[Venner]

Here's the short version: (for the busy or those with short attention spans)

I'm looking for a (preferably) sub $100 set of sealed headphones that fully enclose the ear and have good sound. Advice?


Exceedingly Long-winded version:

My adequate Koss UR18s broke...third set I've got through in 3 years or so. One, the plastic clip that hold the cup snapped off, and two developed a short/break such that the sound goes in and out in one ear. I went out to find another pair (usually around $15 on sale) and couldn't find any full-ear sealed Kosses at the local Circuit City/Best Buy/Music stores. Just lots of Sonys, which, from previous experience, just sound really inferior to the Koss models. (Boomy and more inaccurate, at least in the sub $50 range.)

So I thought, "Hey, why don't you just buy a nice set for once, self?"
And so I began researching headphones on the 'net. And found many, many choices. I thought I'd be best just asking you folks for advice.

Criteria:
1. Physical characteristics
2. Sound Quality
3. Price

1.) I like headphones that completely cover the ear and that are comfortable for extended periods of time - I can't stand earbuds or ones that rest on the ear. I also (probably) need sealed headphones because I often listen to music while I go to sleep and don't want to annoy other people Also rather helps when on an airplane, etc, to shut out noise. I have a fairly big head and ears.

2) It's a little surprising that I haven't invested in a better quality set of cans before this, as I am very into home audio. I have eclectic tastes and listen to everything from classical to blues to rock to 20z jazz to Finnish folk music. Really. Basically anything except rap or hip hop (collectively: garbage.) Small flaws in the frequency response are no big deal, as most of my listening is from a) my receiver b) my laptop or c) my desktop - all of which have some sort of available equalizer.

3) Cheaper is better. I'm still very much stuck with a student's budget, two years after graduating college

. I'm willing to budget up to $100 at the moment.

Just from what I've looked over, on the net:
Sennheiser HD280 - Looks nice; good reviews, seem big, etc.
Sennheiser HS212 - Less expensive, good reviews. Cups might be smaller though.

I've heard great things about the Grados for years, but I don't think I'd like the smaller pad size.

Any comments are welcome! I plan on ordering a set of 'phones in the next couple of days -sight unseen- based on what you all say. I'm heading out of town in a couple of weeks and want to take them along.

Thanks -

 

[Cyclone]

someone is bound to recomend the Sony V6's and AT-A500's so let me just get those 2 out of the way.

 

[Jimothy]

Quote:

(collectively: garbage.)

Hey come on now, I like Garbage

The 280s seem to be the way to go. Haven't heard them though.

 

[spike33]

the sennheiser hd215 are out. closed and supposedly replaces the hd280? Why don't you be our guinea pig and test it out?

 

[jpr703]

The Senn 280s would definitely be worth a look.

 

[Venner]

Ok. After looking at the Sony V6, etc, and reading several more reviews of the Sennheiser 280s, I'm going to give the 280s a shot. Ordered them for $85, shipped 2nd day.

Fingers crossed.

Spike33: Those HD-215s are supposed to replace the 280s? Sennheiser lists them under "DJ" phones alongside the 280s, but only lists the 280s under "Pro" models. And the price/specs don't seem to indicate that. I think the 215s look very durable, but otherwise my money is on the 280s

We'll see.

 

[catscratch]

Bah, you've got the 280's already. I was going to chime in with the mandatory A500 > HD280 recommendation.

However, I think you'll definitely enjoy them, as they are a very good set of closed cans, and will do nicely for your first hi-fi pair. Remember that they need lots and lots of burn-in. They will not be anywhere near their final sound until they have about 200 hours on them. Don't judge them out of the box! Either leave them playing to burn them in, or just listen to them, and over the course of the next month or so, their sound will change for the better.

 

[Cyclone]

If you have a CD cake sitting around burn in your 280's with them sitting on the cake like it was a head. it will help stretch them out faster so you dont get so much clamping straight off. But after about a week of heavy use im loving my 280's even more

 

[psyco1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyclone If you have a CD cake sitting around

CD cake?
Uh, do you want him to get icing on his new phones? If so, what flavor works best?

 

[Venner]

>>Remember that they need lots and lots of burn-in. They will not be anywhere near their final sound until they have about 200 hours on them.
>>

Thankfully, I won't really "need" them until I go on vacation with my folks in a couple of weeks and they're set to come in the mail Wednesday already. I'll plug them into my HK AVR-325, cue up a couple hundred hours of audio, and leave them there when I'm not using them.

I'll be interested in hearing how they perform differently between the jack on the receiver and the output of my soundcard(s). (I have a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz I use for music, and the integrated Nforce2 Soundstorm-based soundchip I use for games.)

 

[Cyclone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by psyco1 CD cake? Uh, do you want him to get icing on his new phones? If so, what flavor works best?

Carrot, i guess cause of the earthy tones

For those of you who dont speak like me a cd cake is just a stack of cd's on a spindle.

 

[Venner]

Well, my 280s arrived today

First impressions: I was worried about the curly-style cord, but I think I'll be able to live with it as long as I am careful to keep it untangled. I also expected it to be a much tighter fit, based on everyone calling it a "clamp grip". I've been wearing them for about 4 hours now and they are still comfortable to me. And I have a pretty large head...I always have to buy hats in 'XL'.

Soundwise: Pretty good overall. Still a slightly 'closed' feel, which is to be expected. Still, better in that regard than my $15 Koss 'phones. Much more noticable spaciation too. These also do a much better job of isolating from outside noise. A little fiddling with my equalizer on the mid-bass and highs produced a pretty nice, even sound. If it opens up and mellows a bit more after burning them in for a couple hundred hours, I think I will be pretty pleased with my purchase.

And the bass, wow. Maybe it isn't punchy (thankfully I don't like punchy), but it goes considerably deeper than my speakers/subwoofer (Ascend Acoustics CBM-170s + Dayton sub-kit for low freqs.) The heatbeat on Pink Floyd's "Speak to Me/Breathe" was perceptable a couple of seconds earlier than I usually hear it. Nice. I'll have to dig up a good classical organ CD and have a listen.

I think I'll post a real review once I break them in and get back from my trip in April.

Thanks all -

 

[SyntheticDream]

i want your speakers.... *drool*