[Zojokkeli]

Here's something different to play through your Shiit: The Hu. They're from Mongolia, speak no English, and combine tradiitonal Mongolian instruments and throat-singing with rock. Think of it as a hybrid folk-metal, and it works, big-time. They are amazing. This is a concert from 2 weeks ago.

Saw them yesterday, as well as Gojira, In Flames, Ghost, Jinjer, Lorna Shore and tons of other great metal bands over the weekend. The Hu was amazing live.

Also, recommendation to Sennheiser SoundProtex. Nice to protect your hearing while still hearing the music clearly.

 

[adydula]

I sold many a Bose, as well. It was mainly 301s and 501s (the only model I considered tolerable) w/ the occasional 201s. 901s were a very rare sale as our demo room was not conducive to demo'ing them, but then again, I was not a fan of the 901 (something didn't settle with me about a 10' wide and tall oboe or violin, saxophone, etc.). People came in wanting Bose and despite my efforts to move them towards JBL, KLH, or EPI(cure), I was not going to turn down a quick commission if they failed to see (hear) the light.

LOL...Over the years I bought two sets of 901's years apart, in between many other speakers...
I never heard the 10 ft wide oboe etc, just 10 oboes!! >)...

Love and hate relationship with them...long gone.

 

[AstronomerXI]

Saw them yesterday, as well as Gojira, In Flames, Ghost, Jinjer, Lorna Shore and tons of other great metal bands over the weekend. The Hu was amazing live.

Also, recommendation to Sennheiser SoundProtex. Nice to protect your hearing while still hearing the music clearly.

Jealous you saw them live. I'll have to look into the Soundprotex. I've avoided concerts for over a decade because of my hearing, and I'm careful to keep my headphones at or below 75dB (maximum).

 

[ScotchNeat]

yeah, hate to say it, but it’s even better. But it is source dependent. Audio is where the biggest difference lies for a physical disc versus streaming. 4k and blu Ray are both visually excellent on a disc and marginally better than streaming. The audio quality quality is where you notice the biggest difference between streaming and a physical disc.

While absolutely true, if you think about it, it's kind of ridiculous. Quality high-res video requires a ton of bandwidth. High quality audio dramatically less so. Yet to shave bitrate, audio quality is always the first thing to go.

 

[Ableza]

Ok, stipulating I am lazy and don’t want to dig through this or similar forums…I need some headphone advice… and I am not a headphone guy.

1) The only time I use headphones is on airplanes.

2) I travel 2-3 weeks a month.

3) I hate in-ear monitors/ear buds. I can use them at the gym, but anything longer than a workout makes me physically uncomfortable.

4) I’m locked into the iOS infrastructure for in-flight listening.

5) I don’t want to buy something else (either a DAC dongle or headphones) I need to remember to charge.

6) My use case for headphones is music previously downloaded to an older iPad (3.5mm jack) or lightning connector iPhone (I have the apple dongle) or inflight entertainment on same devices or through the onboard entertainment (also 3.5mm).

7) I currently use a cheap pair of closed back Sony cans that were price-matched at an airport shop for something like $10.

These are the ones, I think.

8) They are fine, but they’re not loud enough to overcome the ambient noise of the plane in quiet passages of music or film. Watched a movie on the iPad this week on a flight and really struggled with quiet dialogue.

9) With a sub $100 budget, is there a better option than my cheapo Sony headphones?

10) I wear glasses, if that’s relevant.

I use IEMs when travelling mainly because I try to do all my business travel with only a carry-on and full-size headphones take up too much valuable space. The other advantage to IEMs (for me) is ANC headphones give me a headache and IEMs can seal your ear canal and cut ambient noise pretty effectively, especially with the right foam tips. Also, there's nothing to power and all ANC headphones are powered in some way. But that being said, the best ANC phones have been from Bose for many years, and although you can't get new ones for less than $100, it might be worth surfing EBay for a used set and see what you can find. I used to own a set of Sennheiser ANC phones that were pretty good, and they were AA battery powered, but like I said I got rid of them because the constant noise cancelling effect gave me brain ache.

 

[Roy G. Biv]

For the past 10 years I've been using ANC headphones at work (pilot). Two months ago I switched to what amounts to aviation IEMs+microphone and I'm very happy with them. The foam ear tips block much more sound than the over-ear headphones and, for me, are much more comfortable on long flights.
When riding as a passenger I use wireless bluetooth earbuds because I don't like dealing with cords.
I agree with what some others have suggested in that increasing the budget to about $150 will get some much better cans.

 

[dstrimbu]

If I'm too 'tipsy' to operate the lock, then I have no business operating the gear.

I always think twice before LP'ing whilst imbibing... the boron cantilever on the Dynavector cartridge is SOOOO exposed...

 

[golfbravobravo]

Ok, stipulating I am lazy and don’t want to dig through this or similar forums…I need some headphone advice… and I am not a headphone guy.

1) The only time I use headphones is on airplanes.

2) I travel 2-3 weeks a month.

3) I hate in-ear monitors/ear buds. I can use them at the gym, but anything longer than a workout makes me physically uncomfortable.

4) I’m locked into the iOS infrastructure for in-flight listening.

5) I don’t want to buy something else (either a DAC dongle or headphones) I need to remember to charge.

6) My use case for headphones is music previously downloaded to an older iPad (3.5mm jack) or lightning connector iPhone (I have the apple dongle) or inflight entertainment on same devices or through the onboard entertainment (also 3.5mm).

7) I currently use a cheap pair of closed back Sony cans that were price-matched at an airport shop for something like $10.

These are the ones, I think.

8) They are fine, but they’re not loud enough to overcome the ambient noise of the plane in quiet passages of music or film. Watched a movie on the iPad this week on a flight and really struggled with quiet dialogue.

9) With a sub $100 budget, is there a better option than my cheapo Sony headphones?

10) I wear glasses, if that’s relevant.

No, but having sprung for the Apple ipoddy earphone thingies, they are remarkably good.

 

[Huntersknoll]

I'm not a huge IEM fan but I sprung for the Apple AirPod Pro's and could not be happier. That would be my suggestion. A bit more moeny than you want to spend but I think you'd be happier in the long run.

 

[Roy G. Biv]

No, but having sprung for the Apple ipoddy earphone thingies, they are remarkably good.

At least once per week I'll have a passenger stating that they lost one of their AirPods somewhere in the cabin.
For reasons unknown, I never hear of any other brand being lost.

 

[Ableza]

At least once per week I'll have a passenger stating that they lost one of their AirPods somewhere in the cabin.
For reasons unknown, I never hear of any other brand being lost.

My wife bought some over-ear clips for hers because they won't stay in her ears very well. Me, I don't use them.

 

[JLoud]

I work in a very load environment. I use Apple AirPods Max and they are great. Very good noise cancellation and music and movies sound pretty good. Also if you use Apple Music the spatial audio is a pretty good enhancement.

 

[artur9]

While absolutely true, if you think about it, it's kind of ridiculous. Quality high-res video requires a ton of bandwidth. High quality audio dramatically less so. Yet to shave bitrate, audio quality is always the first thing to go.

Because we are visual animals.

Can you imagine what it would be like if we had the sensory apparatus of dogs?

 

[Ripper2860]

I'd rather not. The thought of everyone running around humping legs and sniffing buttocks is just more than I can handle.

 

[US Blues]

I'd rather not. The thought of everyone running around humping legs and sniffing buttocks is just more than I can handle.

Yet it was the first image that came to your mind. And you then decided to share same.