Headphones

[71 dB]

My budget is up to £100.
Is Sennheiser good, or should I go more mainstream with Sony or Philips?

Sennheiser is very good. Stay away from Sony/Philips.
Buy 595

[some guy]

One word: audition.

I swear by my Grados. My composer son swears by his Sennheisers (ones he got from me because I didn't like them.)

So audition them, just like you would if you were buying speakers.

[drogulus]

    Don't buy expensive headphones for your Mac unless you know the SQ is very good. All that will do is make it easier to hear how bad the sound is. So, how good is the sound on your Mac? If you get something like a Total Bithead, a combination USB sound card and headphone amp, then you can get any headphones you want and enjoy them to the fullest.

    So, given your budget, I'd say get the Bit Head and use your present headphones until you can afford good ones. Just how bad are your current 'phones?

[Kullervo]

I've had my Bose tri-ports for about 2 years now and love them, but the left phone is starting to go out; it only works if you bend the plug in just the right way. I am wondering if I were to buy an ultra cheap set of headphones, cut off the plug and replace the old one with it, would this affect the sound quality?

[Kullervo]

I've had my Bose tri-ports for about 2 years now and love them, but the left phone is starting to go out; it only works if you bend the plug in just the right way. I am wondering if I were to buy an ultra cheap set of headphones, cut off the plug and replace the old one with it, would this affect the sound quality?

*bump*

Still no ideas?

[PerfectWagnerite]

*bump*

Still no ideas?

The short answere is no. The cable in your $140 Bose headphone is about the same quality as the cable you get in a $10 headphone. So go ahead.

[Xenophanes]

    Sennheiser makes very good closed 'phones (HD 280 are supposed to be quite good), though I don't think they can compete with their best open ones. For even better closed headphones Headroom (main headphone page) has Denon, AKG, and Beyerdynamic. Here's their closed-back list (includes in-ear types).

I like the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro quite a lot.  As I have found that the bass is overpowering in many headphones, I thought I would try the HD 280 Pro, which rolls off the bass compared to most (HeadRoom supplies measurements for many of the phones they sell).  It is available from HeadRoom for a mere $100.00, which is half list, plus a small shipping charge. These are sealed phones with good sound isolation. They are very good indeed, quite smooth with slightly subdued extreme highs, very easy to listen to.  Evidently the pros use them a lot for recording and mixing, as HeadRoom tells us. As for basic sound quality, they are pretty much in the same class as my main speakers, which are very fine indeed.  The HD 280 Pro is very sensitive and a computer sound card will drive them with ease.  I had them for a few weeks now and am very happy with them.

http://www.headphone.com/products/headphones/all-headphones/sennheiser-hd-280-pro.php

[Kuhlau]

Interesting to see the HD 280s mentioned. I wasn't all that impressed by their performance when I auditioned them in a high-end hifi store using some Arcam kit. I also found them terribly uncomfortable. Quite a tight squeeze for someone like myself, with a slightly larger-than-average head.

FK

[Kullervo]

The short answere is no. The cable in your $140 Bose headphone is about the same quality as the cable you get in a $10 headphone. So go ahead.

Thank you

[Catison]

Interesting to see the HD 280s mentioned. I wasn't all that impressed by their performance when I auditioned them in a high-end hifi store using some Arcam kit. I also found them terribly uncomfortable. Quite a tight squeeze for someone like myself, with a slightly larger-than-average head.

FK

I'm listening to them at this very moment, and I use them all day at work.  So I can assure you, as someone with a large head, they fit quite comfortably after a breaking in period.  Plus they keep the sound sealed in (or out), so there is no threat of annoying the neighbors.

Plus they sound great!

[Kuhlau]

I'm listening to them at this very moment, and I use them all day at work.  So I can assure you, as someone with a large head, they fit quite comfortably after a breaking in period.  Plus they keep the sound sealed in (or out), so there is no threat of annoying the neighbors.

Plus they sound great!

Different horses, different courses, I suppose.

FK

[Holden]

Different horses, different courses, I suppose.

FK

The HD 280s are superbly detailed headphones but they do take a little bit of driving. I've got a small Behringer headphone amp ($30) which I use to drive my phones from my PC and also the headphone jack of my CD player. The difference this makes in sound - especially the bass end - is quite large and for me justified buying these cans. The bass of the 280s is very clean, crisp and detailed and will go very low (with amplification) to the point of being able to hear the actual note of a 64' organ pipe.

I always use these when I fly and they are so good at blocking out external sound that I prefer these to Sennheiser's top end (and more expensive) noise cancellers.

I broke mine in by playing them continuously for 72 hours. I put them onto a soccer ball to loosen them up. It worked perfectly. For the price I have never heard a more detailed and clear set of cans. To get the same SQ expect to pay almost twice the price.

[Kuhlau]

Thanks for this, Holden.

You've given me plenty of reasons why my 'cold' audition wouldn't have been a fair trial run. And as for the football method of loosening off tight cans, I'll have to bear that in mind when breaking in my next pair.

FK

[Solitary Wanderer]

I bought these Sennheiser HD595's a few months ago and they are wonderful.

VERY comfortable with great depth and clarity to the sound. I'm hearing things in my fave pieces of music that I haven't noticed before. Quite amazing really 

[Kuhlau]

Oooh! Nice.

FK

[bhodges]

I bought these Sennheiser HD595's a few months ago and they are wonderful.

VERY comfortable with great depth and clarity to the sound. I'm hearing things in my fave pieces of music that I haven't noticed before. Quite amazing really 

I am probably going to get a second pair...best headphones I've ever had. 

--Bruce

[Holden]

In 1988 I bought a pair of what was then Sennheisers flagship model the HD540 Gold MkII and they were so good they blew me away. I still have them and still use them (along with the 280s). Now I'm wondering whether I should upgrade. The 280s are  basically for travelling and to use with the PC and I still hook up the 540s to my Hi Fi for listen when I don't want to disturb the household. Do the 580s/600s/595s, etc, sound better than my trusty old 540s? Has anyone who has heard both got any comments?

[bhodges]

Just as an aside, since I have not experienced the venerable 540s: what I notice about the latest Sennheiser line is that the cups are not circles but ovals, which enables them to completely encircle your ears, rather than resting ON your ears.  This is a small but significant ergonomic change, that enables the ear pads to touch the sides of your head, rather than pressing against the ears as such.

Maybe I just have huge ears (no comments, please  ) but I find this new development vastly more comfortable--almost a revelation.  I have never had headphones that were such a pleasure to wear, from a physical standpoint.  And that's even before the sound quality is discussed.

--Bruce

[Kuhlau]

Bruce, any ear coupling that completely surrounds the ear is called circumaural. The shape is unimportant. If the couplings rest on your ears, that's supra-aural. I don't get on with these latter types, either. Us jug-earred folks are better off with the really big cans.

FK

[Solitary Wanderer]

I've had 'cans' in the past that rest on your ears and I found them to be extremely uncomfortable.

The HD595's are circumaural  and VERY comfortable