Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Head phones anyone?

So, i am using a pair of Bose QC2's.. They are comfortable.. But, pretty much sound like crap... I am looking for an over the ear headphone, and are comfortable and can be worn for semi long periods of time. I wear my headphones for about 3 or 4 hours a day depending on what i am working on...

I will be using my tivoli model 1 radio to power said head phones.. If i need to get a headphone amp, then i may get one...


So, i am thinking my price range is around 600ish..

I was thinking about these.
http://www.amazon.com/Grado-RS1i-Referen...;keywords=grado

Or these
http://www.amazon.com/Grado-PS-500-Profe...;keywords=grado

However, some reviews have said that the Grados are not that comfortable to wear, this would be a deal breaker for me.....

I went here (http://www.innerfidelity.com/) to try to find some recommendations but was not as successful as i thought i might be.

If you are looking for a tonally bright headphone, the Grado's are the way to go. Upfront and narrow soundstage. However they still IMO lack build quality to that of other manufacturers.

If you want something that is very analytical but more refined and with a better soundstage, the Beyer DT880. Better build quality too. They come in different ohm versions.

http://www.headphone.com/headphones/beyerdynamic-dt-880---32-ohm.php

If you want something that is less analytical but still detailed and has an excellent overall warmth check out the Senn HD 600 or Senn HD 650. Excellent comfort and soundstage too. The best option if you are sensitive to listener fatigue.

http://www.headphone.com/headphones/sennheiser-hd-600.php

http://www.headphone.com/headphones/sennheiser-hd-650.php

the build quality of the Grado's was something else someone brought up... right now my headphones are in their case, and in my backpack on the train into work with me everyday... build quality is a big factor for me on any purchase.. of the 3 links, the Beyerdynamic's look like they would be the most comfortable...

I would also guess that any of those would kick the crap out of the Bose i am currently using..

would these sound much better than the 880's?
http://www.headphone.com/headphones/beyerdynamic-t70p.php

I don't know, I never heard that particular Beyer model you linked. Don't kid yourself, the Senns are very comfortable. Yes, the Beyers and Senns are night and day difference in terms of sound quality over Bose QC IMO.

Alex, these appear to fit your needs for comfort and otherwise.

While I love my Grados, I would never travel w/ them. They're not that durable in that sense. I do travel with my Shure 840s and I prefer their comfort level. I had the DT770s at one point and with those velour pads, I could wear them for HOURS.

If the headphones have to be lugged around all the time the only benefits of the Grados would be their sensitivity. They would be able to play loud on any device you hook it up to. On the flip side you will go deaf because Grados are one of the most open headphones out there for letting ambient noise in. Also, if you are carrying Grados in a backpack, the cup design is also prone for letting debris like hair and dust to access the transducers. This causes what's known as "Grado Grattle". I have had it happen to me. Google, it is quite common.

The Beyer DT 880 and Senn HD 600 and 650 IMO are not headphones I would want to carry around with me all the time. They are too nice! I would be worried about ruining them. I would also be concerned with the Senns being driven properly and anything other than the 32 ohm version of the Beyers.

I also have the Audio Technica AD700 that John linked. Nice headphones at their price point, very comfortable, good sound but lack bass. However, they are WAY to big and bulky to be carrying around and you would look like a fool with them on in public.

As oldskool mentioned the Shure 840 would fit the bill very nicely. Their closed, good sensitivity, well balanced sound from top to bottom, they fold up and they are durable.

I have the Beyerdynamic DT 880 PROs. They're 250 Ohm, so a little more difficult to drive than the 32 Ohm standard model, but I can get more than comfortable levels out of them with any device I've tried. I like the PRO model too, because they are rebuildable. The velor pads feel really nice, but when using them several hours on most days they will eventually get funky. So being able to swap the cushions out for fresh parts is a huge plus.

Oh, it seems the ear pads are replaceable on the regular 880s also, but the headband part is not. That too gets a little dirty, should be able to be cleaned in place.

That's something I've always wondered about, why headphone resistances are quite different amongst styles, manufacturer's etc., yet speakers are commonly 4 or 8 ohm.

Mainly due to standards I believe or a lack there of in headphone industry. Almost all solid state is designed for speakers between 4 ohm to 16 ohm and with a relatively low output impedance. Also think of the application. A loudspeaker is played in free space with a listener so many feet away. A headphone is played a cm or so from the ear drum. Benefits of 4 ohm make sense for a loudspeaker but I would think a 4 ohm headphone with relatively high sensitivity would be a danger to your hearing on modern portable gear.

That's kind of my point, loud speakers have 'standards' while headphones/earbuds appear to have none. You can buy them with 16ohm all the way up to 350ohm(I think is the highest I have seen). A standard for this item should almost be mandatory considering how close these devices are to your ear drum.

That's why I don't think you see really high current current headphones like 4 ohm. This is just a guess but portable MP3 players are already designed for lower impedance headphones (16ohm-32 ohm). My guess why you don't see 4ohm or 8ohm headphones (typical sensitivity) is they would be much too efficient considering the sound source is right against your ears. My hypothesis is there would be no room for volume adjustment. It would go from soft to REALLY loud too quickly.

I own a pair of Sennheiser HD600s and they are the most comfortable headphones I’ve ever had, and I love how they sound. I’ve actually forgotten I was wearing them until I got up and walked away only to have the cord yank them off my head. However a portable device will not drive them and they are open ear so will not attenuate background noise and others may be able to hear what you are listening too. So they are not good for travelling.

I don't think he's suggesting 4 or 8 ohm as a standard for headphones, just that headphones should have their own standard, so there's not such a huge range of possibilities.

I bought these
http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-Momentu...ntum+headphones

They came in today.. I figured that i would give them a try for a bit, i listened to them a little bit today... i'll take them to the office on Thursday and spend some time with them....


Closed headphones was a must, due to the primary purpose is for the office.

If for some reason I'm not happy with the Sennheiser's i think the Denon AH-D5000's will be next.. However, my initial impression of the Sennheiser's is that they are pretty a pretty impressive pair of headphones..

Alex, you didn't give even a hint that closed headphones were a "must". The Grados you were considering are about as open as they come. You probably would have got some different suggestions.

Crap. John, your right i said "over ear" but not closed... So much for having a well composed question eh???

So what's wrong with the Bose head phones? I am well aware of their home audio history and BS, and generally dislike....but I thought their headphones and car audio was highly regarded??? No?

I wanted to get a pair for travelling, air travel mostly. The Bose noise cancellation headphones looked like the ones to get. A friend of mine has a pair, and I thought they sounded pretty good, they are comfortable and they have a nifty travel case. Should I be looking at different head phones for traveling?

My SIL has them and loves them. She travels a lot. I think the main objections are philosophical.

I also have a pair of QC2s and think they sound fine, certainly not Sennheiser HD600 quality but then their main draw is travelling not dedicated listening. I went with them because noise cancelling is a must on military aircraft otherwise I’d have to pump up the volume past what any of my mobile devices are capable of which would also be at ear damaging levels.

Exactly

For air travel The Bose are fine, all of the noise canceling head phones are ideal at canceling out a specific frequency, like the continuous frequency of a jet engine. Michael, the Bose are REALLY comfortable...


However, for my application.. In an office, noise canceling head phones are not great, this is due to the fact that they are not good at rapid frequency chances, like random people talking ect, ect. I just wasn't a big fan of how they sounded... One of those preference things i guess...

I would say buy a pair of those Bose from a company with a good return policy, and try them... You may like them, i thought that they were "ok", but i wanted more performance if possible, due to my specific situation.


I found this site, they have several reviews. Buying headphones turned out to be a bit more of an undertaking than i thought... i should have figured as much though, considering it's an audio product...
http://www.innerfidelity.com/

Thanks, good info.

A very good friend of mine (Milford3) will be receiving his new Beyerdynamics T1's soon...which is clipping on the heels of headphone nirvana. As a result, he's sending me his Beyer DT-990 (600 Ohm)

http://www.avguide.com/review/beyerdynam...one-playback-34

In October of this year I had a road test of their 990's,. Although they did not send my Senn HD555 totally crashing to the floor they did in fact out class them to the point where I didn't want to see them go. 990's are well built and comfortable as a broken in, 5-year old, eider down pillow. Musically, very neuetral with a rich and lusterous presentation. Bass response best I've heard which you usually don't get when other parts of the freq do well. That $$$ compromise we always see.

Bottom line, these are highly recommended and well within your budget as I see it. One caveat, with the 600 Ohm you'll need a descent headphone amp, the 32 Ohm version not so much.

Rich,
i thought about a pair of Beyerdynamic’s. I called HeadRoom and talked to a guy on the phone for about a half hour. As we were talking and he was getting the over all picture, he said that the Beyerdynamic’s would not be as ideal as a closed headphone, due to the lack of noise isolation. This is part of what killed the Grado idea as well, in addition to the overall lack of build quality.

What are your thoughts of using Beyerdynamic’s in an office environment?

The 880s are semi-open. When I'm wearing them, but not playing anything I can hear pretty well (a little muffled, and but when music is playing just about all surrounding sound disappears) I had a friend wear them next to me, and I couldn't hear more than a whisper of what was being played. More than a few feet away, no one would notice, unless you had them really cranked.

The 770s are completely closed, if that's the way you want to go.

The 990's are an open design. So an office environment could work as long as you don't have other people around you that may get irritated from the din.

Speaking of Tivoli, I was just on their web site and saw they have improved their existing models now with bluetooth connectivity. However they have also introduced a noise cancelling headphone - see here
I think they look pretty cool with the real wood finish. What do you think about the claims "Real wood housings provide a more natural sound"
I like Tivoli in general, so am interested in hearing these. has anybody tried them?