[12345142]

Quote:

The Phiaton's are pretty appealing. so i went to my local futureshop today and checked out some headphones. I ran into the bose qc2 (i think). They had pretty awesome noise reduction and sharp audio and i loved the soft cups and how it perfectly enclosed my ear. How does this compare to the Beats and Phiatons in the aspects i mentioned? (from best to worst)
Thanks

You probably ran into the QC15s. They're something like $500. Have you read Stereophile mag and '|joker|'s' reviews on the Phiatons? The MS400s have some of the softest earpads around, they fold flat and collapse into a ball, also come with a case, and aren't totally dependent on batteries. You'll likely get at least the same degree of sonic performance as Bose, if not better. Active noise cancellation is generally frowned upon at Head-Fi, as the circuitry and signal processing tends to create artifacts in the music.
 
By the way, 'perfectly enclose the ear' is a base standard for these headphones anyways. That's exactly what 'circumaural' means. Look, if you just want to get Bose, though, by all means go ahead.

 

[864646]

I think i might order the phiatons but the one thing that is kinda offsetting is the fact that its not a detachable cable. Just to make sure before i buy this, is it an over the ear, or on ear headphone? and is there noise cancelation or reduction?
 
also in recent research i ran into the phiatons ps 500. i believe these are over the ear headphones which fit my taste more. I was wondering how these compared to the ms 400

 

[heynice]

 i have 440's and they are too heavy to be used anywhere but home, i am eyeing those phiaton ms400's btw

 

[12345142]

Quote:

I think i might order the phiatons but the one thing that is kinda offsetting is the fact that its not a detachable cable. Just to make sure before i buy this, is it an over the ear, or on ear headphone? and is there noise cancelation or reduction?
 
also in recent research i ran into the phiatons ps 500. i believe these are over the ear headphones which fit my taste more. I was wondering how these compared to the ms 400

The MS400s are circumaural or over-the-ear, meaning they fit completely around your ears. There's no active noise cancellation, so no batteries, which isn't as bad as you think; the seal between the earcups and your head will still block a decent amount of noise. The PS500s don't fold up and are slightly larger. They were probably meant to stay at home.
 
Detachable cables are nice to have, but they're not a necessity. As long as you treat it well, you can be confident the cable won't break on you. The cable on my PS200s feels very strong and has good strain relief. I just gave a friend a pair of ER6s, IEMs which had very thin cables and no strain relief, just a granny knot inside the casing - five years old and still going strong.

 

[seraphjei]

Sounds like you might wanna look into the Audio Technica ESW9

 

[12345142]

Well, looks like the B-stock MS400s are gone now. That sucks.

 

[864646]

Dammit... i was acutally gonna get them today
back to the drawing board ....

 

[chinesekiwi]

Have you considered in-ears / IEMs?
 
They isolate much more than ANC headphones and are more portable.
Remember also there's adifference between in-ears (goes into the earcanal) and earbuds (lies on the outside of the earcanal, most stock players come with earbuds).

 

[Mr Joboto]

 
Quote:

Sounds like you might wanna look into the Audio Technica ESW9

Double this suggestion.

 

[Bengkia369]

how about AKG K450? Its very small and portable yet sounds great!!!
 

 

[864646]

The AKG's look great. How does the AKG's compare to the phiaton? (if anyone knows)
The thing with AKG is that it looks like its an on-ear headphone which i'm not too keen on but other than that, it looks sexy.

Also ran into the Audio-Technica ATH-M50. How does this compare to the phiaton?

 

[12345142]

I heard the K450s before. They don't block out much noise, and I found the sound muddy with a lot of midbass. Perhaps they weren't burned in, though, seeing as the K518s I borrowed from my friend sounded great.
People say ESW9 sounds good, but it's not exactly a rock headphone. Those wood earcups seem pretty bad for Canada's huge temperature range. Maybe if you live on the west coast they should be fine out and about, I guess. The M50 is usually compared to the SRH440, but with more bass presence. They're pretty big and seem just as heavy, though. You'd need to hear the opinion of someone who actually owns the M50s, though.
 
Perhaps the upcoming Beyerdynamic T50ps will interest you, although I don't think they'll block out much sound. Or, of course, you could buy the MS400s anyway, although I'd be kicking myself. I can't think of any other portable circumaural pairs around that price point.

 

[Jdean69]

I had a question regarding the differences between the ms 400 and the ps 500.  I would assume because of the size / weight / color combination of the ms 400, they seem to be more oft reviewed and discussed.  Has anyone actually used the ps 500's?  I only ask because I see they are about $40 cheaper on Amazon, yet seem to be marketed as slightly higher grade.  However I was only able to find one review online....so any additional info anyone could provide would be appreciated.

 

[12345142]

Quote:

I had a question regarding the differences between the ms 400 and the ps 500.  I would assume because of the size / weight / color combination of the ms 400, they seem to be more oft reviewed and discussed.  Has anyone actually used the ps 500's?  I only ask because I see they are about $40 cheaper on Amazon, yet seem to be marketed as slightly higher grade.  However I was only able to find one review online....so any additional info anyone could provide would be appreciated.

If you search around, you can find some loosely written impressions, but for the most part they're overshadowed by other headphones. Apparently they're about on par with the Denon D2000s.

 

[12345142]

The Denon D1001s are also circumaural, and people say they sound pretty good, although they don't fold. If you're willing to take good care of them, they're probably one of the best choices. Perhaps the SRH750DJs would interest you, especially if you buy the replacement straight (instead of coiled) cable from HeadphoneSolutions.com. It goes without saying that circumaural portables are few and far between, though.
 
If you want to get more out of your budget, Ultrasones are regarded by some as semi-portable headphones, which do indeed fold up nicely. You could take a look at the HFI 780, but I'd stay away from the PRO series for portable use. I believe they're harder to drive, although I could be mistaken. Lastly, the HFI 2200, HFI 2400, PRO 2500 and PRO 2900 are open, meaning they don't block any sound, so stay away from those.