Eliterdso
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2014
- Posts
- 11
- Likes
- 11
I'm currently considering a Koss ProDJ (200 or Tony Bennett) or Pioneer SE-A1000 headphone both at $60 but neither quite right, so looking for options, opinions, and input.
I think I want a neutral (nothing missing or extra enhanced) headphone maybe with slightly more mid/vocal since I have a harder time hearing voices. I would really like a detachable cable so it can be replaced when worn. For many reasons I am price sensitive and don't want to spend more than $50-60 total. I want an extremely strong build quality and I need REALLY THICK ear pads (like 1.5" deep). Oh I guess I should mention I have what seems to be a larger head at ~17.5cm or 6.9" wide. Oh and I listen to a huge variety of stuff. I can provide a few musical examples if needed. If I missed anything ask away and I will try to answer.
Some background on my headphone experience thus far, and then some wants/needs for a new set:
I had a 10-15$ set of headphones that worked O.K. for basic PC use. Well built, with a one piece molded soft durable and flexible plastic design with a soft clamping that was comfortable enough to wear for long movies. Unfortunately it wore out...the cable started to fray and I got static and crackling etc when moving the cable. Anyway I thought it would be a good time for an upgrade and tossed the set. I did some research and I found tons of suggestions for the $25 Monoprice headphones. One feature I was really interested in was a detachable cable so I could replace it when it wore out like my last set. Rave reviews about how well built and fantastic sounding they were etc. I figured for the step up in cost I would get similar/better build quality and better sound, the pictures certainly looked good. I've used Monoprice for cables several times and I liked the company enough to give it a go.
WTFBBQ?! Massive steaming pile of garbage. Extremely horrid build quality, the lowest end hard brittle plastics, super weak joints everywhere, super thin ear pads, and a terribly painful headband design (literally, it dug into your skull and gave you a migraine after 30 minutes). On top of that my unit had a terrible sound quality issue. I researched it and seemed best described as "sound clipping"...a background static on higher portions of sound (at normal listening volume). Was really bad in rock music like Metallica giving off a harsh scratchy popping static noise. Monoprice was good though and allowed me to swap for another set if I paid return shipping. Well the new set had no obvious/serious sound issues that I could tell but still suffered from horrid build quality/comfort. Then literally after just a few wearings it broke. The crappy plastic snapped off at one of the ball joints and the ear cup is only attached by the super thin wire to the other ear.
So lately I've been doing more research and found two potential options in the $50-60 range. Neither one seems like quite the right thing though.
I'm looking at the Koss PRO DJ line (100, 200, and Tony Bennett) all at the same $60 price. The 100 model has no detachable cable though so it's not really in the running unless it suddenly becomes much cheaper (most reviews I read said they were $40, not $60). The problem I read though is that they have terrible ear pads and you need to spend at least $20 more to try to fix it. I'm sort of unemployed/semi retired so I don't really want to spend that much (unless I just have to). Another potential issue is the build, reviewers say it's really well made...but that's what they said about the Monoprice set and they have the same build style (lots of fail points).
So another option I found was the Pioneer SE-A1000, also $60. I like that it has metal bar headbands (I assume), it doesn't look like there are any joints or stupid crap to break. Downside is no swap-able cable. I didn't really see many comments or complaints about the ear pads...but in pictures they look really thin. This one seems like it has a lot less potential issues than the Koss ones, but unfortunately the detachable cable is a rather big issue for me. I REALLY don't want to throw away $60 when a stupid cheap cable craps out.
One of the reasons I've gravitated to these two is the many comments that they are neutral or close to it, maybe a little extra mid-range to enhance vocals. And because they are neutral, I figure it should be easy to alter them a little with an equalizer to suit MY tastes. As I hinted in the title, I do have slightly damaged hearing and I do have a hard time hearing voices. So a set that enhances vocals some without messing anything else up seems like a good option to me. Unfortunately I am an absolute n00b when it comes to sound and I don't know or understand most of the words you all use. I don't actually know what I want/need as far as sound...I'm just assuming neutral is good. Also I see lots of talk about amplifiers and other strange electronics I've never heard of and most likely don't have. I own a PC, I plug things into it.
I use it to play TV, movies, music, and video games...and actually because I know a fair bit about PC hardware I can tell you I'm using an integrated Realtek ALC889A sound chip. For general purpose sound I also own an old Logitech Z5500 5.1 surround system. I used to own a really nice high end quad stereo setup (70's-80's?) that I had inherited. It sounded much better than my current setup, the short story is they wore out and I got rid of it. Anyway, the point is, I can plug the headphones either directly into my PC or into the Logitech control panel thing. I did notice a very big difference in sound between the two with my other headsets, but I don't know how to describe it or even recall which I liked better (was many months ago). I want the headphones for private listening/late night gaming or shows so I don't disturb other people. they need to be comfortable for a few hours, sound decent and not fall apart.
Oh I also have a rather old Zune MP3 player that I would like to use with them on the rare occasion I do go outside...without murdering the moderately worn out battery. My oldest cheap headphones worked much better with the Zune than the Monoprice ones, louder and seemed to last longer (less power to run the headphones?).
Thanks a bunch for taking the time whether you can help or not!
I think I want a neutral (nothing missing or extra enhanced) headphone maybe with slightly more mid/vocal since I have a harder time hearing voices. I would really like a detachable cable so it can be replaced when worn. For many reasons I am price sensitive and don't want to spend more than $50-60 total. I want an extremely strong build quality and I need REALLY THICK ear pads (like 1.5" deep). Oh I guess I should mention I have what seems to be a larger head at ~17.5cm or 6.9" wide. Oh and I listen to a huge variety of stuff. I can provide a few musical examples if needed. If I missed anything ask away and I will try to answer.
Some background on my headphone experience thus far, and then some wants/needs for a new set:
I had a 10-15$ set of headphones that worked O.K. for basic PC use. Well built, with a one piece molded soft durable and flexible plastic design with a soft clamping that was comfortable enough to wear for long movies. Unfortunately it wore out...the cable started to fray and I got static and crackling etc when moving the cable. Anyway I thought it would be a good time for an upgrade and tossed the set. I did some research and I found tons of suggestions for the $25 Monoprice headphones. One feature I was really interested in was a detachable cable so I could replace it when it wore out like my last set. Rave reviews about how well built and fantastic sounding they were etc. I figured for the step up in cost I would get similar/better build quality and better sound, the pictures certainly looked good. I've used Monoprice for cables several times and I liked the company enough to give it a go.
WTFBBQ?! Massive steaming pile of garbage. Extremely horrid build quality, the lowest end hard brittle plastics, super weak joints everywhere, super thin ear pads, and a terribly painful headband design (literally, it dug into your skull and gave you a migraine after 30 minutes). On top of that my unit had a terrible sound quality issue. I researched it and seemed best described as "sound clipping"...a background static on higher portions of sound (at normal listening volume). Was really bad in rock music like Metallica giving off a harsh scratchy popping static noise. Monoprice was good though and allowed me to swap for another set if I paid return shipping. Well the new set had no obvious/serious sound issues that I could tell but still suffered from horrid build quality/comfort. Then literally after just a few wearings it broke. The crappy plastic snapped off at one of the ball joints and the ear cup is only attached by the super thin wire to the other ear.
So lately I've been doing more research and found two potential options in the $50-60 range. Neither one seems like quite the right thing though.
I'm looking at the Koss PRO DJ line (100, 200, and Tony Bennett) all at the same $60 price. The 100 model has no detachable cable though so it's not really in the running unless it suddenly becomes much cheaper (most reviews I read said they were $40, not $60). The problem I read though is that they have terrible ear pads and you need to spend at least $20 more to try to fix it. I'm sort of unemployed/semi retired so I don't really want to spend that much (unless I just have to). Another potential issue is the build, reviewers say it's really well made...but that's what they said about the Monoprice set and they have the same build style (lots of fail points).
So another option I found was the Pioneer SE-A1000, also $60. I like that it has metal bar headbands (I assume), it doesn't look like there are any joints or stupid crap to break. Downside is no swap-able cable. I didn't really see many comments or complaints about the ear pads...but in pictures they look really thin. This one seems like it has a lot less potential issues than the Koss ones, but unfortunately the detachable cable is a rather big issue for me. I REALLY don't want to throw away $60 when a stupid cheap cable craps out.
One of the reasons I've gravitated to these two is the many comments that they are neutral or close to it, maybe a little extra mid-range to enhance vocals. And because they are neutral, I figure it should be easy to alter them a little with an equalizer to suit MY tastes. As I hinted in the title, I do have slightly damaged hearing and I do have a hard time hearing voices. So a set that enhances vocals some without messing anything else up seems like a good option to me. Unfortunately I am an absolute n00b when it comes to sound and I don't know or understand most of the words you all use. I don't actually know what I want/need as far as sound...I'm just assuming neutral is good. Also I see lots of talk about amplifiers and other strange electronics I've never heard of and most likely don't have. I own a PC, I plug things into it.
I use it to play TV, movies, music, and video games...and actually because I know a fair bit about PC hardware I can tell you I'm using an integrated Realtek ALC889A sound chip. For general purpose sound I also own an old Logitech Z5500 5.1 surround system. I used to own a really nice high end quad stereo setup (70's-80's?) that I had inherited. It sounded much better than my current setup, the short story is they wore out and I got rid of it. Anyway, the point is, I can plug the headphones either directly into my PC or into the Logitech control panel thing. I did notice a very big difference in sound between the two with my other headsets, but I don't know how to describe it or even recall which I liked better (was many months ago). I want the headphones for private listening/late night gaming or shows so I don't disturb other people. they need to be comfortable for a few hours, sound decent and not fall apart.
Oh I also have a rather old Zune MP3 player that I would like to use with them on the rare occasion I do go outside...without murdering the moderately worn out battery. My oldest cheap headphones worked much better with the Zune than the Monoprice ones, louder and seemed to last longer (less power to run the headphones?).
Thanks a bunch for taking the time whether you can help or not!
