Hello all,

I read the boards often, but do not post much at all. I am the proud owner of a Axiom surround system (M60ti mains, VP150, EP350, and QS8 rears).

Unfortunately or fortunately (depending on how you look at it) I am not going to ask about my Axiom speakers.

I am interested in anyone’s experience with headphone manufactures. (I need a set to plug into my computer to listen to tunes.) I have tried several different brands, all which deliver poor quality sound, poor design or both. I am mainly looking for "comfortable" and well-manufactured headphones. I underlined comfortable because I have found a couple of brands that sound decent, but I cannot wear them more than 20min without them hurting my ears. I currently have a set of Altec headphones and although they sound ok, they feel like they are trying to cut my ears off.

I am sure this has been asked and posted about before, but I can’t seem to find anything recent. So if any of you great audiophile types have any advice for this audiowannabe, please post.

Thanks,

Del D

I really like my Sennheiser HD570 headphones. Very comfortable, excellent sound. The only downside? Everyone else gets to hear what you're listening to, too... but that's pretty much the case with any large open air headphone. I'm sure Adam will be along shortly with more recommendations.

Well, the wife would greatly appreciate if I was the only one listening to the headphones. I have a tendency to crank them up a bit, when I am on the computer, which will be their primary location.

Nonetheless I will look up the Sennheiser headphones, doesn’t hurt to look.

Take care,

I have some Senn 570s, as well, and find them very comfortable. I got them in college so I could listen to music without bothering my roommates. My two main criteria were comfort and sound. Relatively lightweight with large pads around the ears. Also, I liked the smooth sound, wanted to be able to listen for hours without fatigue.
Drawback is that they are a little power hungry. Not very efficient. Oh, and the price.

Check out head-fi.com.

I like my Grado 125's. I don't think they are the most comfortable, but other users in my house think they are very..
They sound excellent. They are semi open air design so some sound will be heard. They are lite weight but they are not ultra lite. They are very well reviewed in Stereophile mag.
oz

When I was looking to buy some headphone I went to Headroom.com and checked them out.I ended up with the Sennheiser Hd280 pros.I like them quite a bit, they are a closed type and are pretty comfortable.

I have two recommendations.

The Sony V600s sound good, are comfortable and fold up (more important to us using them on location than someone using them at home I'm sure).

The AKG 240 series has been very popular in recording studios for years and their AKG 240S sets are the least expensive in that line. They're extremely comfortable and light (though they don't look like they would be light!).

Both of these will isolate you more than most and will help you to remain pretty quiet to others in the room. I linked to Amazon to give you a good overview, not because they necessarily offer the lowest prices.

Just picked up a pair of new Sennheiser HD650 for a decent price on eBay two weeks ago for one of my roomies. They are used in the puter room, and even as close to them as I sit, they are not really a problem. There are very comfortable and sound great, but that is just my opinion. YMMD

For comfort I really like the Sennheiser big ear cups.

I got the Sennheiser Hd212 for like 60 bucks and it was the best 'dollar per increase in overall enjoyment of my audio system' I have ever spent. I got them for late night movie and music listening and man you can loose yourself in the music in these things. And there cheap. They are also sealed type ear cups so others really don't hear much of anything while your listening.

I hear great things about the sound quality of Grado's but not for comfort.

OK, was I just one of those guys that says you should buy these cause they ROCK!

Ahhh what are ya gonna do?

Thanks for all the posts.

I have been looking at the Sennheiser HD580 headphones., but they have an open Acoustic Seal. I believe that I want the acoustic seal closed so that the headphones are quite. Is this correct? Or am I misinterpreting the meaning of the acoustic seal? (Could not find the 570, is this the 580 with a closed acoustic seal?)

If I cannot find the 580 in a closed seal then I will probably get the 280 pro. (At my age I probably could not hear the difference between them anyway. LoL

Thanks again for all the posts, take care.

Del D

The HD580s are of an open design, the HD280 pros are closed.

Hi DelD,

I don't use any closed (circumaural) headphones because of the "sweaty-ear" syndrome and comfort factor, which doesn't rule out some Sennheisers recommended by others (I have not tried those). The following are open-air types.

The great bargain headphone, which I find extremely comfortable with nicely balanced sound (perhaps a tad too much bass) is the Koss PortaPro, also available in a slightly less clunky looking version called the SportaPro. About $40.

I've also used the Grado SR125 for years. Excellent sound and quite comfortable. I'm currently evaluating several inexpensive and expensive "earbud" style ear-canal phones. Will report later.

Regards,

On the topic of headphones. . . Is anybody out there utilizing Dolby headphone? I noticed that Marantz is offering this on their receivers and I have heard a couple of demos that are fairly impressive sounding.

I end up doing a lot of night time listening so any input would be nice.

Try some ALessandro MS-1s

They are Grado SR125s modified to be more neutral, which many prefer, and in addition, are $50 cheaper than what they were modded from! And come with the "comfy" grado pads. Can't ask for more.

Ya know, Thasp, you bring up an important point when you mention the "more neutral" issue!

I had been doing some listening tests using the three sets of earphones that we have here lying around the house, and interestingly, all of them produce tons more bass than my mains do.

Shouldn't come as much of a supprize I suppose, I mean, talk about "near-field"

Guess I just never noticed anything in the earphone adds or spec sheets(such as there are)that talked about the over-all sound of the earphones.

I had even thrown out a suggestion that Axiom may want to source an "Axiom-Sounding" earphone set so that us Axiom types could purchase a set and be relatively assured of getting 'phones that at least sound close to what we listen to the rest of the time!!

Think I'll take a closer look at those MS-1s as well as Alans 125s!!!

Strongly recommend the Sony MDR-7506 or the MDR-V6, they're very easy to drive....only rated at 63ohm so you don't need any headphone amp, though they're very accurate and sound amazing. Google them and look at their reviews

I have Senny HD212 Pros for work, 280 Pros for the computer room, and 650's for serious listening. The 212 and 280 models have enormous "bang for buck" upsides. Both are closed. The 280 would be a great all-around closed phone for the price. The 212 sound great but is a little "bass-y" (note to Craig: Bup bup bup! We're talking about headphones here!). The 650 has been called by some "the best headphone money can buy." They are "open." You can get pretty good deals on all of them here. And if I'm in the mood I might be talked into building you a set of high-quality upgrade cables for the price of the materials.

Thank you for the replies.

I have not decided which brand of headphones to get, but it definitely looks like the Sennheiser brands are well liked. I was really only considering one set of headphones when I started the post, but it appears that the highest quality are the open style. So I may end up getting a set of each, open and closed. (Although, paying $300 plus for the 650 is more than I am willing to pay for headphones, so I will probably go with a different brand. The Grado SR125 at half the price of the 650, is a bit more to my liking and I will not mention what the wife has to say about either price….)

Please excuses my ignorance, but what are the benefits of upgraded cables versus the regular cables that come with the headphones? You can use the Sennheiser 250 as a reference, since those are probably the ones I will buy to use with the computer.

Thanks again, take care.

Del D

It is unlikely that upgraded cables will get you anything. It's just an electrical signal. Others will undoubtedly disagree with me.

However, a bad cable can be a pain in the butt! My 570s had a bad cable, and the right ear kept going out. Replaced it, no problems since!

Del, if you actually meant to refer to the Sennheiser 280 for a closed-back phone, that would be a fine choice for situations where you had to use a closed phone. I also prefer an open-backed phone for use whenever it's possible and would suggest you consider the Sennheiser 595, excellent and considerably less than the 650. Possibly the best source for reliability and price for the 280 and 595 is J&R.

As to the cable, as Ken says, unless the included one is damaged and doesn't supply a stable connection, there's no good reason to replace it and this wouldn't actually be an "upgrade". A very thick replacement cable would have lower resistance and might be slightly louder at the same setting, giving the misimpression of better sound and leading to some of the stories we read about.

I own the 595 and agree with John in recommending it. For me, it was the best middle ground of the laid back Senn sound and the very forward Grado Sound. I also liked that you really don't need a headphone amp to power it adaquately.

Greg

I make my own cables for my Senny's more as a hobby than anything else. They are more burly than the stock cables, especially the ones on the HD212 and 280's. I don't really notice any "creamy-smooth richness" from the home-made cables. But I get the length I want plus a sturdier cable. Plus I put a 3.5mm plug on the end of a set for my old HD595's so I can use them without an adapter on computers, MP3 players etc. The HD-595 and HD-600's can be found for right around $220 or less if you look around. They are both great phones.