Altrocklover
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2012
- Posts
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To get this out of the way, I am considering "low end" to be around and below 400$, and these headphones I have selected are what are available to me the most easily, which leaves me with very commercialized and mainstream headphones popular with people who aren't very particular about sound. Know now that I don't want to hear about every other alternative that is sooo much better than these, and know that I do have better taste in audio then just Beats or Klipsch. I tried hard to include headphones like the Audio-Technicas and the Polks to mix it up a bit.
I have looked at, listened to, purchased, and gone about my day with these headphones over the year 2012 and have made my decisions about them recently. You may not agree on my final purchase, but realize that everyone has different needs for NC headphones. My main concern in this comparison was most definitely feel and comfortability for long trips and long study sessions. The headphones included in this review will be the Audio-Technica ATH-ANC9, the Beats studio and the new executives, both the Bose QC 15, the Polk Audio Ultrafocus 8000(never heard a lot of Polk until I got some fantastic bookshelf speakers from them for Christmas as a surprise and decided to see what they are all about), the Klipsch m40, and the "revolutionary" Parrot Zik headphones.
Audio-Technica ATH-ANC9(350$)- Okay, Audio-Technica has never been too popular where I live(Knoxville isn't the best place for high-end audio equipment), and gets ignored by the dumb kids who just want Dre's latest **** set of cans. I did like these heaphones, but I also came not to like them for the reasons I wanted a headphone. They had solid highs, not too solid bass, and the mid-range was not very clear. At the same time, I found that the noise canceling worked well, but I found that the three-way noise selection was highly unnecessary and is just a ploy. The comfortability was just not good enough though, and the looks to match. The headband looks like cheap plastic even though it feels like more solid polymer under further speculation, and the overall look came off like a 50 dollar pair of knock-offs. I'm gonna go ahead and say that the Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7b(220$) are actually better balanced, and they look better too. I'm just not a big fan of on-ear headphones in the first place so they weren't my style, but definitely look into those if you are.
Klipsch M40(350$)- In my opinion, these may be the best sounding of the group. The solid build quality and sleek finish come together for a very appealing set of cans on the exterior, but then we put them on. From the start you can feel that these will squeeze around your ears so tight that you might not need the powered noise cancellation. They gave me a headache after a bit, but the sound was almost worth it. Crisp highs and mids rang out followed by a booming bass which surprisingly wasn't too overpowering. Sadly, the hard leather ear cups take their toll after a while and leave you feeling like your head was in a vice the whole listening experience, and for 350$ that can't be. Klipsch never disappoints with their earbuds in my opinion, but these are their only noise cancelling headphones.
Parrot Zik(400$)- Here they are, the most expensive headphones in the review. They aren't that great. The sound is alright, the balance is alright, they look weird, they cost too much, and they feel soft but sit on my head funny. Parrot should have focused more on sound and build quality than what the headphones should do when they get fingered by the listener. That is all I have to say about these.
Polk Audio (350$)- The sound quality rivals the Klipsch m40s, if not exceeds them, and they feel worlds better. The sound makes up for what the NC quality lacks. The NC does hardly anything, but the headphones are excellent otherwise. These cans actually remind me of a more comfortable, cheaper, and all around better alternative to the Beats Pro. I'm not a fan of all the pause and fast forward stuff being on the outside of the cans though, and that is another turn off for me. Good for people who are at home or in a more quiet environment, not the best for people seeking amazing NC.
Bose QC 15(300$) -These headphones are solid. REAL solid. I don't like the looks for some reason, and the way they just hang off of the connection to the headband is weird, but they cancel any noise you throw at them. If you are looking for the quintessence of all noise canceling headphones, these are for you. I didn't like them because of the sound. I feel like they aren't loud, and that the NC is the star of the show hear. The treble was a bit off, and the bass and mids were well balanced. They are extremely comfortable, but I just couldn't get over the lack of music immersion. To elaborate, I like to be completely and totally into my music, which for me means loud and powerful regardless of noise cancelation or not.
Beats Studios(300$)-For a person who wants to be cooler than all of his buds at school, these are great. For an audio critic who wants some cheaper headphones than HD 800s that he can wear out in public, the sound will be a definite issue. They not only look like, but they are made of cheap plastic, and the noise cancellation works great but puts out sooo much sound that surrounding people will think you are going deaf when you are listening to music at 50% and will tell you to turn it down when you barely think that you can hear it! The bass is overpowering in a bad way, the trebles are washy at best, and the mids aren't too bad but vocals tend to be drowned out a bit. Not to mention these headphones should at least have their price dropped 75$! But wait, don't give them up yet. The inferior audio company got something right(astonishing I know) These headphones feel quite good on your head, and I found myself listening to them for hours after I bought them from a store on sale due to overstock on an 8 hour car ride home from Destin, Fl. I just didn't have to take them off at all, and they didn't run out of batteries either! But the sound and shoddy build quality on these weren't good enough for them to be my go to NC cans, and I was running out of options. I went into the apple store yesterday and saw the new beats executives, which brings me to part 2 of the NC beats analysis.
Beats Executives(300$)-Finally, a solid looking and built set of cans by Beats. The brushed metal finish goes nicely with the jet black headband and ear cushions, and when all this is paired with the gunmetal accents, you get extremely aesthetically pleasing headphones. I honestly cannot say enough good things about these headphones. The cushions, oh gosh, they feel like angels gently built these plush cushions and headbands and then put them snugly on your head for you. I honestly can't tell that they are leather and feel much to soft to be uncomfortable. I haven't taken them off since I got home, and I won't for a while. I've listened to them quiet to deafeningly loud, and they do have some problems. They are, unusually for Beats, balanced evenly to about 80%, then the bass gets distorted on bass heavy songs, but you only experience this if you are a dub step or pop listener. I am not, and I typically like Alt. rock(duh), indie rock, new rock, a bit of pop, some rap(very little, maybe some beastie boys), some metal, some punk rock, and many other genres depending on my mood. Not a lot of these except for rap have too much bass so they were all the same to me on sound quality. But one problem arose to me, which I got over and have blocked out after 10 minutes of listening: The NC is of good quality, but it is audible when no sound is coming through, kinda like the studios but a bit more so. The static in songs like Pyro by the Kings of Leon can be over-exaggerated when the volume is over 85%, but as the song gets past 20 seconds it gets flooded out by nice guitar licks, chords, vocals, and drums. Honestly this won't be a problem unless you listen to your headphones on with no music playing while you sleep or just to drown out noise. Keep music through the cans and it won't be a problem. A bit pricey, but I went with them and that will be once again explained below.
Bottom line: I know it goes against every Audio-critiqueing instinct in my body, but I had to go with the Beats Studios. Beats hasn't been good, wait, the've been horrible with every in-ear speaker(ibeats,ubeats,heartbeats,tour, and powerbeats were all completely TERRIBLE), on ear speaker(solos were okay but over-priced and terribly shoddy, mixr's are too uncomfortable, and the pros were also uncomfortable and way too overpriced), and Beats are notoriously overpriced. The plain fact of the matter is, I tried my best to igonre the logo on the side of the headphones in this situation, and I looked solely for what I set out for. The decision for me was clear: polk audio, or beats executive. I had 200$ worth of mall store credit and there weren't polks at the mall, so I went with these. I honestly, could not be happier. These headphones just felt too good to not purchase, and I won't regret my decision. But, if you are looking for NC quality, there is not a doubt in my mind that the Bose QC15 are the best of the bunch, and if you are looking solely for sound quality and comfort is not an issue, let the Klipsch and the Polk Audio be your focus.
If you just scrolled through that whole review cause it was too long, here's the scoop:
NC quality: Bose
Comfort and Style: Beats Executive
Sound quality: Klipsch and Polk Audio
My Choice: Beats Executive
Once again, don't tell me that I forgot the headphones that were engineered in Japan, forged in the depths of Tartarus, assembled in China, and only sold in one shop in the slums of London; I don't want to hear it. I'm sure there are many alternatives to the headphones I have chosen, just maybe state things about these headphones that I've overlooked. Say whatever you want, but I'd really appreciate if you left the less known headphones out, I tried the ones I could get my hands on.
Justin Adam
I have looked at, listened to, purchased, and gone about my day with these headphones over the year 2012 and have made my decisions about them recently. You may not agree on my final purchase, but realize that everyone has different needs for NC headphones. My main concern in this comparison was most definitely feel and comfortability for long trips and long study sessions. The headphones included in this review will be the Audio-Technica ATH-ANC9, the Beats studio and the new executives, both the Bose QC 15, the Polk Audio Ultrafocus 8000(never heard a lot of Polk until I got some fantastic bookshelf speakers from them for Christmas as a surprise and decided to see what they are all about), the Klipsch m40, and the "revolutionary" Parrot Zik headphones.
Audio-Technica ATH-ANC9(350$)- Okay, Audio-Technica has never been too popular where I live(Knoxville isn't the best place for high-end audio equipment), and gets ignored by the dumb kids who just want Dre's latest **** set of cans. I did like these heaphones, but I also came not to like them for the reasons I wanted a headphone. They had solid highs, not too solid bass, and the mid-range was not very clear. At the same time, I found that the noise canceling worked well, but I found that the three-way noise selection was highly unnecessary and is just a ploy. The comfortability was just not good enough though, and the looks to match. The headband looks like cheap plastic even though it feels like more solid polymer under further speculation, and the overall look came off like a 50 dollar pair of knock-offs. I'm gonna go ahead and say that the Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7b(220$) are actually better balanced, and they look better too. I'm just not a big fan of on-ear headphones in the first place so they weren't my style, but definitely look into those if you are.
Klipsch M40(350$)- In my opinion, these may be the best sounding of the group. The solid build quality and sleek finish come together for a very appealing set of cans on the exterior, but then we put them on. From the start you can feel that these will squeeze around your ears so tight that you might not need the powered noise cancellation. They gave me a headache after a bit, but the sound was almost worth it. Crisp highs and mids rang out followed by a booming bass which surprisingly wasn't too overpowering. Sadly, the hard leather ear cups take their toll after a while and leave you feeling like your head was in a vice the whole listening experience, and for 350$ that can't be. Klipsch never disappoints with their earbuds in my opinion, but these are their only noise cancelling headphones.
Parrot Zik(400$)- Here they are, the most expensive headphones in the review. They aren't that great. The sound is alright, the balance is alright, they look weird, they cost too much, and they feel soft but sit on my head funny. Parrot should have focused more on sound and build quality than what the headphones should do when they get fingered by the listener. That is all I have to say about these.
Polk Audio (350$)- The sound quality rivals the Klipsch m40s, if not exceeds them, and they feel worlds better. The sound makes up for what the NC quality lacks. The NC does hardly anything, but the headphones are excellent otherwise. These cans actually remind me of a more comfortable, cheaper, and all around better alternative to the Beats Pro. I'm not a fan of all the pause and fast forward stuff being on the outside of the cans though, and that is another turn off for me. Good for people who are at home or in a more quiet environment, not the best for people seeking amazing NC.
Bose QC 15(300$) -These headphones are solid. REAL solid. I don't like the looks for some reason, and the way they just hang off of the connection to the headband is weird, but they cancel any noise you throw at them. If you are looking for the quintessence of all noise canceling headphones, these are for you. I didn't like them because of the sound. I feel like they aren't loud, and that the NC is the star of the show hear. The treble was a bit off, and the bass and mids were well balanced. They are extremely comfortable, but I just couldn't get over the lack of music immersion. To elaborate, I like to be completely and totally into my music, which for me means loud and powerful regardless of noise cancelation or not.
Beats Studios(300$)-For a person who wants to be cooler than all of his buds at school, these are great. For an audio critic who wants some cheaper headphones than HD 800s that he can wear out in public, the sound will be a definite issue. They not only look like, but they are made of cheap plastic, and the noise cancellation works great but puts out sooo much sound that surrounding people will think you are going deaf when you are listening to music at 50% and will tell you to turn it down when you barely think that you can hear it! The bass is overpowering in a bad way, the trebles are washy at best, and the mids aren't too bad but vocals tend to be drowned out a bit. Not to mention these headphones should at least have their price dropped 75$! But wait, don't give them up yet. The inferior audio company got something right(astonishing I know) These headphones feel quite good on your head, and I found myself listening to them for hours after I bought them from a store on sale due to overstock on an 8 hour car ride home from Destin, Fl. I just didn't have to take them off at all, and they didn't run out of batteries either! But the sound and shoddy build quality on these weren't good enough for them to be my go to NC cans, and I was running out of options. I went into the apple store yesterday and saw the new beats executives, which brings me to part 2 of the NC beats analysis.
Beats Executives(300$)-Finally, a solid looking and built set of cans by Beats. The brushed metal finish goes nicely with the jet black headband and ear cushions, and when all this is paired with the gunmetal accents, you get extremely aesthetically pleasing headphones. I honestly cannot say enough good things about these headphones. The cushions, oh gosh, they feel like angels gently built these plush cushions and headbands and then put them snugly on your head for you. I honestly can't tell that they are leather and feel much to soft to be uncomfortable. I haven't taken them off since I got home, and I won't for a while. I've listened to them quiet to deafeningly loud, and they do have some problems. They are, unusually for Beats, balanced evenly to about 80%, then the bass gets distorted on bass heavy songs, but you only experience this if you are a dub step or pop listener. I am not, and I typically like Alt. rock(duh), indie rock, new rock, a bit of pop, some rap(very little, maybe some beastie boys), some metal, some punk rock, and many other genres depending on my mood. Not a lot of these except for rap have too much bass so they were all the same to me on sound quality. But one problem arose to me, which I got over and have blocked out after 10 minutes of listening: The NC is of good quality, but it is audible when no sound is coming through, kinda like the studios but a bit more so. The static in songs like Pyro by the Kings of Leon can be over-exaggerated when the volume is over 85%, but as the song gets past 20 seconds it gets flooded out by nice guitar licks, chords, vocals, and drums. Honestly this won't be a problem unless you listen to your headphones on with no music playing while you sleep or just to drown out noise. Keep music through the cans and it won't be a problem. A bit pricey, but I went with them and that will be once again explained below.
Bottom line: I know it goes against every Audio-critiqueing instinct in my body, but I had to go with the Beats Studios. Beats hasn't been good, wait, the've been horrible with every in-ear speaker(ibeats,ubeats,heartbeats,tour, and powerbeats were all completely TERRIBLE), on ear speaker(solos were okay but over-priced and terribly shoddy, mixr's are too uncomfortable, and the pros were also uncomfortable and way too overpriced), and Beats are notoriously overpriced. The plain fact of the matter is, I tried my best to igonre the logo on the side of the headphones in this situation, and I looked solely for what I set out for. The decision for me was clear: polk audio, or beats executive. I had 200$ worth of mall store credit and there weren't polks at the mall, so I went with these. I honestly, could not be happier. These headphones just felt too good to not purchase, and I won't regret my decision. But, if you are looking for NC quality, there is not a doubt in my mind that the Bose QC15 are the best of the bunch, and if you are looking solely for sound quality and comfort is not an issue, let the Klipsch and the Polk Audio be your focus.
If you just scrolled through that whole review cause it was too long, here's the scoop:
NC quality: Bose
Comfort and Style: Beats Executive
Sound quality: Klipsch and Polk Audio
My Choice: Beats Executive
Once again, don't tell me that I forgot the headphones that were engineered in Japan, forged in the depths of Tartarus, assembled in China, and only sold in one shop in the slums of London; I don't want to hear it. I'm sure there are many alternatives to the headphones I have chosen, just maybe state things about these headphones that I've overlooked. Say whatever you want, but I'd really appreciate if you left the less known headphones out, I tried the ones I could get my hands on.
Justin Adam
