tjmaxwell
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2004
- Posts
- 45
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- 0
Hello everyone,
I recently discussed my desire to "upgrade" my listening experience from the not-so-popular Bose Quiet Comfort 2 headphones. After discussing my listening habits, it seemed like the majority of the people here suggested the Audio Technica A900 headphones for my needs.
I should preface the following statements by saying that I'm about as far from an audiophile as possible. I actually thought the Bose QC2s sounded pretty darn good, and they were unbelievably comfortable. After reading all the dogging of Bose products on this forum, I thought I could do a lot better. I spent most of last weekend re-ripping my CD collection using LAME to prepare for a huge jump in sound quality. Finally, my A900 headphones arrived today and I ripped them open in anticipation.
My first impression is that these things are absolutely enormous. I've never had the opportunity to try on or listen to professional quality headphones, so I suppose this is just how they come. After trying them on, I found them comfortable, though not nearly as comfortable as the QC2s. I liked how there was a recessed space between the speakers themselves and the ear cups so your ears never actually touched anything with the QC2s. With the A900s, my ears rub against them and tend to get "crunched" a little. Granted, I have big ears that stick out a bit, so this might be the problem.
Anyway, I then fired up some of my newly-ripped music. Since I enjoy mostly classical and piano music, I fired up my 20 GB iPod and turned on the Lord of the Rings soundtrack first. I wouldn't say that the sound blew me away, but I noticed more detail in these than the QC2s. That's to be expected I suppose, but I guess I expected more. My reaction was basically the same to most of the other music I tried from various genres. The sound was good, but not much better than the QC2s -- at least to me.
Basically, I'm trying to decide what to do. Right now, I'm thinking that these things are just too big and bulky to use in a work/home environment. And since the sound isn't blowing me away, I'm not sure they're worth keeping. I actually threw on my $50 Sony EX71 earbuds after hearing these and quite enjoyed the sound of those as well. I'm thinking of perhaps trying some earbuds, and the logical choice is the Ety 4Ps. I'm just worried about comfort since I'll be wearing these at work for long periods of time.
So based on my situation (most music played on 3G 20 GB iPod, no amp, mostly classical/piano music with some rock/country thrown in, most music encoded using LAME, comfort a big issue, etc.), what are some other recommendations? If I went with over-the-ear headphones, I'd want a closed design so my co-workers wouldn't hear. Preferably, these would not be nearly as bulky as the A900s. Or perhaps a good, comfortable earbud. What would you suggest? My budget is in the $200-$300 range. Thanks!
I recently discussed my desire to "upgrade" my listening experience from the not-so-popular Bose Quiet Comfort 2 headphones. After discussing my listening habits, it seemed like the majority of the people here suggested the Audio Technica A900 headphones for my needs.
I should preface the following statements by saying that I'm about as far from an audiophile as possible. I actually thought the Bose QC2s sounded pretty darn good, and they were unbelievably comfortable. After reading all the dogging of Bose products on this forum, I thought I could do a lot better. I spent most of last weekend re-ripping my CD collection using LAME to prepare for a huge jump in sound quality. Finally, my A900 headphones arrived today and I ripped them open in anticipation.
My first impression is that these things are absolutely enormous. I've never had the opportunity to try on or listen to professional quality headphones, so I suppose this is just how they come. After trying them on, I found them comfortable, though not nearly as comfortable as the QC2s. I liked how there was a recessed space between the speakers themselves and the ear cups so your ears never actually touched anything with the QC2s. With the A900s, my ears rub against them and tend to get "crunched" a little. Granted, I have big ears that stick out a bit, so this might be the problem.
Anyway, I then fired up some of my newly-ripped music. Since I enjoy mostly classical and piano music, I fired up my 20 GB iPod and turned on the Lord of the Rings soundtrack first. I wouldn't say that the sound blew me away, but I noticed more detail in these than the QC2s. That's to be expected I suppose, but I guess I expected more. My reaction was basically the same to most of the other music I tried from various genres. The sound was good, but not much better than the QC2s -- at least to me.
Basically, I'm trying to decide what to do. Right now, I'm thinking that these things are just too big and bulky to use in a work/home environment. And since the sound isn't blowing me away, I'm not sure they're worth keeping. I actually threw on my $50 Sony EX71 earbuds after hearing these and quite enjoyed the sound of those as well. I'm thinking of perhaps trying some earbuds, and the logical choice is the Ety 4Ps. I'm just worried about comfort since I'll be wearing these at work for long periods of time.
So based on my situation (most music played on 3G 20 GB iPod, no amp, mostly classical/piano music with some rock/country thrown in, most music encoded using LAME, comfort a big issue, etc.), what are some other recommendations? If I went with over-the-ear headphones, I'd want a closed design so my co-workers wouldn't hear. Preferably, these would not be nearly as bulky as the A900s. Or perhaps a good, comfortable earbud. What would you suggest? My budget is in the $200-$300 range. Thanks!
