headphone recommendations

Adcadet

Adcadet

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OK, as many of you may remember, last time I was here I was interested in a new speaker system. Well, since the new wife really likes computing and watching annoying TV shows, this makes it difficult for me to study or goof off. Thus, I think a pair of headphones are the best choice. I noticed a pair of noise-cancelling headphones at Target today made by Phillips. I tested out some Bose ones a while back, and remember them working well. Does anybody know if the Phillips ones work well? Any suggestions? Is the noice cancelling tech worth the money (about $70 for the Phillips)?

Thanks,
Adcadet
 
And Target's webpage doesn't list it. I swear I saw a pair. They were about $70, and made by Phillips as I believe. They advertised the noise cancelling technology I've seen Bose advertise before, especially towards those on airplanes. Just thought it might be really nice for an environment in which I'm trying to work or play while she's doing her thing.
 
Bose noise-cancelling headphones are bletcherous. Awful. They were developed with the US Air Force, but flight crews wouldn't wear them.

Sennheiser seems to be the name in headphones.
 
Mercutio said:
Bose noise-cancelling headphones are bletcherous.
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BOSE as far as I know is one of the best players in the audio business, Mercutio, are you sure of your claims?!
 
I'm thinking I want a circumaural closed design - I don't want to hear much outside of my own little audio world, and I would prefer if people couldn't hear me. I see Amazon (yes, Amazon.com) has the Sennheiser HD-280s for $76, which seems like a phenominal price (I've seen it elsewhere online for more than $150.
 
wasn't this one on here recently? maybe it was sr

anyway, sony mdr-7506, and it's not even close to debate :)
 
Prof.Wizard said:
Mercutio said:
Bose noise-cancelling headphones are bletcherous.
Click to expand...
BOSE as far as I know is one of the best players in the audio business, ...
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ROFL!

AFAIK, you don't know very far the audio business. BOSE is a name and that's it nowadays. They have failed to deliver something worthy in the low to middle range segment for the last five years at least. They may make something good, but not in the price range allowing you or I to buy it. Forget BOSE.
 
CougTek said:
They may make something good, but not in the price range allowing you or I to buy it. Forget BOSE.
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Now you're talking...
It's because you can't buy the good range...
sticktongue.gif
But don't ever say again BOSE is NOT good.
It's totally TOTALLY untrue.
 
Bose has made and still makes plenty of lemons. Their marketing hype, mystique and image overshadows their product performance 50:1.
 
I use earplugs if I want to cancel out noise. :) Very effective and I've gotten used to having them in for hours at a time (used to work in construction).

For work, wireless Sennheiser headphones are wonderful. Not as good as wired ones for the money, but not tripping over cords more than makes up for it, IMO. I've literally gone flying out of my cube because of a headphone cord. :o
 
Mercutio said:
Funny. I thought everyone knew Bose is crap.
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Mercass, you get what you pay for. That's the first rule of our corporate world.
Go check a top-line (and yes, expensive) sound system of a premium car (most German cars I know, for instance) and $$$-home and you'll find BOSE behind. Read a real magazine sometime.

The thing I don't know is which headphone model Adcadet is talking about, but for sure it is better in quality than most competition.
 
sony mdr-7506 may still be the most popular engineering/dj headphones in the world, i believe they still were just a few years ago. exceptionally accurate and exceptionally comfortable. you can wear them for 8 hours with nothing more than 'headphone head' to show for it.
 
Did you maybe check out those link I posted?

Someone who buys an Audi or a BMW with a Bose soundsystem isn't buying it for the radio. They maybe recognize the name "Bose", and they know from commercials or print ads that it's supposed to be "high-end".

In actuality, Bose makes products that carry high-end prices and have budget-market assembly and sound quality.

Going into a chain electronics store, Bose is the most expensive speaker system on the floor, and it's kept seperate from all the other speakers. The links I give go into detail about why this is so, but in essence, Bose gets a very controlled demo under IDEAL conditions while everything else gets shoved into a corner.

Add to that the fact that almost no electronics stores carry speakers that are genuinely decent and almost never have similarly nice listening areas for non-Bose speakers, and it becomes possible to see why Bose enjoys a wide following among the ignorant.

One real test of quality electronics - and this applies almost universally - is that the lighter something is, the less well-made it is (the weight will usually stem from extra capacitors, heat sinks and overspecified components). Bose spakers are featherweights. Surprisingly light.

Another axiom for audio equipment: Companies that make quality consumer audio make REALLY lousy speakers. Pioneer speakers are lousy. Sony speakers are lousy (note: all Sony audio products are lousy. Their speakers are just particularly bad). Yamaha speakers may be an exception.
You can probably build or buy better speakers or headphones than bose for less than 1/3rd the price, regardless of the price level you're referring to.

While we're on the subject: Does anyone actually think that the JBL or Polk Audio speakers found on HP or Compaq desktop machines are any kind of decent? Same thing with Bose speakers in a car.
 
Have you ever considered those who want to destroy myths are always the losers?

Take companies I'll name: Intel (bashed by AMDers), nVIDIA (bashed by ATIers), SoundBlaster (bashed mainly for price/drivers), BOSE (bashed by poor other producers who can't do same quality products), Seagate (bashed because the Maxtor you bought the other day you *think* it's better by 0.5% so it's an "enthusiast" drive)... and this list goes on...

BOSE is not bought by the ignorant, but by those who have the extra money to spend on quality AND aesthetics.

Please, don't let inferiority or damn-I-can't-afford-it complexes obscure your reasoning because they make you say stratospheric bull.

You can't prove me those articles you mentioned are guided by marketing interests less than Tom's Hardware articles. If I had time to spend I could find counter-articles. As I did on that analog-digital sound thread.
 
Prof.Wizard said:
Go check a top-line (and yes, expensive) sound system of a premium car (most German cars I know, for instance) and $$$-home and you'll find BOSE behind. Read a real magazine sometime.
Click to expand...

Well now, lexus uses a Mark Levinson branded stereo from Madrigal.
Aston Martin use Linn.
And home audio, be it two or multi channel, and whether it costs not a lot, about what you’d expect, a huge amount or more than the GDP of most third world countries, does not use Bose. At least not if you want it to sound good.

The day that Bose make good speakers, M$ will release the source code under the GPL, and Compaq will make the best PC’s.

Read the itellexual review merc linked to.
particularly the alternatives section.

Why does Bose suck?
Wobbly, resonant cabinets.
POS drive units with POS magnet assemblies used in entirely inappropriate ways.
Spring clips. (In and of itself just cause for Bose to be confined to the sixth circle of hell)
charging as much, and often more, for their junk as you’d pay for real loudspeakers.

Think Bose, Think PCchips at supermicro prices.
 
PeeWee, I fully invite you to step onto a plane, fly to Chicago. I'll pick you up at the airport. After I get done administering the full-height-micropolis-SCSI-drives in a canvas bag beating, I will take you to my parents' home.

My parents have one of those dreadful $2000 Lifestyle-series borg cube things in their living room.

You can listen to whatever you want, although I'd suggest something with a range of human voices or something with a real workout for brass instruments.

Then I will take you to my apartment, where I will sit you down in front of the on-sale-for-$300 Acoustic Research HC5 sub/sat thing in my living room, which isn't even the nicest set of speakers in my apartment.

And after you get done listening to the same thing you heard on my $300 worth of speakers, you'll say: "Gee Merc. I was completely and totally wrong. I apologize for being a total assweasel who has no idea what he's talking about. Please beat me yet again to satisfy my bizarre sexual predilections and to allow me to repent for being so completely wrong."

Do the world a favor and take a minute to READ those links. If you're still not convinced, pop over to a site like hometheaterforum.com and ask some questions there. You're going to be a doctor. Take a few minutes and DO SOME RESEARCH.
 
Mercutio said:
PeeWee, I fully invite you to step onto a plane, fly to Chicago. I'll pick you up at the airport. After I get done administering the full-height-micropolis-SCSI-drives in a canvas bag beating, I will take you to my parents' home.
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:lol: Damnation! You still remember... :lol:
My parents have one of those dreadful $2000 Lifestyle-series borg cube things in their living room.

You can listen to whatever you want, although I'd suggest something with a range of human voices or something with a real workout for brass instruments.

Then I will take you to my apartment, where I will sit you down in front of the on-sale-for-$300 Acoustic Research HC5 sub/sat thing in my living room, which isn't even the nicest set of speakers in my apartment.

And after you get done listening to the same thing you heard on my $300 worth of speakers, you'll say: "Gee Merc. I was completely and totally wrong. I apologize for being a total assweasel who has no idea what he's talking about. Please beat me yet again to satisfy my bizarre sexual predilections and to allow me to repent for being so completely wrong."
Click to expand...
Not so funny and definitely not so true... but why do you insist? Why use your puny little bandwidth trying to persuade me that a "Toyota" is a "Mercedes"? I'm sure your parents invested their money well, you just can't admit it.
Do the world a favor and take a minute to READ those links. If you're still not convinced, pop over to a site like hometheaterforum.com and ask some questions there. You're going to be a doctor. Take a few minutes and DO SOME RESEARCH.
Click to expand...
"Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one..."
You talking ME about research?! Research is based on objective tests that are repeatedly cross-checked and give the same results over different settings/enviroments, not the responses of an unreliable majority in a public forum. If you ever convince me that Intel, Microsoft, and nVIDIA suck and present me with REAL alternatives then I'll might be starting to believe you in this topic as well...: :right: never
 
Expensive things are not always good things. Why does this not make sense to you?

Ever been in a Bentley? For a luxury car, they're crap. They're purchased based on name alone.

Your argument, so far: "Bose speakers cost a lot of money, and are found in other things that also cost a lot of money. Therefore, they must be good."

I've refuted your argument with links detailing the performance and construction of Bose speakers and innumerable first-person accounts unfavorably comparing Bose to, oh, anything else. The people writing those reports are hobbyists, just like those of us here who care about hard disks. We can all agree that a 75GXP is a lousy product. We can all agree that U5s and Bigfoot drives are crimes against humanity. They all agree that Bose sucks. Bose making lousy speakers is something that almost the entirety of the audio world agrees on.

Bose, I would like to carefully point out, does not publish any specifications of its speakers. Anywhere. They have been ascertained by numerous A/V publications THROUGH MEASUREMENT, and they have been found wanting, omitting an 80Hz chunk that can comfortably be called mid-range between the frequency response of their "sub" and their tweeters.

For Intel there are AMD and Motrola/IBM. For Microsoft there are Apple and *nix. For nvidia, ATI and Matrox. All are highly credible alternatives to your "leading brands". All are in some way superior to your "leading brands."
 
Prof:

I don't know you well. But it seems strange to me that you would stick to the refrain that Bose is great. Some of us hold the contrary opinion.

Experience counts. I know serveral people that bought into the Bose mystique and plunked down money for their speakers. When I heard them, they were awful, and I was thunderstruck that something that cost that much money could suck so bad. Those people don't use those speakers anymore. I worked 5 years for the U.S. subsidiary of a company that used to build 70% of the receivers in the world, including being OEM for brand names like Harmon Kardon and Marantz. To at least some extent, I know about the shenanigans that Bose was up to, rigging as much as they could to influence consumer opinion. I'm also no stranger to the tricks and posturing used at the retail level to gain (unfair) advantage. The U.S. perfected these games and continues to exceed even their own expectations at the rip-off game.

If somebody wants to plunk their money on Bose, that's their problem. And if somebody thinks Bose is crap, that's their problem too.

I'm addressing this to you and not to Merc because he's at least linked to some "3rd party" opinions on the subject while you keep insisting they're the best without providing any proof other than your subjective feelings and conjecture (like I have so far).

Let it be. Agree to disagree. Allow for differences of opinion.

Have a good day.
 
Mercutio said:
Expensive things are not always good things. Why does this not make sense to you?

Ever been in a Bentley? For a luxury car, they're crap. They're purchased based on name alone.
Click to expand...
I was suspecting it, now I'm sure you don't have a clue about cars.
Your argument, so far: "Bose speakers cost a lot of money, and are found in other things that also cost a lot of money. Therefore, they must be good."
Click to expand...
Never said that. It's childish you put words to my mouth to sustain your sayings...
I've refuted your argument with links detailing the performance and construction of Bose speakers and innumerable first-person accounts unfavorably comparing Bose to, oh, anything else. The people writing those reports are hobbyists, just like those of us here who care about hard disks.
Click to expand...
Some people, not all. And those who you call "hobbyists" are people that really love the theme but don't always afford the most expensive solutions... so, sometimes, they "feel better" degrading equipment they would never have.

It's also funny because it reminds me another car analogy:
If you have the money you buy a Porsche.
If you don't (and you're a "hobbyist") you "fix" with half the money a Toyota.
Excuse me, but I prefer the Porsche... but then again the Porsche sucks cause it has a BOSE Sound System, right? :lol: (the hobbyists might say it...)
We can all agree that a 75GXP is a lousy product.
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This is agreed because the opinions were backed by objective statistics of how much these drives failed.
We can all agree that U5s and Bigfoot drives are crimes against humanity.
Click to expand...
I doubt they were. These drives served the entry-level of OEM PCs very well.
They all agree that Bose sucks. Bose making lousy speakers is something that almost the entirety of the audio world agrees on.
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Not all, that's again your saying.
Bose, I would like to carefully point out, does not publish any specifications of its speakers. Anywhere.
Click to expand...
This is for marketing reasons, Einstein! It makes people gossip about it, and it succeeds very well as I see.
They have been ascertained by numerous A/V publications THROUGH MEASUREMENT, and they have been found wanting, omitting an 80Hz chunk that can comfortably be called mid-range between the frequency response of their "sub" and their tweeters.
Click to expand...
What kind o'crap value-entry products did you see?

For Intel there are AMD and Motrola/IBM.
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I have AMD and I'll be buying AMD for the long-term cause the price war is for my advantage. But if I *had* the money to spend I would surely take Intel. Motorola/IBM? Yeah, right. Go in a computer shop in Europe and ask for these. They'll laugh.
For Microsoft there are Apple and *nix.
Click to expand...
Idem. Apple is not selling here and Unix/Linux is mainly used by computer geeks.
For nvidia, ATI and Matrox. All are highly credible alternatives to your "leading brands". All are in some way superior to your "leading brands."
Click to expand...
ATI with the lousy drivers and Matrox when you can't play a decent 3D game?!
 
mubs said:
I'm addressing this to you and not to Merc because he's at least linked to some "3rd party" opinions on the subject while you keep insisting they're the best without providing any proof other than your subjective feelings and conjecture (like I have so far).
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Thanks mubs,

but I did provide info and even on-topic (in regard to headphones).
Check my link above, see the tests, and read the conclusions as well.
 
Mercutio said:
Ever been in a Bentley? For a luxury car, they're crap. They're purchased based on name alone.
Click to expand...

i have. they have staked claim to 'fastest coupe in the world' multiple times and everything about them reeks of luxury. what is crap exactly?
 
honold: Sit in a $200k Bentley. Then sit in a $125k Rolls. Or a even a tricked out Mercedes. Either of the others costs less and - with the singular exception of the fact that the Bentley has finer wood fixtures - you'll find the others are also offer more comfortable rides, more legroom, better creature amenities. Bentley stops at providing the superficial appearance of luxury.

Prof, do you ever get tried of being wrong?

Let's try again: You're insisting, against evidence to the contrary, that Bose = Mercedes or Porsche or some other high-end car.
I am suggesting that, for Bose's Porsche-like price, it's really a Kia. Now, were I someone who thought cars were things deserving of more of my income than gas costs, I think I could do better things with my money than buy Porsche-priced Kias. I can either buy an actual Kia, and have Kia-like performance, content in the fact that I save many thousands of dollar OR I can spend Porsche-like money and buy something that actually performs like a Porsche, content with the fact that I bought the best damn thing on the market.
Some day, when I get to permanent living arrangements, I will buy myself a Porsche for my living room. Six or Seven speakers from Mission or KEF or Wharfedale. Until that time, I've got two decent midrange setups - both of which can outperform Bose-anything - sitting around my apartment.

As far as actual cars go, I'll drive the ones I have until all their wheels fall off. If someone put a gun to my head and told me to buy a new car (and I wasn't clinically depressed), I'd go out and buy something comfortable to drive and practical to own, like a Toyota or something. Certainly not a no-trunk-having-only-seats-two Porsche.
 
No, I will resist the temptation of saying it. I won't say it. I'll think it REALLY hard, but I won't say it. Resist Coug, resist! I won't...
 
CougTek said:
No, I will resist the temptation of saying it. I won't say it. I'll think it REALLY hard, but I won't say it. Resist Coug, resist! I won't...
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deepsleep.gif

Oo... I'm so afraid... oo, please don't... :lol:
 
Mercutio said:
Some day, when I get to permanent living arrangements, I will buy myself a Porsche for my living room. Six or Seven speakers from Mission or KEF or Wharfedale. Until that time, I've got two decent midrange setups - both of which can outperform Bose-anything - sitting around my apartment.
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Ok, continue thinking that your mid-range speakers or car or whatever outperforms a top-range one if that makes you happy, pleased, and complete as a human being.
Don't worry, you're entitled of your opinion as every human being.

However, don't think I'm stubborn and don't hear a thing of what you say... in the slightest (to none) possibility you're right I shall avoid ever buying an entry-level BOSE solution, just in case the performance+quality+aesthetics/price ratio isn't as favorable as you insist. Of course this doesn't apply to mid- or top- ones. Pleased?

Oh, and what we were talking about? Headsets? Ah yes, if YOU see the link I provided, that certain product IS valid. Dunno if it's the one Adcadet was talking about, cause it's a bit pricey.
 
as an outsider looking in on the hijacked aspects of this thread, i regret to admit that it is all very bad looking :(
 
Andy, I initially thought you were looking for headphones for her. If it fits your application you might be able to get by with some normal ones. Or maybe a pair of normal ones. Or is that two pair.
 
well, the headphones are for me to wear, but they're as much for her as they are for me. Although once medical school starts up (mid-August), I'm sure I'll appreciate them more.

I went with a pair of Sennheiser SD-280 Pros. They've gotten good reviews around the net for sound quality (not the best, but I only want to spend ~$100), sound isolation (both in and out), comfort, and durability (not flimsy, easily replacable parts). I went down to my local Audioworld and tested out a pair compared to the runner-up, the Sony V7s. The V7s, while claiming and appearing to be circumaural, sat on top of my ears uncomfortably. To wear them as advertised you'd need tiny ears, which I don't have. So those were out. The Senns sounded pretty good to me, but what really impressed me was the comfort and sound isolation. So that's what I went with.

Last night, I was finishing my thesis (already defended, just have minor changes to make... woo hoo!) and listening to some quiet classical music and my new wife had to resort to throwing soft things at me to get my attention. Later on I was jamming to some lound rock music, and it didn't disturb her at all. I wore the earphones all night very comfortably, and I think they sound pretty good. I very much appreciate not hearing my wife's stuff or my fans in my case. So I'm very happy. My wife and I move into married student housing at the University next week, and I'm seriously considering not setting up my speakers.

Thanks all!
Adcadet
 
Sounds nice Andy. A while back I had purchased a pair of Beyerdynamic DT831s and they feel the same way. I can wear them all day! Its nice when you can listen to music without other people hearing your music or you being able to hear them. :)
 
Good choice. Sennheiser makes very comfortable headphones, relatively light so you can wear them for hours without getting that "pinched head" feel.
 
Prof.Wizard said:
BOSE as far as I know is one of the best players in the audio business, Mercutio, are you sure of your claims?!
Click to expand...

Bose is more or less a joke. Their damned Model 901 (?) speakers that I auditioned in a darkened audiophile room against several other speaker models, back in 1979, made Joni Mitchell's mouth appear 3 meters wide! Their imaging was grotesque. By the way, if you know what böse means (auf Deutsche), there could not be a better name for this company. :lol:


honold said:
sony mdr-7506 may still be the most popular engineering/dj headphones in the world...
Click to expand...

The reason some people swear by Sony's headphones is because they can deliver big boom boom bass better than others. Sony's headphones of the past several years have really only been good for beat music.

The best brands of headphones tend to come from the major old-time microphone manufacturers such as AKG, Beyer, and Sennheiser, but even relative new comer Audio Technica has done well at headphones. You can count Shure and ElectroVoice out, because they have pretty much given up on the conventional headphone market during the past 10 ~ 15 years.


My "main" headphones:
image1043350865_import3e2d90f7300c6.JPG
AKG K-240 Studio Model

========================================================



These aren't mine, but, anyone here looking for some $1000 headphones???

image1045350937_import3e2d90ef4fc46.JPG
AKG K-1000
  • The K 1000 are a unique design that is the equivalent of wearing a pair of loudspeakers on the head. The speaker capsule uses a unique, freely vibrating multilayer diaphragm driven by a newly developed, radially magnetized VLD (Ventilated Linear Dynamic) magnet system. Sitting in front of the ear, this dynamic transducer provides the best acoustic coverage factor. The earphones using no acoustically hard parts, the sound is absolutely free to develop in all its splendor. The speakers are acoustically finetuned in a computer-optimized process including time-energy distribution (Wigner distribution) measurements and made with advanced manufacturing techniques. The result is an unobstructed plane sound field in front of the ear that provides a personalized listening experience.
 
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