[willthong]

Dear Audiophiles,

I am a new poster here, and I would love to get started in the world of headphones. I would also love some recomendations as to what should be my first pair of headphones.
I am not sure whether getting a headset such as the Bose® Mobile On-Ear Headset would be better or getting a pair of headphones that would then have an attachment mic would be better. Either way, a mic is important, and any solution is appreciated, apart from the sort where it makes you look like a telecoms guy (Sennheiser USA - PC160 - Product Details). It needs to be discretely on the wire or something like that.
Apologies for posting this in the wrong forum maybe, I wasn't sure whether full size or portable was the better option.

Budget: £100/$160 (adaptable really, I'm flexible

)

Purpose:

1. Mainly listening to Apple Lossless files on my iPod Touch, because they sound no different to crappy MP3s with my default Apple earphones
2. Priority is sound quality; I will be playing mainly jazz, but this is probably less important at the lower end of the price spectrum, right?
3. Mic quality is secondary; If there is absolutely no way of getting a decent, discrete mic with the other stipulations, so be it
4. These headphones will also be used for gaming, but this is less important
5. MUST be on-ear or over-ear

Size: Must be carry-around-able, prefrably in some sort of case like the Bose ones listed above, but subtlety is not massively important.

 

[Almoxil]

There are some IEMs with mics for use with cellphones. One of them is the Metro.FI 220vi, which can be found on eBay ranging from $80 to $110. I haven't heard them, though. Shure also makes some IEMs with mics, like the SE110 MPA or SE210 MPA ($129.95 and $179.95 from Amazon.com).

 

[mbd2884]

Get a good headphone and then just buy a separate microphone!

 

[willthong]

Sorry, maybe I didn't make myself clear enough...

I was only interested in on-ear or over-ear headphones; in-ear are no good for me, sorry! Any suggestions?

And perhaps I could get separate mic and headphone...but would they both fit into one jack? If I used a mic adapter, would that affect the sound quality of the headphones?

Sorry to ask so many questions!

 

[Almoxil]

Sorry, I missed the on-ear/over-ear in your list.

 

[willthong]

Terribly sorry for the *BUMP* but my question still has not really been answered...

 

[jageur272]

Must you have a mic for portable use? With that budget, get a good headphone that doesn't need amping such as the AD700 (which I found was decent for jazz, nothing exemplary). Another headphone that would be perfect for jazz would be an ortho, the easiest to find would be one of the current generation Fostex's (Fostex T50RP). However, neither of these are really that portable. The best portable I can think of (in that price range) would be ATH-ESW9's if you're lucky. Watch out for fakes however. Otherwise, ATH-ES7 is a great portable headphone. An external mic like the Zalman could then be plugged into the mic input from your computer.

 

[willthong]

Thanks so much jageur!

Well, the mic does have to be for portable use...in that case, the question becomes whether it's possible to have a mic for iPod use that can double up for a computer and whether these options mean a sacrifice in sound quality. I've been looking at the Griffin SmartTalk Griffin Technology: SmartTalk - Use your favorite headphones with your iPhone or iPod - do products like these cause a fail in sound quality and can they be attached to a computer?

Apologies for refusing to be satisifed with your very competent answere, I'd just love to be completely sure before embarking upon a decision.

Thanks again!

 

[willthong]

At the risk of becoming the most annoying person on any forum in the entire history of the world, ever, I feel that I must *BUMP!* this thread once more, as I still have not found the answers to my admittedly neverending stream of questions. Could somebody please help?

 

[willthong]

*DoubleBump*

Sorry guys, no offence, just wondering if my questions could possibly be answered...

 

[Equus]

The adapter you're talking about would add more wire, so I would think there's a chance that you can degrade the signal depending on the quality of the adapter, but also think there's only so much that it would matter if you're talking about portables.

It kinda sounds like you're looking for an "all-in-one" solution, which means you'll be making some compromises here and there no matter what you do. I personally wouldn't use my portable headphones or earphones for most computer gaming applications that ask for soundstage and positioning, like shooters. If the primary things you're looking for is sound quality and portability, I'd go from there and maybe get some ESW9's or some other decent portable that matches your music preferences. Unfortunately, I can't really help you on the mic part (since I don't use anything like that) nor on the gaming part (since I have a separate set of full-size cans for my comp).

 

[willthong]

Thank you!

Anybody else got some advice on the mic?

Thanks!

 

[DHHZ]

Hi,
I don't think that the mic will damage the SQ too much, especially on a portable setup. I don't listen to much jazz, so I can't really help you out with headphone choice.
Daniel

 

[willthong]

Thanks guys! I'm going to probably pick up the Griffin SmartTalk with some trepidation and some ES7s as well; the ESW9s are just too expensive for a first set (not counting Apple earphones of course)

Thanks once more for all of your help.

 

[CTechKid]

Don't forget to do this mod when you first get your ES7s.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/2785881-post1.html