[NerdsofSteel]

 I'm using this cheap headset I bought a few years ago, and I was wondering if person could not tell the difference between a $15 one and $150 pair. I am sure there certain things to be consider, and I would like to know before I buy one I use this site http://www.noiseaddicts.com/2009/03/can-you-hear-this-hearing-test/ and the loudest I could hear was 8-10 khz so i am guessing its pretty bad and I am not sure what pair of headphones I should go with. And I use this sitehttp://www.audiocheck.net/testtones_hearingtestaudiogram.php and my dbl is around 60. So which type of headphones I should look at? Would any of them suffice?

 

[AndroidVageta]

Any of them will suffice and if you can only hear up to 8-10k then they will all be limited by that...however...I highly doubt 8-10k is your listening limit. I would bet more than anything that it's your headphones that are the limiting factor than your actual ears (as 8-10k being the best you can hear is QUITE bad).
 
As far as WHAT headphone you should get in that price range there are MANY...too many...I would say to check out the Audio Technica ATH-AD700 first.
 
Hope this helps!!!

 

[CantScareMe]

Your hearing is probably good - the headphone and your listening station may not extend well enough beyond 10khz. Persons hearing dropping off at 11.5khz is natural anyway.
 
Using them frequency tone generators isn't the way you really find all the differences between headphone capabilities. Listening to music is more useful. 

 

[NerdsofSteel]

  Your hearing is probably good - the headphone and your listening station may not extend well enough beyond 10khz. Persons hearing dropping off at 11.5khz is natural anyway.
 
Using them frequency tone generators isn't the way you really find all the differences between headphone capabilities. Listening to music is more useful. 

I try both my headset and my logtech z506 speakers and I saw no difference really. of course I don't have a sound for my gaming computer, so maybe thats why the frequency is so low. Not sure really. How bad is 8-10k really?

 

[CantScareMe]

try a free program called 'sinegen'
 
probably better than the online one.

 

[NerdsofSteel]

  try a free program called 'sinegen'
 
probably better than the online one.

so i download, and fiddle around with it and i think the best I got was 5k hz at 37.5 db(this is the highest). How's this? And my ears got a little bit warm and when I use the app, is this normal?

 

[CantScareMe]

hmmm, with sinegen it's not the db that I would look at. It's the frequency. 
 
Set the volume (db) at like a level where 100hz can be heard comfortably, then move the frequency control only. You're hearing will follow a curve (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fletcher%E2%80%93Munson_curves) but that's natural.

 

[kramer5150]

My hearing is not what it once was, years of blasting them with overdriven/distorted guitar tones have taken their toll.  I have some natural, old age occurring high frequency loss above 8-9khz.  Sometimes when I lean forward, bend over to pick things up, or just lean over my guitar to see the frets I get this AWFUL muted crackling distortion in my left ear.  It sounds like DC oscillation at ~3khz (for those of you in DIY amp-land unfortunate enough to experience this as I have on my builds).  Certain treble boosted sounds also trigger mild / temporary (thankfully) tinnitus.
 
With my shoddy hearing... I can VERY EASILY hear the differences between a $15 and a 150 headphone.  Even the very best ~$15 headphone like the KSC75... theres still a world of difference between it and cans like the SR125, K240s...etc.  Theres some real fodder out there manufacturers are selling to the unsuspecting public.... at both price points.  Case in point, my KSC75 I think sounds better than my $135 Bose AE2, particularly in the upper midrange and treble... which is a grainy, congested mess on the Bose.

 

[NerdsofSteel]

  hmmm, with sinegen it's not the db that I would look at. It's the frequency. 
 
Set the volume (db) at like a level where 100hz can be heard comfortably, then move the frequency control only. You're hearing will follow a curve (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fletcher%E2%80%93Munson_curves) but that's natural.

I wasn't able to hear at 100hz and I set the db pretty high. However, if I set the db to 12, I can hear it. Time for a hearing check?

 

[CantScareMe]

Play around with it and have fun 

   though keep the volume normal/low!

 

[ProtegeManiac]

 

Could a person not tell the difference between headphones?

 
All my friends who were in a band with me can tell the difference between headphones and also speakers when I brought them over to a local Hi-Fi show (our drummer and bassist practically drooled all over the Stella Utopia on acoustic music, then on the Dyn Contour S5.4 for heavy metal), at least before I told them the ballpark prices and they decided to stick with saving up for headphones, knowing how much my reference system cost (waaaay less than $1,000). Their partners/wives can't, except for Grados (and for my car audio friends, a basic Focal set-up with no flattening EQ), where even the $60 SR60's immediately made them note that it's a better headphone than anything else. Between the HD600, K701, and a Creative gaming headset for example they can't tell any difference.

 

[NerdsofSteel]

   
All my friends who were in a band with me can tell the difference between headphones and also speakers when I brought them over to a local Hi-Fi show (our drummer and bassist practically drooled all over the Stella Utopia on acoustic music, then on the Dyn Contour S5.4 for heavy metal), at least before I told them the ballpark prices and they decided to stick with saving up for headphones, knowing how much my reference system cost (waaaay less than $1,000). Their partners/wives can't, except for Grados (and for my car audio friends, a basic Focal set-up with no flattening EQ), where even the $60 SR60's immediately made them note that it's a better headphone than anything else. Between the HD600, K701, and a Creative gaming headset for example they can't tell any difference.

why the grado's though then the other headphones? 

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  why the grado's though then the other headphones? 

 
Along with the Focals without a flattening EQ profile, Grados are known for having that very forward, eye-opening sound. You'd have to be really tone deaf to not notice the drums are jumping out at you. And while I wear Grados slightly forward of the ear canals to minimize midrange glare, these people would prefer them smack over the ear canals.

 

[NerdsofSteel]

   
Along with the Focals without a flattening EQ profile, Grados are known for having that very forward, eye-opening sound. You'd have to be really tone deaf to not notice the drums are jumping out at you. And while I wear Grados slightly forward of the ear canals to minimize midrange glare, these people would prefer them smack over the ear canals.

Any other headphones I should look at around $150? I would get the grado's but the sellers wont ship them to sri lanka for some reason.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  Any other headphones I should look at around $150? I would get the grado's but the sellers wont ship them to sri lanka for some reason.

 
Not sure what would be so easily discernible as Grados' very forward mids, but I think there's a variant of the HD25 (I think the HD25-1 II) that sounds like a Grado. Not sure if it's available anywhere for only $150 though.