uzziah
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2004
- Posts
- 4,049
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- 14
i don't feel like writing much, but perhaps this will help someone. i finally have my hands on these three phones, and sampled some jazz out of my iriver h120, 128kbps mp3 files. the recordings are from ken burns jazz collection, are old and full of static, but the differences between these phones presented themnselves. i'll say this much: if you take public transportation or are often in noisy situations you'd like to block out: ISOLATION is a godsend. i can't believe how much nicer it was riding the bus reading a book with these phones. the kids in front of my were carrying on, guesturing and talking loudly, but i couldn't hear almost anything. the bus can be rather stressful around here, but with these phones it's paradise. i DO find however that i care much less than i thought i would about the quality of the phones. 192kbps aac and cheap iem's is really all i long for. if i end up in the library that might change, but i generally avoid that place
if you've never tried iem's or good closed phones you owe it to yourself to give some cheap ones a try just to see how much of a difference isolation can make in a portable enviroment
er6i: my least favorite. didn't feel the emotion in the music. these are invaluable for riding the bus, but the discomfort and overall feel of the music felt dimmed. felt more like a "recording" and less like listening to the performers themselves than the other two.
ksc75: truly a lovely value. i found them relatively comfortable (albeit rather flimsy). the grados and these were very similar, but the sr60's presented a significant (albeit not mind blowing) improvement. very nice overall feel to the music. has that "presence" you feel when you know you're listening to good headphones.
sr60: a bit too bright for my ears, there's no wonder that these are budget champions. they held a level of detail and "live" feeling over the koss's.
what can i say? no surprises from what i expected (except perhaps the performance of the er6i's. next i intend to get some k81dj's. in the end i think i'll be replacing each of these three phones soon, as this little testing has helped me learn what i need in phones which is:
1 pair of portable cans, relatively cheap and fun, iem (more isolation) or standard (more comfort for me); i've found for myself (bus riding/walking accross campus etc. studying in a library would be a DIFFERENT story: would want better cans) that i unfortanetly have no place for the koss's, in that everywhere i take portable phones i need isolation. it's a shame because they're the first portable phones i've had that i really feel i could be content with. perhaps i can make them work, but in my situation isolation is just so important. portably for myself i've found that #1 is blocking out annoying bus-travelers/students, and #2 is sound quality (alas). i think when it comes to portable usage each person's usage is so different. from folks riding trains, buses, subways, to people jogging or what have you. i think the ksc75's would probably be just about the perfect workout phones as regular headbands can fall off, and iem's can isolate to much, especially for jogging outside.
2. home cans; grados are fun, and i imagine myself owning a higher end pair, but i need something more relaxed for studying etc.
anyway, no big deal, but i heartily reccomend that you really examine your own USAGE. it doesn't matter if something is great if it doesn't work for you.
i think i'm going to try the ep630's and k81dj's and choose between those and my er6i's as my portable phone directly from an ipod shuffle. the quest for home phones is another story
as far as the koss vs grado argument, i can't imagine saying that the koss is 90% of the sr60's. i would think more like 70%, but perhaps with mods that would be raised, i wouldn't be surprised, and the phones freakin rock, all comparisons aside
good luck and do what works for you
er6i: my least favorite. didn't feel the emotion in the music. these are invaluable for riding the bus, but the discomfort and overall feel of the music felt dimmed. felt more like a "recording" and less like listening to the performers themselves than the other two.
ksc75: truly a lovely value. i found them relatively comfortable (albeit rather flimsy). the grados and these were very similar, but the sr60's presented a significant (albeit not mind blowing) improvement. very nice overall feel to the music. has that "presence" you feel when you know you're listening to good headphones.
sr60: a bit too bright for my ears, there's no wonder that these are budget champions. they held a level of detail and "live" feeling over the koss's.
what can i say? no surprises from what i expected (except perhaps the performance of the er6i's. next i intend to get some k81dj's. in the end i think i'll be replacing each of these three phones soon, as this little testing has helped me learn what i need in phones which is:
1 pair of portable cans, relatively cheap and fun, iem (more isolation) or standard (more comfort for me); i've found for myself (bus riding/walking accross campus etc. studying in a library would be a DIFFERENT story: would want better cans) that i unfortanetly have no place for the koss's, in that everywhere i take portable phones i need isolation. it's a shame because they're the first portable phones i've had that i really feel i could be content with. perhaps i can make them work, but in my situation isolation is just so important. portably for myself i've found that #1 is blocking out annoying bus-travelers/students, and #2 is sound quality (alas). i think when it comes to portable usage each person's usage is so different. from folks riding trains, buses, subways, to people jogging or what have you. i think the ksc75's would probably be just about the perfect workout phones as regular headbands can fall off, and iem's can isolate to much, especially for jogging outside.
2. home cans; grados are fun, and i imagine myself owning a higher end pair, but i need something more relaxed for studying etc.
anyway, no big deal, but i heartily reccomend that you really examine your own USAGE. it doesn't matter if something is great if it doesn't work for you.
i think i'm going to try the ep630's and k81dj's and choose between those and my er6i's as my portable phone directly from an ipod shuffle. the quest for home phones is another story
as far as the koss vs grado argument, i can't imagine saying that the koss is 90% of the sr60's. i would think more like 70%, but perhaps with mods that would be raised, i wouldn't be surprised, and the phones freakin rock, all comparisons aside
good luck and do what works for you
