[redshifter]

i've been bashing the labtec headphones they use in my lab without ever really trying them. so i took off my v6s and tried the labtec lt-835 my neighbor was using... MAN! i couldn't get those cans off my head fast enough! i just looked at him and said "i feel so sorry for you" (he just kind of shrugged his shoulders).

for semi-closed cans they have NO isolation. sound actually seems to get trapped and magnified in them.

the build is beyond flimsy, and they aren't even large enough to fit my head (made for microcephalics?).

and the sound.. the sound... (think "the horror... the horror.."), well, no highs, no lows (it must be bose!), & the soundstage was one big blurry smear. the response was so spikey it was like listening to a tin can on a string filled with wet cotton. i was expecting bad but not THIS bad!

well, if the orpheus is the apex of headphones, these labtec cans MUST be the nadir. i guess now we have a low-standard to compare against!

 

[joelongwood]

redshifter, I'll have to agree with you on this one. My son left behind a pair of LT-830s after I gave him my Senn HD-545s. I tried them on for about 10 seconds, and felt the same as you. There are literally no highs, or lows...........only a midrange mess that sounds as if its coming from the bottom of a canyon. Unbelievably bad!

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Now I know that I will NEVER buy ANY pair of Labtec headphones, such as the LT-crap, the LT-CRAP and the LT-CRUD models...

 

[redshifter]

now the guy with the labtec phones wants to try my v6 and "compare" the sound quality. if things slow down here i'll let him and post his views (from a non-headphone guy, obviously!). it is my dream to convert everyone in the lab to using good cans!

 

[sapphiremodena]

I've tried to convert some people to better headphones, but since my source is very bass-weak imo (Panasonic sl-sx510) they say my ex70's sound 'pretty good' rather than 'holy s***, nice bass!'
That is if they aren't too afraid of canalphones...
....or the price

 

[chych]

Hm, Grados can be great at the 'wow' factor, due to their awesome impact... My friend is so amazed at my rig, he is amazed at how when the bass comes, it does not 'fart' (in his nomenclature).

 

[redshifter]

they guy i borrowed the labtec cans from tried my v6 headphones to compare. the music was a 320 kbps mp3 of the grateful dead's "casey jones", the only music i had that he knew. he put the v6s on backwards; when i pointed this out to him he shrugged. after a long listening session he said he could hear a lot more of the "background sounds" with the v6, i guess layman's terms for more detail. he also said they were a lot clearer than the labtec. to get that "wow factor" i needed something with good bass, like eno or stereolab.

microsoft could buy a bunch of sony cd180s and they would at least sound better than the labtecs, imho. the only other person i met in my building who knew headphones (he is an ex-sound engineer) had a pair of "troklian star cruiser" headphones from sennheiser.. supplied by ms.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

redshifter, if only my company (if it uses headphones on the job) could buy inexpensive closed headphones, I would have persuaded the company to buy the Koss UR-20's or UR-30's instead of those crappy Labtecs or the almost-as-cruddy Sony CD180's...

Those Koss UR## series headphones have a bit too much bass, but the rest of the sound doesn't suck as badly as other cheap closed headphones!

 

[Tim D]

What exactly are they using the headphones for anyhow? In another tech company, I saw usage of Senn HD250 II's and AKG240's for evaluating speech processing. Oh and LynxOne soundcards.

 

[coolvij]

chych: LOL! Now THAT is a potential audiophile....I mean.....he *perfectly* described the difference between GOOD BASS headphones and BAD BASS headphones.....

 

[redshifter]

Quote:

What exactly are they using the headphones for anyhow?

mostly for listening to and testing multimedia software (windows media player). i'm going to make a recommendation to our buyer re: headphones, from cheap to great. how would you fill in these catagories for closed headphones?

$20-$30


$30-$40


$40-$60


$60-$100
mdr-v6

 

[coolvij]

WHOOPS!

Sorry - shoulda read it more carefully....if you need close, I CHANGE my recommendations.....

20-40: Koss UR-20/30 (30s are foldable)

40-60: Sony EX70

60-100: Sony V6

100+: Sennheiser HD25, Beyer 770s....

Just my personal picks.....

 

[hongda]

vij, don't mean to be rude, but ummm, catagories for closed headphones. unless I'm mistaken only the V6 are closed. and the grado's definately aren't closed =)

 

[redshifter]

that's cool, vij, thanks for the suggestions. they really need to be closed because they pack 'em in in some of the labs (like ear to ear almost), so isolation is needed.

are there some low cost koss cans that are decent & closed?

 

[coolvij]

hongda: it was my bad - you weren't rude at all. Thanx for the "hint" lol