[Alexeiom]

Hi all,
 
I've been discovering the head-fi world quite recently and... what a large world! As a newbie I am looking for:
 
isolation (will use the cans in metro and planes mostly)
different types of music (Rock, Daft Punk, Jazz...)
portable
 
Isolation being very important I purchased recently a pair of Etymotic HF3. What a disappointment in terms of comfort! I had headaches after 30 minutes and had the impression my ears got violated. So I'm questioning my capacity to accept iems...
 
So I've narrowed down my choices between ATH SJ55 and Marshall Major (100 euros can). Can you please give me your views based on my requirements?
 
Thanks!

 

[KaliKot]

I would say SJ55. It's a prettty impressive little portable can and a good performer for the price.
 
I have heard a demo Major and it's nothing but bass, it didnt impress me at all 

 

[sulvaat]

I recently listened to the SJ55 in a noisy dept store and can tell you that it does not isolate as much as I had hoped. Having also listened to the majors as well, but not at the same store, I can say it isolates much better. The SJ55 however, out-preform the majors in every other aspect.

 

[Alexeiom]

Thanks for your replies.
 
It seems that I would have to make a choice between SQ and isolation in this case. Would you recommend any other models?
 
 

 

[Alexeiom]

Forgot to mention that I also tried the Sony MDR-Z700  and was pretty impressed by the SQ.
Does anyone have input in terms of isolation?
 
Thanks!

 

[Alexeiom]

Any advice guys?
 
Thanks!

 

[singha]

Isolation often involves sacrificing comfort. I can't think of any headphone with more isolation than the HD280 but comfort will be a huge issue and the sound didn't impress me much. For a bit over a 100 euros, you may want to look into the HD25-1 or an HD25SP (cheaper with less isolation and not as impressive sound).  They both will give you as much isolation as I have every found in a supraaural and certainly more than the SJ55. I don't know much about the marshall major so can't help you there. You might want to include what kind of music you listen to cause these recommendations are based purely on isolation and portability.
 
Also, maybe you should reconsider IEMs if portability and isolation is really what you are looking for.

 

[Alexeiom]

Thanks singha!
 
In terms of music I'm mainly listening to some rock (Linkin Park, Nickelback...), electro (Daft Punk, Saint Germain...) and Jazz.
 
I really think iem are out cause my ears are too sensitive. I'm ready to sacrifice a bit of isolation for comfort. I've already tried the HD25 but did not feel comfortable at all (high clamping).
 
Any other suggestion?
Thanks! 

 

[mogumagnus]

Hm, how bout creative aurvana live, shure srh550dj, sony mdr v6, beyer dt235? All shld be within your budget with decent comfort lvls...

 

[Alexeiom]

Don't know about creative aurvana live and shure srh550dj... Will give them a try.
I've tried the sony mdr-z700 and V6: it seems that the z700 isolate more.
The beyer are definitely not isolating well.
 
Thanks!

 

[singha]

You should not judge all other IEMs based on the comfort of a deep inserting IEM. It has probably the best isolation isolation of any IEM, but comes at the sacrifice of comfort. There are IEMs out there that are a lot more comfortable and don't require jamming the headphone as far down your ear as possible.  It is no coincidence that their flagship line is called the Ear Rape 4 . I am not trying to convince you to go to IEMs, but am just trying to let you know that would give you the most isolation and portability.
 
Anyways, you can get a lot with a 100 euros. It seems like you're looking for an all arounder and are not exactly what type of sound signature you are looking for, so I think your safest bet would be the m50 and SRH840. Both are well loved on this site and have decent isolation (w/ the m50 having slightly more). You are rejected my HD25-1 do to comfort issues so be careful with the m50s because they can clamp pretty hard also.

 

[Koolpep]

Oh...

I owned the Marshall Majors and gave them away as a present. They do sound decent, even though I think you will find their audio quality with other brands more in the 50-60 dollar range.

They are built sturdy, foldable and they look really cool though smaller than you may expect. They are on-ear and as I have quite a big head were uncomfortable. The clamping force is insane.

However the clamping might go away after some time.

BUT, the Marshalls are produced by this company: http://www.zoundindustries.com/ who also make the headphones for Hello Kitty, StarWars, Levi's, Bershka, Kenneth Cole etc. NOT audiophile territory.

As I said, they sound fine and I guess they are custom designed for Marshall, however, the company Zound Industries claims:

"We design, develop, manufacture and sell lifestyle headphones. We make resonance couture."

They do not speak with a single word about the musical qualities of their headphones, but only their fashion value. At least that shows you the priorities...