[KinesongPayaso]

I need headphones, or earphones that are under $50. $75 if its received well by many

::A::
i need one for home use, and commuting to school
I need it to be good at noise cancellation/isolation. since im going to use it for commuting, and i dont want outside noise to interfere with the music

::B::
another reason that I want it to be noise cancellation, is that I do not want to crank up the volume high.(on my ipod, the volume i use it is always at 1/12 to 1/10 of the maximum, when at a relatively quiet environment ... yes, that low. And when commuting, i would increase it to 1/4 to 1/5th ... even if I cant fully hear the music, and outside noise is distorting the music, it's fine ... since I DO NOT WANT TO INCREASE THE VOLUME, and go deaf)

::C::
now, the hard part:
is there a headphone/earphone, that is so good(still under $75) that, you dont need to increase the volume to medium-high to hear the instruments/vocals well?
I wanna hear the instruments seperately, and cleanly





I dont think I have sophisticated ears that will appreciate those high quality headphones and music .. so high end headphones arent needed, same with amps
I just want to hear the music clearly though.


for home use, my PC has a "realtek AC97 audio" ... that probably isnt good at all
for travelling, or at school, I have an Ipod Mini
I do not have an amplifier



The $50-75 limitation is not strict, as I live outside of america, and the prices will definitely vary
---on one store, an AKG D81DJ costs $200(converted) talk about overpricing...

 

[lmilhan]

The only two phones that come to mind :

AKG K81DJs
JVC Marshmallows

The AKG K81DJs sound great and isolate decently. As long as their vice-like grip doesn't bother you, these might be 'the ones' for you. Tey would have been keepers for me if it wasn't for the fact that I couldn't handle the pain they caused my ears due to their grip. They certainly aren't worth $200 though. Perhaps you can score a used pair from the for sale forum.

The JVC Marshmallows are dirt cheap IEMs that sound surprisingly good for thier price point. With their default marhmallow tips, they can be a bit uncomfortable. They are also BASS monsters - they have a bit too much BASS for me (on certain recordings). For the love of God, please disable any BASS bost you may be using if you go with these headphones. The mids are a bit lacking, and the highs are decent. They isolate a little less than the K81DJs, and sound only about half as good (which isn't a surprise for how cheap they are). Some people find IEMs very uncomfortable, but if you find them comfortable, the JVC Marshmallows are a 'fun' set of isolating cans and are a steal for the $10 sale that Circuit City is currently running. I bought a pair for giggles and to be used as "beater phones" for certain protable situations I may find myself in. They won't be replacing my AKG K1000s anytime soon

but they sound shockingly good when you consider their price tag. They sound spectacular being driven by my PSP.

You will not have to crank the volume for either of those headphones to properly and comfortably hear the music in the situations you have described.

Good luck.

 

[F107plus5]

A word of warning however.

The traditional greeting we give to a new member is, Welcome to Head-Fi and "sorry about your wallet"!!

The thing to watch out for is that after listening to quality headphones even at the lower end of the scale, is that they WILL become addictive! They WILL!!

Wanting to hear music with good separation and with good detail is one of the first things to show a potential lifelong dependence on good cans.

 

[KinesongPayaso]

:::A:::
I will look at the JVC marshmallows
if they do provide at least decent sound and great isolation, i may just buy them, and get a grado SR60, for home use, for some great listening

this way, my choices wont be constricted to finding the best of both worlds under my price range

:::B:::
on a side note, i really have no idea how strong these headphones/iem isolate sounds
is there a site, forum, article, graph/chart or w/e that pits these Hphones/iems against real world noise? instead of just describing them as "the best isolation..great isolation...decent attenuation" etc

like, can you hear an operating jackhammer 10 feet away?
or a car's horn/honk 30 feet away
or, a motorcycle engine rumbling(turned on, but not revved up/running) just right beneath you


:::C:::
lmilhan, i think i read on some posts that they just leave the K81DJ clamped on a thing to stretch it out for a long period of time
how are the hinges though?? the earcups seem to be connected lightly to the headband, that coupled with the tight squeeze.. i would assume that the hinges would break easily


::

:::
another thing that concerns me with IEMs though
i dont trust such a little thing to be sturdy enough, and have mechanical support for all that technology fitted inside such a small structuce ... they seem so flimsy and easy to break

 

[LFC_SL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KinesongPayaso /img/forum/go_quote.gif another thing that concerns me with IEMs though i dont trust such a little thing to be sturdy enough, and have mechanical support for all that technology fitted inside such a small structuce ... they seem so flimsy and easy to break

My Westone UM2s and Shure E4Cs are quite well made. Once you hold the earpieces for the first time it is apparent they are of far superior build to your cheap stock headphones. The UM2s have a nice braided cable, that while thin feels solid and doesn't tangle. The Shure has a nice thick wire that feels reassuring.

While I have yet to require customer service in my nearly a year of owning these, Shure have an excellent reputation in that regard, the consensus on this forum seems to be they take care of broken phones quickly and without questions asked

 

[kingsqueak]

Stick your fingers in your ears until you have a complete seal, that's pretty close to what Shure E2c IEMs will do for noise reduction. Those are true IEMs though and have a complete seal.

What you can hear around you with IEMs in depends greatly on the music level. Even at very low levels, music will pretty much drown out any sounds around you. If you walk around in a city with IEMs on, you better get used to using your eyes for your safety. If you go to cross a street, you better look around carefully. The whole point of IEMs is for as much noise isolation as possible. They work well enough to easily listen at low levels in the subways in NYC.

IEMs are the best for hearing protection IMO, simply because you can run them at about half the volume level of other headphone solutions and get full clarity of the music. Mine isolate well enough to run a backpack leaf-blower and still hear music at non dangerous levels.

As for sturdy, the Shure E2c's have been used daily by me for two years without a single issue. Their cord is very heavy so it's much more resistant to snagging on people/things in subways all the time. Just use your head and when they aren't in use, neatly coil them up and put them somewhere to keep them safe...I just used the inside pocket of a courier bag and they are still working just fine.

 

[KinesongPayaso]

:::B:::
on a side note, i really have no idea how strong headphones/iem isolate sounds
is there a site, forum, article, graph/chart or w/e that pits these Hphones/iems against real world noise? instead of just describing them as "the best isolation..great isolation...decent attenuation" etc

like, can you hear an operating jackhammer 10 feet away?
or a car's horn/honk 30 feet away
or, a motorcycle engine rumbling(turned on, but not revved up/running) just right beneath you





--------just wanted an answer for this... don't think it warrants a new thread

 

[3X0]

Look for a used iM716 or something. They're a spot-on match for most of your criteria except price. Isolation and low-volume listenability are both fantastic.

Not to mention it's arguably quite better than the low-end Shures and Ultimate Ears (and possibly Etymotics) for clarity.

 

[M0T0XGUY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KinesongPayaso /img/forum/go_quote.gif I need headphones, or earphones that are under $50. $75 if its received well by many ::A:: i need one for home use, and commuting to school I need it to be good at noise cancellation/isolation. since im going to use it for commuting, and i dont want outside noise to interfere with the music ::B:: another reason that I want it to be noise cancellation, is that I do not want to crank up the volume high.(on my ipod, the volume i use it is always at 1/12 to 1/10 of the maximum, when at a relatively quiet environment ... yes, that low. And when commuting, i would increase it to 1/4 to 1/5th ... even if I cant fully hear the music, and outside noise is distorting the music, it's fine ... since I DO NOT WANT TO INCREASE THE VOLUME, and go deaf) ::C:: now, the hard part: is there a headphone/earphone, that is so good(still under $75) that, you dont need to increase the volume to medium-high to hear the instruments/vocals well? I wanna hear the instruments seperately, and cleanly I dont think I have sophisticated ears that will appreciate those high quality headphones and music .. so high end headphones arent needed, same with amps I just want to hear the music clearly though. for home use, my PC has a "realtek AC97 audio" ... that probably isnt good at all for travelling, or at school, I have an Ipod Mini I do not have an amplifier The $50-75 limitation is not strict, as I live outside of america, and the prices will definitely vary ---on one store, an AKG D81DJ costs $200(converted) talk about overpricing...

You sure like colons

. On a serious note, I'd recommend the ER6i's from Etymotic, they have great isolation, clarity, and are only a teeny bit above your price range. In busy situations, I only have to turn the volume on my Mini to about a quarter in order to really "hear" the music.

 

[KinesongPayaso]

lol

I had to seperate each topic, so that you guys could easily read what Im saying, and answer each question
...even then, they weren't answered

last Er6i I saw were up to $120. and thats VERY far from my price range (for you guys, thats probably small )

feel sorry for my wallet

 

[kingsqueak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KinesongPayaso /img/forum/go_quote.gif :::B::: on a side note, i really have no idea how strong headphones/iem isolate sounds is there a site, forum, article, graph/chart or w/e that pits these Hphones/iems against real world noise? instead of just describing them as "the best isolation..great isolation...decent attenuation" etc like, can you hear an operating jackhammer 10 feet away? or a car's horn/honk 30 feet away or, a motorcycle engine rumbling(turned on, but not revved up/running) just right beneath you --------just wanted an answer for this... don't think it warrants a new thread

Use your head, some common sense applies here.

With no music playing in the phones, of course you will hear any of this. As I recommended, stick your fingers in your ears until they seal. it's almost the same level of isolation. Play music and you will drown out all background noise, the louder you play it, the more things you will overshadow with the music.

You will need to play the music 30% or less the volume you would need with non-isolating solutions to overcome the same ambient noise.

Have you never worn earplugs before? It's the same thing, plus or minus a few db.

Since you aren't inclined to go for quality IEM's, you can buy sealing canal phones for $40. In the city, lunch with a tip is $20 and you'll be wearing these phones daily right? So what is the big deal, just try a pair, they sell for a pittance. Eat pizza for two days and you've already paid for them.

 

[facelvega]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KinesongPayaso /img/forum/go_quote.gif :::A::: I will look at the JVC marshmallows if they do provide at least decent sound and great isolation, i may just buy them, and get a grado SR60, for home use, for some great listening

You've got an excellent answer to your problem right on budget. Don't look any further if wherever you are you can find US prices on these-- because you mention you're not there, and Grado in particular are steeply more expensive elsewhere. Both should also work alright at low volumes, though personally I can only speak for the Grados.

You could also mention what kind of music you're listening to, and we might make different suggestions. Personally, I might skip the Grado, get some old K240M off ebay instead (usually ca. $50 or less), and a generic USB sound controller (as little as $8) to improve on the quality that that Realtek junk is giving you. A K240M with a USB sound card will easily trump an SR-60 out of a Realtek.

 

[KinesongPayaso]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingsqueak /img/forum/go_quote.gif Use your head, some common sense applies here. With no music playing in the phones, of course you will hear any of this. As I recommended, stick your fingers in your ears until they seal. it's almost the same level of isolation. Play music and you will drown out all background noise, the louder you play it, the more things you will overshadow with the music. You will need to play the music 30% or less the volume you would need with non-isolating solutions to overcome the same ambient noise. Have you never worn earplugs before? It's the same thing, plus or minus a few db. Since you aren't inclined to go for quality IEM's, you can buy sealing canal phones for $40. In the city, lunch with a tip is $20 and you'll be wearing these phones daily right? So what is the big deal, just try a pair, they sell for a pittance. Eat pizza for two days and you've already paid for them.

LOL
i find it funny when people criticize you, then say things like "common sense" when they didnt read carefully what you said
I mentioned headphones/IEMs. and not just IEMs

sticking my fingers in my ear MAY resemble using IEMs. even then, they still vary. VERY good IEMs, just ok, or bad. ear sizes differ too

then, theres the headphone problem, which you nicely ignored
how can I gauge how much noise gets in, when all that's said to describe the isolation are "great, astounding, best isolation. or just ok isolation. ordinary. bad isolation etc etc" for each model being commented on, or reviewed

it would be so much better to just say, "at 3 feet away from the *insert name of source of noise* I could not hear anything at 1/12th of the max volume of an ipod. no sound enhancements"
or "at 3 feet away, I could only hear the drums on *song X* and could not hear the bass and vocals"


In this instance, your common sense, is also common to me

what one perceives to be quiet, may be noisy to another. that's why I was asking for a chart, or graph, which shows numbers, instead of just descriptions. what numbers show wont vary for everyone.


oh, and my lunches only cost $2-3...
so, it's kinda hard to save up for a $40-100 thing, when your daily alloted spending is only at $6. including food, transportation.

----edit:
im aware that im being B*tchy, but you mentioning "common sense" just ticks me off.
what you have said in your previous posts were very helpful. thank you for that. however, i was asking for some charts, graphs etc. so I can get a real idea on how a certain model isolates noise.

 

[KinesongPayaso]

Quote:

Originally Posted by facelvega /img/forum/go_quote.gif You've got an excellent answer to your problem right on budget. Don't look any further if wherever you are you can find US prices on these-- because you mention you're not there, and Grado in particular are steeply more expensive elsewhere. Both should also work alright at low volumes, though personally I can only speak for the Grados. You could also mention what kind of music you're listening to, and we might make different suggestions. Personally, I might skip the Grado, get some old K240M off ebay instead (usually ca. $50 or less), and a generic USB sound controller (as little as $8) to improve on the quality that that Realtek junk is giving you. A K240M with a USB sound card will easily trump an SR-60 out of a Realtek.

thanks, I never thought of buying a soundcard. I will take that into consideration

is there a general observation of difference between the performance of a soundcard and an amplifier? (lets say soundcard X and amp X cost the same)
do amps usually sound better? or is it the other way around?



My choices in music are highly varied. most of them are just popular music you see on tv, or hear on the radio. however, i dont like the dull and dark/heavy sounds of most metal/rock music

I dont like it when instruments play at the same time, therefore making a combined/meshed sound.. where it just creates a long drawn out dull sound.

i like to hear a lot of instruments playing. and you could easily identify each instrument, and isolate one note/sound from another

 

[derek8555]

KinesongPayaso, you might be asking too much for something that can be easily tested out by yourself. I've only seen a few charts from I-don't-know-where few years ago I don't even remember where to find them anymore. And just as you said yourself, it varies from person to person, best I can say is for IEMs, with tips such as complies, foams or triple flanges and a perfect fit/seal, they isolate roughly 20-25db. So don't expect miracles to happen. They sure do isolate more depending on how loud you play your music.

Operating jackhammer 10ft away?! hell yes, even when u cover up your ears with your hands you can still hear them right? That's what I call commonsense.
I can hear most of the things when I ride a subway while playing at medium volume (-25db with -24db precut on my rockboxed ipod, don't know how that works out to the normal ipod's volume). I can also hear cars and traffic on the street, I wonder how loud the others hear when they claim that they can't hear a thing.

EDIT: since you don't like metal, there is no point getting Grado's then, they are supposed to be killer rock cans. There are better alternatives for pop, such as MS1 but they are out of your budget...