Ed Oscuro
12-14-2004, 02:25 PM
I'm not big on stereo systems and huge speakers, especially as I consider everybody else's peace of mind very important when listening to my favorite music...but I still like to get great sound.
Over the last ten years I've used Realistic 80-ohm Novapro headphones (just like these 'uns (http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=29833&item=2294317871)) that were so old they've got seperate volume knobs jutting out from the side, and the left cup had fallen off the comically oversized connection bar. A few years ago I bought a pair of Sony MDR-V150s, which tend to blow up into scratchy awfulness on bassy music. Still, these are much better than, say, a pair of crap/Walkman-grade headphones without cups (i.e. MDR-NC5s, or overgrown earbuds, another product from Sony).
Another pair of headphones I've never been able to settle scores with would be some wireless headphones (don't recall a model number, don't see one on the side) from Philips, maybe c. 2001-2002. They've got a stand/transmitter base station that plugs into your sound source with a regular headphone jack, but you spend a lot of time readjusting your frequency (or imagining you need to) and a lot of time in discomfort from the overly tight cups (although I just tried them on again for the first time in months and they don't seem too bad anymore). Well, they aren't cups, really - more like two flat surfaces covered with a thin mesh you smash your ears against. Another lesson for audiophilies: Don't buy headphones that don't fit around your ears! Two spindly black plastic bars pass for a connecting piece, and they do break (somebody else did that for me). Another downside is that they'll permanently occupy a spot on your power strip to recharge batteries.
Now, I'm playing with - Sennheisers. A (do I have to take them off again?) HD 280 pro headset, to be exact. Very good response all along the range, and if anything they end up being too sensitive to output from, say, my television (I need to figure out how to bybass that altogether and get sound from my consoles, actually...that'd be nice) where they'll pick up incidental static from even devices that aren't plugged into any external source. Some folks have complained that the headphones are very tight around the ears, but they loosen up nicely. Not too heavy and they don't leak much sound at all unless you're playing something at a very high volume. Out of all the headphones I've used, this is one to get.
Another set which seems to be a good buy, from what I've read - if you wait for the right eBay auction - would be Grado Labs SR-80s. Apparently they'll deafen anybody sitting next to you as well, but these are some of the highest scoring headphones around. If sound in general is important to you, $70 shipped doesn't sound too bad, does it? Especially when you consider these 'phones - yes, the cups are made of wood, mahogany I think - aren't selling for more than sellers want to to BIN the 280s for. There's also a lesser version of these headphones, SR-60/SR-125, and many others from the company as well (SR-1 being a very very expensive one in particular).
There are a good number of highly competent small/niche headphone manufacturers; but Sennheiser seems to have the best market penetration and I can certainly vouce for them.
Over the last ten years I've used Realistic 80-ohm Novapro headphones (just like these 'uns (http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=29833&item=2294317871)) that were so old they've got seperate volume knobs jutting out from the side, and the left cup had fallen off the comically oversized connection bar. A few years ago I bought a pair of Sony MDR-V150s, which tend to blow up into scratchy awfulness on bassy music. Still, these are much better than, say, a pair of crap/Walkman-grade headphones without cups (i.e. MDR-NC5s, or overgrown earbuds, another product from Sony).
Another pair of headphones I've never been able to settle scores with would be some wireless headphones (don't recall a model number, don't see one on the side) from Philips, maybe c. 2001-2002. They've got a stand/transmitter base station that plugs into your sound source with a regular headphone jack, but you spend a lot of time readjusting your frequency (or imagining you need to) and a lot of time in discomfort from the overly tight cups (although I just tried them on again for the first time in months and they don't seem too bad anymore). Well, they aren't cups, really - more like two flat surfaces covered with a thin mesh you smash your ears against. Another lesson for audiophilies: Don't buy headphones that don't fit around your ears! Two spindly black plastic bars pass for a connecting piece, and they do break (somebody else did that for me). Another downside is that they'll permanently occupy a spot on your power strip to recharge batteries.
Now, I'm playing with - Sennheisers. A (do I have to take them off again?) HD 280 pro headset, to be exact. Very good response all along the range, and if anything they end up being too sensitive to output from, say, my television (I need to figure out how to bybass that altogether and get sound from my consoles, actually...that'd be nice) where they'll pick up incidental static from even devices that aren't plugged into any external source. Some folks have complained that the headphones are very tight around the ears, but they loosen up nicely. Not too heavy and they don't leak much sound at all unless you're playing something at a very high volume. Out of all the headphones I've used, this is one to get.
Another set which seems to be a good buy, from what I've read - if you wait for the right eBay auction - would be Grado Labs SR-80s. Apparently they'll deafen anybody sitting next to you as well, but these are some of the highest scoring headphones around. If sound in general is important to you, $70 shipped doesn't sound too bad, does it? Especially when you consider these 'phones - yes, the cups are made of wood, mahogany I think - aren't selling for more than sellers want to to BIN the 280s for. There's also a lesser version of these headphones, SR-60/SR-125, and many others from the company as well (SR-1 being a very very expensive one in particular).
There are a good number of highly competent small/niche headphone manufacturers; but Sennheiser seems to have the best market penetration and I can certainly vouce for them.