Any Audiophiles? Need help.

beats by Michael Jackson

 

I kind of agree about the G35 - it was a pleasant surprise all around - although I'd say they sound reasonably competitive with other closed headphones slightly below their full price. The fact that you can get them for significantly less than their MSRP does make them very competitive. And for gaming they're certainly better than Ultrasones et al - as long as your title isn't EAX-only. But of course, a USB-only set isn't as practical as a regular headphone for all-purpose use.

I disagree though that they sound better than the Beats. I've bought both the Studio and Solo HD - and the Bose Triport Around-Ear is still in regular use. I don't see that losing me any credibility

 

Guys I am about to buy this Bose QuietComfort 15 Noise Cancelling Headphone.
http://www.bose.com/controller?url=...ncelling_headphones/quietcomfort_15/index.jsp
It looks so decent and not as big as the other phones out there.
They also compared Beats $350 from QC15 and the sound is crispier / clearer in Bose QC15. Good for musics and movies, but not overwhelming bass.

Would it be good too if I use it on gaming? Thank you very much.

I've read plenty of reviews and rating for (Shure, Sennheiser, Beats, Bose, Audio Tech, and etc.) They're all good.

 

Pretty sure if your buying bose or beats your paying more than you should for something you can find from another brand cheaper.

Both are sold in large part due to name brand and popularity, thus they raise the price for said things instead of selling them based purely on audio quality.

 

Well, I have to give you this yupitchie, they do look quite sexy; but I agree with Vicious, you could get much better quality headphones for that price. If you're willing to spend $300, closed headphones, why not go for the D2000? raging review..I just wish it was in my price range.

For open headphones, check out the Beyerdynamic DT880 & AKG 702; they're among the highest rated for gaming purposes, though both would require an amp.

 

In regards to my own progress, I have unfortunately had problems with the poor isolation of the PRO550's and causing disturbances, so I need to opt for another solution regardless.

The main two I'm considering are the HFI-580's and the Denon D1100's. Both seem to have great results running un-amped, though I've been informed that the HFI-580's aren't trully bassy unless properly EQ'd, which will be a problem in some unique circumstancces (such as gaming). I've read that while the D1100s' are exceptionally bassy, it can at times overpower the rest of the spectrum. It seems I'm looking for the perfect middle ground?

I just really want non-muddy earthquake-level (I enjoy punch's and vibrations), well defined bass while still having fantastic high/mids/soundstage (and I understand that soundstage is limited due to closed phones, but would like to make the best of it). Isolation is quite important as well, though from what I understand both cans excel in that area.

I'm thinking I might just have to order both D1100's and HFI-580's off amazon and see which I like better, then return the one I like less...though that might require more funds than I have available at the moment.


..on a sidenote: I HATE MY NOTEBOOKS' CRAPPY "SIGMATEL" DRIVERS, AND THEIR (newly discovered) STUPID CLIPPING...that is all x]

 

Scytus I think your pretty determined to find a pair of headphoenes suited to you, but just wanted to say for both bass and isolation nothing competes with my triple.fi 10's the in ear seal locks all noise out. I almost can hear anything around me even without music playing.

Once I start to play music I am in my own personal space that no other sounds can interrupt. I consider this a con sometimes as I really cant hear anything, the world could be coming to an end and I wouldnt know unless I opened my eyes and looked.

For bass they go all the way down, competing with my super bassy Hfi2400's. So the only thing is they are IEM's and not headphones. I only use them for laptop travel. I prefer the comfort and ease of use headphones offer when at home. Just wanted to say this though as maybe you dont mind IEM's as much as I do and can start to look at them as an option.

I still have to get my 2nd pair fit to the custom ear molds, once I do that they may become extremely comfortable and I may prefer them to my headphones, I'll have to wait and see.

 

My determination is beyond logical, and I admit that. For the past week or so I've been doing NOTHING but researching the tiny details of headphones to suit my needs. My roommates & friends scold me for wanting to replace a pair of headphones that sound fine to them (then again they are happy with their $20 set). They also call me insane for spending anything above $40 for a pair. I have no one but online resources for support.

In regards to IEMs..I've tried them before, but they just feel so..weird and uncomfortable. To help you visualize my perception of them: when I take them out of my ear, it feels as uncomfortable/odd as a nurse slipping out a tube of ivy out of your veins.
It's just..eck, I'm not sure if I described it well.

I'm thinking about just holding off buying headphones and saving up my future funds for buying a very expensive pair that I would never, ever release the price of to anyone, as they'd probably disown me. x]
..but then again, that'd take off a lot of money I would be saving for a new laptop..damn it all to hell.

well at least I'm making some sort of progress, got down from a wide array of headphones to just two (after the PRO's being a disappointment, but still very much enjoyed the soundstage), and I shall now continue to google the hell out of "HFI-580" and "D1100". Though I cant seem to find a user that has experience with both.

I also wish there was an audio store near me..somewhere, where I could have a chance to test different models. The only place I could think of was guitar center, and when I asked the audio (headphone) department if they had ultrasone's/denon's, they asked me "what are those?". When I responded with "headphones" they then proceeded to ask me "What brand are they?" -.-

 

Save up and get "Darth Beyers" then lol they should have enough bass for you.

Also look up "Thunder Pants"

 

Oh I've seen those, way beyond my price range sadly, also been checking out ALO, but these mods are obscenely expensive

 

Thinking outside the box

Amazon.com: Beyerdynamic HS 200 ROTOR Helicopter Headset: Electronics

Not sure how great bass & music will be but it has your noise isolation covered and even a good quality mic to boot.

They have a gaming headset that I think borrowed a lot from this headset.

 

Wow thank you very much! Sure, I will read it right away

 

I guess it depends on whether you're looking for home cans, more portable or all-purpose cans.

The Shure SRH840 still stands as a general purpose - and unlike most, I'm not fishing other people's experiences out of Head-Fi. Give it a try.

 

The Denons have no isolation. If you're looking for travelling phones they're inadequate.

The Bose actually do an excellent job of being comfortable on the ear, keeping out a lot of the engine-type noises as well as being pretty good in passive isolation. You could do A LOT worse.

If you're travelling, what a lot of people who rush in to recommend stuff don't understand is that the best headphone is kind of useless if they don't isolate enough to actually let you hear the music. (just like the Triple.Fi 10 is the crappiest of the multi-driver in-earphones in this respect)

The Sennheiser HD25-1 is uncomfortable, but they provide superb isolation in a compact, rugged, portable phone along with pretty decent sound quality. If you're looking for a portable can from a 'name' that will get you fauxdiophile cred, then they're a decent choice.

 

I love how every statement Vogelbung makes is stated as a fact and never his opinion.

Just how is it that you know everything and can assume other professionals know nothing?

Like in your RME thread you said burn-in is only mental and has no effect on headphones, but how many people including myself would disagree? Yet what is so strange is while your willing to state that something like burn-in is only mental, yet your willing to spend $750 on a portable DAC that I would think no human ear could tell different from one that cost $300 that to me seems like me like a mental placebo and in direct contradiction to how you feel about other things.

I do not mind you having an opinion, in fact I am glad you do however you really should stop trying to assume you know everything and constantly trying to be the head-fi rebel is getting old too.

Its no different than saying nobody here on NBR knows anything about laptops.

You simply have dfferent opinions than others, your a free thinker just like myself but I always put "in my opinion" or "I think" as part of what I am saying because I know I do not know everything.

Now excuse me I am going to go sit on my lawn chair with a look of disapproval and enjoy my rice.

 

I read the Shure's as having great texture, and wonderful neutrality. But for me that is where the problem lies, they're very neutral; perfect for the typical audiophile, not for someone like me looking for that bose-similar bass-kick. (But unlike most bose, I'm also looking for good definition of the mids/highs, and not wanting to cover up the flaws with bass)

I'm sorry I just referenced how praised the D2000 was in terms of sound quality, I was unaware of the isolation.

 

Anyone have any Beats alternatives? Good looking - without average sound?

 

V-moda Crossfade
Audio Technica ATH-M50
some AKG's are nice looking (701 + 702 in particular)

and lol @ thread jack

 

You should consider the HFI-580, as I am right now. Theres a post here on head-fi from a user switching from the beats directly to the HFI-580's, to give you some impressions.

 

M50 is a great way to start. Ultrasones are decent too.

 

Hey, I'm a lazy guy. Don't wanna make another thread.

 

I have the AKG K701 (used) and amped (Schiit Asgard). They're very bass-light. Definitely not an alternative to the Beats. I either have to turn up the volume to allow them to burn in properly or try them with my M^3 amp w/ bass boost (building in progress) to give them another try. If it doesn't work out, then I'll just have to sell/trade them.

 

Well the beats are extremely bass heavy. Just a few suggestions that look good that have much better SQ. Not necessarily as much bass tho.

 

Excuse me, but what do you mean about " You could do A LOT worse. " ? I'm aiming for super comfortable, with style and portable. Those are the features I found in Bose QC15. But still I am reading/learning how things go with headphones.

Thank you.

 

That means that there are many choices that could be worse, so it's not a very bad choice (in other words, it's a decent choice).

 

You want to know why? Let's start with a very simple example. Have a search on Head-Fi for example for how many people have purchased multiple identical headphones to test burn-in with a plausible methodology.

Have you? I'm willing to bet my Orpheus you haven't. The problem with a lot of people is that - unwittingly even - their ego is their knowledge base.

Headphones don't burn in. They degrade over time, during which sonic changes do occur. Some low-cost articles in specific situations degrade alarmingly quickly - but most don't, and the time this happens is is much more than the 50-100 hour (especially unattended) burn-in that many people ascribe changes to. The very fact also that you (and this is a generic 'you' and not specifically you) also claim you can tell such a difference with one set of phones is absolutely ludicrous - back to the ego.

From a listening perspective, it's ultimately merely insurance - I didn't at any time mention that I could tell the difference ( I may be able to given the right source material, but that is besides the point). From a practical aspect, the unit brings to the table features I want. I also trust the 'name'.

There are degrees of opinion. And there are degrees of nerd. I am, and make no mistake about this, a giant nerd. I nerd over details for things I'm interested in, and I have decent resources to throw at such interests.

Opinionwise, when people - and I'd say 99% of Head-Fi for example - say 'cables make a difference' for example, it's a result of putting the cable in, being in a 'new toy mood' and listening to the music, and ultimately basically making up reasons why they're better. I think everyone is like this to start with - but it's also I think true to say that many people never move beyond this.

When I say 'unless you actually make them make a difference in which case they aren't doing their job properly, they don't', that is the result of hiring equipment and expertise from a telecoms outfit and running tests, as well as running listening tests by buying multiple sets of equipment (selling them for a loss later even) and planning how best to switch between them so as to leave as little to audio memory as possible, because it is inherently unreliable.

For me, it is all about getting the quantifiable best experience for me. But I'm not an entirely soulless being: The reason the Orpheus is around for example is that it's one of the most pleasant sounding headphone I've ever come across, and also manages to look the part. It is absolutely not worth it from a rational standpoint, and I'd never claim it was the most accurate, the best soundstaging, etc - it just happens to be very nice, in terms of superlatives perhaps nicest - and I leave it at that.

This is actually the reason my opinions go against the grain of a lot of people who, at the end of the day, are fishing their opinions out of the air. I can get my music on with a subjective art-appreciating frame of mind but when I get my compare on, the nerd comes in with a vengeance - because I actually want the best: be it the best deal, the best spec, etc - but I want to be as certain, to myself, the giant nerd, about that choice as possible. It's also the reason why fishing an opinion out of the air is completely worthless as a basis for discussion outside your own head, because it just becomes a duelling match of personalities / egos.

 

Neutral they are not in overall terms. Give them a try from somewhere with a decent return policy.

 

Are the Beats Solo HDs any good? Like compared to the 580, are they close in terms of sound quality? On Headfi some people were praising it while others dismissed it, but the ones who praised it actually owned it ...

 

The link I provided before was from a person coming right from the Beats Solo HDs and to the HFI-580's. Heres a quote:


"Just got my HFI-580's with the money from my returned Beat Solo's and....

they kick some serious @ss!!!!

haha, alright head-fier', you got me. I am now hooked on how good my music sounds through these things! Crystal music and i actually think the bass hits MUCH harder.

i can feel the urge to look into amps getting stronger and stronger haha"

 

I have the Bose QC3 headphones and I'm using them with my M17x R2. The bose are good, I'm sure theres better out there, but they look good, comfortable and when I use them with my NuForce uDAC-2 they really sound great. I like them, I'm sure others have differing opinions. But to get the great sound from them I needed the uDAC2. Now I'm a happ camper. They sound like a new better sounding set of headphones. And I've had them since mid 2007 and got the uDAC-2 just around a week ago.

 

+1 LOL

That said I'm cheap. I love the bass on my Sennheiser HD 280 Pro
which were on the short list. Outstanding bass but not pumped up. The price is right but they are the most plasticky headphones I've owned. Worth a listen.

 

+1 Yep, I have been trying to understand the whole burn in phenomena with speakers in general.

When I ask what burns in I get statements normally associated with the mechanical suspension loosening up. OK, fine.

Hopefully this does not apply to voice coils or electrostatic speakers, I would have to say this should then be called burning out!

 

I'm actually now considering the HFI-580's vs the Shure SRH750DJ's, as I read the 750's have more of a bass impact.

 

Outclassed by current offerings I think - they're also way too antiseptic if you're looking for something with a reasonable degree of impact, not just extension (which is excellent).

 

No.

The problem is down to their design - they have a seriously sealing earpad, and what this does along with the completely closed construction, and the result of all this mashing down directly on your ear is turn the sound into a loose-bassy mess.

Ironically the worse they fit, the better they'll sound - but if they don't fit your ears well, you won't get the isolation. The ControlTalk works really well with the iPhones and they do look good on the head, but that's about the only good things I can say about them.

If I was sticking to consumer well-known brands and wanted something that was comfortable, isolated reasonably and didn't make you look like a dork wearing them, I'd pick a Bose Triport AE2 over the Solo HD every time.

 

I love Shure . . .I like it.