[Musicdiddy]

I know there are plenty of threads on suggestions for headphones but I am looking for 'phones for bedtime listening with my imod/Lisa III rig. At the moment I am using my UE Triple.Fi with this rig & I am very happy with the sound these provide. However the comfort is an issue. I have tried all the different tips but I cannot use any of them for an extended period of time. I had considered closed full size cans (so that I don't disturb the wife), but wearing these with your head on the pillow can be a pain.
I suppose my main option is to go the custom route but I would welcome any suggestions.
Thanks.

 

[gintonic]

I have tried a variety of headphones for sleepy time listening. In fact, specifically for falling asleep while listening.

All the ear buds I tried fell out or were too uncomfortable (those Senns with the athletic gripper post thingy... yow). So IEMs became my real choice here.

My Super-fi's worked OK. They were somewhat uncomfortable when lying sideways with my head against a pillow. Also, they felt a smidge too fragile to think they'd last for long this way. I would not even try my Ety's... too much fear they would push in too far or break, or god knows what.

What works great for me, are my Senn CX300's. They are pretty comfortable, are small enough to seat quite flush with my ears, seal out a good amount of ambient noise, and don't make any enormous sonic blunders. I can rest my head sideways on a pillow no problem, though I wish the cord were a foot or so longer.

To be fair, about 50% of my listening at this time is audiobooks... and the rest of my listening is decidedly uncritical music, more on the relaxed side of the genre spectrum. The source for this type of listening is my iPod with or without my RSA Tomahawk/ALO Jumbo Cryodock. I'm sure I am not challenging this gear very much at bedtime.

Many noisy hotels (and the occassionally snoring spouse) have fallen to the mighty Senn's combination of quality sound, a reasonable isolation factor, and comfort good enough to bring on the zzzz's. The iPod's sleep timer is a bonus too.

With all this, I must warn - it's obviously risky to put things in your ears at night, and wrap a cord around your neck. As this is my first post here, I hope to avoid being completely flamed - but be careful with your ears and electrical stuff and cords while in bed!

Best of luck, and let me know what you find!

 

[hughwi]

I would also like to add a vote here for the JVC marshmallows, which fit quite nicely and are very comfortable, even when sleeping with your ears on the pillow

 

[DDF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Musicdiddy /img/forum/go_quote.gif I know there are plenty of threads on suggestions for headphones but I am looking for 'phones for bedtime listening with my imod/Lisa III rig. At the moment I am using my UE Triple.Fi with this rig & I am very happy with the sound these provide. However the comfort is an issue. I have tried all the different tips but I cannot use any of them for an extended period of time. I had considered closed full size cans (so that I don't disturb the wife), but wearing these with your head on the pillow can be a pain. I suppose my main option is to go the custom route but I would welcome any suggestions. Thanks.

After about a year of looking, and various headphone tries (im716, Sony EX81 (yuch), DJ81K (uncomfy, no resolution but great seal), BT250-250 (good sound but very sweaty), DT770 (OK at everything but not ultra refined)), I finally settled on the Denon D2000s for my bed side.

They're ultra comfortabe, and I pass out with them on all the time. They also sound better than all the other sealed contenders I tried. So long as you're not the restless type, they stay on fine and are very very comfy, and not sweaty in the least. While they aren't great at stopping sound from leaking in, they are OK at at stopping sound from leaking out (classified as "closed" but not quite as closed as some). If your wife snores, you're out of luck.

If she's ultra sensitive to sound, you may want to try something with even more seal, such as the DT770.

Some complain that they find D2000s bass heavy, but at low levels for bed listening, that's just perfect.

The D2000s are also very sensitive, so make sure that your amp is low gain, or you can reduce the source o/p into the amp. I run a Gilmore Lite modded for a gain of unity.

 

[huhwhat]

If you're willing to shell out, I'd say the Yuin PK series is your best bet. Good audio quality (or superb in PK1's case) and if you feel like it, you can lay on one side of your head with zero discomfort.

 

[LaBreaHead]

For comfort, the Westone UM1's or the somewhat expensive UM2's, with their soft Comply foam tips, would work well -- the 'phones rest in the ear fairly flush and don't really stick out, so you could lie on your side if you wanted to. Additionally, the sound signature is said to be fairly soothing/laid back (i.e., not bright). IEMs would provide significant isolation, though -- would that be good?

Or, as mentioned above, something a lot less expensive, like the somewhat-isolating Creative EP630 canal phones, with their soft silicone sleeves and near-zero sound leakage outward, would be a solution.

I vary night-time earphones -- I use Creative EP630's, Sennheiser PX100's (open headphones, so not good if a spouse or SO is trying to sleep), and Future Sonics Atrio M5's. The Creatives are very affordable (under $40 online), and easy to take out and put to one side as I'm drifting off to sleep.