The headphones thread! [Sorry about your wallet]

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69 posts

Master Geek

#955330 20-Dec-2013 09:53

Hi Guys

I am in the market for a headphone and was wondering, if anyone could help me with my purchase? I have a budget of $400 and would like to know any recommendations/suggestions as what headphones people would recommend in my price range?

I normally listen to music during commute. And have a HTC one as my primary source of music delivery.

Thanks

Harry

timmmay

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#955331 20-Dec-2013 09:56

Given the background noise for commuting I'd probably suggest in-ear headphones, and spending less than $400. Perhaps noise cancelling, but that's only effective against engine noise, and maybe track noise, and it's pretty expensive. I'm currently using EarJax, but that's because they were sent to me free to review. To be honest just go to a local store and buy a decent brand, maybe look at online reviews first. $100 - $200 should get you a decent unit, but avoid trendy brands named after celebrities.

Save the money for good headphones for home.

networkn

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#955353 20-Dec-2013 10:12

swisshardy: Hi Guys

I am in the market for a headphone and was wondering, if anyone could help me with my purchase? I have a budget of $400 and would like to know any recommendations/suggestions as what headphones people would recommend in my price range?

I normally listen to music during commute. And have a HTC one as my primary source of music delivery.

Thanks

Harry

The best I've come across bar none are the BlackBox, and to boot they have decent sound quality, and unbelievable customer service (Replaced my 4 year old phones due to the fact the plastic had cracked when the warranty was for 1 year). I do long flights with them.

They also have in ear.

Batman

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#955383 20-Dec-2013 10:59

what music do you listen to?
do you like bass?
are you sensitive to sibilance?
etc etc?

do you want in ear monitors or closed headphones (both give good sound isolation which is what you want. one is stealthy one makes you look like a back alley rapper)

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#955384 20-Dec-2013 11:00

i'd get the USD$159 westone 3 from amazon but i don't know what you like

Handsomedan

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#955406 20-Dec-2013 11:28

joker97: what music do you listen to?
do you like bass?
are you sensitive to sibilance?
etc etc?

do you want in ear monitors or closed headphones (both give good sound isolation which is what you want. one is stealthy one makes you look like a back alley rapper)

I'm all for looking like a back-alley rapper...due to the fact that I am so hip...oh that's right...I'm on Geekzone. Maybe I'm not so street after all.

Anyway - as per the above questions - you'd need to add a bit of flavour to get good recommendations, but I would certainly recommend the SOL republic Tracks (they come in three flavours - V8, V10 and V12 for on-ears) or Master Tracks on-ears.

All depends on what you like sound-wise as to which to get.

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#955417 20-Dec-2013 11:46

swisshardy: Hi Guys

I am in the market for a headphone and was wondering, if anyone could help me with my purchase? I have a budget of $400 and would like to know any recommendations/suggestions as what headphones people would recommend in my price range?

I normally listen to music during commute. And have a HTC one as my primary source of music delivery.

Thanks

Harry

Apologies, as I have not read through all of the posts. I just got a set of Bose AE2w Bluetooth headphones. I use them with my iPhone and they are quite good - not too loud and I suspect not heavy on the base - but I listen to classical anyhow. Also have a microphone in them so can talk on the phone as well. The BT module can be detached and a normal cable plugged in as well. I think the price was just inside the budget.

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NZtechfreak

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#955447 20-Dec-2013 12:41

swisshardy: Hi Guys

I am in the market for a headphone and was wondering, if anyone could help me with my purchase? I have a budget of $400 and would like to know any recommendations/suggestions as what headphones people would recommend in my price range?

I normally listen to music during commute. And have a HTC one as my primary source of music delivery.

Thanks

Harry

As per some of the other comments, probably need a little more information before the recommendations can flow :)

A few things - you will be driving whatever headphone you end up with from a portable source, so they will need to be fairly sensitive. Noise isolation will be helpful. Portability will be helpful also given the use-case scenario.

With those things in mind IEMs will be the most suitable, unless you have a strong preference for on-ear/over-ear/full-sized cans (I do, can't really use IEMs myself as I find fit difficult and I have waxy ears which makes them problematic). If you're getting IEMs I don't really think you will need active noise cancellation, so I wouldn't bother looking into that if IEMs are a go. If you're looking for IEMs then this link is your best friend - it's a comparitive review of 305 IEMs arranged into various price brackets.

If you would prefer larger cans for whatever reason then active noise cancelling may become more of a consideration, however even then you still may not need noise cancelling. Heapdhones with good passive noise reduction (eg Sennheiser HD25-1 II) will still likely be sufficient for your needs. If you do a bit of air travel then noise cancelling may be something of a bonus to have, but you've not mentioned that so hard to say. If you do want to avoid IEMs and go for something larger then the field is very wide open, and some more details about the kind of music you listen to as others have asked for would be helpful.

If noise cancellation is something you want do let us know, I've recently gone on a bit of a test drive with several of the best ones (all of which can be had in your price range).

Twitter: @nztechfreak
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Batman

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#957020 24-Dec-2013 17:58

Got my Westone 3 ... in ecstasy mode ...

the RRP is US600 when new, now around US400, currently on sale at amazon for US159 with free international shipping

the packaging is nothing short of what you'd expect. it has a volume control adapter, and umpteen tips, mostly hollow ones but some complete foamed tips. the ones it came with were so stuck I have to pry them brutally with a butter knife but no damage done. it gives very good isolation. in fact without isolation there is no bass so you need to pick the correct tips. I used a hollow flappy/flangy one.

it has 3 balanced armature drivers and I have just discovered i'm a bass head.

FLAC -> Fiio E17

this thing produces the sweetest bass short of a sealed 15" sub. not the strongest but as sweet as they come.
the mids are a bit recessed that you miss a bit of detail in most places but it doesn't worry you too much
there is a bit of an annoying 8khz hissy sounding treble that can be annoying on certain poorly mastered tracks.

but alas i'm a fiddler and all my music devices have top EQs so I add a dash of sub bass, a pinch of midrange 1-4kHz and pull down a pinch of 8kHz and add a pinch of 16kHz. perfect :D

this is my 2nd set of IEMs after I lost my MEElectronics A151 earlier this year so I cannot compare with other IEMs but i'm tempted to buy a 2nd set.

what I can say is on my Senn HD600 some songs are hollow and some songs hurt. this IEM makes everything sounds good.

i'm going to give it 8/10

now to audition and buy some LCD2.2s ...

Batman

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#957021 24-Dec-2013 18:05

something went wrong with my browser ...?

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#959039 30-Dec-2013 13:12

the bass has ramped up over time ... weird ... burn in maybe ... or just poor memory

what i'm discovering though is how amazingly large soundstage these IEMs give! they actually have a decent midrange but you need to EQ it out to bring it forwards a little bit. it is still sibilant so i've EQd the high frequencies down a little. the bass and sub bass have been ramped to and these guys are now as dark as dark could get.

the reason i posted is because i am hearing a lot of jitter from my S4 9505 ... which is known for its lack of a wolfson DAC ... i wonder if it wll pick up jitter in a say 9500 or note 3 ... hmmm ...

does that mean this is a very sensitive can or very detailed?

Gambit

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Master Geek

#960414 2-Jan-2014 20:21

Hi,

Has anyone had much to do with these?

www.shop.jbhifi.co.nz/ipod-mp3-portables/headphones/sony-mdr-1r-extra-bass-over-ear-headphones-black/69939

Looking at getting some and the reviews I've seen are pretty positive.
I was looking at some Beats but they aren't very well reviewed.
Just for using with my iPod so don't need noise cancelling, etc.

Thanks

timmmay

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#960417 2-Jan-2014 20:30

I almost bought a pair. Nice headphones, my pick of the closed compact headphones, great with just a portable device driving them. I ended up with getting more Audio Technica A900's, which are huge and impractical for anything other than stationary home/work use.

Gambit

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Master Geek

#960427 2-Jan-2014 21:10

Yeah I think they look really nice and not too bulky.
Might try and audition some before purchase just in case.
Still like the look of the beats but Sony's seem a bit better and slightly cheaper too.

timmmay

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#960428 2-Jan-2014 21:12

I have the beats. Mdr-1R kills them for sound quality. The beats also fail after a couple of years, I've had two pairs now - both review samples. The head band cracked on the first, the second has one ear cup making a weird hiss.

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