[Hoshyoto]

Hi, this is my first time posting here. Although I've read through quite a few of the headphone posts, I haven't found advice that directly addresses my situation. I am NOT an audiophile with a highly tuned ear. I have a relatively large song collection that has been ripped into AAC format at 128 kbps. Although I understand that this is considered to be a low quality bit rate, my ear is not developed enough to notice the diference between it and 256. My current need is for a set of headphones that I will be using with my iPod. The two locations I will be using my iPod most of the time are at the gym while working out, and in a factory that I work at during lunch breaks. Due to the large amounts of background noise at both these locations, I will need something that is fairly isolating. Judging from the reviews that I have read here, I would imagine that this would lead me to a pair of ear-canal phones. My question is: given my lack of sensitivity and amount of background noise, which ones would give me the best sound quality that I would be able to notice? Also, while I may not notice the difference between the 128 and 256 bitrates, I definitely can tell the difference between the 128 and anything lower. Also, I have tried the Phillips HE-592s along with a pair of cheap Koss ear clips (sorry, don't have the item #) and could definitely tell that the Koss' were much "cleaner" sounding than the Phillips.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Hoshyoto

 

[lindrone]

Most likely, after you get any headphones we recommend, you might be able to tell the difference between 128kbps and 192kbps... It's just what you have now doesn't allow you to. If you can hear the difference between what's lower than 128kbps, it's an indication that you can in fact tell a difference.

Anyway, the recommendation as always, it's either Shure E2c or Etymotic ER-6.

 

[terrymx]

i second the shure e2c (around $80 new), once you learn how to put it on, they stay in your ears snugly and isolate a large amount of noise. sometime i think they isolate too much. with this you can easily tell the different between the 128kbs and 256kbs.

by the way, if you stay here too long you will find your self spending a lot of money on audio equipments. more than you expected.

i miss my eggo. (dont worry about this, it doesnt concern this post.)

 

[Hoshyoto]

First, thanks for the quick responses.

I think I may not have been clear about what I was looking for though. I realize that this may be blasphemous in this forum, but I am CURRENTLY perfectly happy with the sound of my music at 128kbps, especially since I'm listening to it in a noisy factory or gym most of the time. I guess what I am looking for is a set of headphones that will provide me the best sound with these music files, in other words I would prefer to get headphones that aren't so clear as to make the defaults of the lower bitrate blatently obvious, but still are isolating and have a relatively good sound.

...of course I will probably wind up with a high end pair another year from now, but let's cross that bridge when we come to it

Thanks again,

Hoshyoto

 

[Bolt San]

Hmm...
Sennheiser HD-202.
At lower bit rates you lose a lot of the extremes, and what do you know, the HD-202s lose a lot of them anyway!
They're pretty good for the price though, and especially if you're using low quality files.

 

[Buster Sword]

I also can recommend the shure e2c. Just make sure to angle them in correctly for greater bass response. Thaddy likes this a whole lot, and I trust his advice based on very similiar types of experience and from sharkys forums.

http://www.sharkyforums.com/showthre...hreadid=230847

 

[Jasper994]

If you really do want lo-fi, just get some Koss Plugs, Sony EX70 or EX71's...

 

[wilfredt]

Quote:

Originally posted by Jasper994 If you really do want lo-fi, just get some Koss Plugs, Sony EX70 or EX71's...

I second that, if you insists on listening low bit rate files....

But if you don't need noise isolation, I will definitely recommends ATH CM7Ti(Or CM7), which actually can improve your listening experience on your sound files with this level of quality.

 

[Hoshyoto]

Quote:

Originally posted by wilfredt I second that, if you insists on listening low bit rate files.... But if you don't need noise isolation, I will definitely recommends ATH CM7Ti(Or CM7), which actually can improve your listening experience on your sound files with this level of quality.

Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't WANT to enjoy high fidelity audio, as a matter of fact, I will probably be reencoding all my cds over the course of the next couple of months into a higher bitrate, and based off of the advice and information I've read in these forums pick up the e3c or e2c headphones. However, given the very loud background noise at work, unless the shures are completely noise cancelling, which I understand that they are not, I won't be able to truely appreciate them. That's why I am looking for a lower quality pair.

 

[lindrone]

In fact, canalphones such as Shure and Etymotic are the best headphones particularly for your situation. They isolate you from more noise than any noise cancellation headphone will ever do.

Canalphones are like earplugs, basically.. with a good fit and the right plug, you can attenuate up to 30db of sound. It's more than any other type of headphone can ever offer.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Actually your ability to discern mp3 artifacts may not improve that much with a headphone upgrade. Back at hydrogenaudio forums those who have a good ear for mp3 problems often claim they can hear the difference even through tinny computer speakers. In fact, an argument could be made that you can pick up mp3 artifacts better on a system with bad frequency response--because mp3 encoders are programmed to encode the music so that it sounds the same as the original when played back properly on equipment with flat frequency response. Using cheap tinny earbuds violates that assumption; artifacts in a frequency band that the encoder thought would be safely masked by other frequencies may become unmasked if that frequency band is especially emphasized by your cheap buds.

Therefore, my recommendation is to buy the best phones you can afford

Etymotics!

 

[Lisa]

Quote:

Originally posted by wilfredt I second that, if you insists on listening low bit rate files....

Oh come on!

AAC 128 aren't that bad.
Statements as "you can clearly hear the difference with headphones recommended by us" are a bit much if you ask me.
I for the life of me can't CLEARLY hear the difference between the original and a 128k mp3 (encoded by myself that is) on a iRiver ChromeX +Senn px100. (Higher gear I have yet to test mp3 on.) I do have an ear for details and mp3 is supposed to be a bit less in quality with 128 than AAC. I wonder, is Shure E2 that much better!?

And the second question is, does the person listening mind quality that's a bit less?
I know I much rather listen to some poor wma files with some PX100s or ms1s even, than wav files trough crap headphones.

-Edit-
Ok reading back no-one stated clearly. But I still have difficulties believing ipod + E2s make 128 AAC files sound like utter crap.

 

[dSquared]

Quote:

Originally posted by Hoshyoto Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't WANT to enjoy high fidelity audio, as a matter of fact, I will probably be reencoding all my cds over the course of the next couple of months into a higher bitrate, and based off of the advice and information I've read in these forums pick up the e3c or e2c headphones. However, given the very loud background noise at work, unless the shures are completely noise cancelling, which I understand that they are not, I won't be able to truely appreciate them. That's why I am looking for a lower quality pair.

I'd suggest ripping them in lossless format, and then creating encoded versions (mainly to save yourself a great deal of effort as better encoding formats are introduced).

And 128kb AAC are fine. It's the *gym*, not a dedicated listening room. Maybe it's just me, but the annoying 6 song playlist, pickup lines, and assorted clanking/groaning/heaving breathing (wow, that sentence ended up in a different place) don't make an ideal listening environment.

 

[Hoshyoto]

Quote:

Originally posted by dSquared I'd suggest ripping them in lossless format, and then creating encoded versions (mainly to save yourself a great deal of effort as better encoding formats are introduced).

Thanks for the advice, I hadn't thought about that. I do have a spare 40gig hard drive that's just sitting on my PC without anything on it yet. Maybe it's time to change that

 

[kunwar]

you could try out Koss KSC-50 or 55's
they are reputed to be pretty good