The Audiophile Thread

[SuperBowlNachos]

Re: The Audiophile Thread

I'm sure this has been discussed, I might have asked it in here already, but any recommendation for some over the ear headphones in the $50-$80 range? Something on the smaller side for easier portability. I wish they made high quality versions of these types of headphones http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-Q68LW...dp_ob_title_ce
They aren't bulky and don't stick in your ear, but the speaker is a decent size so you get very good peformance.

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: The Audiophile Thread

I'm sure this has been discussed, I might have asked it in here already, but any recommendation for some over the ear headphones in the $50-$80 range?

I have the Sennheiser 428s. They are pretty good....very comfortable. Just wished they had a longer cord.

I keep going back to the 201s if I'm planning on hours of listening. They are the most comfortable heaphones I've ever had.

[Blzer]

Re: The Audiophile Thread

I'm sure this has been discussed, I might have asked it in here already, but any recommendation for some over the ear headphones in the $50-$80 range? Something on the smaller side for easier portability. I wish they made high quality versions of these types of headphones http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-Q68LW...dp_ob_title_ce
They aren't bulky and don't stick in your ear, but the speaker is a decent size so you get very good peformance.

I'm in the Sony MDR business. These are the ones I own:

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR7506-P...=sony+mdr-7506

They fold up on the inside for better portability; they also come with their own little pouch which they fit well in that folded form. It compacts like this:





They're over my ears as we speak, and I've had them for 18 months without any problems. I use them for anything you can think of using them for... even though they aren't the most appealing looking things to wear about. I just don't look good with over-the-ear headphones in general, but they have wires that stick out which wouldn't help.

I got them when they were $80, so they must have some price fluctuations.

[Burns11]

Re: The Audiophile Thread

I'm sure this has been discussed, I might have asked it in here already, but any recommendation for some over the ear headphones in the $50-$80 range? Something on the smaller side for easier portability. I wish they made high quality versions of these types of headphones http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-Q68LW...=operasport-20
They aren't bulky and don't stick in your ear, but the speaker is a decent size so you get very good peformance.

Clip ons just weren't very popular and most have stopped making them. A couple years ago Yuin G2A would have been the perfect suggestion, but they don't make them anymore.

Similarly Audio Technica used to make mid-high end clip ons, but were only in Japan and I'm pretty sure they don't make them anymore. They might still make the EW9, but they were close to $200. Otherwise they still make some really low end stuff that is beat by those Sony clips you posted.

Highest end you might find is Koss KSC-35, but honestly for clip ons I would just grab KSC-75 for under $15.

There are a ton of foldable portables in that price range, you need to be more specific about the kind of music you listen to and whether you need them to be closed or open. Do you need something to fold up as small as possible, or is something that folds up into a moderate sized case OK? If you have a tuesday morning close, you might pop in to see if they have any more of the Koss Tony Bennett in the store, I've seen reports that they were down as low as $30 in store, or they are $50 on line which is still one hell of a deal. You also have AKG K450, a fold flat into a case headphone which should come right in the top of your budget and sound great with top notch build quality.

[rsnomar05]

Re: The Audiophile Thread

Just got the Bose quiet comfort 15s. Very nice

Didn't expect to see a Bose mention in a audiophile thread. Bose is generally considered to make some of the worst sounding audio products, and the frequency response on their products is so poor, they won't print it on their website and have sued publications that print it for exposing "trade secrets." Frequency response is, of course, not a trade secret, and Bose has lost every legal case, but Bose's hope is that the publication will simply remove the article rather than pay legal fees to a lawyer to defend the suit.

For example, the following two articles illustrate the frequency response point much better than I ever could:

http://liquidtheater.com/editorial_56.html

http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html

On another topic, my custom IEMs (Heir Audio 4As) finally arrived and I am now in the market for a good portable amp. Any recommendations?

[Burns11]

Re: The Audiophile Thread

For pure audio they are mediocre, especially for the price, but if they are wanted for the noise canceling they are second to none. Personally I'd prefer an iem to any other portable, and would use them any time I wanted to isolate from noise, but Bose's noise canceling tech is way beyond anything anybody else has implemented.

Anyway, portable amp, budget?

[SuperBowlNachos]

Re: The Audiophile Thread

Didn't expect to see a Bose mention in a audiophile thread. Bose is generally considered to make some of the worst sounding audio products, and the frequency response on their products is so poor, they won't print it on their website and have sued publications that print it for exposing "trade secrets." Frequency response is, of course, not a trade secret, and Bose has lost every legal case, but Bose's hope is that the publication will simply remove the article rather than pay legal fees to a lawyer to defend the suit.

For example, the following two articles illustrate the frequency response point much better than I ever could:

http://liquidtheater.com/editorial_56.html

http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html

On another topic, my custom IEMs (Heir Audio 4As) finally arrived and I am now in the market for a good portable amp. Any recommendations?

Any links like this for Beats? I had a friend try to argue that they are the best for pure audio hands down.

[SuperBowlNachos]

Re: The Audiophile Thread

Any experience with the Audio Technica ATH-M50?

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: The Audiophile Thread

Any links like this for Beats? I had a friend try to argue that they are the best for pure audio hands down.

They are actually very good, just way way overpriced IMO (like most Monster products). One of my students let me listen to a couple songs on his.

http://reviews.cnet.com/headphones/beats-by-dr-dre/4505-7877_7-33192353.html

[Burns11]

Re: The Audiophile Thread

Any experience with the Audio Technica ATH-M50?

They are good, and:

http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/ATH-M50-PROMO

[RAZRr1275]

Re: The Audiophile Thread

As for beats - they're horrible. They have a massive bass bloat that way dominates the mids and treble and all you get is midbass. There is literally no subbass because they don't extend that low as this chart http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompare.php?graphType=0&graphID[]=1383&graphID[]=2621&graphID[]=2881&graphID[]=2941 illustrates. A headphone should be as close as possible to flat on a chart and other bassy headphones like the Denons that I've included do it. M50s are a good headphone and are also included on the chart. The k702s were included as they are one of the most neutral headphones in the price range. There are also better portables than bose headphones that are way cheaper such as the AKG K167/K267 Tiesto models or the Beyerdynamic Custom One Pros

[rsnomar05]

Re: The Audiophile Thread

For pure audio they are mediocre, especially for the price, but if they are wanted for the noise canceling they are second to none. Personally I'd prefer an iem to any other portable, and would use them any time I wanted to isolate from noise, but Bose's noise canceling tech is way beyond anything anybody else has implemented.

Anyway, portable amp, budget?

Yes, they do isolate noise well, but like you said, an IEM can isolate noise just as well and sound 10x better.

As for budget, I'd like to go no higher than $900. I had a $279 Leckerton UHA-6S.MKII USB Dac/Amp, but while the performance was fantastic, I've had three break on me (stop holding a charge even after getting a new battery) and it's now out of warranty. I could always use my state's implied warranty statute to force Leckerton to replace it yet again, but I'd rather just get something that will actually last.

[Burns11]

Re: The Audiophile Thread

If you are going all out, Fostex HP-P1 for $650, although I would probably, right now, buy an Apex Glacier for $500 due to price and size.

Otherwise maybe a Pico Slim or an RSA P51 Mustang

[rsnomar05]

Re: The Audiophile Thread

If you are going all out, Fostex HP-P1 for $650, although I would probably, right now, buy an Apex Glacier for $500 due to price and size.

Otherwise maybe a Pico Slim or an RSA P51 Mustang

Thanks, I'll look those over. I've heard great things about the HP-P1, but it's battery life is paltry, so that might be a deal breaker (though it can bypass an ipod/iphone internal dac, which is a huge plus). And though the Apex Glacier can't handle 24/192 flac files, I've read many reports that 24/96 actually sounds better.

[fishepa]

Re: The Audiophile Thread

Any experience with the Audio Technica ATH-M50?

I have them, they rock.