[aerinsol]

 
Hi, everyone, I'm new to Head-fi, nice to meet you all. I'm posting here because I've been trying to figure out a way to improve my current audio setup because I don't feel like I'm currently able to enjoy music the way I want to and feel like I should be able to, but I'm not sure what I can do about it so I was hoping you guys could give me some suggestions.
 
Just some background info: I live in the NYC metro area. For those of you who live here or other big cities, you'll know that it's crowded and really loud; commuting involves long subway rides with screeching train cars, a lot of people talking loudly, and walking through streets with car horns and sirens going off constantly ... I've lived in a bunch of major cities before and NYC is BY FAR the loudest of them all. Additionally, I've found myself being dissatisfied with my home listening experience; for some reason, I find that the sound my laptop is puts out is decidedly inferior to my Nano 6G. I also find that  the both the headphones and the speakers I've been using are more fatiguing over longer periods of listening.
 
Could any knowledgeable head-fiers: 1) recommend decent-sounding headphones that have top-of-the-line isolation (or something!) that would let me actually hear what's playing on my Nano on the train;  2)  point out to me what's the bottleneck in my setup at home, and what I can do to fix it? 
 
I'm willing to spend approximately $200 to rectify this situation ... maybe more if it will take care of both parts! 

 
Current Gear:
Headphones - Koss Portapro, Sennheiser 485, Thinksound Rain TS-01 (currently broken)
Portable setup - Usually Portapro + Nano (CAN'T HEAR A DAMN THING)
Home setup - Macbook Air and Bose MusicMonitor laptop speakers (yes, I know what you all think about Bose) or one of the above headphones
 
Music files are just run of the mill 192-320 kbps mp3 files -- i know most of you are FLAC guys and girls; respect for your audiophilia, but I just want to be able to appreciate what I already have and not purchase and re-rip my music collection in lossless etc. etc.
 

 

[Gwarmi]

Fiio E7 for the laptop ~ this will help rectify the laptop's crappy headphone out.
 
I use my M50's on the train here in Melbourne and cannot hear a thing in a packed wagon
but I imagine the New York subway is a tad louder!
 
The M50, Ultrasone 580 and Shure 440 offer nice passive isolation.
Reluctant to offer active noise cancellers because they do cost a bit
for a nice model that performs the cancelling and sounds good too.
 
One that I am yet to hear but that is getting rave reviews on here
of late is the Panasonic RP HTF600 ~ $40USD and supposedly
matches my M50 in many ways.
 
Thought about an IEM?
 
Pop into Grado in Brooklyn and get a pair of iGi in ears..

 

[Parall3l]

What genre of music do you listen to ? Do you want a lot of bass, neutrality or a lot of treble ? 

 

[aerinsol]

Yeah, I hear the M50s mentioned in the forum a lot -- I should try to go to a headphone store and check it out -- but I'm a little worried that they will be too "revealing" and not forgiving enough ... I'm not sure at what fidelity level the headphones will start making my music sound better and not worse! I tried the HD-25-iis too; I quite liked the isolation on those, but they felt a bit .... dry, I guess?
 
TBH, I don't have anything against IEMs per se ... I've just never found one I've really liked. I mean, they're kind of hard to try out, and I get the impression they run more expensive for SQ than what they are (maybe I'm wrong), and I just find it hard to get a good seal and good comfort. Like, I had a pair of Shure EC2 / EC3 (don't remember which) for a while, and I was less than impressed ... but hey, maybe it was just because the seal wasn't good, I don't know.
 
Quick search for iGis shows mixed reviews? (veiled, boomy?)

 

[Gwarmi]

Quote:

Yeah, I hear the M50s mentioned in the forum a lot -- I should try to go to a headphone store and check it out -- but I'm a little worried that they will be too "revealing" and not forgiving enough ... I'm not sure at what fidelity level the headphones will start making my music sound better and not worse! I tried the HD-25-iis too; I quite liked the isolation on those, but they felt a bit .... dry, I guess?
 
TBH, I don't have anything against IEMs per se ... I've just never found one I've really liked. I mean, they're kind of hard to try out, and I get the impression they run more expensive for SQ than what they are (maybe I'm wrong), and I just find it hard to get a good seal and good comfort. Like, I had a pair of Shure EC2 / EC3 (don't remember which) for a while, and I was less than impressed ... but hey, maybe it was just because the seal wasn't good, I don't know.
 
Quick search for iGis shows mixed reviews? (veiled, boomy?)

Everything in audio gets mixed reviews 

 
I'd recommend hitting the stores and letting your ears make the decisions.
 
Then look at something like the E7 to take over duties from your laptop out.

 

[aerinsol]

Quote:

What genre of music do you listen to ? Do you want a lot of bass, neutrality or a lot of treble ? 

Oh sorry, guess I forgot to mention that. This is tricky because I know everyone says this, but I listen to a lot of everything -- EDM (including Trance, "Progessive" whatever that means) Pop, Broadway, Hip-Hop, R&B, Classical, Singer-Songwriter, Jazz, Alternative Rock and 80s Rock/Metal. Haha ... probably better to say what I don't listen to, which is: Opera, Country, Reggae, Latin, Noise.
 
What I want is ... a relaxing headphone/setup for at home listening, and something engaging on the go. Let me use the Portapro as a reference ....
 
I listen to a lot of bassy music, but I don't need a lot of bass. The Portapro has more than enough bass for me, and I'm pleased by its range/texture/extension? But I feel like it overwhelms the vocals sometimes. So what I can tell from reading this forum, I think what I want is something with full (maybe even "warm"?) mids? This would be true even if I were listening on the go, but I would like something significantly more laid-back sounding for at-home listening. I find the Senn 485s a little too bass heavy, and losing their mids ... but they're REALLY OLD and have been used a lot (secondhand) so that might make them sound even bassier.
 
Also please let me know if I'm using any of these sound terms wrong, I'm really not an audiophile, just trying to use the words that seem to "fit" best with what I hear!

 

[Eric_C]

Get IEMs or closed closed headphones. If you don't isolate, you'll never be sure whether things sound bad just because you can't hear the music properly.
 
If you go IEM, read up a bit on how a proper seal should 'sound', so you can test them out at a shop/meet.

 

[FlatNine]

My friend, who lives in Manhattan and is always on trains/subways loves his UE TF-10's for isolation. I had them and they did isolate well, but I'm just not an IEM guy.

 

[aerinsol]

Quote:

Get IEMs or closed closed headphones. If you don't isolate, you'll never be sure whether things sound bad just because you can't hear the music properly.
 
If you go IEM, read up a bit on how a proper seal should 'sound', so you can test them out at a shop/meet.

Hey, I know what my music sounds like -- I posted my home setup as well as my portable setup at the start of thread. So, I'm looking for a good isolating set of headphones AND for suggestions on how to make the home setup less crappy.
 
Is it normal for my Macbook Air to sound worse than my Nano?
Shouldn't my laptop be putting out just as much if not more voltage than my nano -- so how would getting an amp help?

 

[Parall3l]

Quote:

 
Is it normal for my Macbook Air to sound worse than my Nano?
Shouldn't my laptop be putting out just as much if not more voltage than my nano -- so how would getting an amp help?

Yes, its normal. The Macbook Pro was measured to have an output impedance of 20 ish ohms, the Macbook distorts and hisses with sensitive IEMs, so I doubt the Macbook Air should be better than the Nano.

 

[Assimilator702]

Try a pair of Panasonic RP-HTF600....you won't be dissapointed for less than $40 SHIPPED.
 
They're not too big for outdoors but are a full sized headphone.....everyone should own a pair.
 
It's a better gamble than the M-50 which go for $160 street price currently.

 

[200poundsofamp]

Quote:

I listen to a lot of bassy music, but I don't need a lot of bass. The Portapro has more than enough bass for me, and I'm pleased by its range/texture/extension? But I feel like it overwhelms the vocals sometimes. So what I can tell from reading this forum, I think what I want is something with full (maybe even "warm"?) mids? This would be true even if I were listening on the go, but I would like something significantly more laid-back sounding for at-home listening. I find the Senn 485s a little too bass heavy, and losing their mids ... but they're REALLY OLD and have been used a lot (secondhand) so that might make them sound even bassier.

Check out the srh840. Seems like the sound you're looking for, plus it's easy to amp and has great isolation.
 
Don't get the RP-HTF600! They sound great but their isolation is terrible.
 

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
BeyerDynamic DT770 PRO
 
Good isolation. Great sound. Good comfort.
 
Very best,

 

[aerinsol]

Thanks for the explanation. I'll definitely try it out with the Fiio E7.
 
Any suggestions for a relaxing home-listening headphone, or a really good isolating headphone with nice mids (what do people think of the AKG K181DJ)? I will look at IEMs if I have to, I'm just hoping there's another way.

 

[aerinsol]

Whoops, I posted the last one without seeing all the new posts on this thread!
 
Thanks for the suggestions, I will definitely look at the Beyer and the SRH840 this weekend if I can. I'll post with my impressions once I get a chance to try them out (hopefully at the local B&H). 
 
I'm also open to suggestions for open-back headphones for relaxing at-home listening, if anyone has them!