Budget Earphones vs. Expensive Earphones

Did you get them in brand new packaging?

 

Yep. The Black royalty package thing. I called UE and they confirmed the package. I even had a little piece of paper inside the tip bag saying "To order more Comply foam tips go online to www.comlpyfoam.com/ue". I called Amazon and got a refund for them tho.

Now my problem is with the Monster Turbines. Someone doesn't want me to be happy this holiday season

 

Did you not get this packet?

 

I recall my first pair coming in some logitech packaging, but this pair came in the same packaging as you just posted.

 

Yea, that package minus the foam tips. I got the large and small black ones, but no foamies.

 

No! The "end" matters most. But that still does not change my previous assertion.

 

Given a baseline acceptable source as I pointed out (which almost all of us are in possession of), your assertion does not hold water in the slightest. You might actually like to try these things as I pictured for example, instead of assuming?

 

just get a pair of klipsch image s4 and call it a day. decent and 'popular' sound, fairly priced too.

 

You making side claims that have little to do with the original point. In addition, those examples are irrelevant; and would not change anything I already said.

You're essentially asserting that a performance tire placed on a Toyota Corolla will give you a more sporty ride. Perhaps marginally it will, but regardless of how good the tires upgrades are, they won't turn your Corolla into a Ferrari. It will still be "limited" by it's suspension and other components!

 

duh....

Not a valid comparison - headphones are more important for sound quality than tyres for the comfort/performance whathavenot of a car.

If you buy a xx.000 Dollar soundsystem and use some apple earbuds you'll be beaten easily by a moderate MP3 player around 100-200€ + some high-end IEMs (Say Sennheiser IE8) (or even mid-range IEMs)

High End headphones on a cheap sound source will always be better than low end headphones on a high end source.

You could compare headphones with say the chassis and suspension of the car - then the sound file will be the fuel and the soundcard/amplifier the engine.
-> I think that would work.

On that note - high quality MP3/Flac/AAC etc. + High End Headphones with a low end soundcard will also beat a high end soundcard with bad headphones.

 

On the contrary, it's an appropriate comparison since they both rely on a "system" of parts to achieve the highest end result.

I never stated otherwise. But this is a separate issue altogether.

It might. But it would also be less accurate.

I'm not inclined to allow you to get away with making such a gross generalization. There are just too many variables in that formula for any absolutes to apply.

 

Not really appropriate because the question is how important is a component to the system.
I could represent headphones in an audio-setup with cupholders in cars.
Only cupholders are in no way essential to the cars ability to move comfortably.

Your tyre representation doesn't hold, because tyres are too unimportant to the whole card if you compare it to the importance of headphones in an audio setup - also because tyres are influenced by the suspension, car weight and whathavenot.

With sound you really only have 3 components that matter:
1) source
2) soundcard
3) headphones

with a car it's a lot more.

Going back to sound:

1) source - we can all agree that very low bitrates can sound atrocious, but 320KBit/s MP3 is fine - as is any other high bitrate AAC codec or lossless Flac etc.
Taking my source out of the equation because any legal source of music will give you at least decent quality you are left with:

2) soundcard
3) headphones

You will generally not notice changes between the soundcard unless one has a constant hiss - yes, one will be louder, one might seem ever so slightly clearer - but you won't get any huge differences.

Compare your headphones - the cheapest things you can get are earbuds - compare 5€ earbuds to 20€ IEMs - they will be worlds apart in sound.

Try those two on a cheap and an expensive soundcard - they will sound 100% the same.

Only once you get expensive headphones that have the required clarity can a soundcard make a noticeable difference - before that it's a waste of money.
On that note though - your music taste will be important too:
Classical Music is different to Rock, Pop, Dance etc.

In some cases clarity will make you really appreciate your music - in others you don't care about it - this is individual taste.

 

Your reasoning here is uncoordinated.

 

Most any modern HD Audio codec is good enough to playback audio fine on most any set of mainstream headphones. Granted, the source is very important in determining your experience with ANY music.

What matters most IMO, is how much power you can push to your headphones and the quality of said headphones.

With decent source material given, a decent DAC (amp optional), and a decent set of 'phones, it's going to sound fine.

Audiophiles will go to extreme measures to eliminate things that most everyone will NOT hear or even notice in the slightest. Though with some music, there is nothing but a lossless codec that can reproduce the music faithfully, and an example of that would be Passion Pit's Sleepyhead. MP3 or AAC CANNOT capture the full range of that particular song. That song in lossless, with a decent headphone amp, and a good set of cans is AMAZING. That song encoded in 320Kbps NON-VBR MP3 is scratchy and static laden. It's completely unacceptable. But then most of the rest of the album is fine in high-bitrate MP3. It all depends on what your source IS. Different encoding techniques exist solely for different tastes and ears.

Bose products absolutely DO NOT have a flat frequency response and are extremely heavy on the low end, and can be a touch bright at times. For most though, that don't mess with an EQ, the Bose will be fine. Headphone purchasing is something most people don't ever think of going online and purchasing, and that's why Bose makes as much profit as they do. They are offered for instant purchase and any number of common retail locations and are MUCH better than what's mostly sold in those places. If Grado, or Audio-Technica sold headphones retail at more locations, then I'm sure more people would be buying them, but as it stands...

 

IMHO, headsets are SO much better... I cannot stand earphones. I have a Philips AirWear headset and it is light, comfortable and stable on my head. Sound is fantastic -- and I haven't broken them in yet! At ~$25, these are amazing.

V4R.

 

I have to agree with you on this one: I am a massive fan of the Bose Sounddock (I bought one a year or two ago) because it sounds brilliant while being easily portable but I have to admit that their headphones are somewhat lacking. The problem is that Bose tend to set their own EQ rather than delivering a flat response: It works for ipod speakers where there are compromises and the aim is to sound "good" rather than be accurate but you lose detail and it's not satisfactory for high-end headphones. They're good if you want decent off-the-shelf audio but it's aimed at a different market.

On the subject of headphone recommendations: I'm a fan of the Shure SE210s. They have good sound quality, excellent sound isolation and good service and warranty.

 

Which makes them different how? All manufacturers do that.

I'm pretty sure that's the Bose market.

Shure manufacturers predominately professional products.

 

Bose are particularily good at making small speakers sound good. The Sounddock is miles ahead of almost all the other ipod docks out there (at least it, it was when I was on the market for some)

Which is my point: Bose has a market but I reckon that anyone who's posting on here is savy enough that they would probably be better off with one of the alternatives.

Which doesn't in any way invalidate my recommendation! Given that they're a highly regarded brand for professional audio equipment, I would expect that to be good for their consumer products. I certainly don't see how manufacturing professional products can be seen as a bad thing?

 

It wasn't meant to; as all of your points were valid. Rather, I was merely pointing out some alternatives.

 

The more expensive the better quality.. It depends on whether you care about the timbre of the music..I think...if not, budget earphones is ok..But if you love music and care the timbre/sound quality,like me, I suggest you have better buy a little expensive one..

 

Not really. Beats are overpriced and they sound like garbage.

 

The Beats Headphones have alot alot of bass, which i feel they did this just so you think your getting awesome sound. When really it just bass overriding the actual sound.
Astro a30 IMHO. check it.

 

I have these, paired with a FiiO E5, running from a X-Fi 5.1 USB card. The RE-ZERO is amazing.

Maxell DHP-II

 

Hardly. There are so any exceptions to that rule you could fill a database.

On the other hand, I will admit that there is correlation between price and quality: A $50 pair of speakers would be unlikely to satisfy even a moderate music listener.