Headphones?

Flexin · 11-29-2008, 11:27 AM

I was thinking about getting headphones and I need some help finding a good pair. I'm trying to learn to play guitar and would like to have a set I can use with my amp so I can learn without having my wife and kids want to kill me in my sleep.

I am looking for good not the best. Unless someone else wants to pay for the best. My mother is asking what I want for christmas so I might ask her to get these for me. So I would like to put the limit at $100 or close to it. Don't forget thats Canadian.

I might also use them for music as well on my laptom and so on.

James

Avatard · 11-29-2008, 11:47 AM

I hate the company, but the phones are a great value.

After spending way too much to outfit my studio with industry standard AKG phones, I lowered fatigue, leakage, increased amp efficiency, and improved the sound by breaking with tradition and outfitting my studio AGAIN, this time with consumer Sony MDR-V202 phones.

Soon after, the movie industry adopted them as a standard.

They still make a 2 series phone, which I found sufficient for pro use, but if you want folding DJ-style phones w/foldover earcups, you may wanna step up to these:

http://www.topdjgear.com/somdsthewfoc.html

Personally, I'd get these:

http://www.topdjgear.com/sony-mdr-v500dj.html

40mm drivers, and response down to 10HZ (!!)

DLIT · 11-29-2008, 02:34 PM

Spend the money and get some Bose. You're welcome.

Avatard · 11-29-2008, 03:09 PM

No highs! No lows! It's Bose!

Hondahugger · 11-29-2008, 03:09 PM

Bose FTW!

Flexin · 11-30-2008, 10:44 AM

I went out lastnight to test some headphones. I tried some Beats by Dr Dre. They are put out by Monster. They sounded pretty good in there display set up. But they were about $400. They have a jack in the unit to test other head phones in it so you can compare. I tested some Sony's but not the ones that you suggested Avatard because they didn't have them in this store. They sounded about as good when playing the Rock. But didn't sound as good when playing Hip Hop and R&B. There was only a couple that were open that I could test and I won't really go by that. I think the Monster board was rigged. They seemed to have a lower volume compared to the Dr. Dre's. II will need to bring up my own mp3 player if I can find the damn thing (Or my Sony MiniDisc) and compare them that way.

As far as Bose go, I loved my Bose system that was in my Oldsmobile and I miss it. I find with you ask about Bose you get two big camps. One LOVES them and the other HATES them. And then a few people in between. Unless I go with in the ear the Bose double my budget. I would have to hear then before buying them. And they will have to blow me out of the water for me to spent that kind of money on them. Any brand for that matter.

The problem is that I know deep down I want some great sound. So what I might have to do is to search around and then put money aside for the pair that blow me away.

James

RCM78 · 11-30-2008, 05:54 PM

Avatard knows his shit...
I would've recomended AKG myself but it seems he's been there done that...

Avatard · 11-30-2008, 06:04 PM

Try the Sonys, James. You can spend a lot more, you won't get much better value.

If noise cancellation (like on a plane) is a concern, consider the Bose, but unless it is, the Sonys are damn fine phones. It's funny, they can't make a loudspeaker that doesn't sound like ass (IMHO), but they pretty much pioneered mylar driver technology with the Walkman product line, and well, they do it best (in mylar).

Add Neo drivers, like in the more expensive one I pointed out, and they may be damn nice (never tried the Neos out myself).

Since you pointed out the the others you tried might be better for bass-heavy material, consider earcup size. It's a perception thing, but something that slaps more of the upside of yo head makes you "feel" mo bass.

Try those larger "around the ear" Sonys. They might give you more thump.

Beware of large headsets that just leverage the "boom" phenomenon of a large resonant earcup shell but use shitty drivers, as they can be very muddy, and non-linear doing much of anything aside from making an 808 kick sample sound good.

Bringing your own MP3 player is a damn fine idea when auditioning these things, because it'll not only let you reference YOUR music, but furthermore let you hear how the phones perform driven by a small player, and not some dedicated store display amp that's been carefully selected, and impedance matched to make those particular cans sound good.

Some cans are so inefficient, that some MP3 players can barely muster enough to drive them well. This was a major consideration with the AKGs, for instance...they were hard to drive. Not everything could push them well.

Flexin · 12-01-2008, 09:03 PM

I stopped into a music store and he told me that a guitar will not take advantage of the range in a high end set of speakers. He had lots of headphones over $200. He pointed me towards the $50-80 sets unless I'm listening to a lotof music other then the guitar. They had some AKG but I didn't have time to try any out.

I stopped by the Sony store and tried out the MDR-V500DJ ($99). They sounded good but the low end seemed to be lacking.

I wanted something to compare then to so I asked for something that is above them. He gave me the MDR-7506 ($130) to try. These seemed better to me.

I then asked for the best they had and he gave me the MDR-V900HD ($350 He offered to lower it to $300) These were nice. I'm not sure if they are worth $170 more then the 7506's but they were really nice.

I would like to try out the AKG K240 ($120) when I get a chance. They were at the music store.

The search is on.

James

11-29-2008, 11:27 AM	#1
Flexin AMA Supersport Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia Posts: 2,698	Headphones? I was thinking about getting headphones and I need some help finding a good pair. I'm trying to learn to play guitar and would like to have a set I can use with my amp so I can learn without having my wife and kids want to kill me in my sleep. I am looking for good not the best. Unless someone else wants to pay for the best. My mother is asking what I want for christmas so I might ask her to get these for me. So I would like to put the limit at $100 or close to it. Don't forget thats Canadian. I might also use them for music as well on my laptom and so on. James

11-29-2008, 11:47 AM	#2
Avatard Crotch Rocket Curmudgeon Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Here to integrity Moto: Li'l red baby Ninja Posts: 7,482	Sony FTW I hate the company, but the phones are a great value. After spending way too much to outfit my studio with industry standard AKG phones, I lowered fatigue, leakage, increased amp efficiency, and improved the sound by breaking with tradition and outfitting my studio AGAIN, this time with consumer Sony MDR-V202 phones. Soon after, the movie industry adopted them as a standard. They still make a 2 series phone, which I found sufficient for pro use, but if you want folding DJ-style phones w/foldover earcups, you may wanna step up to these: http://www.topdjgear.com/somdsthewfoc.html Personally, I'd get these: http://www.topdjgear.com/sony-mdr-v500dj.html 40mm drivers, and response down to 10HZ (!!) __________________ Insert free thought here.

11-29-2008, 02:34 PM	#3
DLIT Clit Commander Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Las Vegas Moto: 2012 Ducati 1199 Panigale S Posts: 4,189	Spend the money and get some Bose. You're welcome. __________________ Dress for the crash. Not the ride.

11-29-2008, 03:09 PM	#4
Avatard Crotch Rocket Curmudgeon Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Here to integrity Moto: Li'l red baby Ninja Posts: 7,482	No highs! No lows! It's Bose! __________________ Insert free thought here.

11-30-2008, 05:54 PM	#7
RCM78 Slow Poke Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: NJ Moto: '05 R1 Posts: 61	Avatard knows his shit... I would've recomended AKG myself but it seems he's been there done that... __________________ ---RCM78 '01 Valk '05 R1 TPM Coach #71 http://www.teampromotion.com

11-30-2008, 10:44 AM	#6
Flexin AMA Supersport Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia Posts: 2,698	I went out lastnight to test some headphones. I tried some Beats by Dr Dre. They are put out by Monster. They sounded pretty good in there display set up. But they were about $400. They have a jack in the unit to test other head phones in it so you can compare. I tested some Sony's but not the ones that you suggested Avatard because they didn't have them in this store. They sounded about as good when playing the Rock. But didn't sound as good when playing Hip Hop and R&B. There was only a couple that were open that I could test and I won't really go by that. I think the Monster board was rigged. They seemed to have a lower volume compared to the Dr. Dre's. II will need to bring up my own mp3 player if I can find the damn thing (Or my Sony MiniDisc) and compare them that way. As far as Bose go, I loved my Bose system that was in my Oldsmobile and I miss it. I find with you ask about Bose you get two big camps. One LOVES them and the other HATES them. And then a few people in between. Unless I go with in the ear the Bose double my budget. I would have to hear then before buying them. And they will have to blow me out of the water for me to spent that kind of money on them. Any brand for that matter. The problem is that I know deep down I want some great sound. So what I might have to do is to search around and then put money aside for the pair that blow me away. James

11-30-2008, 06:04 PM	#8
Avatard Crotch Rocket Curmudgeon Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Here to integrity Moto: Li'l red baby Ninja Posts: 7,482	Try the Sonys, James. You can spend a lot more, you won't get much better value. If noise cancellation (like on a plane) is a concern, consider the Bose, but unless it is, the Sonys are damn fine phones. It's funny, they can't make a loudspeaker that doesn't sound like ass (IMHO), but they pretty much pioneered mylar driver technology with the Walkman product line, and well, they do it best (in mylar). Add Neo drivers, like in the more expensive one I pointed out, and they may be damn nice (never tried the Neos out myself). Since you pointed out the the others you tried might be better for bass-heavy material, consider earcup size. It's a perception thing, but something that slaps more of the upside of yo head makes you "feel" mo bass. Try those larger "around the ear" Sonys. They might give you more thump. Beware of large headsets that just leverage the "boom" phenomenon of a large resonant earcup shell but use shitty drivers, as they can be very muddy, and non-linear doing much of anything aside from making an 808 kick sample sound good. Bringing your own MP3 player is a damn fine idea when auditioning these things, because it'll not only let you reference YOUR music, but furthermore let you hear how the phones perform driven by a small player, and not some dedicated store display amp that's been carefully selected, and impedance matched to make those particular cans sound good. Some cans are so inefficient, that some MP3 players can barely muster enough to drive them well. This was a major consideration with the AKGs, for instance...they were hard to drive. Not everything could push them well. __________________ Insert free thought here. Last edited by Avatard; 12-01-2008 at 12:13 PM..

12-01-2008, 09:03 PM	#9
Flexin AMA Supersport Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia Posts: 2,698	I stopped into a music store and he told me that a guitar will not take advantage of the range in a high end set of speakers. He had lots of headphones over $200. He pointed me towards the $50-80 sets unless I'm listening to a lotof music other then the guitar. They had some AKG but I didn't have time to try any out. I stopped by the Sony store and tried out the MDR-V500DJ ($99). They sounded good but the low end seemed to be lacking. I wanted something to compare then to so I asked for something that is above them. He gave me the MDR-7506 ($130) to try. These seemed better to me. I then asked for the best they had and he gave me the MDR-V900HD ($350 He offered to lower it to $300) These were nice. I'm not sure if they are worth $170 more then the 7506's but they were really nice. I would like to try out the AKG K240 ($120) when I get a chance. They were at the music store. The search is on. James