Looking for Good Headphones

My birthday is coming up in a few days (Aug 17th) and I've decided to get a new mouse and headphones. I'm getting the Logitech Mx610, which while I've heard mixed reviews over, the cons generally do not bother me. Because I'm going away to college, and my parents are paying probably more than they can afford, I don't want to ask for too much from them. So the mouse is 25 bucks on amazon, and I'm looking for a decent set of headphones at a moderate ($50 ish) price.

I'm debating over what I'd prefer, noise-cancelling or wireless. I'm rooming with my best friend, and he's got a ridiculous 5.1 speaker system (Logitech Z5500) so I'm thinking that even noise-cancelling wouldn't be enough to block out his speakers anyhow, and the freedom of bluetooth headphones sounds enticing. So far, I've found this pair of bluetooth headphones: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CMS7HE/sr=8-2/qid=1155487539/ref=pd_bbs_2/104-5118730-5105528?ie=UTF8

Question: Will this work with the bluetooth module installed on my Dell e1705, or will I need to use the included transmitter?

Any personal experience with these or another set of headphones? Opinions on what I should look into are appreciated, and thanks for any help.

 

Generally if you want to go wireless, the sound quality will not be as good as headphones that are wired. So if you're after sound quality I'd recommend some Shure e2c. These are wired earphones that are sound- isolating, are much better than noise-cancelling solutions that are prone to background inteference and can incur more costs because of batteries. Also check out some of the Sennheiser line in your budget

 

Sennhesier has the HD202's which come right under 20.00USD. (Im curious how your buddy is going to have 5.1 surround with so little space...). Go with wired headphones and you will be happier in terms of sound.

 

if the 5.1 is anything like i've seen in dorms, itll lbe left center and right channels with the rears awkwardly placed behind, above, or non existant. Either way, it'll be loud. Even if you don't get sound isolating, make sure to get something with big ear cups, or like best said, something that crawls into your ear and vibrates right against your eardrum will also get out some of the noise. Or, just make him lower the volume or use headphones....

 

Alright, gonna look into some wired sets then and post back when I find something. As for space, the rooms aren't THAT small, actually went to visit the room a few days ago, measured out to be 13x13', and looking at it, there will be room, although like kidA said, probably not for an optimal setup.

 

Alright, so after browsing around the internet and reading countless reviews on headphones, I've decided to go for the Sennheiser CX300 headphones. They've gotten solid reviews across the board, and seem to be sufficient for what I want. Definitely prefer the earbud design as oppposed to over the ear, not a fan of the bulkiness.

 

Sennheiser's are definitely great headphones. You may want to check ebay for some great deals.

 

Sennheiser is a great brand, pretty much any of their models are nice. I personally like my PX100's but they do not block out sound, but other then that they are virtually weight less, look pretty good, and sound great.

 

I have the Sennheiser 280 pro and love them. It's not the traditional open-aired haedphones and does a great job of blocking out external sound. Very comfortable too.

 

I have the Sennheiser HD 570 which are open headphones. I don't really recommend them as sometimes the external noise is too distracting say if someone in the room is watching TV while you're trying to play a game. I was actually thinking of picking up the HD 280 Pro for the closed feature.

EDIT: I meant to say that I love the headphones for great sound and all that, but don't really recommend them because the open-air does let in all external sound. Just to clarify .

 

I also have a pair of Sennheiser headphones and I must say I don't see myself getting a different brand for a long time!

 

I also have a pair of the Grado SR60's and don't think they are even near the quality of the Sennheiser 280 pro. I use the Echo Indigo IO PMCIA sound card to power these suckers. I was thinking of getting a TotalBithead amp, but I have to do more reseach on them. I think you can use them with the Indigo IO

 

Hi there,

Sennheiser's quality is unquestionable as many of you pointed out already. Myself I can recommend HD205 - http://tinyurl.com/ej9m3. They offer outstanding noise cancelation and they are also very comfortable as long as your ears are not very big - these are closed headphones and the earcups are quite small what may cause minor inconvenience for people with ears bigger than average.

Greetings

 

Would the Sure e2c be good for use while flying? Or is there another set of earbuds that would work well that don't quite cost as much?

 

Can you give me a general idea of how loud external sound can get before it becomes distracting with those closed headphones? Thanks.

 

Shure e2cs are great for flying. You should be a little cautious about *when* in the takeoff sequence you put them in tightly--the cabin pressurization process and the in-ear design are not an idiot-proof combination. Having said that, as long as you're not an idiot, they are great

Nowadays I have the Etymotic ER6s, which are very similar to the Shures but have a slightly better fit for my ears. Both are lightweight and are an absolute necessity for isolating you from the squalling baby in aisle 25 plus the droning engines of the airplane. With them in, I can actually sleep decently well on the plane, and the bonus is they work at shutting out sounds even when my audio device is off ("all battery-powered devices must now be switched off") and the Bose-noise-canceller-wearers are suffering.

As for price, I believe the Shures recently got price-adjusted to be a bit cheaper than they were a few years ago, but they are still going to be a substantial investment. I do believe you get what you pay for in earbuds--and I have found both the Shures and the Etymotics to be totally worth their costs.

If you really are desperate for earbuds but you can't swing the budgeting, there are some similar designs from Sony and Koss that are quite a bit cheaper. Check out a site like HeadRoom to do a bit more research.

 

Well, it depends on what you listen to. You could, however, have some music on and listen to it on the busy street and as long as it's not on minimum volume or it's not some generally calm and quiet tune you can listen to it without any interference.

Hope that help, if not let me know. I'll try to explain it more.

Greetings,

 

Yup senn cx300 $60 cant beat em

 

Ok, I would like to retract a statement I made earlier about how my Grado-60's are inferior to the Sennheiser 280's. Appears that with a proper burn in, they do quite match and even exceed the quality of the Sennheisers. They lack the base of the 280's and I might upgrade to the Grado 125's for that reason. But, back on topic... There's no better sounding (closed) headphone than the Sennheiser 280 pro. You can jam away without waking your roommate

 

Well, I am an idiot, but I do know enough about when in the flying process to put earphones in.

Between those Etymotics and the Shures, which do you think would be a better fit for someone who has earholes on the small side? That's my biggest problem. Most earbuds are too large and consequently, they fall out after a brief period.

 

I would definitely recommend the Etymotics, then. I also was having the smaller-than-average-ear-size problem (for a reference: I can buy bike helmets from the "youth" aisle if I want to, and I wear a size "small" adult motorcycle helmet--so despite how big my brain is, I've got small head-located apertures ) I tried the Shures first (and I liked them soundwise slightly better for their bass response) but for fit the Etymotics are much better--I can wear them for hours and hours with no problem except the occasional itchy ear canal from insufficient wax management (a delicate but important piece of personal hygiene for folks who want to wear these kinds of headphones)

If you're really having a tough time fitting either the Shures or the Etymotics, you may want to consider visiting an audiologist to have custom earmolds cast. Both Shure and Etymotic produce versions of their tiny speakers to fit into custom enclosures, and the price is not actually that prohibitive. With the custom fit, you are guaranteed good closure and thus good sound and sound isolation. You'll see the custom earmolds dangling around the necks of tons of musicians as they finish a set and start putting their things away--they use them for in-ear monitoring to block out the loud sounds immediately around them.



and I'm very glad to hear you're not an idiot

 

Thought i'd add this question onto this thread. I'm looking for a headset and I've seen a lot with a USB connection, I would have thought that it would be better using a jack straight to your soundcard? Or is USB now the way for headsets?

 

You have the option of plugging directly in to the onboard soundcard via RCA jack. Your onboard audio card will convert the digital source to analog and foreword a clean signal to your headphones. With the standard laptop AC97 chip, you would get mediocre sound. If you want HiFi sound, then your best getting either a USB driven headphone amp like the Total Bithead http://www.headphone.com/products/headphone-amps/the-mobile-line/headroom-total-bithead.php , or you can go with the PCMCIA driven Echo Endigo http://www.echoaudio.com/Products/CardBus/IndigoDJ/index.php Either one is an excellent choice and well worth the cash spent. If you want my recommendation on which headphones to use, I suggest either the non sound leaking Sennheiser 280's, or the Grado SR 80's. These "cans" work well with either of the devices previously mentioned.

 

I hear the Grado's have on-ear cans that can be uncomfortable. Is this a problem for any Grado users?

Also, I have the HD570 (open air) and want to switch to a closed set. I'm assuming the HD 280 Pro's don't need amplification and sound good even when connected to small electronics and laptops.

 

How are USB headphones? I'm considering a 5.1 headset for the purpose of gaming. I'd like to be able to get 5.1 audio from my laptop without having to spend on an external sound card, are USB headsets a decent option? Or would I be better off getting an actual sound card?

 

I second the motion for Shure headphones... I LOVE my Shure headphones... now if only I could stop accidentally breaking them... *sigh*

 

for gaming, i recommend the steelsound 5h, excellent headphones and they're on sale for 50 dollars or so with free shipping, retails at 100

 

I would think you would want an RCA-plug headset so that you can use it with other electronics rather than being limited to computer-only-use.

 

If you looking for a good moderately prices pair of moderately priced noise canceling headphones, that conveniently fold for travel check out these. http://www.sharperimage.com/us/en/catalog/product/sku__FJ452 from Sharper Image. This pair produces great sound, better than the previous sony headphone I had, is very comportable to wear (I can wear them for hours), and is quite durable. I've had this pair since christmas which is the longest I've ever owned a single pair without breaking. On the downside. They eat batteries.

 

I second this. Also, when going through USB, you also hear every "computer" sound. Sure you could turn the sounds off but you'll still be hearing lots of whirs, chirps, etc...

 

I hae the Sennheiser HD555 and they sound quite good. Also they are extremely comfortable. Sometimes I get the sense Im not wearing them at all. I would strongly recommend it. I would not recommend the canal phones unless you are only planning to use them away from the computer. They are not very good for your ears. I have a pair of Sony EX81 (great stuff for under 100) for music on the go and HD555 for music in my dorm.

btw if he blasts his 5.1 in the dorm the RA will get pissed lol. I usually keep my 5.1 (3.1 really since I dont have the rears installed) on very low volume and if I want to blast the music I wear headphones.