The Headphone Thread! Share Your Gear and Impressions, Etc.

[afterlife2]

My only set of headphones...

The Sennheiser HD 555
View attachment 17463

Always read those are great for watching movies. What are you using them for?

 

[afterlife2]

Maybe tomorrow after I shovel

lol we got almost 2 feet here in NYC.

 

[Adam]

Okay, okay...I'll have to put together a list. A lot of mine are gaming headsets that I've been trying over the past year, but others are more like what you all have been listing.

Slip - have you tried out your BT headphones using the auxilary wired connection? I have some BT sets that sound pretty good when wireless, but they sound a lot better over the cable.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

AT ATH-M50, $120
Decent phones, personally I think these are a bit over rated. They are pretty comfortable though.
I used to think they were "bass heavy", but after comparing to the AKG and Senn, I think there may actually be a hump in the FR in the mid-bass. I'm not an expert at picking out the frequencies. But to me, "there is something near the low end that just doesn't quite sound right or natural". Now, on many songs, I don't even notice it. But on some it is annoying to the point that I want to go back to the Senns or AKG. I'm actually considering selling these. I've had them for a while and have maybe 10 or 15 hours on them.

100% Agree, I only gave these a brief test to notice that hump - it wasn't pleasant nor helpful.
I don't understand why people rave about them.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Forgot to add one more pair. My work bought them for me - they are awesome. SQ is decent for BT phones, Active noise cancellation is helpful. Microphone is great as always with decent plantronics gear and range is really good. Oh and they are really comfortable.
Cons: SQ is good, but nowhere near my 558 Sens or AKG, but for unified headset -
Bottom line:
good for background music - creating a bit quieter environment, awesome voip! and even pairs with my cell and best of all - it's comfy. 9/10 - for function and comfort. 7/10 for SQ

 

[slipperybidness]

Okay, okay...I'll have to put together a list. A lot of mine are gaming headsets that I've been trying over the past year, but others are more like what you all have been listing.

Slip - have you tried out your BT headphones using the auxilary wired connection? I have some BT sets that sound pretty good when wireless, but they sound a lot better over the cable.

I did try them wired, but just briefly on a couple tracks. I did not notice a significant improvement. But to my ears, the BT sounds dang good already!

I'll try it a little more and report back.

 

[afterlife2]

Forgot to add one more pair. My work bought them for me - they are awesome. SQ is decent for BT phones, Active noise cancellation is helpful. Microphone is great as always with decent plantronics gear and range is really good. Oh and they are really comfortable.
Cons: SQ is good, but nowhere near my 558 Sens or AKG, but for unified headset -
Bottom line:
good for background music - creating a bit quieter environment, awesome voip! and even pairs with my cell and best of all - it's comfy. 9/10 - for function and comfort. 7/10 for SQ

Those are a beauty. The pads look like my Soundbot, except it does not have the holes. What model number is it? EDIT: http://www.amazon.com/Plantronics-Voyager-Focus-Headset-202652-01/dp/B013F4LJTI

 

[macddmac]

S5 I

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Those are a beauty. The pads look like my Soundbot, except it does not have the holes. What model number is it? EDIT: http://www.amazon.com/Plantronics-Voyager-Focus-Headset-202652-01/dp/B013F4LJTI

yes, these are it.
Just to add for clarity. Pairing to cellphone AND pc are not exclusive. it can pair to both at the same time.

 

[Crimguy]

I got a pair of Sony XB-950BT for flights Etc. They are boomy. Accurate is not a word I'd associate with them, but good isolation and fun for movies and hip hop I guess.

They're the ones on the right lol.

For home I have a pair of Hifiman HE-400i. Bought on their Christmas sale at $299. Fantastic all around except my iPhone is not quite up to powering them at high volume. Very accurate detailed sound.

 

[STRONGBADF1]

Great pic!

 

[STRONGBADF1]

I have these for general use... yard work, travel ect.

and the HD280PRO's for drumming.

I'm looking to get new for both. I told my wife that I wanted the Shure se215's for my b-day coming up. They have more bass than the MC-5's...I hope not too much. If they do I might try the se315's, but at twice the price,...maybe.

The 280's are getting pretty worn... I don't know what to replace them with...I'll have to start that search shortly.

 

[Adam]

A beginning to my list:

(*) Sennheiser HD 598 SE. Got them for $100 on Black Friday, and they are probably the best set of headphones that I've ever had. Not for bass addicts, though, as they don't have much punch to them.

(*) Sentey LS-4570 B-trek H10. BT and wired, I find them to be very comfortable for a couple of hours and the bass is strong but not muddy at all, IMO. Not as open and airy as the HD 598s, but a great pair of headphones.

(*) iDeaUSA and/or AudioMX BT and wired headphones. Essentially the exact same hardware with different name plates. Comfortable but with much better (IMO) wired performance versus the BT. The BT is overly bass heavy, but the wired connection provides a more even response but still has ample bass.

(*) DBPOWER BE-1000. BT and wired on-ear headphones, and the BT connection is darn near just about as good as the wired connection.

(*) Sades SA-738 gaming headset. For under $25, I think that these things are awesome. Very comfortable, sound good, and the mic actually works pretty well. For gaming online, I think that they are an excellent option. They are available in various colors. The USB plug is only for powering the lights. The audio is all through 3.5mm jacks. The Letton G1 is essentially the same set but fully USB (and with a fairly useless vibration function).

 

[Bizarro_Stormy]

Always read those are great for watching movies. What are you using them for?

Mostly late night movie watching or late night music listening...

Have to be careful with them for movies though...
While watching "Interstellar", they started crackling quite a bit on a few scenes...
Scared the heck outta me

They still sound great though... very "spacious", if you know what I mean...

 

[afterlife2]

Mostly late night movie watching or late night music listening...

Have to be careful with them for movies though...
While watching "Interstellar", they started crackling quite a bit on a few scenes...
Scared the heck outta me

They still sound great though... very "spacious", if you know what I mean...

Are you curious to hear the successor?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004FEEY9A/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=1944687542&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0001FTVDQ&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1K2WY8GF13WJWXEZGC2Z
Have you done this?

 

[Bizarro_Stormy]

Are you curious to hear the successor?
Have you done this?

They came out about 4 months after I bought the 555's...
Sound very similar to the 555, so I never "upgraded"...

The "to 595 mod"... nah, quite satisfied with the sound the way it is...

 

[XEagleDriver]

New to "cans", but so far am enjoying/learning about three pairs, all were purchased at low to moderate cost (<$150) on Massdrop/eBay/Amaz.

POINT OF VIEW: I listen mainly to jazz (most types), vocals (Frank, Dean, Tony, Buble', Etta, Alicia, Tierney, Adele, SNC, etc.) and blues (Muddy, Buddy, Magic, SRV, Joss). But also some classical and old-school rock (60s-70s-80s).
I prefer warmer/smoother treble, crisp and musically balanced bass (not a basshead), and accurate mids (aka for vocals). My point of comparison is how the cans sound in relation to Sierra-2 speakers (RAAL tweeter) supplemented by a SVS closed design sub.

My initial impressions (pics to follow):
Senn Momentum - over the ear design, ear cups a bit on the small side; very good sound, probably the most accurate
Phillips Fidelio F1 - over the ear and very comfortable; best sound, favorite overall thus far
JBL S500 - over the ear, most comfortable of the three; has battery operated DSP "Livestage", but also sounds solid without it; I was skeptical about the DSP, but have to admit it is good; bought following recommendation from afterlife2 (thanks!); this one is growing on me, is most portable, the "blue collar" everyday use pair.

 

[afterlife2]

New to "cans", but so far am enjoying/learning about three pairs, all were purchased at low to moderate cost (<$150) on Massdrop/eBay/Amaz.

POINT OF VIEW: I listen mainly to jazz (most types), vocals (Frank, Dean, Tony, Buble', Etta, Alicia, Tierney, Adele, SNC, etc.) and blues (Muddy, Buddy, Magic, SRV, Joss). But also some classical and old-school rock (60s-70s-80s).
I prefer warmer/smoother treble, crisp and musically balanced bass (not a basshead), and accurate mids (aka for vocals). My point of comparison is how the cans sound in relation to Sierra-2 speakers (RAAL tweeter) supplemented by a SVS closed design sub.

My initial impressions (pics to follow):
Senn Momentum - over the ear design, ear cups a bit on the small side; very good sound, probably the most accurate
Phillips Fidelio F1 - over the ear and very comfortable; best sound, favorite overall thus far
JBL S500 - over the ear, most comfortable of the three; has battery operated DSP "Livestage", but also sounds solid without it; I was skeptical about the DSP, but have to admit it is good; bought following recommendation from afterlife2 (thanks!); this one is growing on me, is most portable, the "blue collar" everyday use pair.

Just wait till you break them in. Wow factor. Glad you like them so far...

 

[ParadigmDawg]

This is my first pair of true Headphones so I don't have anything to compare them to but I have enjoyed the sound so far.

The box took a little damage from shipping but everything inside was fine.

So far the BT sounds about the same as wired. They have a decent sound-filed and are pretty neutral. The bass is nice without being bloated, the mids seem warm and the highs are pretty laid back and not fatiguing at all.

The comfort is good but the longest I have worn them at one time is 3 hours. They do get hot when I am on the bike trainer and that made me sweat more than normal. They were great in the gym.

 

[STRONGBADF1]

Wife got me the Shure se215's. Listened to them for about an hour last night. Some songs sounded pretty good and others had too much bass. To the point of distortion. I'm debating on keeping them or maybe stepping up to the se315's. The 315s have less bass and slightly more mids iirc. I wonder if the highs are even better. Twice the money though...so I may just keep the 215s for bass deficient material.

My etymotic mc5's are pretty flat but that doesn't always sound as good as with bass deficient rock. I wanted better highs too...not louder just better resolution.

It's fun to play with new gear.

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