Bumpwell
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- May 12, 2014
- Posts
- 1
- Likes
- 0
My name is Patrick. I'm a huge EDM/House fan. I have actually started a DJ club at the school I teach at so that high school kids can DJ their own proms and other events. When I used to coach baseball, I treated myself to an expensive glove. So when I started "coaching" DJ kids, I thought I'd treat myself to a fancy pair of headphones. I bought the Beats Mixr. I know, I know... what can I say? Their marketing campaign is fantastic, and I was (still am) a headphone noob.
Now that I've been enlightened that there's better stuff out there, I'd like to upgrade the headphones and maybe even pick everyone's brain about my home set-up. I'm a teacher, so I'm not trying to break the bank but wouldn't mind splurging since I already spent $300 or so on my Beats.
So here are my wants, tangential questions, limitations, etc.:
I'm a new music junky, so I listen to all music through my phone (Galaxy S5, if that matters). I'd say I listen to 50% of music through Soundcloud, 30% through my podcast app, 15% through Spotify's subscription service, and 5% Pandora/Youtube/Grooveshark/other. This will not change. I'm not going to start buying CDs or something.
After doing a bit of research, I thought that the Sony MDR-XB500 might be a good fit. Reviewers say they are nicely balanced overall but feature sweet bass for hip-hop (or I was thinking dance music) fans. My concern is this: since I listen mostly through Soundcloud and other streaming apps, will these be a good pick? On other posts there was the "garbage in, garbage out" warning that even fantastic headphones won't be used to their full capabilities if your music is coming from a crummy source. Others mentioned that there are headphones out there that are more forgiving with regards to the source. Are these Sonys forgiving, or might they enhance the shortcomings of the source? For that matter, is streaming Soundcloud from my phone considered a weak source? The jury seemed out on that on other posts.
One thing I really like about the Beats is the detachable cord, which the Sony MDR-XB500 does not have. I guess what would be my dream headphone would be great Bluetooth ones, although I presume that once you go to Bluetooth you're really cutting into the sound quality.
I'd also love to have comfortable headphones. When DJing school events, the Beats are so tight it hurts to have them on for more than 20 min at a time.
So I think you have a pretty good idea of the limitations I'm considering and what I'm looking for.
One more thing: I did much more homework, albeit before I discovered this site, about a home bluetooth-enable wireless speaker. I like to bring my music with me all over my house but don't have the cash to install a multi-room home stereo system. Compare websites seemed to indicate that the Jawbone Big JamBox and the Beats Pill XL were pretty much a toss-up...similar specs with a few slightly different features. I went with the Beats Pill XL.
Is there such a thing as a great sounding wireless Bluetooth speaker, or are they all basically a huge compromise for the convenience. If they are worthwhile, did I get the right one or is there another you would recommend. Or, maybe there's another convenient alternative I haven't considered? Remember that the one thing I probably won't change is that I'm listening primarily to EDM from apps on my phone.
Thanks in advance folks, and I am truly excited to hear what you all have to say.
Now that I've been enlightened that there's better stuff out there, I'd like to upgrade the headphones and maybe even pick everyone's brain about my home set-up. I'm a teacher, so I'm not trying to break the bank but wouldn't mind splurging since I already spent $300 or so on my Beats.
So here are my wants, tangential questions, limitations, etc.:
I'm a new music junky, so I listen to all music through my phone (Galaxy S5, if that matters). I'd say I listen to 50% of music through Soundcloud, 30% through my podcast app, 15% through Spotify's subscription service, and 5% Pandora/Youtube/Grooveshark/other. This will not change. I'm not going to start buying CDs or something.
After doing a bit of research, I thought that the Sony MDR-XB500 might be a good fit. Reviewers say they are nicely balanced overall but feature sweet bass for hip-hop (or I was thinking dance music) fans. My concern is this: since I listen mostly through Soundcloud and other streaming apps, will these be a good pick? On other posts there was the "garbage in, garbage out" warning that even fantastic headphones won't be used to their full capabilities if your music is coming from a crummy source. Others mentioned that there are headphones out there that are more forgiving with regards to the source. Are these Sonys forgiving, or might they enhance the shortcomings of the source? For that matter, is streaming Soundcloud from my phone considered a weak source? The jury seemed out on that on other posts.
One thing I really like about the Beats is the detachable cord, which the Sony MDR-XB500 does not have. I guess what would be my dream headphone would be great Bluetooth ones, although I presume that once you go to Bluetooth you're really cutting into the sound quality.
I'd also love to have comfortable headphones. When DJing school events, the Beats are so tight it hurts to have them on for more than 20 min at a time.
So I think you have a pretty good idea of the limitations I'm considering and what I'm looking for.
One more thing: I did much more homework, albeit before I discovered this site, about a home bluetooth-enable wireless speaker. I like to bring my music with me all over my house but don't have the cash to install a multi-room home stereo system. Compare websites seemed to indicate that the Jawbone Big JamBox and the Beats Pill XL were pretty much a toss-up...similar specs with a few slightly different features. I went with the Beats Pill XL.
Is there such a thing as a great sounding wireless Bluetooth speaker, or are they all basically a huge compromise for the convenience. If they are worthwhile, did I get the right one or is there another you would recommend. Or, maybe there's another convenient alternative I haven't considered? Remember that the one thing I probably won't change is that I'm listening primarily to EDM from apps on my phone.
Thanks in advance folks, and I am truly excited to hear what you all have to say.
