[lindrone]

You can amp anything and everything... even cheapie little earbuds. It's just that there isn't much of a reason to if the ceiling of those headphones are pretty low anyway.

Yes, ER-6 and E2c both improve with amping.. they don't have to be amped at all. However, the improvement you get from the amp is minimal, and mostly just a waste of money.

Take the money for the amp and invest it towards the next higher version or some other headphone is much better money spent by that point.

 

[Beto]

I have been thinking to get a pair of 280s (once I recuperate from the 600s+ Zu investment)

for the office. What interests me most about these is that they claim to have one of the best noise isolations out there, and that's definitely something I'm after, having an A/C behind me all day long and the usual office chatter that gets on my nerves sometimes. Can anyone clue me in further if the 280s are suitable for this kind of use?

 

[commando]

Quote:

Originally posted by Beto I have been thinking to get a pair of 280s (once I recuperate from the 600s+ Zu investment) for the office. What interests me most about these is that they claim to have one of the best noise isolations out there, and that's definitely something I'm after, having an A/C behind me all day long and the usual office chatter that gets on my nerves sometimes. Can anyone clue me in further if the 280s are suitable for this kind of use?

Yes, they are suitable, but I think you can do better. To my ears, the isolation of the 280s isn't much better than the isolation on my other closed 'phones - AKG271 and Beyer 250. The beyer isn't as good as the other two, as the cloth pads don't seal as well as the (p)leather pads.

The problem I have with the 280s are the sound - the bass is very weak, and the highs are very high and almost painful to my ears. In your place, wanting a cheap closed headphone for work, I bought the AKG 271. For even cheaper, i'd go with the A500 (little brother of the A900).

 

[ghesekki]

I just got my 280s. I'm driving it directly from the headphone out of an njb3, and I think it sounds pretty decent. The bass sounds perfect to me, but then again, I don't like a lot of bass.

I had the 580s, and those were better, but for $75, the 280s are great IMO.

The only thing is that they really do clamp tightly on your head - I can feel my pulse!

 

[lindrone]

Quote:

Originally posted by ghesekki The only thing is that they really do clamp tightly on your head - I can feel my pulse!

Put a stack of books between them overnight and stretch them out... first start with a stack about the width of your head. If they're still too tight, than add a few more books (1.5 times the width of your head) and stretch them overnight again... I had to do that with mine (when I had it) before I was remotely comfortable with them.

HD280's isolation rating is way overblown. I think the official spec says it blocks something like 30db. Canalphones does 32db or so at most, and noise cancellation headphone usually combines for about 15db of total volume attenuation.

HD280 doesn't get anywhere near either one of those in real world practice. I have no idea where they came out with that stupid number. They don't isolate much more (but ever so slightly more) than my A900.

 

[ghesekki]

Quote:

Originally posted by lindrone HD280's isolation rating is way overblown. I think the official spec says it blocks something like 30db. Canalphones does 32db or so at most, and noise cancellation headphone usually combines for about 15db of total volume attenuation. HD280 doesn't get anywhere near either one of those in real world practice. I have no idea where they came out with that stupid number. They don't isolate much more (but ever so slightly more) than my A900.

I agree with you there. They isolate nowhere near the levels of e2s or e3s.

 

[nierika]

Quote:

Originally posted by lindrone HD280's isolation rating is way overblown. I think the official spec says it blocks something like 30db. Canalphones does 32db or so at most, and noise cancellation headphone usually combines for about 15db of total volume attenuation. HD280 doesn't get anywhere near either one of those in real world practice. I have no idea where they came out with that stupid number. They don't isolate much more (but ever so slightly more) than my A900.

The isolation is much more effective in blocking out higher frequencies than lower frequencies. The 30dB is probably the "maximum isolation".

 

[lindrone]

Yeah, that's still a very misleading advertisement. I think the rating is more like, "maximum of 30db at only this frequency of sound"...

Ety and Shure are both companies which considers preservation of hearing is just as important as sound itself.. after all, they're on-stage in-ear monitors for musicians. That sort of misleading advertisement would have them burned on a cross.

I still think Sennheiser's advertised spec for the HD280 is very, very irresponsible.

 

[naunika]

Î'm back

So - The Shure E2c Earphones or the Etymotic ER-6 (unamped) will be better than the HD 280 (unamped) ?

And which better - The Shure E2c Earphones or the Etymotic ER-6?
the Shure are cheaper.

And - is the sound That much better than You know -those little (guess they are also calles earpgones?) that cost e.g. 20$ or 10$? like sony or whatever.
'Maybe (sure) You will find my question dumb, but I can not imagine how would sound an earphone that costs 250 or 400 (or, ok, these two models -about 100$) .


And another thing - I own now a AKG K 305 headphone.
Anyone of You know it? How would You characterize it? good/bad/terrible/avoid ?
Because they are only +/- that i can listen to.

 

[lindrone]

In my preferences, I think both of those headphones sounds better than HD280 unamped.

ER-6 => all about details in the music, bass is not impressive.

E2c => not as much detail for sure, but better bass, and good midrange resolution.

So it just depends on your personal taste, can you do without bass in exchange for more details? Canalphone in this range are all about trade-offs

Of course, you can't imagine what a $250~$400 earphone sounds like yet... maybe you'll find out in a matter of time.. hehehehe

 

[naunika]

hey, dont You want to sell me your e5c?

Quote:

Originally posted by lindrone In my preferences, I think both of those headphones sounds better than HD280 unamped. ER-6 => all about details in the music, bass is not impressive. E2c => not as much detail for sure, but better bass, and good midrange resolution. So it just depends on your personal taste, can you do without bass in exchange for more details? Canalphone in this range are all about trade-offs Of course, you can't imagine what a $250~$400 earphone sounds like yet... maybe you'll find out in a matter of time.. hehehehe

 

[ghesekki]

I strongly have to disagree with Lindrone that the E2s will sound better than the 280s unamped. With the E2s, I believe that you're paying a premium for the isolation that it offers. When you first try it, I wouldn't be surprised if you found it disappointing and not much better, and maybe even worse, than $10-20 earbuds. This is because they have a very noticeable veil on the highs. As your ears become more used to the E2s and become more discerning, you'll start to appreciate their mid-range and won't mind as much the veil. I grew to like the E2s, but its faults drove me to spring for a pair of E3s.

I've only had the 280s for a day, but I think they are much better than the E2s. Although they are a little bright, they a more balanced than the E2s, have better detail, and have better soundstage as well.

If you're deciding between E2s and 280s purely on quality of sound, 280s win hands down. However, they are definitely not portable, and there is no way I'd ever wear these in public unless I'm looking to get pelted with eggs. If you need a pair of portable phones, E2s are decent. Just don't expect some mind-blowing experience when you first try them on.

I haven't tried er-6s so I can't comment on those.

 

[lindrone]

The reason why I don't recommend HD280's over the E2's.. is that even though E2's high-end leaves much to be desired... it is a very friendly and non-fatiguing sound, while the midrange resolution is still very appropriate.

If you had HD280 for over 2 weeks like I did, and realized even after hundreds of hours of burn-in the high-end will nevertheless start tearing into your ears about after 30 minutes of continuous listening.. then you'd know what I'm talking about.

HD280 has very nice high details and midrange, but the complete lack of balance in its presentation and over fatigue in the trebles just about kills it for me. Regardless of how it might offer more detail, if you can't listen to them for more than half hour at a time.... there's no point in having them at all.

 

[ghesekki]

Quote:

Originally posted by lindrone The reason why I don't recommend HD280's over the E2's.. is that even though E2's high-end leaves much to be desired... it is a very friendly and non-fatiguing sound, while the midrange resolution is still very appropriate. If you had HD280 for over 2 weeks like I did, and realized even after hundreds of hours of burn-in the high-end will nevertheless start tearing into your ears about after 30 minutes of continuous listening.. then you'd know what I'm talking about. HD280 has very nice high details and midrange, but the complete lack of balance in its presentation and over fatigue in the trebles just about kills it for me. Regardless of how it might offer more detail, if you can't listen to them for more than half hour at a time.... there's no point in having them at all.

I'll agree with you on your statement that the E2s are not fatiguing. However, the 280s seem a bit too bright only on some songs. Ye even when a little bright, they still sound better than the E2s. The E2s, on the other hand, sound pretty good with some songs but sound like *** on others.

Also, some people may find the E2s very painful. I know that it took me quite a while before I got used to having massive tubes stuck in my ears. The 280s hurt in a different way, but I found the E2s more uncomfortable.

 

[bindibadgi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lindrone /img/forum/go_quote.gif [HD280] don't isolate much more (but ever so slightly more) than my A900.

Hold the phone! I was under the impression that the 280s isolated much more than the a900s. Am I wrong (I'd like to be). I need a pair of phones for all around use, which includes much use on the bus. Do the a900s isolate well enough (ie nearly as well as the 280)?

I don't want IEMs I've decided, even though the isolation would be clearly better.

And no I don't care what people think. I'm willing to wear a900s on the bus.