may be OT, but I'm looking for headphones

[mustang_steve]

<font color='#000000'>Or earbuds..

Basically, I've decided to save a few bucks and start using public transportation.

Problem with this is the monstrous behemoth cans I have for headphones (sony something 150s, they are quite bad really)...

So I'm looking for the best set of phones (preferably earbuds) I can get for about $100 or less.

BTW, this is to be ran off a MP3 player or a Discman. &nbsp;I'd rather not go the &quot;portable headphone amp&quot; route

Thanks,

-Steve</font>

 

[zumbo]

<font color='#000000'>You could look for MB Quart. I hear they make some of the best!</font>

 

[zumbo]

<font color='#000000'>http://www.mbquart.com/2003/en_US/press/assets/2002_MBQ_805HS-Benante.pdf</font>

 

[zumbo]

<font color='#000000'>I need to figure out how to post a link on here!

</font>

 

[Audioholics]

<font color='#000080'>Just hit that &quot;http://&quot; button and enter the URL followed by the neame for the link...

Like this.</font>

 

[zumbo]

<font color='#000000'>

</font>

 

[zumbo]

<font color='#000000'>When it comes to this thing, I am a ID10t</font>

 

[zumbo]

<font color='#000000'>

</font>

 

[mustang_steve]

<font color='#000000'>Nice headphones, a bit big, but nice. &nbsp;Only real downside will be having to carry a 1/4&quot; to 1/8&quot; adaptor around, but that may not be so bad.</font>

 

[Shinerman]

<font color='#000000'>I will go out on a limb here and (Ducks down, takes cover, puts hands on head) recc. the booze earbuds with noise cancellation. &nbsp;My buudy has some and they sound good? &nbsp;I know, Eeek booze! &nbsp;But hey, there earbuds sound good. No, they are not like a good set of Grados or others but they sound really good for earbuds and they have the noise cancellation. &nbsp;I think they are about $150 though. &nbsp; You might even look at the iPod buds. &nbsp;You can buy them seperate. &nbsp;They also sound really good for about $30 I think. &nbsp;Just a few thoughts. &nbsp;

OK, let the blasting begin. &nbsp;I can take it. &nbsp;

Shinerman</font>

 

[Tremor_F]

<font color='#000000'>I can personally attest to the affordable goodness of the Etymotic ER-6 'phones. &nbsp;The sound isolation from outside noise (a key consideration for public transport users) is excellent, to the point that you can use them to attenuate office noise even if you're not listening to music.

Two things to be aware of:

* They're quite revealing, so don't expect to be happy listening to streaming audio one these, even at the so-called 'CD quality' levels offered by Musicmatch et. al.

* If you find that you like the foam earplugs better than the silicone ones (as I do) expect to replace them every month or two. &nbsp;Not a huge expense, but something to plan on.

Let me reiterate that I love these headphones with any source of reasonable quality, and they don't look make me look like the DJ From Hell with a giant pair of cans strapped to my head in public. &nbsp;

-T.</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>If you want a pair of headphones that have clairity and are easy to power you should look at the koss portapros. they fold up and have bass response to 15 hz. i own them and they sound amazing. best part is 76 dollars canadian(with tax!).</font>

 

[MarkOcena]

<font color='#000000'>I might be a little late in responding to this, but here's my recommendation.

I bought a pair of Sony MDR-EX70 to replace the free eabuds that come with their CD walkmans as well as an ealier pair of crappy Jensen headphones I had bought.  I'm happy with the sound of these ear-canal-style earbuds.  You can only expect so much out of the things, but they do are pretty decent job of passively blocking out unwanted noise (they don't actually detect outside noise and cancel it out electrically, like more expensive headphones do.  When they're properly placed in your ear, you don't have to worry about lack of bass (unless of course you like boomy bass, then you can turn on the bassboost mode of you player).  Because of the 9mm drivers, higher frequencies clarity and extention isn't quite phenominal, but the frequency response as a whole sounds much better than cheaper headphones I've heard.  They seem to relay detail fairly well and are fairly revealing given their nature.  It stills seems like you'd have to spend quite a bit more to get better performance (ie Etymotic earbuds, or Seinnheizer-level &quot;monitor&quot; headphones).

I'd say overall their a good sounding headphone, but I haven't heard these more expensive headphone for comparison.  These were $75 Canadian or about $55 US when I bought them.</font>

 

[mustang_steve]

<font color='#000000'>I bought a pair of Sony MDR-Q55SL last month.....still regret it...

The sound was nice, but had no detail, and the earclips were terrible.

Today I got a set of Sony MDR-EX71 canalphones. &nbsp;so far they seem promising, they seem to leave a bit to be desired in treble, but overall pretty nice.

It was after a bit of thinking that dropping $100 on something I will be carrying around in a bag that I decided to go with something a bit more inexpensive. Fortunately the Sony canalphones come with a rather nice sized case that holds the entire set inside of it.</font>

 

[pam]

<font color='#000000'>Noise cancelling:
Sone MDR-NC11
Senheiser PXC-250

Go to the store with a portable CD player and listen to them just outside the door. Look for sudden noise (speed of NC sustem) and the frequency range cancellation (low and high frequecy).</font>

 

[mustang_steve]

<font color='#000000'>Final word...the Sony &quot;71&quot; earbuds are OK for non-audiophile listnening.

Good: bass output is strong, isolation from outside noise is great. &nbsp;Sound overall is not fatiging.

Bad: bass is too strong, lack of detail in the music...plugs are $*&amp;^ painful when the cord gets snagged, ripping the earbud from your ear canal (found that out this morning &nbsp;

)

Either way, it's a decent set of &quot;commuter&quot; phones for $50. &nbsp;Compact, and even comes with a protective hardcase. &nbsp;The only downside to teh case is you have to wrap teh phones tightly...I wrap the cord around my index and middle forefingers and that gives me the ideal loop size for the case.</font>

 

[Johnny Canuck]

No such thing as bass too strong. i have the 51's and the 81's and i am thinking of going to the 90's as there isn't enough bass in them. To each their own!

 

[sbader2]

No such thing as bass too strong. i have the 51's and the 81's and i am thinking of going to the 90's as there isn't enough bass in them. To each their own!

Dude, this thread is from March of 2004.
Just thought I'd let you know