best headphones question

This forum is for the general discussion of Music.

best headphones question

Postby forgottenhero1 » Sun May 14, 2006 2:25 pm

I just bought a pair of headphones for 4.99 and was wondering why the price was so low, i found out when i brought them home. When i plug in the headphones to listen to music, the headphones are so loud on the outside. For exampe with my old headphones you couldn't hear my music when the volume was on 95% but for this one you can hear what im listening to at 35%(no exageration). Can someone recommend me a quieter and better headphone set. There are two headphones set that look quite interesting. How is the radioshack wireless headphone set? and the sony streetstyle?
forgottenhero1
 
Joined: 06 May 2006

Postby Fire_Starter » Sun May 14, 2006 3:03 pm

Sony MDR-V600.

Picked mine up for $100 at Best Buy several years ago, but you can get them for $70 on Amazon. I've been completely satisfied with them every day that they've been in use. You can have the volume at near painful levels, and there's almost zero leakage to the outside. To the listener, theyre fairly quiet just putting them on. Add some music at a reasonable level, and the outside world disappears.

No matter what you decide to buy, stay away from anything Radio Shack branded. Nothing but overpriced, cheaply made CRAP.
Tinnitus

<Fire_Starter> Stirspeare: college=failsauce?
<Stirspeare> Fire_Starter: Electoral college etc.

"<WITTY REMARK CENSORED BY REQUEST>"
User avatar
Fire_Starter
 
Joined: 26 Mar 2004

Postby forgottenhero1 » Sun May 14, 2006 4:23 pm

thank you for the advice. I dont really need noise cancelling headphones just ones that are quiet on the outside. one i get $70 i'll buy the one your talking about but do the sony $20 "street style" have any sound leakage or noisy to the outside world?
forgottenhero1
 
Joined: 06 May 2006

Postby Joe88 » Sun May 14, 2006 4:38 pm

Image
Image
User avatar
Joe88
 
Joined: 12 Feb 2006
Location: NYC

Postby forgottenhero1 » Sun May 14, 2006 5:43 pm

Joe88, if you own these headphones(or anyone else) i have a question. Are they confortable and how is the sound leakage?
forgottenhero1
 
Joined: 06 May 2006

Postby Willen » Sun May 14, 2006 9:06 pm

There are essentially 2 types of headphones, Closed-type and Open-type. Larger studio-style headphones like the Sony MDR-V600 are closed-type, which don't leak as much sound outward and also block incoming external sounds better. But they are much larger, heavier, and usually more expensive. Virtually all portable headphones are open-types that will leak sound to varying levels and let in more outside sounds. The design does allow for lighter and smaller headphones while producing better bass and overall sound.

The shape of the earpieces will also make a big difference in how much sound is leaked out/let in. The more expensive and larger headphones have "earcup" style earpieces that enclose your ears, whereas the smaller lighter types have flat "on-ear" pieces that may, or may not, make good contact with your ears depending on the shape and design.

In-the-ear type headphones (earphones) are generally of the open-type, but due to their design and the fact that they enter into the ear and usually channel more of the sound in, they leak less sound than traditional on-ear headphones. The downsides are comfort issues (some people don't like stuff in their ears) and increased potential of hearing damage since the design focuses more sound into your ears. They are usually more portable since these are the smallest types.

As to whether the headphones linked are comfortable, I've used them and they are good (sound and comfort), but not my "style". The behind the neck band is good for people who wear hats, but I own a lower end model that came with a CD Walkman and when I lean back in my chair, the neckband hits the top of the backrest. :(

I own and use currently (rating):
-Sony MDR-V900 Studio Monitors (9),
-Sony MDR-NC5 noise cancelling (7),
-Sony MDR-G051 street-style that came with my CD player (6, I use this for monitoring my video camera sound),
-Sony MDR-E575 Fontopia earphones (7, really old, wire jacket is shredding but still works!),
-Sony PSP headphones x2, white and black ones (5),
-and the cheapie set that came with my Sony Clie PDA that has surprisingly good sound (6).

And this doesn't include all the supplied headphones for all the portable players I've owned over the years and a really old set of Sony vertical in-the-ear headphones I got for free that are very uncomfortable to me, but have good sound quality.
Having trouble playing back videos? I recommend: Image
User avatar
Willen
Now in Hi-Def!
 
Joined: 10 Jul 2005
Location: SOS-Dan HQ
Status: Melancholy

Postby Willen » Sun May 14, 2006 9:10 pm

Oh and to clarify, my ratings are for sound quality, not sound leakage. I will say that the V900s are the best at keeping sound in (and out). I'll have to test the streetstyle ones and get back to you.
Having trouble playing back videos? I recommend: Image
User avatar
Willen
Now in Hi-Def!
 
Joined: 10 Jul 2005
Location: SOS-Dan HQ
Status: Melancholy

Postby Fire_Starter » Sun May 14, 2006 9:19 pm

To add to that, the V900's and the V600's share the same body style. However, the 900's have larger drivers and sound a good deal better. V900 if you can afford $200 for headphones, V600 if you don't. Either way, both are a closed design, block outside sound quite well, are quite comfortable for extended use. Either one will serve you well.
Tinnitus

<Fire_Starter> Stirspeare: college=failsauce?
<Stirspeare> Fire_Starter: Electoral college etc.

"<WITTY REMARK CENSORED BY REQUEST>"
User avatar
Fire_Starter
 
Joined: 26 Mar 2004

Postby forgottenhero1 » Tue May 16, 2006 5:05 pm

well basically all i want are headphones with very little to no sound leakage with the "behind the head"(street style) design for under $40. If you have headphones in mind please share your thoughts.
forgottenhero1
 
Joined: 06 May 2006

Postby xnamkcor » Wed May 17, 2006 5:34 pm

My Phillips earbuds work fine with little leakage. You only need them at a low volume to hear it clearly. If you are the type to turn up the volume to 100% because it is "cool" or makes you "hardcare", don't use these, and also, don't breed.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 5364664036
WE DRAMATIZE IT COMPLETELY!
User avatar
xnamkcor
 
Joined: 30 Jul 2003
Location: Mesa, AZ

Postby Melanchthon » Wed May 17, 2006 6:48 pm

The V600 looks nice, but I can't find anywhere that ships to the UK. Considering that the pound price is similar to the dollar price, this is rather an inconvenience. Etronics.com claims to have international shipping, but it won't give me any options other than USA and Canada for my billing address.
User avatar
Melanchthon
 
Joined: 02 Sep 2004

Postby Phoenix_X » Thu May 18, 2006 12:20 pm

My dad's been a sound engineer for 29 yerars and he says that sennheiser and Grado labs are industry standard in studio's and have been for a long time.

My pair is the the Grado labs SR-225 and is the only set of headphones I can recomend, they sound so much better than most, but pading is a bit rough on the ears.

Sennheiser’s HD580s are also very good, I have some audiophile friends who swear by them.

But if you want some thing normal people can afford get a pair of
Grado labs SR 80's there a great value..

stay way from brand names like Sony and Panasonic
(due to there mass production in china the quality and reliablety is generaly bad with these brands)
stores like wallmart are also not a good idea.
Reality is a Nice, Place But I wouldn’t want to live there !
User avatar
Phoenix_X
 
Joined: 11 Apr 2005
Location: Toronto, Ontario Canada

Postby Otohiko » Thu May 18, 2006 12:47 pm

Yea, my brother's an audiophile these days, and he owns two pairs of Sennheisers and a pair of Shure in-ear monitors, and needless to say both options are wonderful in terms of quality and sound isolation, but they're WAY out of the $40 price range :roll:

I'm looking at this thread myself, as I'd like to see if there's something like that available as well.
Otohiko
 
Joined: 05 May 2003

Postby cless » Thu May 18, 2006 1:07 pm

Hi brother.
Indeed, the The Shure E5Cs have reference-quality reproduction (at least to my ears, and assuming you've got a reference-quality source to begin with O_o), and they isolate like no tomorrow - I take them off and am stunned to discover that the freaking bus I am riding has louder 'ambience' than my actual music at listening volume. :twisted:

Some people complain that the low end (bass) is too exaggerated, but I actually feel it's less powerful than a simple pair of 70$ Sennheiser PX100s (Which in some ways are so much more enjoyable for a non-portable setup where outside noise isn't an issue).

I guess the only downside is that they cost around $600 USD, though better prices are found on EBay.

If you're looking to not-bother-other-people with your sound leaking out of the cans, I'd go for a closed pair, though some open sets leak way less...
Hmm, even if people said "Don't go for sony's" - if your budget is limited, something like that is an option.

My absolute top recommendation for anyone on a budget is the Sennheiser PX100s (which recieved 5/5 stars on headphone.com and are the 3rd highest rated overall pair of cans in that entire website). They're just wicked, hear the smoothed-over and warm bass, you'll be hooked. The highs don't disappoint either.

Did I mention they're ergonomic? You barely feel these things sitting on your head. For more info read This Article
User avatar
cless
 
Joined: 27 Aug 2001

Postby Fire_Starter » Thu May 18, 2006 1:21 pm

Phoenix_X wrote:stay way from brand names like Sony and Panasonic
(due to there mass production in china the quality and reliablety is generaly bad with these brands)
stores like wallmart are also not a good idea.


I must be lucky as hell then. My brother and I both own a set of Sony MDR-V600's, which were purchased at Best Buy. Both sets are several years old and show no signs of failure. Also, they sound wonderful. On the other hand, I will never again touch another product from Plantronics. I've had two pairs of headsets die for no apparent reason whatsoever.

What I'd really like to get are a set of those Etymotic in-ear jobbies, but I don't have $350 to spend on headphones just this minute. Would be nice, though...
Tinnitus

<Fire_Starter> Stirspeare: college=failsauce?
<Stirspeare> Fire_Starter: Electoral college etc.

"<WITTY REMARK CENSORED BY REQUEST>"
User avatar
Fire_Starter
 
Joined: 26 Mar 2004

Next

Return to Music Discussion

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests