Headphone purchase mistake :-(

[adam917]

OK. I was looking for something similar to my Sony MDR-CD180 that has a bit more volume and can double as ear-muffs for winter time (it's strting to get cold where I am now), and it seems like from what was stated in photos & store adverts, the Sony MDR-V250 seemed right. How wrong I was. I read something like 104 dB/mW sensitivity and that these definitely cover your ears, but they don't and are only 98 dB/mW (does this affect the volume level, or is my portable stuff lacking in the power deptartment?). These don't double as ear-muffs (my biggest disappointment), and they are pretty low on my portable. My Sony MDR-A35G does much better and says '104 dB/1 mW' for sensitvity and those are just sport walkman headphones.

I bet I'm going to get told here that I should've evalulated more thouroughly, but how can you do this online? You can try them on your head and actually listen to them before buying online.

So what can I do now with these? I still have the package and receipt from J&R Music World, so I may be able to send them back, but would I lose due to shipping costs and maybe a restocking fee? We're only talking about ~25 USD here.

In the future, I may consider buying something like the Koss PRO-4AAT, but only after being able to test first. Anyone here know what could I use that's under 40 USD, can double as ear-muffs (like the Sony MDR-CD180 is), and can give decent volume & sound quality when used with current portable audio devices?

Thanks very much...

 

[blessingx]

Maybe this?

 

[jagorev]

HD 201

 

[Inkmo]

I, too, find myself tempted to put my HD201 on on cold days, but that thing that blessing posted looks really interesting..

If you get really desperate, just get some KSC75 and some earmuffs and do a mod...

 

[Firam]

HD280's don't work too bad either.

 

[sgrossklass]

The MDR-Vxx0 series doesn't have a bad reputation here for nothing. A MDR-XD200 (or the apparently more comfy XD300) would have been better. (Rated 102 dB/mW.)

 

[muckluck]

Don't go for the Koss Pro3 or Pro4. They were really bright and weren't all that comfortable. Listening to them for more then a half an hour resulted in a bad headache and ear pain. The hinges on them really didn't hold up that well and kept breaking (lifetime warrenty is a good thing).

 

[adam917]

How's the Koss PRO-4AAT (or whatever that 70-USD model is that some sworn by for decades)? Some negatives I heard about them, though, are that they are heavy and take a lot of power to drive.

I was thinking of the Sennheiser HD-201, though I probably won't buy unless I can test them out in-person or at least look at them up close. I'm guessing those are the best 20-USD ones around? (I bet about 99 % of headphones that are 20 USD are really bad for home use, but perhaps OK for walkmans?)

 

[adam917]

Quote:

Originally Posted by muckluck Don't go for the Koss Pro3 or Pro4. They were really bright and weren't all that comfortable. Listening to them for more then a half an hour resulted in a bad headache and ear pain. The hinges on them really didn't hold up that well and kept breaking (lifetime warrenty is a good thing).

Yeah. I had some bad experiences with one Koss model that costed around 29 USD that I was given thrice. (They were supra-aural.)

For non-winter listening, their 'The Plug'/'The Spark Plug' seem like nice earphones/earbuds.

 

[muckluck]

Quote:

Originally Posted by adam917 How's the Koss PRO-4AAT (or whatever that 70-USD model is that some sworn by for decades)? Some negatives I heard about them, though, are that they are heavy and take a lot of power to drive. I was thinking of the Sennheiser HD-201, though I probably won't buy unless I can test them out in-person or at least look at them up close. I'm guessing those are the best 20-USD ones around? (I bet about 99 % of headphones that are 20 USD are really bad for home use, but perhaps OK for walkmans?)

The Koss PRO4 is not a good headphone.

 

[muckluck]

first double post...