[Canadian Psycho]

I just sold my paintball gun for 1200$ so Now I am ready to get some audio equipment. Portable audio equipment I will be moving to australia in a year and can't take anything that plugs in for 3 reasons:
1) I cant ship from Canada it if its too bulky
2) the power plugs are completel diferent in shape
2) The power there is 220 Volts not 110 and 50 Hz not 60 Hz so unless I want to watch an interesting fireworks show I must not plug anything in.

Here is my plan:
My computer just went completely belly up but I have all of my .wav and mp3s that I ripped from my cd collection backed up and will be buying a notebook soon. (runs on 110 or 220 V)

Now where I need you.
I was thinking of getting an ipod as the power adaptor I can specifically buy an Au adaptor and it runs fine off 220 V
Most md and MP3 players will explode i think. also conveniently my notebook has a firewire card.
Good idea Bad idea?

Next I need some headphones. I dont have the money or need presently to get Sennheiser HD600s or anything like that, but I wnt something portable to give me the best value/sound quality. Any ideas?
Oh ea No cans I wear gel in my hair and I will be using at school and my bag is cluttered and its just 1 more thing to take to australia.
Also I have as of yet to find an ear bud that actually fits in my ear without extreeme pain or falling out.

 

[acs236]

How can a "Psycho" paint ball player complain about a little bit of "extreme pain"?! I would think the Ety 4p would be ideal with the Ipod, you can probably get used to the pain.

Quote:

Originally posted by Canadian Psycho Also I have as of yet to find an ear bud that actually fits in my ear without extreeme pain or falling out.

 

[Canadian Psycho]

hmm the Etymotic ones although probably amazing sounding may pose a few problems. the price at 240 usd is a little steep for me especially when the main use will be getting to and from school. also they are an earbud type design, it would be hard to return if my demnted shaped ears did not agree with them. I was thinking the best value for under 100$
Also my bus ride is 3 hrs to school each day so they need to be as comfortable as possible
Thanks for the advice though

 

[sapphiremodena]

Koss KSC-35's are only $30 and many people here say they're the best under-$100 headphone. They won't mess up your hair either. Same goes for Sennheiser MX-500 earbuds. Good sound, good value, good price ($15-$20), and they don't mess up your hair.
You can find them both at Headroom. ( www.headphone.com )

The Sony e888 earbuds are very similar to the Sennheiser mx-500's, but for about $60.

 

[Canadian Psycho]

tried the mx500s they dont fit my ears all that well. which is better the 35s or the 50s? both are open so it will probably irratate the agitable girl on my bus but that is fine, sounds like a good idea. Any more?

 

[sapphiremodena]

The 35's sound a lot better than the 50's. The 50's are cheaper and in some ways better looking though. But sound is what really matters. Get the 35's.

I know there are probably some more headphones to consider, I just can't think of any right now... I'm having a mind-block.

EDIT: Ah yes, I just remembered: the Koss Portapro and Sportapro are very good, the Portapro being a little bit better in my opinion, and a lot better looking (Personally I think the Sportapro's are ugly) You can wear the Portapro in the same fashion as Streetstyles; with the band behind your head, or you can wear the band on the top of your head, like regular headphones, but that would mess your hair up. I think they go for about $50 or so...

 

[lucien]

you can plug an md player in -- just use the international adapter sony give you. you can buy it separately too.

don't bother bringing stereo equipment. it's probably not worth the hassle unless it's really good stuff and worth having the power supplies swapped over.

where in australia will you be?

 

[jlo mein]

anything with the koss porta drivers will suit you well, that includes the koss portapros, sportapros, 50's, and 35's. The koss 55 also use the porta drivers, but i dont think they're worth mentioning as almost no one gets a comfortable fit with them.

I think ety's would be overboard....i mean, hes a "Psycho" paint ball player like acs236 said, so i see this guy as a no fuss "i just want my headphones on and off in 1 second", plus they're prolly in a price range hes not looking at.

 

[a1leyez0nm3]

I would recommend NOTHING open, especially if you are going to be on a bus!!! koss are definitely out!! I recommend the AIWA VX100 canal-phone (not earbud) or Sony EX70 (Canal phone) (modded). i havent heard the vx100, but i used to have the ex70 and I loved them to death. i hate earbuds too, but the canal phones, like ex70 i love, they are soooo comfortable. they are pretty much like earplugs, but much more comfortable.

 

[a1leyez0nm3]

oh, sorry i forgot the prices:


ex70: about 35$ on ebay or somewhere on the net. run a search on ebay or yahoo shopping


vx100: i think about $25 at stores... not sure..


the ex70 blocks out a lot of sound, especially with a complete seal mod that I can show you how to do, and they sound pretty good with some mods.

i am not sure about the sound on the vx100, i havent listened to it.

 

[Canadian Psycho]

Wow thanks a lot guys!
About the whole paintball thing your right my price range is a little low due to the whole having to pay for university and all, want to go to new south whales but to get into the university I have the best chance at it if I go to a school with a good internationally recognized program hence the 3 hr bus ride each day. List of priorities:

1) comfort- 2 hrs of uncomfortableness is not worth the slightly better sound quality, music should be enjoyed right?
2) sound quality- will be listening to a lot of classical and jazz
3) price/value I am willing to spend a little more for better sounding stuff as long as its not insanely over priced for a little better sounding
3) Portability
4) not angering ppl around me.
5) ability to get on/off and durability.

will check into those that were listed as well. Thanks!

On the whole MD thing you might be right some stuff you can get australia adaptors, the only problem is the voltage difference, I can get prong adaptors for anything but if it can’t handle twice the voltage it might blow up. Most 300+$ electronics can but stuff like razors cell phones toasters, radios and stuff will create a nice fireworks show or fire.

 

[lucien]

oh yeah best to leave those behind.

you know, i've moved so often that i have always thought of furnishings and applicance as temporary.

i believe that if you haven't used something in 3 months, you don't need it. when i moved to australia from chicago, i left behind everything except about a third of my clothes, my cds, and my mountain bike.

there's something therapeutic about starting over. but if you're only over here temporarily, you may not get the chance to do it.

 

[Canadian Psycho]

hmm can't seem to find either of the canal phones on the net. discontinued?

 

[Canadian Psycho]

Oh cool your in australia. I have never been there I plan to move permanately. I wonder if they will let me take my pet tree-frog (whites tree frog) I think they are like a pest over there, the breed frequently and hang around urban parts of the cities by storm drains etc... MY canadian dollar is actually worth more than the AUD I am soo happy just when I thought it was completely useless... Computers there are freakishly pricy which is why I am getting the laptop before I go, canada is one of the cheapest paces to get computers anyways though so it just magnifies the difference. Is NSW a good place to go? and what are the phone jacks like? do they look like network cbles or the odd bulky 3 pronged thing with a spacer

 

[lucien]

i seriously doubt they'll let you bring your tree frog here. not after the cane toad debacle. though my tabby cat is licking her chops at the prospect of getting hold of a nice juicy frog.

phone jacks are rj-12 plugs, which are identical to the US. but there is some enormous fine like 10 or 25 thousand dollars for plugging non-austel approved equipment into the line. they probably have no way of knowing, but it's probably not worth it anyway. unless you feel like fighting the man.

the only part of nsw i've been to is sydney and the blue mountains. the mountains are gorgeous, but have been ravaged by fire recently. sydney is a cool place, but i'm partial to melbourne if you want a big city here. i don't know what it is -- melbourne seems a little less glam than sydney, and i prefer it. think of them like new york and chicago. and since i lived in chicago, i have a soft spot for melbourne.

having said all that, i live in perth, way the hell over on the west. this has several advantages:

1. i can afford to live near the city in a nice place with a pool and a spa, without selling my organs.

2. the weather is good here almost all the time, which is excellent for motorcycle riders (like me).

3. women in perth are the foxiest women around. while i'm the first to admit that there are plenty of good looking women elsewhere, you really need to experience a western australian beach on a summer day. good lord.

4. the scuba diving here is excellent, and even better in the northern part of the state, at ningaloo reef. supposedly just as good as the barrier reef, but much closer to shore, and not crowded. they're trying to build a huge marina and resort here though, so hurry up if you want to see its natural state. it's breath-taking.

5. in WA, we don't have to live with the shame of producing a beer like victoria bitter, which is just below cat urine on my patented "lucien's list o tasty beverages".

-
either way, australia's a cool place to be. it took me a while to really appreciate it, but now i'm really glad i came here. nothing's permanent though.