[metal_monger]

Hi all. First post here.

I am posting the typical help me pls type post, but I have looked around and I think I have a good idea of what headphones I am intrested in.

I ultimately plan to buy 2 sets of phones, some in ear earbuds, and some cans(home and portable. Altho money right now is hard to come buy (broke ***** college student!) So I ask for the following advice so that I can narrow it down to 1 headset or buds for now.

Some of the headsets/buds that I am considering at the moment:

shure e2
sennheiser 280
sennhesier 200
sennhesier 500
bose triports (if i see them on sale somewhere for less then 100dollars - which i doubt!).

What cans or in ear earbuds should I consider?

*mainly used with metal type music

*mainly will be used at gym and at school (must be durable and if possible compact

*mainly used with ipod (amp is out of the question, so should sound good being just plugged into ipod and nothign else)

*looking for good isolation, i will give up some sound for better isolation.

*looking to spend around 100dollars

*i really really really hate the triwly cord such as found on the Senn hd 280's (this was the main headset i wanted for a while, until i saw the twirly cord - i realize its replaceable so havent actually found the link to do it)

As a side referance, best buy here had a open box bargin on some bose triports, so i bought them to check them out

. I thought these where awesome sounding headphones and I liked them over all except for the price, which I think is excessive (esp when everyoen around here swear the 280's blow them away sound wise for much less). I did return them by the way.

Ety's for the time being are out of the question as the ones that suit my needs are way out of reach finacially ($270). So I respecectully ask you not include those in advice.

 

[blessingx]

Welcome to Head-Fi, sorry about your wallet.

Normally for your price range the 280's and Sony V6's (not V600's) would be standard recommendations. For metal I'd especially recommend the latter. They both have twist cords though (which by the way I think works nicely with the iPod) and are not compact. If you bump it up to another ~$60 other options appear for closed phones (for isolation) but will also not be compact.

If you forget isolation there's also the dual approach of Senn MX400/500's for ~$20 or Koss KSC35's for ~$30 for the gym and then going with the Grado SR60's at ~$70 for home. The Grados will leak quite a bit though. The Senn 497's at ~$60 are another option, but the Grados may be better for your music choices.

Also the Senn PX200's at ~$50 should probably be looked at as a compromise.

Stay away from the Triports unless you get a great deal.

 

[MichaelFranks]

Quote:

Originally posted by metal_monger Ety's for the time being are out of the question as the ones that suit my needs are way out of reach finacially ($270). So I respecectully ask you not include those in advice.

Perhaps I skimmed over it, but what is your source? What makes you convinced the er6 aren't sufficient?

I hate earbuds, in-ear changed thw whole game for me!

EDIT!

Stupid me, read it again and it's an ipod primarily!

The ipod drives the er6's just fine with ample volume for headbanging.

Plastic tips sound like a bonus for a gym-user.

 

[metal_monger]

is there a advantage to the twist cord other then the ability to extend longer then a straight cord? needing lengthy cords is not a issue for me, as a matter of fact anything longer then the ear buds the ipod came with to me is excessive. i dont like the twirly cords because if you are walking around with them you have that extra slack to put in your pocket or whatever......if its twirly then its bulky in your pocket also!

*some where on the todd the vinyl junky website(buying guide i belive, which i cant find a link to at th emoment), said that the best ety's for portable devices was the ones that ran 260 or 270. I forget the model, will post a link later.

 

[blessingx]

Some of the phones mentioned have short cords, but most decent ones out there don't. The 280's and V6's as studio monitor cans aren't actually made for portable use and as nearly all non-portable phones are either long or twisted (vast majority the former). I'll take my twisted V6's over the long cord of my other current and previous phones when walking around with my iPod. It's much easier to deal with when the cord is already pretty short, than wrapping around a long cord (I tried a couple systems) and then stuffing it in your pocket.

If you get a made for portable set though you can avoid this question. You'll have a short cord for home use though.

 

[lindrone]

The twirling cords are mostly for home-use. Usually people don't want cords lyin' around the floor... so a twirly cord makes the cord 'extendable' like a spring.. it can be short as not to be all over the floor, but stretches to reach distances it needs to get to. However, not very good for portable set-ups. Obviously you need a pretty heavy thing for the cord to be connected into to allow that to happen. If you had it plugged into an iPod, you'll just be dragging the iPod along the way. Of course, it won't fit in your pocket very well either.

The Ety you're thinking about is the Ety ER-4P or ER-4S... both model are at the same price. ER-4P is supposedly more easily driven from a portable, but ER-4S is better with amps.

In my experiences, Shure E2c is very good for active use... because it has a wrap around ear design that makes it very stable. E2c still has collusion effects, but next to no cable noise whatsoever. Ety has more collusion effects & cable noise... And since they stick straight of your ear (even when fully inserted), I found it difficult to keep them in if I was running or something.

Of course, E2c's sound quality is not as good as the Ety, but it should be good enough for your needs.

 

[MichaelFranks]

Quote:

Originally posted by metal_monger *some where on the todd the vinyl junky website(buying guide i belive, which i cant find a link to at th emoment), said that the best ety's for portable devices was the ones that ran 260 or 270. I forget the model, will post a link later.

Yes, the 4p's are optimized for portable use, and can sound great out of sources with extremely weak output.

Headroom's site makes a similar comment, and they have actually changed the wording since I had last checked,

"which means they should be easy to drive from a portable player, but we've found that they improve dramatically, especially in the bass, when used with a portable headphone amp like our AirHead"

The ipod drives the er6's just fine, with ample room for headbanging!

You would think I worked at etymotic or something, but I really just love their headphones. I have convinced 3/4 members of my family to make the investment, along with a couple of friends, all of whom have been extremely happy with the er6.

They aren't for everyone, true. But you can always take advantage of headroom's 30day satisfaction guarantee, all while supporting the forums as well. Not sure if Todd has the same thing going, and I believe you can get 10% off the ety's there.

blah blah blah blah blah

 

[blessingx]

Quote:

Originally posted by MichaelFranks Not sure if Todd has the same thing going, and I believe you can get 10% off the ety's there.

Todd's has ER4 headphones on sale for $229 + $5 for Priority Mail shipping, through Saturday, October 11th. He has a 30 day return policy.

 

[MichaelFranks]

sounds like his budget is in the er6 area...

 

[metal_monger]

"E2c still has collusion effects, but next to no cable noise whatsoever. Ety has more collusion effects & cable noise... " could you please explain what collusion and cable noise are?

 

[MichaelFranks]

cable noise is audible noise from cable contact.

the cable noise on the er6 is hardly noticeable. the 4s/p cable noise is a different story....

someone else can field collusion.