[OtterMarc]

Eagle-Driver

Your question has inspired lots of feedback. Something you didn't mention which can make a load of difference depending on your cans, is the nature of the hood. Fleece with a windbreaker outside sounds way better than some police/airport worker industrial heavy-nylon hooded coat.
I think you've already picked, though so this becomes moot.
what is a V6/7605? Is it a hybrid?

Scrypt, thanks for the welcome. Much learning to do, experimenting, and as you noted: spending.

When I picked out my MDR-605's, I listened to many cans up to 200 canadian, about 130 $US. The closed ones all sounded echoey, like I had cheap boombox speakers next to my ears. Maybe it's just my ears (or the hollow space between them!). I bought some MX500 a couple of years ago and hated them. Same boomy sound. I returned to the store trying later ones thinking it might have a been a bad batch. They were the same. Is this very common, that some love what others consider craptological?

Unless I find something else before I can afford them, the Senn 580/600's are on my To-Get-First list. I'll need two, as my sweety loves good sound too. Now... do i get a meta42, or build my own...?

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally posted by OtterMarc what is a V6/7605? Is it a hybrid?

The "V6/7506" really are two versions of the same headphone: MDR-V6 and MDR-7506 (the latter having a gold-plated plug tip instead of a nickel-plated one).

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally posted by OtterMarc Something you didn't mention which can make a load of difference depending on your cans, is the nature of the hood. Fleece with a windbreaker outside sounds way better than some police/airport worker industrial heavy-nylon hooded coat. When I picked out my MDR-605's, I listened to many cans up to 200 canadian, about 130 $US. The closed ones all sounded echoey, like I had cheap boombox speakers next to my ears. Maybe it's just my ears (or the hollow space between them!). I bought some MX500 a couple of years ago and hated them. Same boomy sound. I returned to the store trying later ones thinking it might have a been a bad batch. They were the same. Is this very common, that some love what others consider craptological?

Oh, yeah; I have to wear some heavy-nylon hooded coat outdoors; fleece/windbreaker just isn't enough for me. In that case, open-air cans are completely out of the question.

And which brand(s) of closed headphones did you try when you picked out the MDR-605LP's (which redshifter had tried and had judged craptastic, as in no better than cheap Walkman stock headphones in a flashy package)? It's highly unlikely that you had tried any of the closed headphones in that price range that we've recommended - but instead, you've tried out the closed headphones within that price range that we consider to be CRAP. (BTW, you haven't tried out a Sony MDR-7506 or a Sennheiser HD 280Pro where you're at; they were either not available at all or priced beyond your maximum price limit at the time you bought your MDR-605LP's.)

 

[Oliver :)]

Quote:

Originally posted by stallion11msu Try Etys/MX500s with a hat on over top. Should work great and be fairly inconspicuous. Better than goin' out with some big over-ear phones in my opinion. This combo works great for winter jogging as well.

You are not telling me that you are jogging with Etys, anren't you?

Anyway, dang, it is -10C° here! I was afraid to moisten my Etys yesterday as I thought they would freeze into my ear... they did not though, and sound was great, except for the inreasing cable-microphonics due to the cable stiffening in the cold. Etys go Freezys...

 

[bangraman]

1. The headphones must completely cover the entire ear, not just go on the ears.

CHECK.

2. They must be either closed or semi-closed; open-air headphones will be adversely affected (sound-wise) by the hood covering up those vents.

CHECK.

3. They must physically fit inside the hood.

CHECK.

4. Absolute sound quality and price are irrelevant - sometimes the best sound is unobtainable in outside wintertime listening.

CHECK. But still good. provided there's not much noise around.

(return of the purple monster)

The Sony MDR-D66 Eggo does the job. Get one. I was out in 0 degrees. Ears quite warm without a hood. A lot of wind will whistle past the velour earpads but still, very good. Doesn't sound bad either, as opposed to the terrible 212's.

 

[scrypt]

OK, I performed your special experiment for you -- walked about wearing Beyerdynamic 831 in freezing weather in NYC with ice apparent. I did it first in relative solitude at around 1:00 AM and then at 9:00 AM commuting home. I also wore them while editing.

The good: They keep your ears quite warm without a hood. They also allow just enough noise for you to hear what's important while giving you a sense of isolation as well.

The bad: Never before have I felt so conspicuous wearing headphones in public. People in the workplace simpered and chortled, people on the street and public transpo grimaced and squinted, none of it admiringly. I might as well have worn a codpiece over each ear.

I went to the post office shortly after in desperation and was quite relieved to receive my ATH EM7 at last (not the black ones, as I'd specified I wanted, but the silver). To wear them was to blend in again (albeit in a glinting ovaline Bang-und-Olaf sort ov vay). There I was wearing headphones and no one gave a ferret's quivering rectum one way or another.

These things sound quite good, by the way (the EM7, not the rectums) -- as bright and airy as the headphones' design suggests. No, they don't sound quite as good as the 831s. Still, I'll settle for less if that means not being clocked moment by moment, hour by pants-dropping hour.

 

[bangraman]

oh please scrypt, can we have a pic?

 

[Eagle_Driver]

bangraman, I had ruled out the Eggos for a couple of reasons:

First, they stick out the sides more than some other full-sized headphones.

Second, the D66 costs more $$$ here in the U.S. than what I ultimately paid for my new MDR-7506. The other Eggo, the D22, sounds too close in quality to my now-hated G82LP Street Styles (honky, tinny, ringing and midrange-less all at once) for their own good.

And I almost went for the MDR-V700DJ (which you didn't think were as bad as most of us made that headphone out to be). After all, its relatively low profile and shiny silver looks almost met my criteria. But with my portable equipment, the V700 just didn't work well: Relatively high minimum power requirement, combined with very low impedance, dictates the need for an astronomically expensive amp in order to get much low-bass extension out of that 'phone. With my TAH and PCDP, all I got from the V700 was grainy highs, okay mids and overtight lifeless bass. Moreover, the V700 isn't as efficient as its extremely high 107dB/mW rating would indicate - in fact, I had to turn up the volume control of my TAH to a higher setting than I would with some of my other headphones for an equal loudness level. As a result, DON'T USE THE V700 ON A PORTABLE WITHOUT AN AMP! Either the op-amp itself will run out of output current that much sooner (the V700 will sound thin, hollow and lifeless in this case), or the internal power supply of the portable will run out of current at a low level setting (in which case the portable's headphone jack will clip and distort badly even at modest loudness levels).

So, my choice is the Sony MDR-7506 - at least for now.

 

[MacDEF]

Eagle driver, this is what I use in your situation:

http://www.rei.com/online/store/Prod...ory_rn=5227673


Put a pair of MX 500 or KSC-35 under those and you're set

(They actually make a pair of headphones that slip inside, but I wouldn't count on good sound: http://www.rei.com/online/store/Prod...=691137-684807)

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Nah, I've completely ruled out that possibility, MacDEF. Anything worn over any open-air 'phones - even earbuds - will make the sound horrible. In fact, I've tried earmuffs over KSC-35's - but the bass almost completely disappeared. All I heard was painful, screechy highs with the earmuff/KSC-35 combo.

And besides, all open-air headphones (yep, that includes the KSC-35's, as well) need to be completely exposed to the outside air in order to sound at all good.

 

[GanChan]

I always thought those Koss Cheese Phones looked nice and warm....

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Oh, I forgot to tell you another reason why I've decided against wearing regular earmuffs over any earbud or earclip headphones: That combo is extremely - and painfully - uncomfortable to me.

 

[OtterMarc]

Eagle-driver

__________________________________________________
And which brand(s) of closed headphones did you try when you picked out the MDR-605LP's (which redshifter had tried and had judged craptastic, as in no better than cheap Walkman stock headphones in a flashy package)? It's highly unlikely that you had tried any of the closed headphones in that price range that we've recommended - but instead, you've tried out the closed headphones within that price range that we consider to be CRAP. (BTW, you haven't tried out a Sony MDR-7506 or a Sennheiser HD 280Pro where you're at; they were either not available at all or priced beyond your maximum price limit at the time you bought your MDR-605LP's.)
__________________________________________________ _

I tried a series of Senns, but through terrible phone-outs on supposedly fancy sound systems. Didn't find I liked any of them through those outputs. I also tried some Beyers and AT's at Steve's Music and other music/pro recording shops in Montreal.
That was 2 years ago.
At one of our A&B Sound stores, (absound.ca) I tried a bunch of Sony, Koss, Senns, and some other unknown names up to about 150 $US. I brought my Pana pcdp and my MDR888's with several of my favorirte CDs and compared them one after the other. I've also tried many of the street styles. I agree with comments re a lack of midrange. I'm listening to everything from rock to classical, so midrange is kinda relevant.
More recently, I listened to the Senn series through a Creek, and after hearing the 600's, nothing else really attracted me. (Surprise surprise!!) So I didn't really pay much attention to the other model numbers. (I gonna be flamed over this one...) I hear the 580's are almost the same = good news.
I use my phones for many hours a day, including for PC recording. They need to be sweetly comfortable, which my 605's are. Most of the cans I tried were too tight on the ears to wear for more than 1/2 an hour comfortably. I often have mine on over 12 hours a day!
Now I'm curious to go try them all over again.
I did find one pair of Sonys that sounded great, but the Kanuk price was astronomical. Due to that price, I've not bothered with remembering the model number. When I can afford them, I will. For now, amp building is my priority.

Have any of you had any problems with static discharge from the headphone wires rubbing on fleece or wool clothing? I've seen a loss of performance following some bad ones on dry cold days. Sometimes, the electric shock to the ears is quite startling!

Script,
How do the EM-7s or Beyers compare to top end Sennheisers, ...and to the cod-pieces? How about the ear-clips? Comfortable for long periods?

 

[scrypt]

Quote:

Originally posted by OtterMarc Script, How do the EM-7s or Beyers compare to top end Sennheisers, ...and to the cod-pieces? How about the ear-clips? Comfortable for long periods?

Funny thing about the EM7. I wore those out today in the frozen rain and a pretty black girl named Valerie tapped me on the shoulder to ask where I got them. She ended up giving me her number and saying she would buy my last book. Suffice to say I'll be wearing these bastards more often (no matter how cold I might feel).

I'm not going to lie to you: EM7 are bass-shy and not in the same class as the Beyerdynamic 831 (which earned me endless ridicule the day before). They're cleaner sounding and more comfortable than the KSC-35. But they're also not Senn 600 -- not even close.

The bass drop-off is made worse by the position of the drivers, which part from the ears at an oblique angle. If the EM7 had fasteners for the lower part of the ear as well as the top, I doubt anyone would complain of a lack of bass.

Still, I think it best to sacrifice a bit of quality in transit: allow yourself to get the gist of the melody or some rhythmic part and don't succumb to the temptation to turn it up or press the earbud closer to the ear or cram the earphone further down the canal. I came home this morning after listening to the EM7 for nine hours and, for the first time in months, my ears aren't ringing slightly. The proximity to the eardrum seems healthier with the EM7 than with earbuds of any kind.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

The past few days, I've been wearing a mask (to protect my face, and to a lesser extent, ears, from the cold) along with a hood. So full-size headphones are out of the picture for that situation, since the part of the mask that covers my ears may affect the sound quality coming out of the bigger 'phones. But earclips such as the Koss KSC-35 are also out of consideration for me, since they would have become unbearably uncomfortable inside that mask. So I ended up using my new 'unamped portable rig' coupled with my two-year-old Sony MDR-E888LP earbuds (they aren't anywhere near as uncomfortable as my Sennheiser MX 500 buds, and the volume control of my MX 500's is acting up big time even when it's not even touched, especially in the cold). Heck, I could live with even the el-cheapo $10 Sony E828LP buds under that mask.

The moral is: A hood may still allow regular-sized headphones - but the addition of a mask changes everything.