Any headphone users out there

[sfdoddsy]

As part of my ongoing hires testing I bought a pair of cheap Grado SR60 headphones.

Just wondering if anyone had other recommendations for good phones.

Steve




Steve's DIY Dipoles

[David Meek]

The Grado RS-1 at $625 US, RS-2 at $445 US, and the Sennheiser HD-600 at $299 US seem to be the three most discussed units right now. If it were me, I'd go with the Sennheiser's based on cost vs. performance. YMMV.




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[Andrew Pratt]

A coworker just bought some nice mid grade grado's and they are nice. I just have a pair of cheap panasonic's that I got years ago that I use at work to drown out my loud neighbour but I think i might get some of those grado's this summer.

[Snow]

http://www.head-fi.org for everything to do with phones.

Most Grados are pretty popular.

Sennheiser 580/600 are the holy grail of phones to some people, but the general consensus seems to be that you need a headphone amp and cable upgrade to get the best out of them.

There are a couple of pretty popular Sony phones getting a lot of discussion at head-fi lately as well.

Other brands to check out:
AKG, Audio-Technica, & Beyerdynamic




DVD Collection

[Burke Strickland]

If speakers are a personal choice, then headphones are even more so, because they not only have the issues of how they sound and how they look, but also how comfortable they are to wear. No doubt about it, the Grados sound mighty fine, but many people find them uncomfortable for extended listening. (There are optional "comfort pads" available that reportedly ameliorate this somewhat, but I've never tried them.) Personally, I have enjoyed a pair of Sennheiser HD570s for longer term wearing comfort as well as well above average sound at a fairly reasonable price. But that doesn't mean they are for everybody.

I suggest that, if possible, you try on and listen to a few representative models of different brands and styles (at the very least Grado and Sennheiser, and, as mentioned by others, AKG, Beyerdynamic, Audio-Technica and higher level Sony are also worth a look) and then wear a couple of the ones that sound and feel the best to you for a longer period of time (at least the duration of an entire CD or two) while listening to the type of music you plan to use them with. If you are stuck with mail order for your purchase, narrow your selections with advice from others and then order from someplace that will allow returns without a lot of micky mouse. This may not get you the absolute rock bottom price, but makes it more likely you will end up with a pair of phones you will really enjoy using.

Good luck and enjoy!

Burke

[SiliGoose]

What about ear bud style headphones? Can they perform well?

I just got an iPod and the included buds perform very poorly. I'd like to upgrade without spending too much. I just don't know if portable headphones like earbuds are even capable of decent performance.




-Sili

[David Meek]

Sili, you might find buds that work fairly well for the upper and mid-range, but bass? You are pretty much scre***. It takes a little larger diaphram to reproduce the lower registers.




David - HTGuide flunky
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[Snow]

What about ear bud style headphones? Can they perform well?

I just got an iPod and the included buds perform very poorly. I'd like to upgrade without spending too much. I just don't know if portable headphones like earbuds are even capable of decent performance.

Check these out. http://www.etymotic.com/

Never heard them myself, but from what I hear, they sound as good as alot of high end phones.




DVD Collection

[SiliGoose]

I have read about those headphones. I'm gonna have to stop by that headphone forum and ask just how good they really are.

I mean, how does a good pair of headphones compare to a good pair of speakers? If I'm going to drop $230 on a pair of headphones I expect pretty great things. How does $230 in headphones compare to decent speakers?




-Sili

[sfdoddsy]

I suspect amazingly well, depending on your tastes.

Good headphones will tell you everything that is on on your CDs, or your vinyl.

What they won't do is give you the imaging of normal speakers, or the visceral bass. I've used headphones while recording, but never really for 'proper' listening before, but I am sorely tempted to explore further.

I've now tried the Grados, some Senheisers and a sneaky cheap pair of Philips cans, and I can easily understand why there are obsessive sites like the head-fi listed above.

I'd be curious to hear some good binaural recordings to see what headphones can really do.

The big plus, of course, is removing all room effects.

But considering one of the consensus best headphones, the Sennheiser HD-600, can be had for around $200 used, and you don't need preamps, power amps etc, it is certainly the cheapest way to good sound.


Cheers

Steve




Steve's DIY Dipoles

[Digital Bob]

Steve,

There is some good advice here in the responses already. I will chime in here with my opinion.

I like the sound of the Grados, very nice but can't stand wearing them. I prefer the full ear design as opposed to phones that press "on" my ears.

The Sennheiser's are terrific. Comfortable and great sounding. They have the added benefit of having standardized replaceable parts that are available from the manufacturer. Nice.

But my personal favorites are the BeyerDynamics. I simply love the sound and they isolate the outside world beautifully. Mind you, they aren't the lightest headphones, but they are very plush and comfy. The sound is quite detailed and some might say a "touch bright" if you have marginal electronics with the typical cheap headphone preamp they put in Japanese gear. I find them remarkably revealing and you are likely to hear things in your recordings only hinted at by lesser speakers or headphones.

Good luck in your decision and I hope this helps,




dB

[Phil Rose]

...the Sennheiser HD-600, can be had for around $200 used, and you don't need preamps, power amps etc...

With a nominal impedance of 300 ohms it might be difficult to achieve the best results with these phones if you don't use an external amp. Most discussions that I've seen on these phones indicate that they don't really start to shine until they have a dedicated amp driving them.

You might consider the Sony MDR-CD3000 phones but, they are, unfortunately, a lot more expensive than the Sennheiser's. They have a nominal impedance of 32 ohms and a sensitivity of 104 dB/mW. They are very easy to drive from most any source and extremely comfortable. To use Digiat Bob's line

I find them remarkably revealing and you are likely to hear things in your recordings only hinted at by lesser speakers or headphones.

[Kevin P]

Oh yeah we have another Beyerdynamic fan here! :yeah:

The Senn HD600s are the cats meow but if you are in an office environment or elsewhere where you want better isolation from outside noise you will want closed cans and the Beyers are top notch in that department. I have the DT 831s and they sound wonderful when coupled with the ASL MG Head tube headphone amp (which is also a perfect amp for the HD600). If you're a serious headphone listener, or want great sound in a cubicle, this setup is wonderful. I have pics of my headphone rig in the HTG Gallery.

KJP




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[SiliGoose]

What exactly is a "binaural recording"? I've seen that before but have no experience with it.




-Sili

[Burke Strickland]

What exactly is a "binaural recording"?

Binaural - (of sound) recorded through two separate microphones and transmitted through two separate channels to produce a stereophonic effect. (From Webster's College Dictionary)

Binaural recording is basically just one technique out of many to do a stereo recording. It was designed to more accurately record a stereo source, as a human would hear it.

The difference between how we hear and how microphones hear are very different. We have a semi solid chunk of mass between our ears (our head) that will cause you to hear different than two microphones set up in the same way. This is what separates any other stereo micing technique...

When we listen to typical stereo recordings via headphones, we lose the sense of "space" that our ears and brain would normally "decode" from the ambient reflections and interaction between channel of sound in our listening space. Binaural recording captures two isolated sound tracks meant to be played back in total acoustic isolation to overcome that phenomenon (played back via headphones, or, as some people have experimented with, elaborately constructed listening rooms with a wall down the middle isolating the acoustical space for the right and left channels. Obviously, headphones are easier.) :>)

http://www.fivehorizons.com/feature/binaural.shtml

Burke