Reccomendations for good headphones ??

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
May 30, 2010
Messages
371
Location
Iowa
Ok all, moving into my Fiancee's small home, and we simply do not have the room to set-up even a modest "Old-School" Stereo system. I am Seriously into the music I listen too, and am not interested in getting an MP3 (no offense intended to anyone who has them) I am used to vintage Altec Lansing, JBL, Cerwin Vega, Advent, Dynaco, and KLH speakers...You get the idea here..Are there any "full-ear enclosing" headphones that anyone can reccomend brand-wise that come close to replicating the "accoustics" of good speakers?? Ear buds just leave me wanting..Plan to use them off-of a CD player, so they would have to have the small-sized plug-in. Thanks in advance!!
 
What is your budget? Headphones are like wine... you can get a set for $10, or you can get a set for $10,000.

I bought a set of Audio-Technica ATH-M50 earlier this year and I am very happy with them... clear, detailed full frequency sound (good controlled bass, mids, and highs). You can find them for under $100.
 
Thanks Pete! I should have qualified that,,I have been "out" of the Audio circle (not by choice) for the past two years....How "good" can one get for say $100 or so??
 
Last edited:
OOPS didn't read your full post!!! I am or was familer with A/T..sounds likes its just in the price range I am looking for!
 
Last edited:
This is a real tuff one. Unless you can try a whole bunch of them side by side it is almost futile trying to make an objective assessment.

What I can say is that I have been some what blown away by the quality of some of the cheap stuff out of China these days.

I bought some Phillips earphones for AUD$99 and thought they must be good for the price. A friend of mine also bought me some good named earphones and said they were real good performers.

Funny, that a FM/AM radio with stereo earphones that cost $60 was better sounding by a large margin than the other two earphones that each cost more than whole radio did.

You never know what you are getting sometimes.
 
Kwaka10R said:
This is a real tuff one. Unless you can try a whole bunch of them side by side it is almost futile trying to make an objective assessment.

What I can say is that I have been some what blown away by the quality of some of the cheap stuff out of China these days.

I bought some Phillips earphones for AUD$99 and thought they must be good for the price. A friend of mine also bought me some good named earphones and said they were real good performers.

I appreciate your insight...I know in "The Old Days" there were some real sleepers out there..as I am sure there are now...I have listened to many of the "ear-bud" genere..and to me, they just dont capture the "accoustics" of the decent "full-sized" headphones I have used in the distant past..I wish we had more room for even a "small" set-up, but we don't..I have some "killer" vintage small "Full-range" speakers, and a nice little pair of 6.5" coaxials..but there just isnt the room. Looks like I will have to go "Listening" on my days-off. My GF (sadly) doesn't care if she hears music thru 3" speakers, or a 15" 4-way system..bless her heart..sigh.......LOL
 
Hi

I would avoid the Koss 4AA (still available new 30 years after introduction) unless you want the heaviest, most uncomfortable cans ever known to man. I had a pair back in the day, and it felt like my head was being crushed like a vice.

Grado and Audio Technica both make great 'phones in your price range.

Grado Headphones on Amazon

Audio Technica Headphones on Amazon

Both are open air design, which will make your music sound more spacious. The down side is that because they are open air, others in the room will be able to hear some of the music as well. If you are listening alone, you will be able to hear your phone or doorbell ring, so you are not totally sealed off if something important happens.

If you want sealed cans, I've owned a pair of Sonys (link below to the same model as mine) for years, and they have been pretty decent.

Sony Headphones on Amazon

Hope this helps.

HyundaiGuy
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Summerwind
Thanks Pete! I should have qualified that,,I have been "out" of the Audio circle (not by choice) for the past two years....How "good" can one get for say $100 or so??


I just bought some Klipsch in ear headphones cause my Apple ones died. It is amazing the difference. Also I bought the Comply canal buds that conform to your ear canal. The sound is incredible, but one warning is that they cancel out all noise, so you can't hear anything, good if you are on a plane, bad if your wife is trying to call you....

Klipsch Image S4
Comply Foam Earbuds
 
Another vote for klipsch. I bought a pair of the Image X5 as a lighter, more portable replacement for my Sennheiser over-the-ears. I've compared a decent number of songs, and I'm still blown away by how great the little buds are. A major contributor is the bud itself. The noise canceling comes from the formed fit of the bud to my ear, which means I can listen to music at much lower volumes. The Sennheiser's were good, but just can't compare.
 
My son just bought a pair of Bose headphones. Awesome quality and sound. You can get them at the official Bose store or through Best Buy. If you go to a Bose store, be sure and take the time to watch/listen to the demonstration in the special room they have.
 
Originally Posted By: hate2work

My son just bought a pair of Bose headphones. Awesome quality and sound. You can get them at the official Bose store or through Best Buy. If you go to a Bose store, be sure and take the time to watch/listen to the demonstration in the special room they have.


I would avoid the Bose at all costs. I spent 10 years on the retail sales floor as manager of a stereo store. We carried Bose ( I can't say we sold them, but we had them to bring customers in.) I would estimate that over 95% of customers who compared any competing brand to Bose, bought the competing brand.

The Bose rep would stop in and give free sample CDs to the sales guys. We already used many of the same tracks for demos. We discovered that the Bose CDs were re-equalized to make the Bose speakers sound better- the Bose CDs sounded horrid on any other speakers. Knowing this as fact, that "special demo room" becomes immediately suspect to me.

Even Bose agrees:

Better
Off with
Something
Else

or the other saying in the audio business- "No highs, no lows, it must be Bose."

They did give out good quality T shirts though. I used them inside out to remove wax from my car.
 
Last edited:
Talk about an good investment. Back in 1990 in college I purchased Sony Studio Monitors (sony-mdr-v6) and they sounded incredible then. They are still being sold and I have seen them used in some music studio's still to this day.

I think this style of headphones has come back. I got funny looks on the airplane about 10 years ago wearing them.
 
Originally Posted By: rjundi
Talk about an good investment. Back in 1990 in college I purchased Sony Studio Monitors (sony-mdr-v6) and they sounded incredible then. They are still being sold and I have seen them used in some music studio's still to this day.

I think this style of headphones has come back. I got funny looks on the airplane about 10 years ago wearing them.


Those are the same Sonys I have- bought them when they first came out in the early '90s. The store I managed sold them. Sennheiser HD600s they aren't, but they are stunningly good for less than $80.
 
Try Googling "headphone forum" or variations of that. I searched around on one a few years ago- don't remember the name- but Lots of good info! As always, remember to separate the wheat from the chaff.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom