patriche
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2011
- Posts
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Sincere thanks to all those who have given their thoughts on headphone choice on head-fi.
Thought I would give my experiences on my hunt for a pair of primo (by my standards) headphones for home use for (hifi, computer and a tiny bit of mixing) in west London. I've spent a couple of months looking, and searched many, many internet sites. Hope what follows is useful. For info, I'm looking for is something to use with an Arcam Solo, laptop, and Ipod touch.
1. Don't spend too many hours researching others' opinions on particular models. They're a useful starting point. But I think it's better to spend your time searching for retailers, guitar/keyboard shops, studio shops etc. The musical instrument/studio shops in particular are staffed by enthusiasts who will advise, help, and generally forget that their purpose is to get you to spend. Go to the shops, listen to their advice, and most importantly LISTEN to their products. Support your local suppliers if you can, they care about music just like you, in my experience.
2. Ignore me. My ears are different to yours. They are bigger, or smaller, and sweat more, or possibly less than yours. And my head is either normal or misformed, depending on light conditions. Headphones that are perfect for me probably won't fit you (cone shaped head? - me that is, not you). I personally found around ear phones sweaty, you might not.
3. Don't be messing with compressed formats. Even 320kbps doesn't sound anything like as good as a lossless file to me. Either re-rip everything in lossless format or don't bother with the new phones.
4. When trying headphones, some will make you want to drum, in a compact, crossed-arms, sort of way. Others will make you wnat to add some 'air bass' at times. Some will make you add the 'extended' crash cymbols. You'll know the ones to buy when this happens.
For info, I happened to like the KRK 8400 but found them a bit laid back, and the Bose On Ear 2 (hesitate to admit this) but found them a bit flimsy, - the ones for me ultimately, were the HD 251-ii. I just prefer the bright treble and feeling that the music is happening 'close to you' compared with some other more expensive studio kit with more 'space'. But your experience won't be the same as mine - you have different ears! - TRY BEFORE YOU BUY! And good luck!
Thought I would give my experiences on my hunt for a pair of primo (by my standards) headphones for home use for (hifi, computer and a tiny bit of mixing) in west London. I've spent a couple of months looking, and searched many, many internet sites. Hope what follows is useful. For info, I'm looking for is something to use with an Arcam Solo, laptop, and Ipod touch.
1. Don't spend too many hours researching others' opinions on particular models. They're a useful starting point. But I think it's better to spend your time searching for retailers, guitar/keyboard shops, studio shops etc. The musical instrument/studio shops in particular are staffed by enthusiasts who will advise, help, and generally forget that their purpose is to get you to spend. Go to the shops, listen to their advice, and most importantly LISTEN to their products. Support your local suppliers if you can, they care about music just like you, in my experience.
2. Ignore me. My ears are different to yours. They are bigger, or smaller, and sweat more, or possibly less than yours. And my head is either normal or misformed, depending on light conditions. Headphones that are perfect for me probably won't fit you (cone shaped head? - me that is, not you). I personally found around ear phones sweaty, you might not.
3. Don't be messing with compressed formats. Even 320kbps doesn't sound anything like as good as a lossless file to me. Either re-rip everything in lossless format or don't bother with the new phones.
4. When trying headphones, some will make you want to drum, in a compact, crossed-arms, sort of way. Others will make you wnat to add some 'air bass' at times. Some will make you add the 'extended' crash cymbols. You'll know the ones to buy when this happens.
For info, I happened to like the KRK 8400 but found them a bit laid back, and the Bose On Ear 2 (hesitate to admit this) but found them a bit flimsy, - the ones for me ultimately, were the HD 251-ii. I just prefer the bright treble and feeling that the music is happening 'close to you' compared with some other more expensive studio kit with more 'space'. But your experience won't be the same as mine - you have different ears! - TRY BEFORE YOU BUY! And good luck!
