[travel200]

Hi all,
 
I'm looking for a little advice.  I currently have an old pair of Bose over-ear headphones (I guess they are the AE1).  They're falling apart and it's time for a replacement.  I use these strictly for my daily commute on the train off of my Blackberry -some days I do work, some days I just want to listen to music.  I also use them the handful of times I fly.
 
While I am certainly no audio expert,  I will tell you that I love music and I love listening to it in the best possible way.  For what it's worth, I still buy CDs (and vinyl when I can find it) and I very rarely downlowd mp3s.  But yes, when I listen to my Blackberry, it is compressed.
 
Having said that, I still want a good pair of headphones.  I've whittled it down to two:  Shure SRH-840 v. Ultrasone HFI-580.
 
I listen to all kinds of music, from of today's pop/hip-hop, rock (both current and from the 70's & 80's), underground dance, contemporary, broadway.
 
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Thanks
 
 

 

[Gwarmi]

That's a good duo to consider,
 
Both will be competent for your needs and can be driven out of the Blackberry,
 
For pop, I'd weight my favor towards the 580 but for a generally natural balanced
sound I'd go for the Shure 840.
 
Most modern pop is heavily biased towards thumping bass lines and so a
natural sounding headphone can convey that as a little light sounding.
 
Both are good for rock as closed headphones,
 
Slight edge from me to the Shure 840 but it's just splitting subjective
differences, don't think you'll go wrong either way.

 

[travel200]

Thanks for the help. I suppose if I didn't like such a wide variety of music my decision would be easier!
 
One final question,  I've seen a lot of reviews praise the Ultrasone 580, but I see they also have a 6 and 780, and a 2400 in the HFI line.  Should I consider one of those over the 580 for my tastes and needs?
 
Thanks.

 

[Graphicism]

HFI-580 is a bass monster, SRH-840 is somewhat bass shy. The HFI-780 or even 680 is a little more 'hi-fi' in that the bass isn't as exagerated. The SRH-840 is basically a repackaged Sony 7506, only not quite as good. The SRH-940 is said to be an inprovement but I haven't heard them myself.

 

[Hifianddrumming]

 The HFI-2400s are open, so do you want an open can? I'm guessing for commuting you would prefer closed, and both of the ones you picked are closed, so I guess out of the those two, the 580s. They're a little bit more "fun" sounding and will work better for the majority of your music.

 

[travel200]

Thanks for your help.  And yes, I definitely do not want open headphones since I will be using them on my commute.   I also don't want bass monsters, so maybe the 680 or 780 would be a better choice for a varied selection of music listening.

 

[Gwarmi]

Quote:

Thanks for your help.  And yes, I definitely do not want open headphones since I will be using them on my commute.   I also don't want bass monsters, so maybe the 680 or 780 would be a better choice for a varied selection of music listening.

 How about riding that fine line in between? 

 
The AKG 242HD is semi-open, I see a lot of hip folk on Melbourne trains use them as their audio weapon
of choice for daily commute. So far so good, I never hear a thing standing next to them with a pair of
SR80i's (forget my pair, they're fully open and I'm beyond salvation)
 
These rarely get the exposure they deserve ~ many radio stations consider them a work horse for
clarity and transparency, very nice highs and tight bass without the typical bloat you get from
cheap consumer headphones. Small and light to boot, shop around they turn up for $175US or so.
 
These would be my suggestion for you ~ best of luck in headphone land!
 

 
 
 
 

 

[travel200]

Things that make you go hmmmm!  Thanks, those seem to get good reviews, and look pretty cool as well.  I was also told that the Ultrasone Pro 750 might be a good choice for my needs as well.
 
At first I was becoming a bit overwhelmed with all of the choices, but now I'm getting excited about finding a great pair of headphones.  Off to do some more research.