naudebo
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2010
- Posts
- 6
- Likes
- 0
Greetings, head-fi'ers...
I've been trolling around on these boards for a few weeks, and have been amazed by the wealth of knowledge by everyone here. I'm new to this, having never owned a quality set of headphones before. I do have an appreciation of good sound, and know better than to get duped into the Bose/Beats promotional and marketing money suck. That being said, I've listened to the Bose demos in the store and enjoyed the sound in comparison to my cheap headphones now - and know that I can still do a LOT better for less $.
I'm working with a budget of $200. From what I've read around here, it's helpful to describe exactly what I'm looking to use these headphones for and what type of music/other stuff I'm planning on listening to. So, I'm going to do just that - and I'd really appreciate any help you all can give me. Please let me know which set of phones you'd choose if you were me, and why. Then, I can do some research from there, and make a well-educated choice. For me, when I'm going to spend money, I want the best bang for the buck and I plan to keep stuff for years. I will spend money - but I will not waste it. Quality construction is important to me, since I won't replace these any time soon.
For the most part, I spend most of my listening time with my laptop - an HP Pavilion DV6 with no additional sound card improvements beyond the way it came out of the box. While most of my use is at home, I do take the laptop out to places to work occasionally, and fly 4-6 times a year. I considered active noise cancellation, but from what I'm reading, I won't be thrilled with the sound quality given my budget.
I spend a lot of time listening to Pandora. I've never been one to buy a lot of music - don't have much in the way of MP3's or a large CD collection. I like lots of different music, get tired of hearing the same thing over and over again, and hate spending money to purchase music. I listen primarily to alternative, mainstream rock, rap, and orchestra music - with other stuff mixed in.
Heavy bass does not impress me. I love great midrange, and to be able to discern the individual components of the music I listen to. Crisp, clear voices, the detail in instrumentals, and overall clarity is what I care about the most. In addition to music, I actually listen to a lot of podcasts as well. While quality audio doesn't matter as much for that, it's something to keep in mind. When traveling, I'll use the laptop to watch movies, and sometimes watch movies at home on my patio. At home, I'll also use it for streaming live sports and would like to listen to the game while my wife's watching something else in the other room.
Occasionally, I would be using the headphones on my iPod, but for the most part I use the iPod when I'm working out with a cheap pair of sport headphones.
As for fit and comfort, and the closed/open decision - I have a big head, but fairly small ears. I'm leaning towards closed phones since I may use them at work sometimes, and also when I travel. I would like the benefit of good passive noise reduction for my flights. Definitely want something fully around-ear and not just over-ear.
So, what should I do from here? Do I need to consider upgrading my sound card first? I don't know how good the onboard sound is on this laptop. I think it's better than most, as it has been designed for multimedia use, but I'm sure it's not great. How important is amplification? I think my preference is to spend the money on headphones that don't need a lot of help to drive. I'd like to stay fairly portable.
Branding doesn't matter to me. Whatever sounds the best for what I'm using these for, I'm open to anything. Thanks in advance for your input!
I've been trolling around on these boards for a few weeks, and have been amazed by the wealth of knowledge by everyone here. I'm new to this, having never owned a quality set of headphones before. I do have an appreciation of good sound, and know better than to get duped into the Bose/Beats promotional and marketing money suck. That being said, I've listened to the Bose demos in the store and enjoyed the sound in comparison to my cheap headphones now - and know that I can still do a LOT better for less $.
I'm working with a budget of $200. From what I've read around here, it's helpful to describe exactly what I'm looking to use these headphones for and what type of music/other stuff I'm planning on listening to. So, I'm going to do just that - and I'd really appreciate any help you all can give me. Please let me know which set of phones you'd choose if you were me, and why. Then, I can do some research from there, and make a well-educated choice. For me, when I'm going to spend money, I want the best bang for the buck and I plan to keep stuff for years. I will spend money - but I will not waste it. Quality construction is important to me, since I won't replace these any time soon.
For the most part, I spend most of my listening time with my laptop - an HP Pavilion DV6 with no additional sound card improvements beyond the way it came out of the box. While most of my use is at home, I do take the laptop out to places to work occasionally, and fly 4-6 times a year. I considered active noise cancellation, but from what I'm reading, I won't be thrilled with the sound quality given my budget.
I spend a lot of time listening to Pandora. I've never been one to buy a lot of music - don't have much in the way of MP3's or a large CD collection. I like lots of different music, get tired of hearing the same thing over and over again, and hate spending money to purchase music. I listen primarily to alternative, mainstream rock, rap, and orchestra music - with other stuff mixed in.
Heavy bass does not impress me. I love great midrange, and to be able to discern the individual components of the music I listen to. Crisp, clear voices, the detail in instrumentals, and overall clarity is what I care about the most. In addition to music, I actually listen to a lot of podcasts as well. While quality audio doesn't matter as much for that, it's something to keep in mind. When traveling, I'll use the laptop to watch movies, and sometimes watch movies at home on my patio. At home, I'll also use it for streaming live sports and would like to listen to the game while my wife's watching something else in the other room.
Occasionally, I would be using the headphones on my iPod, but for the most part I use the iPod when I'm working out with a cheap pair of sport headphones.
As for fit and comfort, and the closed/open decision - I have a big head, but fairly small ears. I'm leaning towards closed phones since I may use them at work sometimes, and also when I travel. I would like the benefit of good passive noise reduction for my flights. Definitely want something fully around-ear and not just over-ear.
So, what should I do from here? Do I need to consider upgrading my sound card first? I don't know how good the onboard sound is on this laptop. I think it's better than most, as it has been designed for multimedia use, but I'm sure it's not great. How important is amplification? I think my preference is to spend the money on headphones that don't need a lot of help to drive. I'd like to stay fairly portable.
Branding doesn't matter to me. Whatever sounds the best for what I'm using these for, I'm open to anything. Thanks in advance for your input!
