Best ear phones? (not in-the-ear)

[ArcticStones]

.
Well, this isn’t really an iPod question, but I thought an answer most likely here...

A friend of mine would like to get a good set of ear phones (headset) for listening to music on his MacBook. He wants the type that "cups" the ear.

Any good recommendations? Sennheiser, Bose, Sony...?

Thx in advance.

[trevor]

My first choice in headphones is Grado: http://www.gradolabs.com/frameset_main.htm They sound fantastic!

The Grados are open-ear headphones (in other words, the sound can leak out), though, and when I'm in the recording studio and isolation is the most important factor, my first choice for closed-ear headphones is Beyer: http://www.beyerdynamic.de/cms/Headphones.68.0.html?&L=1

My second choice for closed-ear headphones is AKG: http://www.akg.com/personal/powerslave,id,1,nodeid,1,_language,EN.html

Sennheiser does make pretty good headphones, too, they're probably my third choice.

But the Grados sound so wonderful, and when you're not recording (or in another situation where leakage matters) there's no reason to use anything else, in my opinion. Your friend owes it to himself to give them a listen.

Trevor

[ArcticStones]

.
Thanks once again, Trevor!
I’ll check out if anyone here sells Grados. I don’t recall seeing them here.

I just checked out the website of my hifi dealer of choice. (Hifi Klubben (http://www.hifiklubben.no/produkter/tilbehoer/hodetelefoner/). The link shows their selection, which is somewhat limited, but probably better than any of the local competition.
Do you have any experience with any of the Sennheisers listed?


Best regards,
ArcticStones


PS. Many years ago, I was blown away by the pristine clarity of a pair of Stax electrostatic headphones (http://www.needledoctor.com/Online-Store/Stax-Headphones). But those, of course, are unfit for travelling -- and way way out of economic reach.

[Mikey-San]

Bose and Sony are jokes. Don't even bother. ("No highs, no lows, must be Bose," as they say.)

I love my Grado SR-60s. They are, without a doubt, the best set of headphones I've experienced under $150. If you really want "circumaural" (meaning they wrap around your ears and don't leak or bleed sound), they're not for you. But they are amazing.

Seconding Trevor's AKG and Sennheiser recommendations, in basically the same order. AKG's K271 Studio headphones can be had for a good price.

[ArcticStones]

.
Thx for the recommendation, Mikey-San. (I’m still enjoying Think. :))

For some bizarre reason, a pair of Grado SR-60s cost in excess of $ 200 here in Norway. The AKG's K271 Studio headphones retail for approx. $ 280.

I’ve been told that it’s a bit cheaper on the other side of the pond. Yes?

[Mikey-San]

Is that $200 in US dollars or kroner? If USD, that's nuts--they only run about $70 USD here.

[trevor]

Do you have any experience with any of the Sennheisers listed?

I probably do, but I've never used Sennheisers long-term, just borrowed them from others, or listened to them when auditioning headphones. So I couldn't really pick out individual models of Sennheiser 'phones with any authority. Sorry.

Trevor

[ThreeDee]

I hear that the Sennheiser HD480Pro (http://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite/productdetail.asp?transid=004974)'s sound really good, and is also very comfortable. MSRP is $200 USD, but you can find them for ~$85 USD elsewhere:

http://www.google.com/products?q=HD280PRO&oe=UTF-8&scoring=p

Grado, AKG, and Sennheiser are all good brands.

I have a Panasonic Technics RP-DJ600 (~$30 USD) to practice DJ'ing, and a Sennheiser HD210 (also ~$30 USD). I don't really have the cash to buy some really expensive ($250+ USD!) headphones.

The HD210's are considered 'bottom of the line' of Sennheiser headphones, and aren't exactly 'cool' looking, but still sound really good (to me at least). The Technics have swiveling cups to them so you can cue songs while DJ'ing.

Here's a good read: http://www.headphone.com/guide/by-application/replacing-cheap-headphones/
Seems like this person also recommends the HD210 and Grado SR60 (~$70 USD).

[ArcticStones]

Is that $200 in US dollars or kroner? If USD, that's nuts--they only run about $70 USD here.

The Grado SR-60 costs NOK 1,245, to be precise. At the current rate of exchange (5.43) that’s USD 229 -- 3.3 x your price! I spotted some Norwegian discussion threads on that very issue; posters considered the markup on this brand to be particularly obscene.

The top-of-the-line Grado RS-1 is listed for NOK 8,995 (USD 1,656).

So now you know why I try to do a fair bit of shopping when I’m in the States. :cool:

-- ArcticStones

[trevor]

Could you just buy the Grados off a US store on the Internet (http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product_Code=GRA+SR60&JRSource=PriceGrabber.datafeed.GRA+SR60)? As I type this, they cost $69 USD. Shipping costs + customs duties may be significant on top of that cost, but there's no way they'll come to anything like $160.

By the way, don't discount Beyer headphones. They are not as well known in the US, but they should be reasonably easy to find in Europe, and they sound very good. I'd recommend them over AKG and Sennheiser, just not over Grado.

Trevor

[ThreeDee]

J&R won't work:
At this time, we ship to the U.S., U.S. Territories, Puerto Rico, Canada, and APO/FPO only (your Billing address can be elsewhere). Click here for details.

I just checked that headphone.com site I mentioned before, and they are also selling it for $69.99 USD, or "Enter your e-mail or call us for a lower price". I entered my email address, and got this:
Regular Price: $69.00
Our Price: $62.10

To use your coupon, add the Grado SR 60 to your shopping cart. Then enter the coupon code "SR60" in the area for discount and promotional codes to receive your discount.

They ship internationally, but you have to call up for them to give you a estimate on shipping fees.

[ArcticStones]

.
Just talked to a local shop that has AKG K141 Studio at half price.
They also have a couple of pairs of AKG K271 at the same discount.

I’m tempted to pick up a pair for myself, actually. And get the Grados next visit California. :)

Any thoughts on the relative merits of these two models?

[trevor]

I have used AKG K141s extensively for many years in many recording studios. They are good headphones. They are high impedance, which means that they will not be as loud as low impedance 'phones. But high impedance headphones have other advantages such as typically sounding better, and having significantly less crosstalk between left and right channels.

In comparison, Sony headphones are low impedance, and are thus louder. But not only do they sound worse (Sonys have an artificial sounding brighter high-end, so they sound artificially hyped) but there's that important cross-talk issue--you get a lot of the sound supposed to go to the left ear in the right ear and vice versa.

AKG K141s, however, are not perfect. They don't deliver the really fine detailed resolution of some of the better headphones, and they don't give you that big huge smile on your face that you get from Grados. Also, perhaps musicians just tend to be hard on the headphones, but K141s seem to have a tendency to come apart more quickly than I'd like. There's a ring holding the soft part that fits around you ear in place. This soft part tends to come off (in the early stages) and later on stop fitting at all, leaving you with an uncomfortable feel.

http://di1.shopping.com/images/di/59/65/38/41365763437a6e6c6c7876596a3959385a7367-100x100-0-0.jpg

But the K141s are accurate, unhyped, and there's no reason that I can think of NOT to buy them.

AKG K271s are another headphone that I have auditioned but not used extensively (like the Sennheisers). In character, they seemed to be very similar to the K141s, but they do give you some more of the high-end details that are missed in the K141s. And I seem to remember them feeling more comfortable on my head than the K141s. I haven't used them long enough to know about their durability.

Trevor

[jonathanjong]

Are K141s the same as K26Ps? Because those are the bomb. On-ear, closed headphoning genius.

[th1rt3en]

A great place to get headphones:

http://www.headphone.com/

Be careful though - you may end up deciding you want to listen to full bandwidth audio. I bought a headphone amp and I also got the Grado SR60 from them. I only use them when I'm listening at home though. The compressed audio is very noticeable. There is no such thing as loss-less compression. Kind of like military intelligence.

[ArcticStones]

Seconding Trevor's AKG and Sennheiser recommendations, in basically the same order. AKG's K271 Studio headphones can be had for a good price.

My friend postponed his headphone purchase.

But I treated myself to a pair AKG K271 Studio headphones. And I am very pleased!

I tried the K141, but just couldn’t stand the feeling of headphones pressing against my ears. The K271s are a different matter entirely -- they are so comfortable that I forget they’re there. Instead, it seems there is only music!

Circumaural... Thanks, Mikey-San, I learned a new Scrabble word. :) But most importantly I have acquired a very immersive music listening experience, which is perfect when I’m working intensely.

Best regards,
ArcticStones
.

[ThreeDee]

A great place to get headphones:

http://www.headphone.com/

Be careful though - you may end up deciding you want to listen to full bandwidth audio. I bought a headphone amp and I also got the Grado SR60 from them. I only use them when I'm listening at home though. The compressed audio is very noticeable. There is no such thing as loss-less compression. Kind of like military intelligence.

You must be talking about something like MP3's? MP3, OGG and WMA compression is lossy, while something like FLAC or ALAC or even the good old WAV is lossless compression, meaning that it's basically impossible to lose any quality from compression. If you want to prove it to yourself, try reading up on all the detailed data the guys at HydrogenAudio are posting, and try doing an ABX listening test.

Or do you simply mean that the headphone amp ends up distorting the sound?