Great transparent headphones wanted!
Jul 14, 2002 at 12:55 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 17

MTRH

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Hey,
I'm looking for advice on a pair of transparent headphones.
what do I mean by that? - I wan't no coloring of the sound, balansed response and preferrably closed cans.
If I say I have BM15A's at home and want similar quality headphones, I think that tell what I want.
they should reveal as much sounds as possible since their intended for codec testing.

Any ideas?
 
Jul 14, 2002 at 4:16 PM Post #3 of 17
A good price/performance point for a very transparent uncolored sound is the Stax Classic II system. If you have more money to spend, the other Stax systems are better. I cannot recommend the Stax Basic II (cheaper than the Classic II) because of its sharp frequency roll off at the extremes.

Another suggestion would probably be a good amplifier and the Etymotic ER-4S ear canal headphones. A good amp for them if you buy a commercial amp is the Corda HA-1.

There are many other good headphones and amps but this is what I'd recommend if neutrality and transparency are of utmost priority.
 
Jul 14, 2002 at 6:13 PM Post #4 of 17
Thank you for your reply kelly.
The Stax's were amazing and I'll try to find out where I can test them around here (South Sweden)
but the Etymotics.. omg that's really interesting..
I've taken interest in the ER-4P model..
hmm.. gotta find this ****
biggrin.gif

keep em coming
wink.gif
 
Jul 14, 2002 at 6:32 PM Post #5 of 17
Oops, sorry I just saw that you said closed. The Stax are not closed. For closed, your options are Etymotic and (reportedly) Sony R10. I've not heard the R10 myself.

The ER-4S is a lot better than the ER-4P, by the way.
 
Jul 14, 2002 at 7:15 PM Post #6 of 17
Quote:

your options are Etymotic and (reportedly) Sony R10.


Quote:

Oh.. perhaps I should add..
still as cheap as possible =)
hehe... BM15A's empties one's wallet.


Sony R10, Kelly?


If they are comfortable enough for you (some people can wear them without any problems, while others find them to be extremely painful to wear) you should try the Etymotic.
 
Jul 14, 2002 at 7:26 PM Post #7 of 17
KR
I have never heard the R10, thus the "reportedly" but every single person who has swears they sound very transparent. *shrug*
 
Jul 14, 2002 at 7:33 PM Post #8 of 17
Quote:

I have never heard the R10, thus the "reportedly" but every single person who has swears they sound very transparent. *shrug*



maybe, but he said "cheap as possible " at $4,000 a pair , who the heck would think that the R10 were cheap?
 
Jul 14, 2002 at 7:49 PM Post #9 of 17
Well, his studio monitors go for $3k and you can get the R10 for $1500 if you wait around for a pair. The real point of it is that there aren't any other closed cans that even pretend to be transparent. The Etymotic is really the only practical option.
 
Jul 14, 2002 at 8:53 PM Post #11 of 17
ER4S+META42. That's all you need
biggrin.gif


The Etys can be had for $300 at HeadRoom (www.headphone.com), the META42 varies in price from $60 (if you do it yourself, using cheap parts) to $600+ (if you want "bestofthebestofthebest" components and construction).
 
Jul 14, 2002 at 10:30 PM Post #14 of 17
Isn't the er4b closer to neutral? The ones that Vertigo has. Maybe I'm totally off though and mistook neutral for bright. :p

Biggie.
 
Jul 15, 2002 at 4:14 AM Post #15 of 17
Yes, this has been brought up several times. The 4B supposely matches the diffuse-field response of the ear canal better, but the 4S is designed for the best repsonse with consumer recordings designed for speakers(a 5db dip around 10khz).

I seriously considered getting the 4B and I somewhat regret not. Things like snare and cymbal smacks and horn over-tones could use a tad more presense at times(especially really clean recordings and recordings that are not as extremely closed mic'd).

If you are making recordings or doing monitoring, you should seriously consider the 4B over the 4S. I wonder if the fixup guy would make a 4B cable?
 

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