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

[KEW]

http://2.1m.yt/D6qz4mV.jpg
Audiophile on a budget earphones:
Took off the burgundy cloth grills better and clearer KZ ATE. Compared to the Monoprice(still great for the price) i like these bit more. For Bassheads I'd recommended the Sony Hybrids ear piece. Im good with the med KZ included sounds more balanced to me. Clip+ with Artist Genevieve Bellemare, Grace Weber and Barbra Lica in 320 mp3. BI did these good. Such a good deal for 10 bucks or less. No sibilance noted Uh What?

We missed you!
Good to see you posting again! Welcome back!
Hope all is well!

 

[highfigh]

I have a set of Audio Technica ATH-70 electret condenser phones that are over 35 years old and I think the caps are tired- they're very quiet. They still sound good, though.

I also have a set of Koss PortaPro that are around 30 years old and they still sound good and I recently got a set of Koss PRODJ200 that I use mostly for diagnosing problems with audio systems. My oldest phones are also from Koss, SP3X, which was their second model- we got them directly from John Koss, who is a family friend. I don't usually wear headphones, so I'm not going to spend a lot for them but if I ever decide that I need a great set, it's gonna be expensive.

 

[lovinthehd]

Interesting as to how many have multiple headphones! I've got one pair and have had it for a really long time (don't really remember when I bought them, probably late 80s), they replaced some Sennheisers I had for a while before that, think they were the HD414s by looking around on the 'net:

The ones I have since then are the Denon AH-D210

I do have some various earbuds and earphones I picked up for use on bikes and other forms of exercise quite a few years ago, they were some closeout bundle of various Sennheisers, no pics and don't even know where they are these days . Discovered I really didn't like riding with them nor liked gyms much.

Overall I just don't like wearing headphones nor have any reason to do so these days, used to fly on business quite a bit for work before retiring and that was the last time I used headphones with any regularity.

 

[MR.MAGOO]

model MM-400X hybrids (wired or bluetooth)

 

[afterlife2]

KZ ATR and KZ AST(dual armature and dynamic driver). The AST are amazing and look musician pro for the price. The bass is there and not overwhelming. Vocals are clear and cymbals are Crystal clear. No sibilance detected unless recorded as such. Audio fans get a pair NOW. The ATR look like they need break in time. Its a bit bassless although they are clear. Mmm hmm pic:

 

[Pogre]

I have never owned a pair of good headphones. I don't think I've even listened to a really good set, though I am curious. In my mind it'd be very hard for me to like them nearly as much as my speaker system. Largely because I don't imagine you'd feel the bass. Plus imaging and soundstage and stuff.

Forgive my rudimentary comments. Like I said, I have no real experience. I'd love the opportunity to give a listen to a few and be proven wrong.

 

[slipperybidness]

I have never owned a pair of good headphones. I don't think I've even listened to a really good set, though I am curious. In my mind it'd be very hard for me to like them nearly as much as my speaker system. Largely because I don't imagine you'd feel the bass. Plus imaging and soundstage and stuff.

Forgive my rudimentary comments. Like I said, I have no real experience. I'd love the opportunity to give a listen to a few and be proven wrong.

It's just a different experience.

2 main items to consider--You can get an incredibly high quality set of headphones for a fraction of the price of high end speakers. And, headphones completely remove the room-interaction variable from the great sound equation!

Then, sometimes you want to listen to music while other members of the household want to watch TV, or everyone else is asleep, so headphones are nice there too.

I think the favorite set that I own is the AKG BT845. The Senn SD598 are really nice too, but they don't dig as deep on the bass.

 

[Joe B]

I purchased a pair of Oppo PM-2 headphones in January for my birthday. A set of cans was the last thing to finish off my new equipment purchase from the end of the summer. I must say I am impressed with their sonic quality as well as the comfort. I can wear these headphones for hours on end without discomfort. I thought about buying the PM-1's, but the only difference is the styling box you get and a mirrored polished finish instead of the brushed finished on the PM-2. In reality, I prefer the brushed finish as you can handle the headphones without seeing your finger prints all over them. After I got them, I purchased 2 Binaural CD's from Newport Classic. The spatial imaging and pin point sound stage is just mind blowing.

 

[MR.MAGOO]

Bowers & Wilkins P7 over ear 'phones, with adapter.

 

[MR.MAGOO]

Here's another pair from my collection:

Audio-Technica ATH-M50

 

[afterlife2]

YEAH VERY gimmicky, although seems to feel like a subwoofer. Shady/Rojo should get these. I want to try these on movies should the price go down. Great reviews: http://www.basshead.club/pioneer-se-cx8-review/

 

[afterlife2]

Another review
http://www.thephonograph.net/pioneer-se-cx9-review/

 

[tyhjaarpa]

I have never owned a pair of good headphones. I don't think I've even listened to a really good set, though I am curious. In my mind it'd be very hard for me to like them nearly as much as my speaker system. Largely because I don't imagine you'd feel the bass. Plus imaging and soundstage and stuff.

Forgive my rudimentary comments. Like I said, I have no real experience. I'd love the opportunity to give a listen to a few and be proven wrong.

There are some really good headphones around, of course they wont have the subwoofer bass but on all other measures they can get the same result as speakers do. Stax SR-L 700 for example can really compete with KEF R500 speakers imo and are best cans I have heard. I personally own Sennheiser HD600 and Fostex TH-X00 and they are really good as well and can compete with quite many good speakers as well. It really depends on what you want from headphones, as there are some really bass heavy headphones as well.

 

[afterlife2]

Got the Awei ES900i just now. Ordered these about 3 weeks ago. This Iem is loud. Glad I always turned down the volume before I put the music on. 110db 3db. Most of the ones I got are 90-98db Gonna do BI. The bass is awesome. Treble is not harsh. A slight bit veiled. Let's see if there is a change. I got the Gold one. The tips are wide like the Rock Zircon earphones perhaps a bit more wider. Nice pleather bag that can fit 2 iems.The cord is plastic spaghetti noodle type. Loud Yep. This is the seller. The things you can get In China these days for a low price is incredible.

Look at this on eBay http://www.ebay.com/itm/282386499551

 

[Pogre]

Got the Awei ES900i just now. Ordered these about 3 weeks ago. This Iem is loud. Glad I always turned down the volume before I put the music on. 110db 3db. Most of the ones I got are 90-98db Gonna do BI. The bass is awesome. Treble is not harsh. A slight bit veiled. Let's see if there is a change. I got the Gold one. The tips are wide like the Rock Zircon earphones perhaps a bit more wider. Nice pleather bag that can fit 2 iems.The cord is plastic spaghetti noodle type. Loud Yep. This is the seller. The things you can get In China these days for a low price is incredible.

Look at this on eBay http://www.ebay.com/itm/282386499551

I just ordered those. Sometimes I'll use earbuds to watch something or listen to music when I fall asleep. 6 bucks, why not?

 

[afterlife2]

Yep hope you like em. They indeed are great for the price. I have one more Iem that should be here soon. It's another Awei and cheaper with a COOL funky Purple color I hope they sound as good as the 900i. Stay tuned. By the way those 900i were 4.99 when I got them. Must be getting popular.

 

[Pogre]

Yep hope you like em. They indeed are great for the price. I have one more Iem that should be here soon. It's another Awei and cheaper with a COOL funky Purple color I hope they sound as good as the 900i. Stay tuned. By the way those 900i were 4.99 when I got them. Must be getting popular.

I got the funky purple since they were out of black. I use earbuds fairly often because they're comfortable. I know it'll be a few weeks, but I'm in no hurry. I'd like to hear a decent sounding set of buds. I always buy the cheapest Walmart has to offer.

 

[afterlife2]

The last batch of the headphones are here from ebay.
Just got the Awei Q7i. Amazing right out the box. The mids are really Nice. Like singer is right in front of me. The highs are way better than the Awei 900i. The clarity on these are amazing. The bass is tight and not over bassy just Right with a good eq. For 3 bucks damn so good. I got the COOL purple and blue(sold out). I'm getting a backup later on. Highly Highly recommended. There is a Q8i as Well. Hmm Yeah.

 

[2channel lover]

I have never owned a pair of good headphones. I don't think I've even listened to a really good set, though I am curious. In my mind it'd be very hard for me to like them nearly as much as my speaker system. Largely because I don't imagine you'd feel the bass. Plus imaging and soundstage and stuff.

Forgive my rudimentary comments. Like I said, I have no real experience. I'd love the opportunity to give a listen to a few and be proven wrong.

I have a pair of Hifi Man 400i cans.

When my mother-n-law lived with us, I couldn't play my regular system much because of her work/sleep schedule. I had a $20 pr of Sony cans that I used for cutting the yard, etc. so I started using those with my laptop just to get back in touch with my music on a semi regular basis.

I'd started store demoing higher end cans, B&W, Sennheiser, Oppo, plus some of the more commercial brands like Sol, Beats, etc. I noticed a difference, but never bought anything. I think it was 2 yrs ago...Hifi Man was running a promo price for Xmas on Amazon for these cans...reg $499 on sale for $299 so I thought that was a good time to buy.

Where I notice and immediate difference from the Sonys....bigger sound stage more detail. Once I added the DAC/headphone amp...the clarity, details, bass were at another level entirely, really made me get back into my music again on a daily basis.

That said, I've listened to cans that are double the price of mine (at reg price)...I heard a little bit more of everything, namely bass improvement, but imo you reach a point of depreciating returns pretty quickly going from a $500 pr to $1,000 pr of headphones.

Now that mother-n-law has bought her own place and move out, I've been listening and rebuilding my home system a lot more. No, when I'm able to crank it up (60-65 on the Marantz) the headphones can't replace that level of listening. But I still use my headphones on a regular basis...especially when I'm in discovery mode on youtube.

 

[Aaron_Hunt]

I got Logitech G933 for 100 bucks and i really love it. The design is quite bulky, but good enough for playing games. I am not a person who really into with this, so this one is the only headphone that i have.