[Sprite]

Hi guys,

This is my first post, so go easy on me -- I don't know much about what makes headphones "good", etc. I try to listen to music throughout my workday, and I had been doing so with <gasp> the OEM Ipod phones. When they broke, I took it as an opportunity to try and step into the audiophile world, and picked up a pair of Sennheiser HD280s -- the difference was pretty major, and I'm glad I made the change. That said, I've begun to notice 1 or 2 gray hairs right in the hair "groove" that the 280s leave. Given how much I'm using them, I'm beginning to think they're basically suffocating my hair, and I'd like to try smaller headphones to see if this fixes my problem.

So, I've done some searching on these forums, but I couldn't really find what would be ideal for my situation. I'm open to any kind of headphone, be it standard cans, buds, or inner-ear with about the same price range as the 280 (~$100). It seems like there are pros and cons to each. As I listen for long periods of time, I was hoping to find something the limits sonic fatigue, but probably also isolates (I enjoy having my coworkers yell at me to tell me anything). Searching the forums also made me worry about hearing loss, so I'd like to go with whatever is "safest", if there is such a thing. Obviously, size is important here, because I'm trying to test the hair theory.

Any help would be appreciated, and I apologize if this has been covered already (work headphones seem like it should be a common topic).

Thanks!

 

[Faust2D]

Why does hair turn gray?

 

[3x331m]

ATH-ES7 is my favorite for work. They're not the best for noise isolation, but your co-workers won't hear what you hear. I might upgrade to esw9 down the road. Also, they won't suffocate you hair, because they sit on your ears lobs.

Yuin PK1 is my favorite when I don't need noise isolation. I don't even notice that I have them on my ears after a while. Their bass is much better if amp'ed properly. PK2 is another option if there's no amp.

Have fun.

 

[Jaska]

beyerdynamic DT250-80 should be pretty nice, but a bit beyond your stated budget. They are very non-fatiguing in my experience with them, comfortable, not too huge, and the coiled cable is very well suited to working at a desk as you don't have to worry about rolling over it with your chair, getting it tangled on things and so on. They're also very easy to drive, even out of a portable or computer soundcard.

 

[ericj]

You're just getting old. But it's as good an excuse as any for buying new headphones.

 

[ph0rk]

x2 with the dt-250 80. In most any situation they'll blow the sennheiser hd280's away, and are even better supported with replacement parts.

 

[cp8ir]

x3 for DT250-80... they're on my head at my desk right now. They are closed-back and don't clamp too tight. The velour is comfortable so you might avoid the hair issue. You can get away without an amp if needed. I can still kind of hear my coworkers so they don't speak to me unnoticed. I got mine used here some time ago.

 

[ericj]

Yeah, I like my dt250-80 as well, so make that, what four reccomendations.

Less bassy than the dt770, more of an analytic sound. Weigh next to nothing. Very comfortable.

 

[Sprite]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Faust2D /img/forum/go_quote.gif Why does hair turn gray?

Thanks for the advice guys, but I guess I was confused with the initial post. I'd like to try to stay away from full cans, because of my little hypothesis. I could be getting old, but I'm 25 and my parents only went gray after 40. Furthermore, I literally have only 1 *white* hair on each side. According to that article, hair goes gray, then goes white. That article mentioned environmental factors, and I'm not willing to conclude that extended headphone use isn't enough to kill 1 hair here and there.

In all likelihood, I'm probably wrong, but I'd still like to see if the white goes away with a different type of headphones. Either I stop listening to music altogether (not really an option), or I purchase a different style. I guess I wanted to limit my options to on-ear, ear-buds, and inner-ear. With those in mind, is one style particularly bad for extended use compared to another, should I avoid one because it doesn't isolate, or is one bad quality-wise? Sorry for my initial confusion.