[HiroshimaJoe]

Since I discovered this site I have with great interest read through numerous threads discussing the pros and cons of varius headsets. Over the course of a single day I've changed my mind on which set of headphones to get.

I have decided that the headphones are to be used mainly as portables, paired with a Sony discman (probably the NE10). I have got used to having a remote for my portable audio, and thus I would like to avoid a long dangling cord from the headphones. I use headphones when I'm on the go, which is mainly by bike (during summer) and by bus (during winter). I almost always have a backpack on, so storing the headphones away shouldn't pose a great problem.

I do not have any great experience with headphones, and have used the earphones that came with my past sony portables. I've tried a few headphones, mostly rather cheap Sennheisers, and most of them have been okay, but nothing that gave me a wow feeling.

I have listened to my brothers Philips HP550 for some hours, and they are alright, but I'm looking for some thing better. The soundisolation I find very good, but I actually prefer to be able to hear some of the surrounding traffic when I'm on the go, or if someone tries to get in contract with me. The only thing I can compare with are the stock sony earphones, which kept some noise out, but still let me hear what was needed.
One of my friends purchased a pair of Sennheiser HD202, and I find these to have way too boomy bass, and altogether just don't cut it.
I have also tried a pair of Sony CD780 at a friends house, but I wouldn't call them portable, although (if I recall correctly) they did sound pretty good.

I listen to mainly Rock, Hip Hop and electronic music, so there has to be some bass present in the headphones.

Requirments:
Can be driven from a portable CD or mp3 player

Would be nice if...
The cord was remote friendly
Headphones are collapsible
Have some bass

During my quest for the perfect headphones I have come across the following which I think could cover my needs (btw I'm not too fond of clipons):

Sony MDR D66SL Eggos
Pros: Good looking, collapsible, shot remote friendly cord
Cons: A bit expensive, some people find they lack bass

Sony EX71SL
Pros: Very portable since they are inearphones, have lots of bass
Cons: Don't know yet

Philips HS900
Pros: Collapsible, cheap
Cons: Breaks easily, a bit to the ugly side, medium legth cord

Audio Technica FC7
Pros: Collaptible, supposedly have good base, shot remote friendly cord
Cons: Don't know yet

These are some of the headphones that I am considdering, but there may be many more that I haven't heard of yet that are good contenders. The price is not the deciding factor, seeing as I would rather spend $100 on some headphones that sound good, than $50 on a set that are just okay. In other words I would like at least some wow effect, and to be pleased when I have to listen to music with my headphones on.

Just to let you guys know the budget will probably be $150 tops.

 

[EightyEight]

you can find the er4p used for around that price.

 

[Canman]

The Sony CD780 is a nice sounding headphone..but you're right certainly not portable. Unfortunately I don't think the D66 Eggos sound as good and really aren't that comfortable. They are definitely expensive for the suond that you get.

My favorite portable headphone under $50 is the Koss KSC-35. They are light, comfortable, have great bass, and an overall balanced sound. They are warm sounding and particularly good with rock and hip hop. For classical and acoustic jazz you can do better but not for the price. They are $30.00 at the Koss website. I tend to like very expensive headphones but I still love these. They have a pretty short cord so they would be remote friendly.

The Grado SR-60 is a great sounding headphone under $70 that is kind of but not really portable. It has a long thick cord and is not a collapsible design. The sound is great though. There are lots of opinions on this headphone if you do a search. Grado is working on a street style prototype that sounds very similar to the SR-60 and will be a great buy when that comes out.

 

[bangraman]

First of all, I'd suggest you don't source the NE10 within Europe. It'll severely limit your headphone options. Assuming thereafter that you're using a non European D-NE10, at the low end I would suggest the Sennheiser PX100 presuming isolation is not really that much of an issue. Not exactly a remote-friendly cord, but it's not ridiculously long either.


Getting to quality phones with some, but not too much isolation but still portable... that's quite a tough one. $150 in Europe will get you my generally recommended quality portable headphones (Sennheiser HD25-1) but it's very isolated.


Damn. I can't think of one I like beyond $100 with only a bit of isolation. The D66 Eggos are probably the closest to your requirements. However although they're collapsible, I ought to say that they're not pocketable when folded, too large. They are also a bit bass lean, which may or may not be a problem.

 

[HiroshimaJoe]

Thank you very much for the quick replies.

I am aware of the limited output from european portable players due to the annoying french laws. Besides the prices in Europe are usually rediculously high, and therefore I think I'll by the PCDP via bluetin.com since they have fair shipping prices and a low price on the unit itself. This wasy I should avoid the low output from the PCDP aswell.

I've heard lots of good things about the Koss KSC-35, and the price is very low. However I do dread the shippingprice will make them pretty expensive compared to the price of the headphones them selves, but they still might be worth it. Do any of you know the circa shipping prices from the USA to EU?
I'm going to Vancouver, Canada this summer, and if Koss and Grado are widely available this would be a good way to save alot on the shipping, plus give me the chance to listen to them before I decide.

The Grado phones have been praised in almost all the threads and reviews I have read, but quite a few people do mention that there is a comfort issue. Again seeing as I live in Denmark it would be rather expensive to buy replacement pads for Grado, but I think I read some place that you could use Sennheiser pads with the Grados to increase comfort. The pros for this phone is the sound quality, which fits with rock musik (not sure about Hip hop though) and the build looks to be very sturdy, meaning that the non-collapsible design doesn't mean they are not portable. However I am a little concerned about sound leakache. When I ride the bus a always find it a bit annoying when someone is blasting their headphones so loud that half the bus can hear the music, and I would hate to be one of those guys.
So my question is: are the Grados so open that the sound leachage is unacceptable?
And can you use them while biking, or does the wind make this impossible because of the open design?

I'm not sure if the Sennheisser HD25-1 are the same as the HD25SP, which were the only ones I could find.

I am currently considering buying a set of earphones (Sony EX70/71 or E888) when I need extreme portability, and then a set of big headphones like the Audio-Technica A500/900 when traveling by foot/bus/train/plane etc. and I have the option to store them away. Of course the headphone still has to be able to take the kind of beating that comes with the "backpack environment".

While writing the reply I checked some danish websites, an actually a shop In my city carries quite a few of the mentioned headphones, albeit at a steeper price than the ones mentioned here:

Koss KCS35 400kr (~$65)
Sennheiser HD 25SP 900kr (~$146)
Grado SR 60 800kr (~$132)
Sennheiser MX-500 170kr (alternative to Sony earbuds) (~$28)
Sony MDREX 71 SL 400kr (~$66)

They might have some of them on display, so this will be my next stop, and should give me an idea of which headphone sound I prefer.

 

[dj_mocok]

from the price of headphones in your country, i think everything is overly priced maybe except MX500 and KSC35 ?

 

[HiroshimaJoe]

dj_mocok - I can see that you use Sennheiser MX500 yourself, how are these? Could you recommend them over the Koss KSC35 taking the prices available to me in account.

 

[dj_mocok]

well, basically i havent tried ksc35 yet, so i cant give you any comparison between that one and mx500.
ive been using mx500 (to replace my stock earbuds from sony), and all i can say is, its much more refined, better earbuds than stock ones.
and for that price, you really cant go wrong with that.

but i think the koss ksc35 or ksc55 (something like that) is a better headphone than mx500...

but about the wow feeling, i dont think you will have that feeling with those models you mentioned, to really blow you away, i think you have to use one of those shure or etys.... which is costly...

but for general portable use, i highly recommend mx500... it didnt sound so different to me at first, but after a week or two, it sounds just great.

ps: if you dont need (and dont like) in cord volume control, just get the mx400, its the same, only without the incord, and its cheaper, also looks better... i dont like the blue colour of mx500...

 

[bangraman]

Some answers:


The HD25-1 is not the same as the SP. The SP is the much cheaper version. Those prices do seem a little high... I've forgotten what the VAT is in Denmark but it can't be that higher than us. Over here with 17.5% sales tax the typical price of an HD25-1 is the equivalent of $170.


The Koss KSC-35 are an inferior design to the Sennheiser PX100 and they sound nearly the same as far as comparable phones go. I'd suggest in Europe you go for the PX100.


The A900 will not take transportation stresses. I'm using the ultimate model in the A-chassis lineup, the digital ATH-D1000 infrequently in that manner only because I don't mind replacing it when it breaks (as it undoubtedly will).


The Grados are VERY open. The circular cups actually funnel sound in and out of the phone.

 

[LTUCCI1924]

Shure E2

 

[bangraman]

There are a large number of well isolated phones that all of us could mention within your price range, including many in-ear designs (The E2 is such an item). It's actually harder to recommend a slightly isolating phone in this price and quality range which is portable. The least isolating closed phone around the $150 range is the Beyerdynamic DT250-80... but while competent, it won't sound particularly inspiring out of lower-powered portables like the Sony (The 250-80 doesn't sound particularly inspiring, period, but you're crippling it further).


Another option (more portable and better bang for the buck than the Beyer for travelling use) is the Sennheiser PXC250. It's a noise-cancelling phone which gets rid of low frequency travelling noises but still lets most surrounding sounds in. It sound very similar to the DT250-80 with the noise cancelling on, but is slightly less well powered... on the Sony you may have to use this at more or less full volume.


How much isolation don't you really want?

 

[blessingx]

If you're considering the SR60, the Alessandro MS1s would be a step up, comes with comfy pads (as does the SR60, so comfort may be less an issue then some say of higher models), can be ordered with a mini plug like the SR60/80, and since Alessandro (I believe) ships internationally, you may even be able to get cheaper. Just keep in mind the cord length and sound leakage with Grado phones. I use them portably, but they're not ideal portable phones. Great sound though!

 

[HiroshimaJoe]

Thank you for the great input, after each new reply I get a little closer on deciding which headphone to get

I tried using my brothers Philips HP550 whiling traveling by bike, and they seem to have the right kind of sound isolation, meaning I can still hear the cars driving by, but speech is pretty much isolated.

But I have some thought I have decided to revise my requirement list to the following:

Requirements:
Can be driven from a portable CD or mp3 player
Headphones are collapsible (or easily transportable ie. sturdy design that won't break)
Have some bass
Have a design that doesn't leak too much sound, and can be listend to while riding my bike (only for transportation) ie the wind should not bother my listening to a high degree.

I will try and characterize the Philips HP550 that I used yesterday in conjuction with a Philips PCDP and a Hip-Hop CD. With out the Digital Bass Boost (DBB) the sound was quiet enjoyable and with some details. However I had the feeling that the sound was not clear enough, a little muddy or as if a filter was between my ears and the sound. Enabling the DBB radicaly changes the sound, and there is ALOT of emphasis on bass, and everything becomes very unclear and muddy.

Today a friend of my brother will lend me his Sony V700DJ (I know, I know not a favorit here at Head-Fi) but I will give it a try, just to see how it sounds, and how that will compare to the sound I am looking for.

At the moment I am a little partiel to the Audio Technica FC7. They have the remote friendly cord, collapsible design, fairly priced ($43 at team digital and $59 at audiocubes), and should have a lot of bass (maybe too much?).

 

[HiroshimaJoe]

I tried the V700DJ today, and the people who say they emphasize too much on the bass are perfectly right. While listening to Hip Hop this does not pose such a hugh problem, and they are perfectly enjoyable, but when I poped in the Portishead - Dummy album, it was awfull. The beautiful vocals were completely dominated by the bass sound.
Comfort was not good either, with the biggest problem being the ears had to be pressed against the drivers. I'm not sure if everyone experiences this, or it's just because I wear glasses, but non the less it was a discomfort.
The looks were fine, and I didn't get the feeling that they were overly bling bling. The collapsible design made them good for transportation, but they were too heavy, making them seem like they would fall off when I looked down. The cord is not good for portables, as it is heavy and the connector is very large, the heavy cord also makes it impossible to use with a cord.

But altogether the cans had a good sound (except for the overwhelming bass), a nice look and a collapsible design.

The VAT in Denmark is 25% and there is a toll (from non EU countries) of around 12% on imports, making imported goods rather expensive. But Sennheisers are priced fairly, and the MX400 can be had for a little under $20.

So I think I will buy a pair of Sennheiser MX400, and even if they don't turn out great it won't ruin my finances.

BTW can you shorten the length of a headphone wire making it remote friendly (approx 0.5M) long?

 

[pnrgi]

i hear these are really good for the money. i think im going to try to get a pair for my ipod, after my bank recovers from the A900's i just got.