Just having a bit of fun here. Not meant to be a serious thread or comprehensive in any way. I just wanted to share my list of favourite headphones and earphones and why I like each of them
Let's begin!
1) My Favourite Inexpensive Earphones: Shure SE215 In-Ear Monitors
For me, acceptable sound starts at about $100 with the Shure SE215 In-Ear Monitors. There's also an available
$50 replacement cable that adds a microphone and control button for smartphones and iPods.
To me, these are the perfect choice for portable earphones. These are my "exercise" earphones. The only way to wear them is with the cable wrapped up and over your ear, giving a nice, secure hold. I really love Shure's easy to detach and replace cable system (since if you're going to damage any part of your earphones, it's probably going to be the cord!). I also really love that the cord is nice and thick and doesn't have any microphonics - aka "cable thump".
The SE215 have a bit of a tipped up low end, which is great for people who like a bit stronger bass. And again, it's great for exercise when you want a nice, thumping drum beat
The top end is a little rolled off, so there's some detail missing. Also, if you use the silicone ear tips rather than the memory foam tips, they attenuate the high frequencies even more. The silicone tips are great for exercise though - no worries about sweat, which I'm guessing wouldn't be the best thing for the foam tips
Basically, these are what every mp3 player, iPod and iPhone SHOULD come with. I have a fantasy that if I ever win the lottery, I'm going to buy hundreds of SE215, walk around town, and whenever I see some poor, misguided soul using those awful white Apple earbuds, I'm going to walk up to them, yank those abominations out of their ears and hand them a pair of these! I'll be a legend in no time
2) My Favourite Earphones for Portable Use: Shure SE535 In-Ear Monitors
As you can probably guess from the brand and model number, these are the "big brother" to the affordable SE215. The SE535 are a triple-driver In-Ear Monitor and they are sublime.
If you want to hear delineation. If you want to hear accuracy. If you want to hear perfect transient response and every single detail in your recordings while you're on the go - these are your earphones!
Now, a lot of people are going to point to the somewhat less expensive SE425 model and say they're almost identical in sound, so why pay more for the SE535? And they're right. The SE425 are excellent and almost just as good! But if you're already considering $250-$300 for the SE425, I say, why not go whole hog and pony up another $100 for the SE535?
What do you get for that extra bill? A tiny bit more extension on the top. A tiny bit more extension on the bottom. And a tiny bit flatter frequency response. Honestly, that's about it. But isn't that worth it? If you're looking at $250-$300 earphones, I think you're more than just a casual listener. I think you're after phenomenal sound. The SE425 are great. Don't get me wrong! But the SE535 are just that little bit better. Why not treat yourself?
Same great cable design benefits as the SE215. Same over-the-ear cable position for a secure fit. But with the SE535, don't alter the sound by using the silicone tips. Stick with the foam tips and enjoy all the amazing detail and absolutely perfect bass reproduction that the SE535 can offer!
3) My Favourite Affordable "Let's Get Some Work Done" Headphones: Sennheiser HD280 PRO
You wanna record, mix and edit a podcast? You wanna do some DJ work? You want some comfortable, durable, accurate headphones that can block out a lot of noise and let you get some work done whether you're at home or on a job site? You want all that for easily under $100?
Then the HD280 PRO are your headphones. Slap these on, block out the outside world and let yourself escape and focus on your sound. Love these workhorses!
4) My Favourite TV Headphones: Sennheiser HD598
They're ugly. They cost around $200-$250. But you won't find any headphones that are more comfortable to wear and easy to listen to for hours and hours and hours.
With an open back, the HD598 don't block out the world or completely stop someone sitting right next to you from hearing a bit of sound "leakage". But when it comes to watching TV? These are just about perfect.
When I'm watching TV, I don't want to be completely deaf to all sounds around me. I still wanna hear the phone ring or the doorbell. I wanna be able to talk to someone - with the headphone still on or very easily slipped off for a moment and then slipped quickly back on when the ads are over.
The HD598 are SUPER comfy, sound great, give less of that "in between your ears" type of sound and more of an "open" and natural soundstage, and really are just perfect for TV. I pick them over the less expensive HD558 and HD518 pretty much solely because of the better headband. The 558 and 518 use a velour-covered, foam headband that isn't very durable and gets kinda nasty just from sitting on your head and being in contact with the natural oils in your hair and a tiny bit of sweat. The HD598's headband is faux-leather and thus, more easily cleaned and more durable
5) My Favourite Movie Headphones: Denon AH-D5000
Let's face it, when you watch a movie, you want to completely block out the outside world, escape into the movie, and you also want some thunderous bass when it's called for!
The Denon AH-D5000 are glorious. They're a closed-back headphone. And while the seal isn't quite tight enough to really block out all outside noise, you DO get the benefits of some absolutely awesome bass that no other headphones really match. Sure, there are some really bass heavy 'phones out there. But they don't have the detail, delineation, clarity and extension to go along with it.
The AH-D5000 can get a little hot with extended wear. That's why I think they're the perfect movie headphones. If you can't crank up a full surround sound system, slip a pair of these $450 beauties on and enjoy some theater sound anyway!
My Favourite Cost-No-Object, Intensive Listening, Music Headphones: Sennheiser HD800
Is it crazy to consider paying almost $1500 for a set of cans? Maybe. But then again, $1500 is not expensive at all for a pair of high-end speakers! And the HD800 are like a pair of $10,000 speakers that you can wear on your head!
They're basically perfect. You can hear EVERYTHING - good or bad - that's present in the recording. But you've gotta treat them the way you would some high-end speakers. They don't block out sound. They're very comfortable, but they're a serious piece of audio gear. You want the proper environment and the proper attention being paid to make these babies worth while! But if you want to really delve into your music and you don't have the budget for high-end speakers? These are the way to go!
My Final Thought:
I don't buy into the headphone amplifier hype. Not one little bit. Headphones take very, very little power to drive. Far less than 1 Watt. The notion of expensive headphone amplifiers is completely silly to me and I consider such gear nothing more than snake oil and taking advantage of audiophiles who think, "it's expensive, so it MUST be better, right?"
Don't be silly. Go into any professional recording or mixing studio and they're using inexpensive, professional headphone amps - usually 8 or 16-channel headphone amps so that multiple people can listen at the same time.
Don't get me wrong. The headphone output on every receiver I've ever owned has been crap. Noisy, lacking power and detail - just a very poor quality way to drive nice headphones. But you don't have to pay much. $25 can buy you a Behringer headphone amp that sounds a million times better. All that really matters is getting a silent noise floor and enough power to handle any set of headphone regardless of their efficiency or impedance. Any pro headphone amp can do that for well under $100, so don't buy into the hype!
Can't wait to read some of YOUR favourite 'phones and see what'cha think of my list
