The headphones thread! [Sorry about your wallet]

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › The headphones thread! [Sorry about your wallet]

1 | ... | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | ... | 122

3016 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 871

Subscriber

#1860747 8-Sep-2017 11:05

Have been watching this thread. Im not much of a headphone user (sometimes use the standard apples earbuds and a few months back brought a pair of Sony BT overears (not noise cancelling) however its only had a few hours use....I should really sell them !

For my upcoming travel, I decided to go cheap $110 and get Audio Technica ATH-ANC33iS QuietPoint Active Noise-Cancelling In-Ear Heapdhones.....

Im sure this will be sufficient...unless I see something better going through dubai.

Batman

Mad Scientist
30014 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 6217

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1860831 8-Sep-2017 12:51

Goosey:

Have been watching this thread. Im not much of a headphone user (sometimes use the standard apples earbuds and a few months back brought a pair of Sony BT overears (not noise cancelling) however its only had a few hours use....I should really sell them !

For my upcoming travel, I decided to go cheap $110 and get Audio Technica ATH-ANC33iS QuietPoint Active Noise-Cancelling In-Ear Heapdhones.....

Im sure this will be sufficient...unless I see something better going through dubai.

I've bought and sold many headphones, but my ATH-M50 is still with me. Amazing wee little thing. I wish I could say that about my Audeze LCD 2.

Fred99

13684 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10018

#1861154 9-Sep-2017 08:41

Noel Leeming had Sennheiser HD 4.5 BTNC on sale last week for $277 - not sure if the sale price still applies.

I'd had a play around with a friend's Bose QC25, made my mind up about getting some noise cancelling headphones, but I wasn't too happy about paying the price.

Anyway, the Sennheiser headphones seem very good. Haven't used them long enough to know if the claimed 20 hour battery life is accurate. Sound quality is excellent IMO, and noise cancelling seems very effective.

My ears can get a little hot after wearing them for a while. There's a techradar review that I'd generally agree with. Not sure I'd agree with the comment that the noise cancelling is tricky to turn on and off, the instructions from Sennheiser though are a bit odd - suggesting that you need to press and hold the volume up and volume down which sounds like a two-finger operation, and tech radar refer to the volume button as a "slider" which it isn't - the slider is a function control (track select, answer call etc). Turning noise cancelling on and off is simple use your thumb to depress the centre of the volume button, there's a faint click sound when NC toggles on, unless you're in a completely silent room, the effect is very obvious. Seems to connect via BT to assorted devices no problem. Gives a "power on" and "connected" confirmation through the cans with a very british female voice. I can't hear any difference in sound quality with NC on or off, there's a volume change though when you toggle NC on, volume drops for a few seconds, then ramps back. Not sure about relative lack of padding on the headband - I've got a lot of hair. The battery status / charging LED is confusing, when it turns blue they're charged, otherwise when the LED is orange, it's either blinking fast, slow, or steady - which is supposed to mean something, but I'd need to refer to the instructions. Then when charged but still plugged in, the light is off - making you wonder if the charger isn't working. IMO poor design for a basic function- that would be my main complaint.

The Noel Leeming store had a well set up stand with Bose NC headphones you could try. The Sennheisers were hanging on a rack in a sealed box, they didn't seem keen to open the pack, and didn't have a pair for display. Very poor service IMO - I'd have given the phones a miss because of this, but thought they were worth a punt at the price due to generally OK reviews.

Fred99

13684 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10018

#1861462 9-Sep-2017 18:31

Used the Sennheiser HD 4.5 BTNC today when mowing the lawns and doing the edges etc with a very noisy 2-stroke weed-whacker.

Approximately infinitely more comfortable and probably lighter weight than normal ear-muff hearing protectors I usually use, seemed just as effective, and with soothing music in the background.

Yourmomm

1 post

Wannabe Geek

#1862733 12-Sep-2017 11:38

Hi. Does anyone in Auckland/tauranga/hamilton area have mrspeakers ether c flows? I'm thinking of getting them, over the ether flow (open), so I can listen to them in bed, without waking SWMBO up, but really need to hear them before taking the plunge... Ive currently got open ethers (pre-flow), which I love, but don't want to take advantage of the mrspeakers trade in deal, and swap to the closed, if I lose the sound I love...If this was the case, I would prefer to upgrade to the open flows, and carry on not being able to listen to them in public places...

So, I really need to try the closed ether flows, before I buy!! i'll bring beers, if you let me visit, and have a quick listen to yours?

Many thanks

Ryan

networkn

Networkn
32864 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 15455

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1862734 12-Sep-2017 11:39

Yourmomm: Hi. Does anyone in Auckland/tauranga/hamilton area have mrspeakers ether c flows? I'm thinking of getting them, over the ether flow (open), so I can listen to them in bed, without waking SWMBO up, but really need to hear them before taking the plunge... Ive currently got open ethers (pre-flow), which I love, but don't want to take advantage of the mrspeakers trade in deal, and swap to the closed, if I lose the sound I love...If this was the case, I would prefer to upgrade to the open flows, and carry on not being able to listen to them in public places...

So, I really need to try the closed ether flows, before I buy!! i'll bring beers, if you let me visit, and have a quick listen to yours?

Many thanks

Ryan

I had a feeling @geektastic has some but he isn't in Auckland as I understand?

Geekzone

Want to support Geekzone and browse the site without the ads? Subscribe to Geekzone now (monthly, annual and lifetime options).

Geektastic

18009 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 8465

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1862761 12-Sep-2017 12:34

networkn:
Yourmomm: Hi. Does anyone in Auckland/tauranga/hamilton area have mrspeakers ether c flows? I'm thinking of getting them, over the ether flow (open), so I can listen to them in bed, without waking SWMBO up, but really need to hear them before taking the plunge... Ive currently got open ethers (pre-flow), which I love, but don't want to take advantage of the mrspeakers trade in deal, and swap to the closed, if I lose the sound I love...If this was the case, I would prefer to upgrade to the open flows, and carry on not being able to listen to them in public places...

So, I really need to try the closed ether flows, before I buy!! i'll bring beers, if you let me visit, and have a quick listen to yours?

Many thanks

Ryan

I had a feeling @geektastic has some but he isn't in Auckland as I understand?

I had Alpha Dogs but no longer.

Item

1739 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 726

Subscriber

#1880172 10-Oct-2017 08:02

So!

The new LCD2-C are nearly here.

Taking the model back to the pre-fazer "dark" sound, remodelling the externals and band a little and dropping the price a chunk to around US$600

https://www.audeze.com/products/lcd-collection/lcd2c

I really want some LCD3s but can't quite justify the price right now and I wasn't that enamoured by the LCD2.2 Fazers...these could be the cans I am looking for!

Batman

Mad Scientist
30014 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 6217

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1880187 10-Oct-2017 08:47

Did you see my mouth is ajar? wow ... need ... to ... make a trip to the US ...

Question is - it is built like a concrete block held together with barb wire and padded with sponge or will it actually be comfortable for a long period? (ok I just saw it. doesn't look very appealing. does it come in any other colours)

I bought the LCD2.2 fazor and it sounded like an LCD 3, and once I bought an ATH M50 I sold the LCD2! If there was a thread of greatest regret it that's it right there! LOL

Sam91

620 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 183

#1881811 11-Oct-2017 10:42

Sennheiser PXC550 - $364 - JB Hi-Fi

Dial111

979 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 656

#1881864 11-Oct-2017 11:36

I see Sony NZ have the WH-1000's in stock, $100 cheaper then the MDR-1000's that they have supposedly superseded.

Was hoping for a price reduction on the MDR's

HP

Shop now for HP laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

ard

7 posts

Wannabe Geek
+1 received by user: 1

#1882503 12-Oct-2017 15:40

I am kicking myself for missing 50% PSBs a while ago, taking them to $300. They may have suited quite well.

Sam91:

Sennheiser PXC550 - $364 - JB Hi-Fi

That is what I want to pay so now can I ask the geek zone whether that is what I want to pay for?

Most of these posts are sorely lacking in requirements so I will try to give exactly where I'm at and why I want to move, in the hope that you can advise. I am currently under a pair of Sony MDR-10RNCs. I got them along with a pair of smaller Sonys for about $280 and immediately flicked off the other. That left me with the 10RNCs for about what I think they are worth: nowhere near the $450 ask.

That would be my mini-review of the 10RNCs: sturdily put together, comfy, good enough NC that I will never fly without it again, and sound quality (with NC on) worth a couple of hundred bucks. Three at a stretch.

I listen in the office, NC permanently on to remove A/C and the drone of SH1 out the window, and because the quality is so poor with NC off. I do no air travel worth mentioning, so I do not need aggressive noise cancelling. It would be nice if it was quieter though: listening to classical now, the hiss added by the Sonys is really there in quiet passages. Most of my listening is rock, not classical, so it isn't a big problem.

I am really after more powerful sound. I am not enjoying music nearly as much as I did with an old pair of very modest non-NC Sennheisers. I can't recall the model number but they looked like the current $60 HD202, in grey. However I found that with them I was turning the music up too loud to overcome the ambient office noise, so they had to go. Loads of Sennheiser reviews criticise over-emphasised bass: I did not think I was a bass-head; maybe I am, but I need gobs of treble too thanks.

I borrowed QC35s for nowhere long enough and while the NC in the office was impressive (no hiss!), the sound quality wasn't improved enough to justify them. I still needed smiley-shaped EQ to get it where I sort-of liked it, and if you need EQ then I don't think the cans are doing their job.

I do not need Bluetooth. All my listening is at the desk. Well, let's say that if I had to choose between BT and SQ for the same dollars, it will be quality every time.

I do not use an external DAC or amp. At the sub-$400 level does it make sense?

They need to be closed over-ear. I don't like buds, and on-ear or open is not neighbourly in an office.

None of the usability features of the PXC550 is a factor. I am sure they are tremendous for some, but if I want to pause the song, adjust volume, take a call, or choose between the fish and the chicken, I have a keyboard.

I am brand-agnostic. Well, okay, I probably won't be getting any Beats. And through my own experience I fear that a Sony at full price may suffer a bang:buck shortfall.

This post has been all "me me me", sorry about that, but hopefully it has given you enough background to help me out of my first-world problem. Would I be happy with the PXC550s? Something else in the range?

Many thanks in advance.

ard

7 posts

Wannabe Geek
+1 received by user: 1

#1882557 12-Oct-2017 17:16

ard:

I am really after more powerful sound. I am not enjoying music nearly as much as I did with an old pair of very modest non-NC Sennheisers. I can't recall the model number but they looked like the current $60 HD202, in grey.

Self-awareness time: they were eH250s, and according to the wisdom of the internet, they were bass-heavy DJ headphones (shudder) worth the same as a pizza night with the family. No teenagers, either. And I loved them. Still do - might go home and listen to something now just to make myself feel better about wearing the bass-head brand all this time and not knowing it.

My question still stands, though: where does a bass-head munter like me go for noise cancelling? Will the 550s satisfy my low-brow needs?

geekiegeek

2513 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 625
Inactive user

#1882606 12-Oct-2017 20:04

Selling my Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 wireless over-ear (noise cancelling) if anyone is interested - https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=77&topicid=223584

dickytim

2514 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 537
Inactive user

#1882735 13-Oct-2017 06:05

ard:

I am kicking myself for missing 50% PSBs a while ago, taking them to $300. They may have suited quite well.

Sam91:

Sennheiser PXC550 - $364 - JB Hi-Fi

That is what I want to pay so now can I ask the geek zone whether that is what I want to pay for?

Most of these posts are sorely lacking in requirements so I will try to give exactly where I'm at and why I want to move, in the hope that you can advise. I am currently under a pair of Sony MDR-10RNCs. I got them along with a pair of smaller Sonys for about $280 and immediately flicked off the other. That left me with the 10RNCs for about what I think they are worth: nowhere near the $450 ask.

That would be my mini-review of the 10RNCs: sturdily put together, comfy, good enough NC that I will never fly without it again, and sound quality (with NC on) worth a couple of hundred bucks. Three at a stretch.

I listen in the office, NC permanently on to remove A/C and the drone of SH1 out the window, and because the quality is so poor with NC off. I do no air travel worth mentioning, so I do not need aggressive noise cancelling. It would be nice if it was quieter though: listening to classical now, the hiss added by the Sonys is really there in quiet passages. Most of my listening is rock, not classical, so it isn't a big problem.

I am really after more powerful sound. I am not enjoying music nearly as much as I did with an old pair of very modest non-NC Sennheisers. I can't recall the model number but they looked like the current $60 HD202, in grey. However I found that with them I was turning the music up too loud to overcome the ambient office noise, so they had to go. Loads of Sennheiser reviews criticise over-emphasised bass: I did not think I was a bass-head; maybe I am, but I need gobs of treble too thanks.

I borrowed QC35s for nowhere long enough and while the NC in the office was impressive (no hiss!), the sound quality wasn't improved enough to justify them. I still needed smiley-shaped EQ to get it where I sort-of liked it, and if you need EQ then I don't think the cans are doing their job.

I do not need Bluetooth. All my listening is at the desk. Well, let's say that if I had to choose between BT and SQ for the same dollars, it will be quality every time.

I do not use an external DAC or amp. At the sub-$400 level does it make sense?

They need to be closed over-ear. I don't like buds, and on-ear or open is not neighbourly in an office.

None of the usability features of the PXC550 is a factor. I am sure they are tremendous for some, but if I want to pause the song, adjust volume, take a call, or choose between the fish and the chicken, I have a keyboard.

I am brand-agnostic. Well, okay, I probably won't be getting any Beats. And through my own experience I fear that a Sony at full price may suffer a bang:buck shortfall.

This post has been all "me me me", sorry about that, but hopefully it has given you enough background to help me out of my first-world problem. Would I be happy with the PXC550s? Something else in the range?

Many thanks in advance.

I was all ready to recommend Polk Ultrafocus 8000, they are an older model now so can be landed from Amazon for around $200. The sound is amazing, the noise cancelling very, very good but the noise isolating is not great, at full (admittedly ear splitting) volume they can be heard across the office, on the positive, everyone in the office say they sound great too!!!

I tried the PSB's a while ago at Paul Money and they were on par with the Polk's, but too much at $500 for me at the time, Mighty Ape had the Polks on special for $385 so I got them. Unfortunately they developed an annoying fault with the remote so I had to return them a year later, as they no longer stocked them I got a full refund and got some in from Amazon.

1 | ... | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | ... | 122