this price point without a good argument; I don't like the idea of having to keep my headphones charged, they have no passive fallback mode, and there's other good headphones at this price point that probably sound better.
B&W P5 - I think they're dead sexy, really comfortable (though I haven't had an opportunity to wear a pair for hours at a stretch yet), and I think they sound really damn good straight out of an iPhone. They're also durable, fold flat, and nicely adjustable. These are likely to be my first choice: http://store.apple.com/us/product/TX584ZM/C/bowers-wilkins-p5-mobile-headphones?fnode=3d&p=1
Focal Spirit One - I saw these here in an ad, fell in love with the design, and promptly forgot who made them or what to search for. The Apple store may not have a pair to audition, sadly, but here they are: http://store.apple.com/us/product/H8223ZM/A/focal-spirit-one-portable-noise-isolating-headphones-with-remote-and-mic?fnode=3d&p=3
Harmon Kardon series - I'm not too enthused about the sound quality of bluetooth audio, but they come in passive ($200), noise-cancelling, and bluetooth - not sure if I want 'em, not sure which version I should think about, but I remember hearing about them here on HeadFi: http://store.apple.com/us/product/H8306ZM/A/harman-kardon-bluetooth-wireless-over-ear-headphones?fnode=3d&p=2
Parrot Zik: I like what they're doing and respect their ambition. I have no idea how they sound or feel, and they're $100 too expensive, but they deserve an honorable mention for engineering merit; the NFC pairing is a breath of fresh air, the Jawbone-made, dual-transducer and dual mic transmit side is … I expect very good things from it, and the logic of "If a call comes in and you take off your headphones, send the call to the phone" seems blatantly obvious only in hindsight. I'd get these if I could afford to throw an extra hundred into the pot: http://store.apple.com/us/product/H9557ZM/A/parrot-zik-wireless-headphones-by-starck?fnode=3d&p=2
Incase Sonic: I own one. This is my baseline, my "reference" can - I like them a little better than the HD 280 Pro, mostly because I can wear these for a few hours without pain. When I listened to a lot of Iron Maiden in short sittings, the 280s were perfect however, but the Sonic sounds better with more kinds of music. They don't fold, but they have a Red Dot design award, they're light, comfortable, light, and adjust in all the same ways as the 280 with a much smaller mechanism. They're also less hot than the Sennheisers ever were.
V-Moda Crossfade: If the Apple store sold these, I'd probably not have posted here today. I find the clamping pressure a little low, but I can't criticize the sound in any way, shape, or form. A friend of mine scored a pair for $50, and I'm still pea-green with envy.
Another relevant point - I prefer an L-shaped plug to a straight one; the Beats low-profile plug is about ideal. I may eventually buy a Beats cable to use on whatever headphone I end up selecting, if that's feasible.
Here is my shortlist to prime the discussion:
Beats Executive - splitting from Monster seems to be one of the best things to happen to both Monster and Beats, but I'm not sure I want to use noise-cancelling headphones as my go-to headphone. They're very comfortable, however, and fail back to passive when their battery dies: http://store.apple.com/us/product/H9482VC/A/beats-executive-over-ear-headphones?fnode=3d&p=1
Bose QuietComfort 15: Mentioned for completeness, but I already have the ability to borrow the QC3 whenever I need them. The smaller siblings are exceedingly comfortable, but they need an inline mic. I haven't bothered picking up the cable yet. I won't consider these at this price point without a good argument; I don't like the idea of having to keep my headphones charged, they have no passive fallback mode, and there's other good headphones at this price point that probably sound better.
B&W P5 - I think they're dead sexy, really comfortable (though I haven't had an opportunity to wear a pair for hours at a stretch yet), and I think they sound really damn good straight out of an iPhone. They're also durable, fold flat, and nicely adjustable. These are likely to be my first choice: http://store.apple.com/us/product/TX584ZM/C/bowers-wilkins-p5-mobile-headphones?fnode=3d&p=1
Focal Spirit One - I saw these here in an ad, fell in love with the design, and promptly forgot who made them or what to search for. The Apple store may not have a pair to audition, sadly, but here they are: http://store.apple.com/us/product/H8223ZM/A/focal-spirit-one-portable-noise-isolating-headphones-with-remote-and-mic?fnode=3d&p=3
Harmon Kardon series - I'm not too enthused about the sound quality of bluetooth audio, but they come in passive ($200), noise-cancelling, and bluetooth - not sure if I want 'em, not sure which version I should think about, but I remember hearing about them here on HeadFi: http://store.apple.com/us/product/H8306ZM/A/harman-kardon-bluetooth-wireless-over-ear-headphones?fnode=3d&p=2
Parrot Zik: I like what they're doing and respect their ambition. I have no idea how they sound or feel, and they're $100 too expensive, but they deserve an honorable mention for engineering merit; the NFC pairing is a breath of fresh air, the Jawbone-made, dual-transducer and dual mic transmit side is … I expect very good things from it, and the logic of "If a call comes in and you take off your headphones, send the call to the phone" seems blatantly obvious only in hindsight. I'd get these if I could afford to throw an extra hundred into the pot: http://store.apple.com/us/product/H9557ZM/A/parrot-zik-wireless-headphones-by-starck?fnode=3d&p=2
Incase Sonic: I own one. This is my baseline, my "reference" can - I like them a little better than the HD 280 Pro, mostly because I can wear these for a few hours without pain. When I listened to a lot of Iron Maiden in short sittings, the 280s were perfect however, but the Sonic sounds better with more kinds of music. They don't fold, but they have a Red Dot design award, they're light, comfortable, light, and adjust in all the same ways as the 280 with a much smaller mechanism. They're also less hot than the Sennheisers ever were.
V-Moda Crossfade: If the Apple store sold these, I'd probably not have posted here today. I find the clamping pressure a little low, but I can't criticize the sound in any way, shape, or form. A friend of mine scored a pair for $50, and I'm still pea-green with envy.
