[Tommy311]

Hi! Im new to these forums, but it simply astonished me how shallow is my knowledge about headphones.
I am going to buy a new headphones. So far, I found only one headphones that were good. (Dont laugh! ) Headphones that were packed with SonyEricsson G502. Little foam covered buds. But the sound was ... amazingly good! Bass didnt lacked the punch, the high tones were clear and listenable, I just loved them.
Well... the things i look for on new headphones are:
- The shape of them (either little buds that are NOT stuck deep-in-ear, or portable sized like PortaPro)
- The sound. If you ask me, I dont like PortaPro. Overbassed, unbalanced, weak in high-mids, highs. So, the best would be something that can handle the beats of drum and bass style and still create a good feeling from soundtracks, or classical music.
- The price. Good quality for good price under 50€ (70 dollars i think).
 
If anyone has any ideas, please post them here !
 
Thank you for help in advance!

 

[DaBomb77766]

Quick question, have you ever used an IEM before?  You should at least give them a chance before completely dismissing them.
 
Anyway, there's a huge portable headphone review thread by Joker, and a small comparison of earbuds here:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/531063/quick-guide-comparison-and-ranks-top-10-earbuds
 
For the price you're asking, most of the good choices are IEMs, it'd be hard to find a truly exceptional earbud or portable headphone for that price.

 

[Tommy311]

Thank you ! This is EXACTLY what i was searching for
Too bad that I wouldnt be able to get those 9waves (too lazy to go ebaying), but i found MX580 and 880 at local e-shop for a good price.
Now comes the dilema .. which one! The almost-all-mighty (and heavy) MX880 or little-but-not-worse (and cheaper) MX 580 ? Some digging online will probably gets me an answer.
Anyway, thanks for the tip. I hope I will stay on this forum for some time.

 

[ostewart]

where do you live? because prices vary. but the AKG K518 DJ is a good choice, absolutely brilliant for drum and bass, and classical doesnt sound too bad. you will love them i think, if you take the foam pads out the middle they are better. they pack some really serious punch in the low end, and it doesnt drown out the other frequencys.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/551801/akg-k518-dj-review

 

[DaBomb77766]

Quote:

Thank you ! This is EXACTLY what i was searching for
Too bad that I wouldnt be able to get those 9waves (too lazy to go ebaying), but i found MX580 and 880 at local e-shop for a good price.
Now comes the dilema .. which one! The almost-all-mighty (and heavy) MX880 or little-but-not-worse (and cheaper) MX 580 ? Some digging online will probably gets me an answer.
Anyway, thanks for the tip. I hope I will stay on this forum for some time.

 
No problem, glad to help.
 
And honestly, I'd stay away from here if I were you, you're gonna end up spending a lot more money than you'd expect.

 

[Tommy311]

Randomkid ... good tip, but too big in my opinion. I dont like the idea of going out with big cans on my ears. (Btw, Im from Slovakia)
 
DaBomb - yeah, I just started looking after amplifiers ^_^ ... but the prices turned me away (fortunately :-D ). Hope my funds will stay where they are. (Did I said that I want to buy new Sandisk ? :-D )

 

[ostewart]

well they are not actually big, they are supra aural which means they sit on your ears they look bigger in pics than they actually are. And the sandisk players are good, i have a clip+ and they drive most headphones fine.

 

[Tommy311]

SOLVED.
 
Ive just bought new Sennheisers MX 880 and a new Sandisk Sansa Clip+ player for my absolute ear pleasure.
But ... still I need a few answers to be fully satisfied. Im not that kind of guy, that likes spamming around, so Ill post it here first.
 
1. What exactly is "burning in" headphones? (Everyone talks about it but I have no clue what is it.)
   I was hoping for more kick-ass bass punch from those buds. They are great, but somehow I need to pump the equalizer up to feel the bass. Will this change after burning ? Will anything change?
2. Why the Clip+ plays so quietly? Everything is maxxed, but I have to listen very carefully to hear the music. Will Rockbox solve this problem? (Yes, I will install it asap.)
 
Thank you for replies.

 

[kjk1281]

Quote:

1. What exactly is "burning in" headphones? (Everyone talks about it but I have no clue what is it.)
   I was hoping for more kick-ass bass punch from those buds. They are great, but somehow I need to pump the equalizer up to feel the bass. Will this change after burning ? Will anything change?
2. Why the Clip+ plays so quietly? Everything is maxxed, but I have to listen very carefully to hear the music. Will Rockbox solve this problem? (Yes, I will install it asap.)
 
Thank you for replies.

 

• Not sure if it's burn-in you need.  Are you using the foams on your MX880?  Usually fit is crucial in order to get the most bass out of earbuds, and foams are one way to achieve a better fit.   The Sennheiser buds (don't own the MX880, but do have many others) are also slightly hard to drive, which leads to number 2...
• Your Clip+ may be "Euro-capped."  In other words, the volume on the Clip+ has two settings, "Normal" and "High", and the European firmware usually locks out the High setting.  One way to get around this is to reapply the firmware, and, after updating, setting the region to America / U.S.  That should bring back the High volume setting.  (I'm not entirely sure, but applying Rockbox might also work, though I can't say for sure as I've only used it on a Clip that had U.S. firmware.)

 

[Tommy311]

Yeah ... Like if we, Europeans, are not used to high volumes. Ironicaly, I live in one of the most loudest cities in Europe (and world...).
Changing to America helped a LOT. Right now, Im rockboxing it.
This is start of a very long and noisy relationship
 
Btw, Im still curios about that burning in. Is there anything for newbies about this topic ?