All done from the centre of an extinct tropical island volcano complex to avoid suspicion and for the acoustics. Regards Eck
Wired over ear headphones are my pick. I've been using a pair of Audio Technica ATH-M50's for over three years now and they've been great. I've only had to replace the ear pads as they progressively get hard and crack over time.
Got "Michael Jackson In-Ear Earbuds Section 8" for $10 and "JBL Spark Wireless Bluetooth Speaker" for $40. They're awesome in quality and style! Bought them at Winners in clearance.
Alright, over past few months, I bought a few headphones/headsets as I got some nice offers from an online retailer here. 1. Soundmagic ES18 - Have both the headphone and headset of the same model, bought for $10 (and later another for $6). Pretty good for entry level IEMs, balanced sound, using the headphone for a year without any problem. This is my primary headphone. The mic is good too. The headset have a switch to make it work with other phones. Noise isolation pretty good. 2. Urbanears Tanto - Bought for $16. On the ear, noise cancelling isn't good but really lightweight, minimalistic look, sturdy and should be able to compete with anything priced around $50. Rich high and mids, a bit lower on the bass, but I am not picky on bass. 3. Sony MDR-ZX310 - $12, Over ear, the ear cups can be folded and portable, the cups are nicely cushioned and a big enough to cover up my ears. Isolates outside sound pretty good, heavy bass but light on treble. Only problem I had, if I wear this for a long time, say two hours for more, even with a low volume. I feel pain in my ear. But it seemed to happen only for me, as I gave it away to my brother and he apparently has no problem with it.
I picked up a pair of AudioTechnica AD-700X's for gaming (mainly CS:GO) a few months. I'm SUPER happy with them. They are by far the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn. I thought my M50's were comfy but these things are so much better. They're also more revealing than the M50's. There's a certain clarity they have that the M50's do not. The main reason I got the AD-700's though is for the sound stage and positioning. They don't disappoint. It's like have wallhacks. I use my M50's for: Bass music/Rock When I'm not home (they're closed and have good isolation) I use my AD-700X's for: Rock + any music that isn't bass heavy. I go back and forth with these and the M50's for rock. They're both nice. When I'm at home (they're open so everyone around you can hear what you're listening to quite clearly) Movies/TV Shows. I prefer these over the M50's for everything that doesn't have lots of explosions. Gaming Though I don't have any experience with them, I'd recommend the AD-900X's over the AD-700X's. I think the extra bass they have would make them just about perfect open headphones. And I think I should say that the AD-700X's are extremely bass light which probably helps them achieve the clarity that they do. They're far from 'flat' in the lower frequencies.
Grado SR60s. Light, comfortable, clear / bright sound. My legacy AKG K240s, however, slightly beats out the Grado with their superior depth / bass.
I miss my SR80i's. I was looking to replace them with the 225 series, but have been unable to find that much spare cash at one time to pick them up.
Well those "Michael Jackson" ones broke when I accidentally left them in my pocket during a trip to the washer/dryer... Bought the Sony Extra Bass IEM for $40 (on sale in Best Buy, normally $60). Gone to the next level of musical ecstasy... At least until I fork over cash for Senheiser, Bose, or something.
http://www.innerfidelity.com/ is a great site, they take frequency response measurements for all headphones they test, you can see how badly some popular brands do
@NGRhodes -- good site, thanks. They even have Bob Katz blogging there. He's done some great, audiophile level mastering and remastering. @J_L .. A decent, inexpensive, over the head, open ear pair is the Koss porta pros. Last I knew, they still had a lifetime warranty -- doesn't cover a spin cycle though. My ears have been through quite a bit so I can't hear much difference between them and the Sennheiser px 100s. Those doubled in price a few years back with little gain in sound quality. The porta pros have a sliding band for over the head adjustment -- can grab your hair now and again; not an issue for me. There's also additional tension adjustment available at each ear. I've worn them for hours at a time (over hearing protection plugs) during heavy activity and they stayed comfortable. They're rugged enough. After a few years I did send a pair back for replacement, one side developed a short. It only cost me the shipping to Koss. There's a review at the site, NGRhodes, linked.
I also have " legacy AKG K240s "..... 30 years old and they still sound stunning . Just look at videos of various recording sessions , old and modern , to see how highly they are rated ... .... and such outstanding value for money ! You could pay 5 times more and still not better them .... Electrostatics anyone ? ... Micro-Seiki ? Remind me of the thread topic again ? --
Just got a SoundBlaster E5 amp in for review. I think my next set is going to be a set of HiFiMan RE400's.
Well, I think I've reached a plateau... Unless I'm going to spend hundreds (or maybe even thousands) more, use FLAC exclusively, etc. Bought a pair of Sony MDR-XB950BT, cause they seem to have good reviews across the board. Can't say I'm disappointed, but I'm going to dread summer choosing over-ear instead of in-ear... The quality is definitely great (I personally use 192-320 kbps MP3), and it has some serious extra bass with one tap. Some describe it as strapping on subwoofers on your head, but I wouldn't go that far. Strangely, it appears to power down or go into another mode when plugged into 3.5 mm jack or micro-USB charger. That means no Bluetooth connectivity, microphone call support, or extra bass boost. Maybe you can use the auxiliary cable even when the battery for Bluetooth is dead?
Well, those MDR-XB950BT broke... I replaced it with the JBL Reflect Mini BT for a while, but while I liked the convenience, I missed the sound quality. Recently, I got the Samsung Level On Pro. Loving its UHQ Bluetooth sound quality, effective noise-canceling, comfort, and ease of use. The included audio cable works without power, though of course sounds better with. Well worth every penny spent. If I knew better, I would've used the vote options over-ear, on-ear, and in-ear; instead of over-the-head, behind-the-neck (especially), and earbuds.
My headphones (both wired): Beyerdynamic DT-990-Pro (Acoustically Open Headphones 250 Ohms; price in Europe: EUR 139,00) and Philips Fidelio S2 (In-Ear; price in Europe: EUR 100,00)
I use one for my home and 'quiet' listening, which is the Panasonic RP-HXD5. Panasonic is severely underrated in this area IMO; these headphones have been darn good for anything from gaming to movies to instrumental music. The other one I use when outside is the Sony XD150. It's kinda cheap but at it's price it's easily one of the most comfortable and best.
I have a ATH-M50X (external) and a Sennheiser HD 650 (internal/home), powered by Schiit Magni 2 and FiiO K1. I equalized both with Morphit and TB Isone. Both are very good.