I hate headphones

user_325 · Post by **user_325** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 12:33 pm

I'm certain this has been done here before, but I'm just curious what headphones everyone uses.

For *very* casual use, throw-on-throw-off type listening at home, I use Sennheiser HD-200's, DJ phones. They sound ok, are *very* lightweight for being closed over-ear phones. They're very "modular," and I like Senn's trick of the detachable cord--attached cords on cans is what ruined the first four or five pair of cheapies I had growing up.

For serious listening, I use ER-4p's. Also on flights, transit, etc. I can only go about five hours without some (literal, not auditory) ear fatigue, and the microphonics can be annoying. But when I want to really, really listen to music, I haven't heard anything better (that I could actually afford). The first time I used them was at the laundry, of all places, and even in the cacophonous den of that crumby place, I was hearing details I didn't recognise on a record I'd heard dozens of times (I think it was Wilco's 'Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,' first). I got them for $220 new on eBay, and Etymotic said they were warranteed.

I just bought some Shure E2c's for $60 for mobile/casual/office use. My Senns aren't really portable, and I don't like the idea of risking my Etys (plus, the microphonics and the *total* sound isolation make the idea of walking with them pretty scary). I hope they don't stink--but for $60, they're worth a shot.

user_125 · Post by **user_125** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 1:03 pm

i just bought some headphones that cover my ears and they work and thats all i really care about.

user_325 · Post by **user_325** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 1:23 pm

I'm not a natural headphone geek, at all. Most people who obsessively talk about them seem to have pretty limited interest in actual music of quality. But I'd just wasted enough money on $20 sony things that inevitably broke that I just decided to get some better-made ones, and when I heard the improvement in sound--literally hearing things I'd not heard before--I was sold that you get what you pay for (to a point--somewhere <$300 hehe).

user_12 · Post by **user_12** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 2:02 pm

I'm getting some Senn HD-212s for Christmas. Pretty excited about it.

user_70 · Post by **user_70** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 2:05 pm

I can hear things I've never heard before any old place.

user_370 · Post by **user_370** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 2:17 pm

I searched long and hard for a pair which suited me perfectly, and now I can't imagine me without an AKG K 271 Studio at my side. I just love it!

user_233 · Post by **user_233** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 2:26 pm

i have an awesome pair of headphones that mike shiflet left here.. er....

kristop · Post by **kristop** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 2:28 pm

grado sr60's. they sound awesome, and are probably the most comfortable cans i've had. i always find that closed ones put too much pressure my head and ears.

user_321 · Post by **user_321** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 2:29 pm

yup i got the grado sr-60s too - great sound and comfort

user_325 · Post by **user_325** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 2:34 pm

SR-60s do sound great. If I ever bought another pair of non-in-ear phones, it'd be those.

franz bieberkopf · Post by **franz bieberkopf** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 2:57 pm

Sennheiser HD 265 linear

not sure what all that means... but they're pretty bad-ass cup headphones... the only headphones i could find that were relatively hardcore audiophile, that still trap in sound well enough that i can take 'em on the bus...

user_19 · Post by **user_19** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 3:10 pm

I absolutely love my Grados, but I never take them out of the house.

kristop · Post by **kristop** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 3:20 pm

loopy de loop wrote:I absolutely love my Grados, but I never take them out of the house.

everyday on my walk to work.

user_325 · Post by **user_325** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 3:49 pm

Franz Bieberkopf wrote:Sennheiser HD 265 linear

not sure what all that means... but they're pretty bad-ass cup headphones... the only headphones i could find that were relatively hardcore audiophile, that still trap in sound well enough that i can take 'em on the bus...

You actually sound like a candidate for the middle/lower-rung Etymotics.

user_380 · Post by **user_380** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 4:13 pm

a really old pair RCA headphones i bought for $3 from a thrift store. i look like fighter pilot when i put them on.

Watt · Post by **Watt** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 4:33 pm

i also have grado sr-60s. fantastic headphones for a great price. one of the best purchases i've ever made.

tomentosa · Post by **tomentosa** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 4:54 pm

grado sr 60s as well
i as well find them to sound beautiful for a fair price
i'm sure the higher end grados and like sound even more incredible but 700$ for headphones is a bit much for me

user_365 · Post by **user_365** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 6:21 pm

I have some cover-the-ears Sony DJ headphones. The Grado headphones made my ears hurt wearing them. Peeling them off hurt worse than peeling a band-aid. I know of no one else with this problem.

user_17 · Post by **user_17** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 6:38 pm

i've got a pair of sony mdr-v700. they're over the ear/swivel/dj-style ones, because i was heavily into shitty dance music early in high school and tried my hand at dj-ing, and those were supposed to be the best ones. i need to get some new ones.

Abe Sapien wrote:Peeling them off hurt worse than peeling a band-aid. I know of no one else with this problem.

my sony's do that. it's a fucking bitch, and the main reason i want to get a new pair.

user_362 · Post by **user_362** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 6:41 pm

I use Sennheiser HD-200's too.

They're pretty good, I guess.