[BBEG]

Actually, that's not a bad idea. It would do the audio industry a lot of good to have some of the bigger names come out during busy hours, set up shop in a mall or Best Buy's audio room, and just demo some of their used gear. Have competitor products available (namely Beats/Bose/etc.) and let people test apples-to-apples. You'd have to find some way to manage external noise, but I bet even then you'd make a lot of converts. IEM manufacturers probably stand to gain the most.

 

[JamesHuntington]

So I went to Target today, thinking I'd really give those Beats and Bose a listen. I had tried them once before when they first came out, before I ever spent more than $40 on headphones. I could tell back then that they amplify them in such a way that when you eventually hook them up to your player (back then mine was probably a CD Walkman) you'd never get that sound again. But since I have some good stuff now I thought I could really compare. The only wow I got was looking at the price tag and seeing that you would leave there paying $199-299 plus tax. One of the 4 beats on display wasn't working properly, which was the studio. Of the Beats, I could actually stand the Beats HD with a Sheryll Crow song playing, but at their prices they just felt so cheap to me and were not that comfy. I have some older Senns HD540 that I'd put up against any of those in any way. But hey, we can't all go out and buy discontinued models of cans that actually give you what you pay for.  And the Bose phones, though they were clear, a guy's voice kept popping up every 10 seconds telling me how clear they were, which ruined my concentration (Talk about catapulting the propaganda, I mean let me chose them by listening to music and not some sales recording. Plus the display you couldn't even switch songs, which gave me no ability to really find something I like.) Bose feel cheap and they're maybe worth $40 for clarity, but only if there was a screaming baby next to me on a plane would I spend that. My Sony MDR-V300 that I wear when I sleep sound as clear as the bose to me. So Beats HD win the which could I stand to listen to, and they were only kinda comfortable because of their funky little cup design. I think I would rather get some of the Sony stuff in the $50 range than beats, and who cares who sees me not wearing beats. One thing I can say is that stores like target and Best Buy only buy from companies that can meet their demands. They aren't going to display something in one store and not have it in all their stores. So where is the average guy going to test the goods? Which company has what it takes to kill the Bose/Beats buzz? I think the HE400 could do it in a few years. I'd love to compare my Yamaha YH-100 to the HE400 too. 

 

[hifimanrookie]

So I went to Target today, thinking I'd really give those Beats and Bose a listen. I had tried them once before when they first came out, before I ever spent more than $40 on headphones. I could tell back then that they amplify them in such a way that when you eventually hook them up to your player (back then mine was probably a CD Walkman) you'd never get that sound again. But since I have some good stuff now I thought I could really compare. The only wow I got was looking at the price tag and seeing that you would leave there paying $199-299 plus tax. One of the 4 beats on display wasn't working properly, which was the studio. Of the Beats, I could actually stand the Beats HD with a Sheryll Crow song playing, but at their prices they just felt so cheap to me and were not that comfy. I have some older Senns HD540 that I'd put up against any of those in any way. But hey, we can't all go out and buy discontinued models of cans that actually give you what you pay for.  And the Bose phones, though they were clear, a guy's voice kept popping up every 10 seconds telling me how clear they were, which ruined my concentration (Talk about catapulting the propaganda, I mean let me chose them by listening to music and not some sales recording. Plus the display you couldn't even switch songs, which gave me no ability to really find something I like.) Bose feel cheap and they're maybe worth $40 for clarity, but only if there was a screaming baby next to me on a plane would I spend that. My Sony MDR-V300 that I wear when I sleep sound as clear as the bose to me. So Beats HD win the which could I stand to listen to, and they were only kinda comfortable because of their funky little cup design. I think I would rather get some of the Sony stuff in the $50 range than beats, and who cares who sees me not wearing beats. One thing I can say is that stores like target and Best Buy only buy from companies that can meet their demands. They aren't going to display something in one store and not have it in all their stores. So where is the average guy going to test the goods? Which company has what it takes to kill the Bose/Beats buzz? I think the HE400 could do it in a few years. I'd love to compare my Yamaha YH-100 to the HE400 too. 

Am now a bit worried about u..how u feel after being tormented by all that terror..u can tell us..we listen..we are ur shoulder if u have pain see us as a pair of lcd3's hugging ur ears to comfort u of the horrr u just experienced

 

[JamesHuntington]

Well, I came home and put on a used CD I got from GoodWill today by someone I'd never heard before named Mary Lou Williams Trio that was recorded live at Ricks Cafe American in 1979. It's Jazz with some really good sounding bass lines and solos, and etc.... The recording is so good that I got chills a few times. The second time I listened to it, which was right after the first, I said out loud, "that was intense!" I only bought it because the disk was made in Denmark and it looked like a great find, which it was. It had a scratch or two but I couldn't tell when listening. I also listened to a record I found, which was almost brand new and made in Germany and all the writing on the album is in German of Chicago Symphony Orchestra with an organ recorded in 1976. This is the music and the really good part with the organ doesn't come in till about 30:00:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBC2gYf5jN8
I started listening to and buying classical music a few months ago totally out of the blue in an attempt to find super high quality recordings, and am now really glad I found this one with the organ in it, pretty heavy I must say.
Anyway, I was only dealing with the listening situation for a short time, though now that I think about it, I may be having flash-backs from the experience. I looked up the LCD3 the other day when I was thinking about getting a used pair of LCD2 that were on ebay, and honestly I would like to put those on in almost the same way I want to drive a Ferrari. And maybe that's the reason you can't test Audeze and the like as easily as beats, because people would never want to leave the listening station.

Then, they would wake up the next day in a haze, next to their Sennheiser HD 600 with no will to live. Yes, that and it's gotta be hard to let people test headphones that can easily be disconnected from the cables like some of these big daddies.
Lastly, as of today and my goodwill finds I'm now the owner of The Moonlight String Orchestra plays the music of Celine Dion in 24 bit mastering, which looks pretty cool if you can handle that kind of cheesy music. (OK, it's not Celine and that's about the best I can say about it, though it would make good karaoke music to sing to if you wanted to make a funny youtube video.) And you can't take that away from me. Well you could, but you probably wouldn't want to.    

 

[wolfetan44]

Quote:

Well, I came home and put on a used CD I got from GoodWill today by someone I'd never heard before named Mary Lou Williams Trio that was recorded live at Ricks Cafe American in 1979. It's Jazz with some really good sounding bass lines and solos, and etc.... The recording is so good that I got chills a few times. The second time I listened to it, which was right after the first, I said out loud, "that was intense!" I only bought it because the disk was made in Denmark and it looked like a great find, which it was. It had a scratch or two but I couldn't tell when listening. I also listened to a record I found, which was almost brand new and made in Germany and all the writing on the album is in German of Chicago Symphony Orchestra with an organ recorded in 1976. This is the music and the really good part with the organ doesn't come in till about 30:00:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBC2gYf5jN8
I started listening to and buying classical music a few months ago totally out of the blue in an attempt to find super high quality recordings, and am now really glad I found this one with the organ in it, pretty heavy I must say.
Anyway, I was only dealing with the listening situation for a short time, though now that I think about it, I may be having flash-backs from the experience. I looked up the LCD3 the other day when I was thinking about getting a used pair of LCD2 that were on ebay, and honestly I would like to put those on in almost the same way I want to drive a Ferrari. And maybe that's the reason you can't test Audeze and the like as easily as beats, because people would never want to leave the listening station.

Then, they would wake up the next day in a haze, next to their Sennheiser HD 600 with no will to live. Yes, that and it's gotta be hard to let people test headphones that can easily be disconnected from the cables like some of these big daddies.
Lastly, as of today and my goodwill finds I'm now the owner of The Moonlight String Orchestra plays the music of Celine Dion in 24 bit mastering, which looks pretty cool if you can handle that kind of cheesy music. (OK, it's not Celine and that's about the best I can say about it, though it would make good karaoke music to sing to if you wanted to make a funny youtube video.) And you can't take that away from me. Well you could, but you probably wouldn't want to.    

Hey, where in Cal do you live? I know 2 places to audition LCD3's

 

[JamesHuntington]

Quote:

Hey, where in Cal do you live? I know 2 places to audition LCD3's

Central, like right between SF and LA. And no I couldn't buy them, at least until I find a job and work for a few years securely. I do have my eye on them and unlike other people on HeadFi, I believe the reviews without hearing. I have the YH-100 like I mentioned, which I stumbled on and purchased used, with much luck (I must say) because I thought they looked cool and felt very quality, and even before I knew anything about planar or orthodynamics. They were an eye opener in sound above the Grado SR60 that I had. I am convinced I'd even like the HE-400 considering the reviews and what I know about their abilities beyond normal headphone speakers. From what I know, LCD are very clean and can be used for studio or home, especially when paired with equipment that may add sound signature. To me the YH-100 has a sound signature and I like what they do, but they are not new and one little speck of dust can end all their goodness. With LCD I know I can add sound signature with amps/dacs or just appreciate the original recording like it was intended. Now that all said I'll keep my eye on them, watch them go from top ten to top twenty and down the charts on the headfi list just like I did with my K701 going from tied with 8 to like 24. Anyhow, the worst people say about orthos is that they are heavy and can benefit from extra head padding. I believe the HE-4 is trying to be the lighter version if I'm not mistaken.
On a side note, wouldn't be funny as a thread where people just post pictures of themselves wearing their best gear in front of the Beats display. I'd laugh my ass of there. Please tell me it's being done

   

 

[tribestros]

Quote:

So I went to Target today, thinking I'd really give those Beats and Bose a listen. I had tried them once before when they first came out, before I ever spent more than $40 on headphones. I could tell back then that they amplify them in such a way that when you eventually hook them up to your player (back then mine was probably a CD Walkman) you'd never get that sound again. But since I have some good stuff now I thought I could really compare. The only wow I got was looking at the price tag and seeing that you would leave there paying $199-299 plus tax. One of the 4 beats on display wasn't working properly, which was the studio. Of the Beats, I could actually stand the Beats HD with a Sheryll Crow song playing, but at their prices they just felt so cheap to me and were not that comfy. I have some older Senns HD540 that I'd put up against any of those in any way. But hey, we can't all go out and buy discontinued models of cans that actually give you what you pay for.  And the Bose phones, though they were clear, a guy's voice kept popping up every 10 seconds telling me how clear they were, which ruined my concentration (Talk about catapulting the propaganda, I mean let me chose them by listening to music and not some sales recording. Plus the display you couldn't even switch songs, which gave me no ability to really find something I like.) Bose feel cheap and they're maybe worth $40 for clarity, but only if there was a screaming baby next to me on a plane would I spend that. My Sony MDR-V300 that I wear when I sleep sound as clear as the bose to me. So Beats HD win the which could I stand to listen to, and they were only kinda comfortable because of their funky little cup design. I think I would rather get some of the Sony stuff in the $50 range than beats, and who cares who sees me not wearing beats. One thing I can say is that stores like target and Best Buy only buy from companies that can meet their demands. They aren't going to display something in one store and not have it in all their stores. So where is the average guy going to test the goods? Which company has what it takes to kill the Bose/Beats buzz? I think the HE400 could do it in a few years. I'd love to compare my Yamaha YH-100 to the HE400 too. 

 
That's why Best Buy sells Sennheiser, AKG, Pioneer, Audio Technica, B&W, right? The reason those phones are popular is because they look cool and have that 'bass-heavy' sound. They're fun, if not accurate at all. The average listener doesn't care about accuracy. B&W hit a good middle ground of accuracy, fun and looks. But they aren't sold in enough places and too esoteric of a brand. Beats are here to stay, unfortunately. Still, I think that Beats have been great for the headphone industry.

 

[JamesHuntington]

Quote:

 
That's why Best Buy sells Sennheiser, AKG, Pioneer, Audio Technica, B&W, right? The reason those phones are popular is because they look cool and have that 'bass-heavy' sound. They're fun, if not accurate at all. The average listener doesn't care about accuracy. B&W hit a good middle ground of accuracy, fun and looks. But they aren't sold in enough places and too esoteric of a brand. Beats are here to stay, unfortunately. Still, I think that Beats have been great for the headphone industry.

For sure the portable headphone amp industry should take advantage of the headphone boom. I almost fully agree with you except that hopefully people don't get discouraged after spending good money for mediocre stuff. They may end up concluding that they can't get better quality as the price goes up. I'm seeing beats at game stop and all over but no amps. A Filo is a small price to pay to make your neck jewelry bump louder, would be my thinking if I thought like them anyway. I see one of the skull candy models comes with a built in amp on the cable. And those wireless models in beats or whatever have to have built in amps. But, like the good old days when you'd see people in a parking lot bumping their car systems to see who's louder, I see headphone/neck-woofer competition being the next big thing. Hopefully Best Buy reads this

   

 

[JamesHuntington]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1KJowQH4FM
 
Ok, can your Koss Porta Pros do this?

 

[jtinto]

kiss your koss goodbye

 

[JamesHuntington]

They do say Boomphones all over them, got an amp/battery in them and are the Canadian version of the beats. Now were having a neckphone competition with Canada. It's bigger than I thought.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yjlSr9ksAE

 

[JamesHuntington]

When I searched "Boomphones" on eBay to see how much they cost, it asks: "Do You Mean Homophones?" The did give me 10 results of Boomphones, but I couldn't help but chuckle. Anyhow, if I was back in school I know I'd like these, except I was into punk rock back then. I wonder how NOFX sounds on them? With the expansion of Boom Phones, people are going to give in and spend the stupid money on Bose Quiet headphones in order to quiet out situations like a kid next to you at the bus stop playing his BoomPhones.   

 

[KamijoIsMyHero]

Quote:

Central, like right between SF and LA. And no I couldn't buy them, at least until I find a job and work for a few years securely. I do have my eye on them and unlike other people on HeadFi, I believe the reviews without hearing. I have the YH-100 like I mentioned, which I stumbled on and purchased used, with much luck (I must say) because I thought they looked cool and felt very quality, and even before I knew anything about planar or orthodynamics. They were an eye opener in sound above the Grado SR60 that I had. I am convinced I'd even like the HE-400 considering the reviews and what I know about their abilities beyond normal headphone speakers. From what I know, LCD are very clean and can be used for studio or home, especially when paired with equipment that may add sound signature. To me the YH-100 has a sound signature and I like what they do, but they are not new and one little speck of dust can end all their goodness. With LCD I know I can add sound signature with amps/dacs or just appreciate the original recording like it was intended. Now that all said I'll keep my eye on them, watch them go from top ten to top twenty and down the charts on the headfi list just like I did with my K701 going from tied with 8 to like 24. Anyhow, the worst people say about orthos is that they are heavy and can benefit from extra head padding. I believe the HE-4 is trying to be the lighter version if I'm not mistaken.
On a side note, wouldn't be funny as a thread where people just post pictures of themselves wearing their best gear in front of the Beats display. I'd laugh my ass of there. Please tell me it's being done

   

will defo post pics if it ever comes up and I will make sure my beats buddy takes the pics too lol

 

[streetdragon]

Quote:

will defo post pics if it ever comes up and I will make sure my beats buddy takes the pics too lol

i will join in too when i get the chance

 

[clifwst]

Quote:

I started listening to and buying classical music a few months ago totally out of the blue in an attempt to find super high quality recordings, and am now really glad I found this one with the organ in it, pretty heavy I must say.

James I have been listening to Classical for about a decade, and a very good source for vinyl is believe it or not Goodwill stores.  I have bought 30-40 records at a time for 50 cents a piece.  At least 3/4 of them are very playable, and I do screen them for defects, before I buy them.  Most people who collected classical recordings on vinyl took rather good care of their collection, so if the in-laws didn't use them for a frisbee, or allowed the grand-kids to play with them before sending them off to the Goodwill, the records are still  usually in good shape.
 
One source of German recordings that never fails of the record is still in good shape is a company called Deutsche Grammophon.  That name will be in a yellow square, sometimes about the top quarter of the album cover, sometimes smaller.  they always took pains to do a very good recording.  My latest find from them is Igor Strawinsky, Der Feuervogel, (The Firebird) London Symphony Orchestra.  I have several different copies of The Firebird on vinyl, it is one of my daughters favorites, and this is the best recording so far.
 
BTW most people have heard that piece they just do not call it that.
 
It is the soundtrack Walt Disney used for "Fantasia" his 1940 animated musical film staring Mickey Mouse movie,  which is why my daughter likes the recording so much.
that recording is one for the headphones late at night.  right now it's Ozzy though, still love my rock and roll.