Cry Havoc
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2007
- Posts
- 399
- Likes
- 11
For those of you who don't like big long speeches and just want to cut to the chase, read the bolded stuff. Otherwise, you can read on to get a better grip of what I'm looking for.
Being relatively young I am just now emerging onto the audio scene and looking to make significant improvements to my Sony Street Style MDR-G74SL, which have served me well, but don't sound nearly good enough to warrant a repurchase. Not to mention the fact that the over-the-ear plastic cuts into the back of my ears. My current output devices are a Dell Dimension E1705 running Winamp, and an Archos AV500 Portable Video Player, which sounds significantly better than any iPod I've listened to. The Archos has a more balanced, fuller sound, and every time I listen to an iPod, even with my limited headphones, I can't believe how tinny they tend to sound.
I still have a few questions. I will be using these headphones for light travel (across the L in Chicago, extremely noisy commute), and just listening to music in my own room as well. Also perhaps some gaming, but that's a tertiary concern at this time, since I would prefer superior music performance to a set optimized for gaming. I would optimally like a set that blocks out at least a moderate amount of external noise.
Now then, price. Obviously cheaper is more desirable unless a drastic amount of quality is sacrificed. However, due to the fact that this will be my first set of phones approaching any sort of audiophile quality, I'm not going to put down a huge chunk of money. I can't afford it, and I'm not sure my ears would appreciate a set like the Ultimate Ears 11 series. I'm looking at the $300 or less price range, but anything below that is gravy.
Now the big question. Since I will be traveling, I would like a set that is at least partially portable. I have a Chromebag Metropolis for long transport, which fits a 17" laptop with tons of room. However, when I'm just moving around on short jaunts, I will be somewhat limited in what I can carry. This has led me to the Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5. The price and reviews seem well-suited for me.
But the truth is, I've been wondering. I have a few friends who swear by large cans, and say that there is no way that even a high quality earbud can compare, performance-wise. Truth be told, I would be willing to sacrifice a bit in the portability department if it offered significant gains in sound quality, and maintained the quality without degradation by transport (ie, I don't want cans that cannot withstand at least a modicum of lateral wear). I want these phones to last me at least a couple years, and they must be comfortable, as I will be using them quite often. I have tried earbuds before, and my ears seem to be in the medium range of size, which makes it likely that the UEs will be comfortable for my ears. But are there any portable muffs out there that will be a huge improvement over the UEs for the same price range?
Sorry for the long spiel. I tend to over analyze everything, but it's typically worth it to find a product that I love. Any responses/links would be appreciated!
*edit* Oh, and it should be noted that I will use these for nearly every musical genre, though mostly rock will be piping through. I also listen to jazz, classical, and a little bit of hip-hop.
Being relatively young I am just now emerging onto the audio scene and looking to make significant improvements to my Sony Street Style MDR-G74SL, which have served me well, but don't sound nearly good enough to warrant a repurchase. Not to mention the fact that the over-the-ear plastic cuts into the back of my ears. My current output devices are a Dell Dimension E1705 running Winamp, and an Archos AV500 Portable Video Player, which sounds significantly better than any iPod I've listened to. The Archos has a more balanced, fuller sound, and every time I listen to an iPod, even with my limited headphones, I can't believe how tinny they tend to sound.
I still have a few questions. I will be using these headphones for light travel (across the L in Chicago, extremely noisy commute), and just listening to music in my own room as well. Also perhaps some gaming, but that's a tertiary concern at this time, since I would prefer superior music performance to a set optimized for gaming. I would optimally like a set that blocks out at least a moderate amount of external noise.
Now then, price. Obviously cheaper is more desirable unless a drastic amount of quality is sacrificed. However, due to the fact that this will be my first set of phones approaching any sort of audiophile quality, I'm not going to put down a huge chunk of money. I can't afford it, and I'm not sure my ears would appreciate a set like the Ultimate Ears 11 series. I'm looking at the $300 or less price range, but anything below that is gravy.
Now the big question. Since I will be traveling, I would like a set that is at least partially portable. I have a Chromebag Metropolis for long transport, which fits a 17" laptop with tons of room. However, when I'm just moving around on short jaunts, I will be somewhat limited in what I can carry. This has led me to the Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5. The price and reviews seem well-suited for me.
But the truth is, I've been wondering. I have a few friends who swear by large cans, and say that there is no way that even a high quality earbud can compare, performance-wise. Truth be told, I would be willing to sacrifice a bit in the portability department if it offered significant gains in sound quality, and maintained the quality without degradation by transport (ie, I don't want cans that cannot withstand at least a modicum of lateral wear). I want these phones to last me at least a couple years, and they must be comfortable, as I will be using them quite often. I have tried earbuds before, and my ears seem to be in the medium range of size, which makes it likely that the UEs will be comfortable for my ears. But are there any portable muffs out there that will be a huge improvement over the UEs for the same price range?
Sorry for the long spiel. I tend to over analyze everything, but it's typically worth it to find a product that I love. Any responses/links would be appreciated!
*edit* Oh, and it should be noted that I will use these for nearly every musical genre, though mostly rock will be piping through. I also listen to jazz, classical, and a little bit of hip-hop.
