do good headphones really make a difference?

lol! time to pile water bottles in front of my speakers

yikes...do good headphones cost SO much?? I don't like in the UK, but i do know that 200 euros is a hell lot of money for sound.

 

That depends how much of an audiophile you are. For some people, "good sound" isn't as "high end" as for other people.

 

"Good enough" headphones can be acquired for a lot less than 200€. The Sennheiser PX100 for example are quite incredible for 40€ and you will really hear a difference with the stock earbuds. So are the grado SR60 (at least for 69$).

But, yes, 200€ headphones still do sound better. You would have to listen to both to see whether or not this difference in sound is worth the difference to you.

And, btw, 200€ is a small amount in the hifi world. You barely get a pair of decent bookshelf loudspeakers for that price.

 

I recently got the Sennheiser CX300 and CX300-II, to see what the fuss is about.

You definitely want the II version.

Neither is impressive.

 

I lack space on my desk - and it can be a carton (??) of orange juice... same effect...

Well, on the other hand - some expensive products wear much better.
Oddly enough I managed to have the EX85 fall apart after 1 year... (a little less actually) - the front came off
After a little less than a year, the IE8 are pretty much like new - can't see any wear myself - Ok, I broke the cable clip... but lived without one before and from a physics/forces point of view it was badly designed.

Provided I stick with the IE8 for 4 years I've pretty much got their price back + the great sound.

And the 25 Pounds "clip on ones" - I actually went through 3 pairs of them - they had a nice cable winding mechanism... only the cable broke on one... on another the mechanism broke so it continually "collected" the cable...

And that was Sony mind you...

I have another 40€ (over 4 years ago) Sony headphones - they still work, but the cable was a nuisance especially untangling it - also "clip on" ones - but they were beaten easily by the EX85 - I don't want to compare them to the IE8

And there is something else - I mainly like to hear my music "on the go" - train, buses, aircraft (easter holidays can't wait ) - I can't do that with speakers, can I? I can't carry them around
The IE8 are with me in England, have been in Germany (where they are from ) - and have accompanied me to Poland

 

My PortaPros are fun to listen to (ok.. I know they're not really that good), but they were useless on a plane.

 

I actually had the pleasure of comparing headphones on an aircraft different tips for my IE8 (single flange is best for me - double flange is worst - foam is OK, but its too hard and seems to get brittle - I don't want a mess )

And comparing to that the headphones that came with my Sony X1060 - similar ones to the EX85 with active noise cancelling.

The noise cancelled Sony's were better in terms of "getting rid of outside noise" noise cancelling is great - but the Sennheisers are worlds away in terms of sound quality and mainly soundstage

IE8 anytime