Headphones and the choosing thereof.

Digito

Long story short, my old headphones broke, and I want new ones. But I want ones that aren't shitty.

So with that short explanation out of the way... what would I be looking for in a good pair of headphones? I have about 50-60 dollars to spend, and I know that I A: Do not like coiled cords very much. and B: I love studio style closed headphones, the headphones that enclose around your ears? But as I said... are headphones, good ones anyways, something you can just run out to Radio Shack and buy? Or should I be looking on Newegg for them? And just what am I looking for anyways?

Actually, I just typed this up and then went looking for a bit on Newegg and was wondering if this pair would be good/worth it?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826159203

Bear in mind the most expensive headphones I've ever owned were a 20 dollar pair from Radio Shack, so I'm not even sure how much of a difference high end headphones make, especially when dealing with higher quality audio files or screwing around with the equalizer. (Yes I love me some bass.)

So uhh, yeah... help would be appreciated, and thanks in advance!

1ddqd

Well! You're gonna get a lot of replies, but let me just throw my hat into the ring and say that for $50-60, there are no better headphones I have ever heard than the Grado SR-60s. I bought a pair about 3 months ago and I haven't regretted it. Fantabulous quality of sound.

Flapke

I just ordered these:



So pretty, not too expensive, and the sound is pretty good as well.

1ddqd

Flapke wrote: »

I just ordered these:



So pretty, not too expensive, and the sound is pretty good as well.

The ONLY way I could figure out what these were is to look at the file name in properties. VERY helpful! [/sarcasm]

Flapke

D'oh, sorry Panasonic RP-HTX7 is the name :P

kpeezy

Are you going to be playing games? I wouldn't use the Grados for games. They don't have a lot of bass and they sound pretty shrill in an FPS and wotnot. They're not that good for positioning in games either.

I definitely would get them for music though. No doubt.

Edit: For $100 you can get the Sennheiser HD555s. I don't know much around the $50 range except for the Koss KSC35 clip ons. They actually sound really good (I have two pairs) but they might not be comfortable to you for long amounts of time.

Lucky Cynic

You can wait a bit longer for the Razer Megalodon. The rumored price is $200. It has 7.1 surround sound that comes from it's own hardware (that little brick thingy) and operates with a USB port. There are no whacky drivers or anything to have, just plug it in, and use.




It's certainly piqued my interest. I just hope it is as good as it sounds.

kpeezy

Don't get a gaming headset. One headphone I forgot to mention is the Sony MDR-7506. I think it could be had for ~$75 but I'm having trouble finding it at that price now.

One thing to do is go to head-fi.org and watch their For Sale forum. Lots of trading of headphones and you can get great deals.

wasted pixels

I think the general consensus is:

$50 to $75: Grado SR60
$75 to $100: Sennheiser HD-280 or Sony MDR-V6 (or MDR-7506, same basic product as the V6)
$100+: Most any Sennheiser, Grado, or AKG product in this price range will be excellent for casual use.

1ddqd

If you're going to be gaming a lot, get a gaming headset, no doubt. If you only want to listen to music/movies, the Grados are my choice.

Gaming headsets for $50-60? Well, you could get the Razer Piranha for $65, the steelseries 51000 for $64, or the Creative Fatal1ty USB headset for $65

ArcSyn

1ddqd wrote: »

Creative Fatal1ty USB headset for $65

Is this Fatal1ty product actually any good? Generally, I avoid anything that has his brand on it.

Glocjt

kpeezy wrote: »

Edit: For $100 you can get the Sennheiser HD555s.

Mmm - I picked up a pair ~6 months ago. Love 'em to death.

Upfish

Flapke wrote: »

I just ordered these:



So pretty, not too expensive, and the sound is pretty good as well.

I have these, and they're pretty awesome. The ear pad things on mine cracked pretty quickly, though.

smokmnky

1ddqd wrote: »

If you're going to be gaming a lot, get a gaming headset, no doubt. If you only want to listen to music/movies, the Grados are my choice.

Gaming headsets for $50-60? Well, you could get the Razer Piranha for $65

Any tried/use these? how do they work for extended game sessions? I wear glasses and a lot of the time the covers tend to hurt my ears after long play sessions.
Is the mic good or will it die on me in 3 weeks like all the others I've tried?

lunaris

If you're into in-ear buds, I have some shure e2c's and they're very solid. Easy to stow away, blocks out literally all of a city's sound (so look for busses/cars/bikers) and in your price range.

Goose

For the $50-60 price range, I'd actually stay away from any ear-covering closed headphones. As well, the specs for the Grado SR60s say they're an open headphone, not closed.

For that price range, I picked up a Sennheiser PMX 60 not too long ago that sound like pure joy. Despite the fact that they don't fully enclose your ears, they still do an awesome job of blocking out most external noise. I was able to use these while wielding a weed-whacker a couple weeks ago and had no problem hearing every note (along with the faint hum of plant life dying violently).

Lord Jezo

Go nuts:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f3/

Your head will explode with the craziness that goes on over there but those people are insane and know their stuff.

Digito

This is... mildly overwhelming. I didn't really think there'd be so many to choose from or so much to take into consideration. I'll go ahead and give that forum a look at though, and to respond to some of the suggestions that have been made here in this thread... now, while I do quite a bit of gaming, I'm basically ALWAYS listening to music. It's extremely rare that I'm not listening to music, and it's many different kinds at that. So balanced headphones are pretty important, and I'd say music quality ranks above gaming quality, though being decent with a game would be very good.

Of course though, I still love bass, albiet not to the point of being muddy... but I do like it when a pair of headphones puts out a very, well... powerful sound? If that makes any sense, I'm not really sure how to describe it.

And on the subject of prices, while 100 dollar to 200 dollar headphones certainly sound cool, that's probably more money than I'm going to be able to blow on a pair of headphones for a pretty long time. I'll admit I'd love to have headphones that good, but... that's just not the kind of money I've got. 100 dollars would be my absolute limit, and even that is very very seriously pushing it. 75's a bit more reasonable, but... yeah. I didn't think headphones could BE this expensive.

stilist

Digito wrote: »

I didn't think headphones could BE this expensive.

Audio equipment can always be more expensive.

wasted pixels

stilist wrote: »

Digito wrote: »

I didn't think headphones could BE this expensive.

Audio equipment can always be more expensive.

I remember trying out a set of $100 Sennheisers and saying to myself, "Wow, these are great for cheapies". Then I realized that I had spent less than that on the MP3 player I was going to be using them with. It's a slippery goddamn slope. You start thinking, "Well, these $70 headphones will sound a lot better than the $40 off-brand junk at Walmart", then it's "Well, for $20 more I could get a set of Sennheiser HD-280s, and those are practically pro-quality", then, "Well, for just $40 I could build a little headphone amp that'd really make those HD-280s sing", then...

Digito

Oooh yeah. I'm quickly finding that out. But yeah... how the hell do you ever decide. Though well, I guess my budget kinda makes a decent gauge... I might be able to do as high as hundred dollars, but I know I can't go any further than that. And even that's a big stretch.

Though I suppose any pair of headphones I get over 50 bucks is gonna blow away anything I've ever owned before, but then I figure if I'm gonna go good? I might as well go GREAT, and be totally blown away. (The most expensive pair of headphones I've ever owned was a 30 dollar pair from Radioshack, which I'm wearing right now.)

Lucky Cynic

Btw, here is a rebate for the fatality headset if you want it.

http://us.creative.com/local/1/promo/secondlife/

LAWL second life aside... It's $15, take it or leave it.

And yeah, Razer has good stuff, but at a premium price.

SkutSkut

what I have

Comfy, but my computer shits itself if I put in headphones not connected by an audio jack so I don't know if they're good.

meatflower

Digito wrote: »

This is... mildly overwhelming. I didn't really think there'd be so many to choose from or so much to take into consideration. I'll go ahead and give that forum a look at though, and to respond to some of the suggestions that have been made here in this thread... now, while I do quite a bit of gaming, I'm basically ALWAYS listening to music. It's extremely rare that I'm not listening to music, and it's many different kinds at that. So balanced headphones are pretty important, and I'd say music quality ranks above gaming quality, though being decent with a game would be very good.

Of course though, I still love bass, albiet not to the point of being muddy... but I do like it when a pair of headphones puts out a very, well... powerful sound? If that makes any sense, I'm not really sure how to describe it.

And on the subject of prices, while 100 dollar to 200 dollar headphones certainly sound cool, that's probably more money than I'm going to be able to blow on a pair of headphones for a pretty long time. I'll admit I'd love to have headphones that good, but... that's just not the kind of money I've got. 100 dollars would be my absolute limit, and even that is very very seriously pushing it. 75's a bit more reasonable, but... yeah. I didn't think headphones could BE this expensive.

If you're actually willing to spend $100 then the HD280's and HD555's are on Amazon for $99.99.

One is closed, the other is open. I have the 555's and love them to death. You said "balanced" so I thought Sennheiser. If you're really listening to music that much your ears will thank you for buying actual headphones and not some gaming headset crap.

Beck

I was just about to make a thread for this!

I have 2-300 dollars to spend. What would you guys recommend? Something that looks nice is a real plus, as I would like to wear them when I'm on the bus. I was thinking about the Grado SR325i, but I'm concerned about how comfortable they are. My ears are pretty sensitive. I'm also not sure if they'll be worth it considering I don't plan on buying an amp.

1ddqd

The SR-60s have foamies for ear pads that were a little scratchy at first, but now it's gone and they're nice and soft. I would advise you to get an open set though, I don't like how closed clamp over my ears.

Madpanda

Another thing to consider when buying these headphones is "do I care if everyone around me can hear what is being pumped through my headphones?". If your answer to this is yes you want to look for a closed pair. I at one time had a open pair and my roomate could hear me playing F.E.A.R quite well from across the apartment and I had it at medium volume.

I now own a closed pair (audio technica ATH-A700) which I can turn up almost to the point of pain and somebody standing right next to me can barely hear them.

Also stay away from the gaming headset gimmicks, I still have a pair of Medusas I cannot unload and I hated after a week. 2 good speakers > 4 sub par "surround" ones.

Rigor Mortis

Avoid gaming headsets.

The problem is that every gaming headset designer I've seen is too lazy to implement a proper HRTF and mix the surround to binauaral.

In layman's terms, this means they produce surround sound by putting in a driver for every channel.

Fitting 6 into the space of one means smaller drivers

Smaller drivers mean worse sound.




And for <$50 headphones I suggest looking at the Behringer HPS5000. Very excellent for the price. Even their $30 HPS3000 is worth considering on a budget.

JamesKeenan

The bad reputation for typical "gaming" headsets is sad for me, as I was more or less about to pick up a decently reviewed pair for $40.

Plantronics GameCom 367



Saves money on having to pick up a microphone as well. More importantly, they're big. I value sound quality highly, but I also play games for, frankly, hours at a time. The headphones need to be comfortable. Comfort's probably just under quality.

Improvolone

Has anyone used a bluetooth stereo headset? I'm becoming more and more intrigued by them for no reason other than no wires.

wasted pixels

JamesKeenan wrote: »

The bad reputation for typical "gaming" headsets is sad for me, as I was more or less about to pick up a decently reviewed pair for $40.

Plantronics GameCom 367



Saves money on having to pick up a microphone as well. More importantly, they're big. I value sound quality highly, but I also play games for, frankly, hours at a time. The headphones need to be comfortable. Comfort's probably just under quality.

If you're buying gamer headphones for gaming, they'll be absolutely fine. They just tend to be way too boomy and off-kilter for discriminating audio listening. Headphones for games are all, "FEEL EVERY EXPLOSION!! Our powerful bass drivers and dynamic range multisampling trans-equalization grommets will bring you INTO THE ACTION!!", while audiophile headphones offer a soft, sweet, faintly German-accented whisper of "you'll barely notice me, enjoy ze music."

Gamer headphones present audio powerfully, while audiophile headphones present audio neutrally. When you listen to an album, you want to hear it as close to the way the artist intended as possible. For gaming, on the other hand, you're looking for a competitive edge, not a faithful reproduction.

Digito

wasted pixels wrote: »

JamesKeenan wrote: »

The bad reputation for typical "gaming" headsets is sad for me, as I was more or less about to pick up a decently reviewed pair for $40.

Plantronics GameCom 367



Saves money on having to pick up a microphone as well. More importantly, they're big. I value sound quality highly, but I also play games for, frankly, hours at a time. The headphones need to be comfortable. Comfort's probably just under quality.

If you're buying gamer headphones for gaming, they'll be absolutely fine. They just tend to be way too boomy and off-kilter for discriminating audio listening. Headphones for games are all, "FEEL EVERY EXPLOSION!! Our powerful bass drivers and dynamic range multisampling trans-equalization grommets will bring you INTO THE ACTION!!", while audiophile headphones offer a soft, sweet, faintly German-accented whisper of "you'll barely notice me, enjoy ze music."

Gamer headphones present audio powerfully, while audiophile headphones present audio neutrally. When you listen to an album, you want to hear it as close to the way the artist intended as possible. For gaming, on the other hand, you're looking for a competitive edge, not a faithful reproduction.

See... now I'm even more torn before. Because while one hand I'd love really high quality headphones for music? I won't lie, I absolutely love powerful audio and being able to really feel it. Even with my music, and like James I often tend to have my headphones on for very long stretches of time, so comfort is pretty important too. Which is why that headset looks kinda nice...

Kind of a toss up, it sounds like audiophile headphones could make for a very interesting music listening experience, but on the other hand powerful audio is definately not a bad thing for my tastes. Unless there's some way to get really high quality and really powerful audio at the same time...

1ddqd

Digito wrote: »

Unless there's some way to get really high quality and really powerful audio at the same time...

Speakers. You can't get what you want in a headphone without spending oodles of money. Just go for a gaming headset - you'll get good quality, not OMGWTFBBQ, but it will be powerful too.

Digito

Alrighty then, looks like I got some direction! Thanks! About how much could I expect to pay for a decent gaming headset? Though by the looks of it, I'm looking at about 40 or 50 dollars... which is good, since that's about what I was expecting to pay in the first place. And hey, even if the sound quality isn't "live from the recording studio" quality, I imagine even a decent headset is still going to have better quality than a cheap 20 dollar pair of what appear to be generic Radio Shack headphones. And hey, delicious power.

Edict

I am interested in a suggestion for gaming headsets. The current set I have, the sound pops and my friends say it is hard for them to hear me.

king_sleep

watch out though. As quality of your headphones improves, then the faults of your mp3 or aac or whatever you are using will become apparent ie. cracks and spikes that were otherwise unnoticeable. However for gaming it should be fine. Also, if you want to spend some monies, I recommend the Westone UM 1 or UM 2(which I have) or the etyomics e-4. Just waiting on the Westone 3 though. My wallet cries from rapage .

1ddqd

If it was my money, I'd buy the Razer or steelseries I linked on the front page.

Digito

Sorry about abandoning the thread for a bit, but a few things came up and headphones were momentarily not on my list of concerns. So with a bit less money to work with than I had before, can I get any more opinions or thoughts on the Plantronics GameCom 367? For only 40 bucks without any shipping or handling, they're sitting right about at the most money I can reasonably spend on a headset at the moment, plus they look comfortable and have good reviews.

Cause unless I'm about to make some terrible mistake here (Like the headphones are part of a goverment mind control plot, or they'll give me cancer, or simply make my head explode) or the difference is going to be big, 60-70 dollars is a bit more than I can shell out for a headset.

The_Spaniard

Lucky Cynic wrote: »

You can wait a bit longer for the Razer Megalodon. The rumored price is $200. It has 7.1 surround sound that comes from it's own hardware (that little brick thingy) and operates with a USB port. There are no whacky drivers or anything to have, just plug it in, and use.




It's certainly piqued my interest. I just hope it is as good as it sounds.

Pun?..

Anyway those look DEAD sexy, I may just have to buy a set as I'm still using the pair that came with my copy of UT2k4, and the fabric on those is turning to dust at this point.

Fraz

The_Spaniard wrote: »

Lucky Cynic wrote: »

You can wait a bit longer for the Razer Megalodon. The rumored price is $200. It has 7.1 surround sound that comes from it's own hardware (that little brick thingy) and operates with a USB port. There are no whacky drivers or anything to have, just plug it in, and use.




It's certainly piqued my interest. I just hope it is as good as it sounds.

Pun?..

Anyway those look DEAD sexy, I may just have to buy a set as I'm still using the pair that came with my copy of UT2k4, and the fabric on those is turning to dust at this point.

Any idea how those will compare to the Astro stuff?

Variable

1ddqd wrote: »

The SR-60s have foamies for ear pads that were a little scratchy at first, but now it's gone and they're nice and soft. I would advise you to get an open set though, I don't like how closed clamp over my ears.

I know the conversation has sort of moved passed this but I wanted to say, I love my grado sr-80s. I've had a bunch of my music ripped in both flac and apple lossless but I've spent the last week doing lots more listening than I'd done in months and also borrowing some cds from family. damn fine pair. It helps having a nice soundcard though, so keep that in mind.