[musicmaker]

I'd like to purchase headphones for office and travel use. Been reading reviews on the ones I shortlisted but I'm still unable to decide.

Budget: <= $200

Criteria (highest to lowest)
Sound quality
Comfort
Isolation
Portability

My shortlist (not in any particular order):

Audio Technica ATH-ES7
Equation Audio RP-21
Audio Technica ATH-ANC7 (liked the noise canceling feature but unsure of how SQ is compared to the others)
Denon AH-D1000

I play on buying a MP3 player which will feed these headphone via a XP-7 or just directly when I'm on the go.

Can you guy please post your suggestions ? If there are ones I havent shortlisted, that I should be considering please let me know as well.

 

[HFat]

Check saint.panda's paper on closed headphones.

 

[holland]

I think the ANC7 will win here with the ES7 behind. I'm not sure. I have 2 sets on order and will gauge for myself at that point. RP-21 loses on size. D1000, IIRC, doesn't isolate very well.

 

[musicmaker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by holland /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think the ANC7 will win here with the ES7 behind. I'm not sure. I have 2 sets on order and will gauge for myself at that point. RP-21 loses on size. D1000, IIRC, doesn't isolate very well.

Please post your impressions once you receive your headphone and are able to do some critical listening. The noise cancellation of the ANC7 is nice but I'm very curious to see if they compare to the ES7 on sound quality.

 

[grndslm]

Personally, when I put portability first on my criteria... durability's gonna have to be right up there on that list. This led me to the MDR-V6 (AKA: MDR-7506)... it's one of the most durable & versatile closed 'phones available, and is used by studio monitors across the country for a while. The ES7 might have a bit more forward mids, but I'm VERY happy with my V6. . . its bass is kickin' also! Only costs about $75....

 

[musicmaker]

I'll try the MDR-V6 and see if it suits my taste.

Has anyone listened to both the ES7 and ANC7 ? If so, how do they compare in terms of sounds quality ?

Should I include IEMs on my list ? I've always been a bit worried about the comfort and fit. But what I've read here is making me rethink this. Suggestions on what to consider ?

 

[holland]

I've tried IEMs for office use and for me it's not practical. On, off, on, off, repeat ad nauseum. It's not practical to me for travel either (if you've got toddlers you know what I mean). If you're not subject to that, then go for it.

There might be some impressions on the ANC7 thread in regards to the ES7. My ANC7s are back ordered till who knows when.

Definitely try the MDR-V6. It was unusable for me, too shrill...but the music I listen to is vastly different than yours.

 

[grndslm]

For portability reasons:

ES7 & V6... tho the ES7 might sound better with your music.

 

[Killercrush]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFat Check saint.panda's paper on closed headphones.

X 2 It's a very helpful read with your main criterias in graphs but It was written in 2005 I think so there's a few model missing.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=221069

 

[musicmaker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Killercrush /img/forum/go_quote.gif X 2 It's a very helpful read with your main criterias in graphs but It was written in 2005 I think so there's a few model missing. http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=221069

I've read it. Excellent paper. But like you mentioned some of the models I'm considering are not covered obviously.

 

[Mortalcoil]

Senn HD25-1 (velour pads), or Beyer DT250-80. Both are good choices.

 

[musicmaker]

In case anyone is wondering, I ended up purchasing the ES7 from another headfier. My preference was circumaural cans but after reading the glowing reviews of the ATH-ES7s, I decided to try it out although they were supraaural. Heard them unamped first at the point of sale and was quite pleased. Went home and hooked it up to my setup (Cambridge Azur 640C -> Canare homemade cables -> XP-7). I liked what I heard very much. The refinement and dynamics ! They really shine with an amp. While they're not as accurate or airy as the HD650 (and I dont expect them to be), they have a very very nice fun sound. Not sure how comfortable these are going to be for very long listening sessions but as of now, the pads are soft and dont bother my ears. Let's see. For the price, these things are just amazing. Double thumbs up !

 

[ricmat]

man, grab the ES7. those are excelent headphones for the price! really! if you seek SQ, they are really great!

 

[msweeney]

Quote:

Originally Posted by musicmaker /img/forum/go_quote.gif In case anyone is wondering, I ended up purchasing the ES7 from another headfier. My preference was circumaural cans but after reading the glowing reviews of the ATH-ES7s, I decided to try it out although they were supraaural. Heard them unamped first at the point of sale and was quite pleased. Went home and hooked it up to my setup (Cambridge Azur 640C -> Canare homemade cables -> XP-7). I liked what I heard very much. The refinement and dynamics ! They really shine with an amp. While they're not as accurate or airy as the HD650 (and I dont expect them to be), they have a very very nice fun sound. Not sure how comfortable these are going to be for very long listening sessions but as of now, the pads are soft and dont bother my ears. Let's see. For the price, these things are just amazing. Double thumbs up !

Aren't the ES7 circumaural and NOT supraaural like musicmaker says?

 

[slag]

No, as far as I know, they're supraaural for most people.