[san21893]

I recently went down to the apple store, and they had bose around ears on the ipods. The first time I tried it on I loved them. I came very close to buying them today and I'm glad i didnt. They seem to be highly put down by many audiophiles. Right now I'm looking at Equation RP-21's which every1 is saying are better and they are cheaper. My concern is comfort, size, and weight. It looks bigger, it's more than twice as heavy, and I heard it clamps your head. As long as the quality beats what I heard from bose, I'm cool with that. I listen to mostly hard rock and metal, but I also cant live without hip hop, trance, techno, house and reggae. I'm open to other suggestions as well. What can blow away these damn bose's?

 

[Solodarn]

The thing about Bose is that their gear is far too expensive for the quality of product and sound. For the same price you can get far better (though less well known) phones.

I don't have experience with the rp-21s but what you should figure out first is what kind of headphone do you need? For instance closed vs open? Do you need headphones that are priced under $100-150 and don't require an amplifier? Need your headphones to be very portable or doesn't really matter? Or perhaps you have no preference on any of these questions.

Site I love recommending is HeadRoom - Right Between Your Ears since it has a plethora of information that may help guide your decision a bit and narrow your choices~Cheers

 

[san21893]

I'm going to be using them for my ipod and gaming on the computer. I might use them a bit for playing my bass guitar as well which i'd need a 1/4" adapter for. Portability is important, i dont want anything too bulky or heavy. Preferably I'd wanna stick under 100 bucks but thats not strict. Thanks for the link I'll check it out. Could you also explain more to me about amplifiers and in what case i would need one?

 

[bazs]

Sounds like your a good candidate for MS-1's or Grados if you listen mainly to rock and metal. Both are fairly portable and lightweight.

 

[cerbie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by san21893 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm going to be using them for my ipod and gaming on the computer. I might use them a bit for playing my bass guitar as well which i'd need a 1/4" adapter for. Portability is important, i dont want anything too bulky or heavy. Preferably I'd wanna stick under 100 bucks but thats not strict. Thanks for the link I'll check it out. Could you also explain more to me about amplifiers and in what case i would need one?

You could also start with Koss 60-ohms, as low as the KSC75. Any 60-Ohm model is a good value, if not the most detailed you'll ever hear

.

Headphones, like speakers, draw varying amounts of current when being played. Most typical gear has poor amplifiers for the headphone out. Some headphones really need that stage to be good, while others don't. Some don't, but also get much better when properly driven. So, you get an amplifier that takes the load off the source. For now, just go without one. But, keep an open mind to at least checking out a Cmoy or something, later on (cheap, will at least let you know if you want to go down that road).

Instead of the Apple store, see if you have a local Guitar Center.

 

[slwiser]

For the price of the Bose you should give yourself a chance to check out the ATH-ESW9s. These are fairly new, light and very good for their size and portability. They don't beat the best but their as good as many regular size headphones.

 

[JonM]

If you liked the bose, get them, leave this place! Trust me, it'll be cheaper in the long run.

 

[wrecked_porsche]

If you find that the ATH-ESW9 is too expensive, get the ATH-ES7, its kinda like a baby brother to the ATH-ESW9. Just my 2 cents.

 

[vkvedam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonM /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you liked the bose, get them, leave this place! Trust me, it'll be cheaper in the long run.

X2, yep it would save you a fortune. One day you might feel, why did I go
to google, why did I search for a decent headphone and where I have ended up. Hahaha. But will be a long journey though if you take this path and would be never ending.

 

[headphonejunkie]

I love my Grado sr80's.

Quote:

Originally Posted by san21893 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I recently went down to the apple store, and they had bose around ears on the ipods. The first time I tried it on I loved them. I came very close to buying them today and I'm glad i didnt. They seem to be highly put down by many audiophiles. Right now I'm looking at Equation RP-21's which every1 is saying are better and they are cheaper. My concern is comfort, size, and weight. It looks bigger, it's more than twice as heavy, and I heard it clamps your head. As long as the quality beats what I heard from bose, I'm cool with that. I listen to mostly hard rock and metal, but I also cant live without hip hop, trance, techno, house and reggae. I'm open to other suggestions as well. What can blow away these damn bose's?

 

[eduj]

Nahh...now he is here.Its too late.Has read the "Bose sucks" threads.He thinks "i liked the Bose but the people in the know say that there are far better phones available!Must hear!"
I already feel sorry for your wallet

 

[san21893]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eduj /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nahh...now he is here.Its too late.Has read the "Bose sucks" threads.He thinks "i liked the Bose but the people in the know say that there are far better phones available!Must hear!" I already feel sorry for your wallet

You confused me, are you disagreeing with the bose sucks threads? does more ohms mean better sound quality?

 

[Gautama]

No he isnt and no it doesn't.


Also, I would stay away from the Grado/Alessandro line for gaming.

 

[Solodarn]

Your benefit with sticking under 100 or so bucks is that many of the phones have impedance ratings maxing out at ~60 ohms. Most of the time this is a resistance value that is easy enough to drive from a portable MP3 player or your computer without needing an amplifier. Higher ohms does not necessarily mean better quality sound, but often you will hear nitpickyness on how, in a particular model, the 600 ohm is better than the 250 ohm version for such and such miniscule reason. Because the purchase of an amp simply adds cost I would look for something around the 60 ohm range or under, its not an absolute value just a good general ohm range for a can that doesn't require an amp. Someone brought up earlier that for even 60 ohm or so headphones, if you later decide to get one, a headphone amp can often add to the quality by crisping the bass and adequately powering complicated portions of songs. As you start growing in ohms, or resistance, you also start growing in the power needed to push your cans. This makes it less likely your computer jack will be able to keep up.

headroom may have cleared up the difference between open and closed but briefly open are generally able to produce a better quality sound for the price. This is for a number of reasons but one is that producing great audio quality in a closed phone is a bit difficult it would seem. Anyway why this matters is that a closed design will help to prevent the sound from being heard by those around you. If you are using typically in your room then open is the way to go. If you want to try and use these in a library setting then realize an open phone will leak the sound a lot. I have found patrons at my local library don't tend to like singing and head-thumping along with my trance music~Cheers

 

[san21893]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solodarn /img/forum/go_quote.gif Your benefit with sticking under 100 or so bucks is that many of the phones have impedance ratings maxing out at ~60 ohms. Most of the time this is a resistance value that is easy enough to drive from a portable MP3 player or your computer without needing an amplifier. Higher ohms does not necessarily mean better quality sound, but often you will hear nitpickyness on how, in a particular model, the 600 ohm is better than the 250 ohm version for such and such miniscule reason. Because the purchase of an amp simply adds cost I would look for something around the 60 ohm range or under, its not an absolute value just a good general ohm range for a can that doesn't require an amp. Someone brought up earlier that for even 60 ohm or so headphones, if you later decide to get one, a headphone amp can often add to the quality by crisping the bass and adequately powering complicated portions of songs. As you start growing in ohms, or resistance, you also start growing in the power needed to push your cans. This makes it less likely your computer jack will be able to keep up. headroom may have cleared up the difference between open and closed but briefly open are generally able to produce a better quality sound for the price. This is for a number of reasons but one is that producing great audio quality in a closed phone is a bit difficult it would seem. Anyway why this matters is that a closed design will help to prevent the sound from being heard by those around you. If you are using typically in your room then open is the way to go. If you want to try and use these in a library setting then realize an open phone will leak the sound a lot. I have found patrons at my local library don't tend to like singing and head-thumping along with my trance music~Cheers

Alright sweet I get it now, as for open or closed, I'm open to either one but I'd rather go closed as I'd want the extra isolation from ambient noise and I don't like leaks in sound.

Headroom has a good review for the HD 280's but they seem to bulky for me, and the coil wire is a complete turn off. As for gaming, that will be my least purpose of use for the headphones, as long as music sounds good through them it's fine either way.