Headphones

[SHIFTY23]

Hey guys

I finally bought at start of this year all my home audio equipment now realised how dull my ipod earphones really are:biggrin5: now searching for some quality headphones for train to work.

Ive researched little and like the look and sound of sennheiser over the ear headphones.

I listen to alot of rock and rnb music and like bass, so can anyone give me any suggestions on the headphones??

Cheers :14:

[Mr Peabody]

I have a pair of Sennheiser PX-100 or 200, which ever are black, and they are very good with my mp3 player. Bass is strong while tight and accurate. They take a while to break in so don't be disappointed right out of the package.

[SHIFTY23]

Thanks pea man, i looked and it seems they both come in black haha

yea ive got the sennheiser booklet and shows that those headphones produce great music for rock and hip hop stuff.

Here are two links for them which looks better and worth the money??

PX 200-II http://www.ordio.com.au/products/Sennheiser-PX-200%252dII.html

PX 100-II http://www.ordio.com.au/products/Sennheiser-PX-100%252dII.html


Also what do you mean by breaking them in?? How do you do that?

[Mr Peabody]

I personally like the PX-102, looks like the ones I have. I think they added a volume control to the 202 and raised the price. I don't like the built in volume control but if it's something that would be useful for you they're only $10.00 more. The 102 says they are "open back" but I could swear mine are closed back, maybe another change. I know mine don't leak sound which is nice for the bus.

Break in could just be using them for several hours and the sound will gradually improve. What I do usually is get a listen out of the box then plug them into something and let them play continually for about 24 hours. You could plug them into your receiver and just turn on the radio. When you listen to them after that break in period you should notice a big improvement from the original listen.

[SHIFTY23]

I would have to agree with you as the added volume control should be left up to the music player.
Well a friend of mine i work with have an old set of PX 100 and seem to be open back. Yea i was looking at the 448s for noise cancelling for train but then thought may aswell play louder and create my own noise cancelling haha

Alright yeah thats a good idea actually how loud should it be played at during the break in period??

[Hyfi]

I have Grado 125s that I have always been happy with. They are open air design so you can be aware of your surroundings while listening to quality sound.

[SlumpBuster]

I have had both the Sennheiser and the Grado. I prefer the Grado and gave away he Sennheisers to family. IMHO the Grado are significantly better. And my Grado is a lower model (SR80 @ $100 vs the 125 @ $150) closer to the Sennheiser so it was apples to apples comparison pricewise.

[SHIFTY23]

I havent seen or heard any gardo head phones. But i have narrowed it down to either the PX 100-II or the PX 200-II

[rakeford]

SHIFTY23 (http://forums.audioreview.com/member.php?u=289187)

For a home system, you might consider the higher end Sennheisers. I've had the HD-650 for about 7 months now.
I'm really diggin' them. :14: :12:

They have excellent reviews here and on http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/ and http://www.head-fi.org/

[poppachubby]

If you want Sennheiser, look no further than the HD218 / 228 / 238 Precision. I have listened to both the 228 and 238 Precision. For their price/performance, I was quite impressed. These are however, ON-THE-EAR cans. They are also closed in design, maybe not your cup of tea?

Personally I am not a fan of supra-aural or closed back. These sets could make me change teams if I had the right application for using them. I have a set of HD280 which are closed. Frankly they don't get much use.

I would suggest having a listen to these newer Senns and considering them in your process.

[SHIFTY23]

Yea Poppa i heard the HD238 precisions and they definitely are a nice set just as always price comes into it as it always does. But they are in back of my mind though.
I heard though they are more for a classical music taste as not as strong with bass as others?

Question also to people, what is differece between open and closed designs?

[Mr Peabody]

Just breaking in headphones I wouldn't turn them much above an average listening level. Some say since they are new even slightly below average listening is good.

I assumed the prices on the website were not U.S. dollars, is that correct? I recommended the PX because I thought you wanted portable. People seem to divide sharply on Grado vs Sennheiser. I personally hated Grado, finding them bloated in the bottom end and colored. With that being said I have heard some portable Sennheiser, not the PX, that I was disappointed in. I can't remember the model but I did not like the earbuds by Senn I bought my daughter. Even after a good long break in the midrange never did sound right. I suspect for the money the Grado 60i would be hard to beat. I have not heard the model Senn's Poppa suggested. I have Sennheiser HD600 & 580's, love them both. The thing about the Senn bass, it is accurate and tight like it should be. Those wanting big boom would probably prefer something else. It's not that the Senn bass is shy, it is strong but it's as it should be not exaggerated. Senn's are typically nicely balanced with no one part of the sound being more than another.

[poppachubby]

Yea Poppa i heard the HD238 precisions and they definitely are a nice set just as always price comes into it as it always does. But they are in back of my mind though.
I heard though they are more for a classical music taste as not as strong with bass as others?

Question also to people, what is differece between open and closed designs?

No I would fully disagree. These were designed for the portable market with a youthful edge. The packaging had an image of a skateboarder doing tricks. That said, the bass is plenty but not overdone. Overall a very crisp sound with smooth highs and pleasant mids.

The difference between closed and open is vaste. It's one of the biggest divisions amongst headphone lovers. Sound aside, the open design will allow music to escape and can bother those next to you. Closed however are much quieter.

In terms of sound, it really comes down to taste. There are excellent examples of both designs. Closed will tend to have a bigger/boomier bass response. There is an overall sense of "quiet" behind the music, as nothing is coming in through the back either. This can assist in the area of detail.

I am an open fan and will tell you that nothing tops that open sound. There is simply more depth to the sound.

Head-Fi is a great place to go for headphone info. Best thing to do is find your budget, buy from someplace which has a good audition/tradein/return policy and try several pairs of varying styles and designs.

My all time faves are the K240S by AKG...

http://www.bswusa.com/assets/product_images/large/akg_k240s.jpg


If I can ever locate a reasonably priced pair, my "dream" pair would be the K240 Sextett-LP. The LP stands for Late Production, they also had EP and MP for Early and Middle. Note the 6 driver design, they were a real feat of design back in the day and still sound incredible.

http://cdn.head-fi.org/5/5b/5ba73832_vbattach16096.jpg
http://i30.tinypic.com/f9w1j.jpg

[poppachubby]

In terms of portable I had a pair of Sennheiser HD 202 for a long time. They were a great pair. Really comfortable and sounded great. Now I use a pair of AKG K66. They are an amazingly great sounding pair for portable action. I don't care if I look dorky to some...

http://sunfizz98.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/hd202-01.jpg

http://www.midiaudio.net/px/upload/origin/558.jpg

[SHIFTY23]

Peabody, Yes those prices are of the Aussie dollar but our dollar is almost matching the american dollar at the moment. Also i do want a portable set of headphones as need to fit in my work bag easily. From the Senn's I've heard they have really nice bass in the songs i played through them.

Poppa, I guess ill just have to play the two types open and closed headphones and see which i prefer with the songs played through them as i am still undecided whether i prefer open or closed. I do like the ones you displayed its just I'm looking for the more portable style speakers.

[poppachubby]

Shifty, focus back to the HD2x8 series, I do believe that they fold up. Koss Porta Pro have been a long time fave of portable cans. Perhaps you should include IEMs on your list, assuming you don't mind this style in your ear.

Shure have a couple of great offerings as do Etymotic. These include heavy bass in the mix.

Like I said, check out Head Fi for suggestions on what's new. Headroom is a great place to shop. Enter your search by budget range and view what's in your realm.

[Mr Peabody]

Either the prices have gone up on the Senn's or you all down under get charged on the high side of electronics prices.

[SHIFTY23]

I know we do for audio which sucks costs more for me buliding my Hifi equipment. It is strange how much the costs are down here from when you all suggest equipment but all using how cheap american prices are haha

[SlumpBuster]

People seem to divide sharply on Grado vs Sennheiser. I personally hated Grado, finding them bloated in the bottom end and colored.


This is a great observation about the divide between Grado and Sennheiser fans that leads me to the question of amplification. Often overlooked when it comes to headphones, how you are driving them may be a big factor. That may be a factor in that Grado/Senn divide. While I don't use any fancy amplification, my Grado's sound very different depending on whether they are plugged into my computer, an Ipod or my receiver.

Amplification may be something to consider or have some of the other guys chime in on, i.e. what cans seem to be more forgiving of an Ipod or cheap computer.

[evilspoons]

FWIW, my Grado SR60s sound absolutely great plugged into an iPod Nano or an iPod Touch.

These iPods have reasonably good amplifiers, other portable music players have been pretty "yuck" (my last Discman - the one Sony called a CD Walkman - sounded dreadful).

[Dom]

Seinheissers!