Hard Light Productions Forums

Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: FlamingCobra on July 07, 2012, 12:28:32 pm

Title: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: FlamingCobra on July 07, 2012, 12:28:32 pm: Not earbuds. Headphones.
I'm looking at some skullcandy ones rightnow. I need a new pair of headphones/headset for the labs at ncsu and I wanted to get ones that are of good quality but still affordable. Suggestions and anecdotal evidence would be greatly appreciated.
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: Jeff Vader on July 07, 2012, 12:39:23 pm: I'm gonna buy a pair of AKG K-701's once my current ones break.
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: mormon_boy on July 07, 2012, 12:41:45 pm: i find ones that lay on top of your ears like skull candies are crap and uncomfortable. get either the kind with the arm that goes over your ear instead of you head, or the kind that completely encloses your ear in which case your most economic option is to get a pair of jack hammer earmuffs and stuff some headset guts inside
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: Polpolion on July 07, 2012, 01:29:50 pm: I've got a pair of Grado SR-60s that have simply excellent sound quality.for under $100. They're quite leaky and I don't consider them to be walking-around-with headphones, though. I also have a pair of Seinheisser HD 215s that are well over four years old but still work well and sound great, which i got for around $40. I've personally never used Skullcandy, but they've always struck me as the Apple of headphones: they wouldn't be total crap if they charged you half of what they do, or you didn't mind buying the name. Same with Dr. Dre's stuff.
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: Dragon on July 07, 2012, 01:57:11 pm: I've got a Media-tech 371 headset. It's mostly meant for home cinemas, so it doesn't have a mic, but it's no big deal. The interesting thing about them is that they have 4 speakers in each cup, so you can get real 6.1 surround sound with them. Also, their "subwoofer" system is awesome (it's actually some sort of vibrator, it gives bass quality unheard of in headphones, but is fairly big and weighty). The downside is that they're rather heavy. Ah, and you get a really long cable, which might be either a pro or a con, depending on what you want to do with them. As for them price, I have no idea, but my set is rather old, so there's a chance there are cheap used ones.
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: Alan Bolte on July 07, 2012, 02:10:33 pm: Are you using them with a music player or a computer? I don't know much about headphones in general, but I've been through a few pair of conventional and USB headsets, and after using some relatively inexpensive on-the-ear Plantronics and Sennheiser models I've been surprisingly satisfied with my even-less-expensive over-the-ear Microsoft USB LifeChat LX-3000.
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: Flipside on July 07, 2012, 02:30:24 pm: I use Sony MDR-CD280 headphones and am pretty impressed at them considering they are quite a distance from the 'top of the range' types. Whilst they aren't perfect at Bass response, they are without doubt the toughest pair of headphones I've ever owned. I had Sennheisers, which gave good sound quality, but the connector started shorting within a year and they would swap to mono on a whim.
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: Dragon on July 07, 2012, 02:37:15 pm: Quote from: Alan Bolte on July 07, 2012, 02:10:33 pm
Are you using them with a music player or a computer? I don't know much about headphones in general, but I've been through a few pair of conventional and USB headsets, and after using some relatively inexpensive on-the-ear Plantronics and Sennheiser models I've been surprisingly satisfied with my even-less-expensive over-the-ear Microsoft USB LifeChat LX-3000.
A computer. They're far too heavy to be used with a portable player, which can't even take advantage of 6.1 sound. Not to mention they need a special amplifier/converter unit to be plugged into a computer (the "default" plug is not a jack, but rather a special plug in an older standard). And I don't have a record player (unfortunately).
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: LHN91 on July 07, 2012, 02:38:11 pm: Brand isn't really always the best indicator of sound quality. Though in general, SkullCandy are awful, and that by the company's design direction and target audience simply being contrary to quality sound - and Beats would be alright headphones, if they sold the Solos for about $35, and the standard model for $80. At their current price though, they are outclassed by heaps of heaphones in their respective price classes.

I loved my pair of Panasonic RP-HTX7's, until they wore out (Edit: after 3 years of heavy abuse), and they run about $50 if you can find them. Not an analytical/flat sounding set by any stretch, very dynamic and playful. Though if you're a fan of a flat-response set of headphones, these won't be for you. Also a great example of why brand isn't the best indicator of quality - most of Panasonic's sets that I've used, except these, were bass-heavy and muddy sounding.

Other than that, I've not spent enough or really any time with Grado or AKG sets to make any comment beyond having heard good things. Sennheisers please some people (and I would imagine their higher end product is better), but not me personally - most of the set's I've used lacked almost any sense of dynamic sound.
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: FlamingCobra on July 07, 2012, 03:13:46 pm: I intend on using them for pc gaming and computer labs.
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: castor on July 07, 2012, 03:16:32 pm: Sennheiser HD600s are nice, been using a pair for dontevenrememberhowmany years now (these things are durable as hell).
They work fine with all kinds of material, so it's a good choice if you want to get by with just one pair of phones.
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: Herra Tohtori on July 07, 2012, 03:47:25 pm: Oh boy, headphones!

It's almost useless to ask for "best brand" of headphones, considering there are so many types of headphones - mainly starting with the "open" and "closed" division, and your listening environment and ear sweatyness pretty much defines which is the type you want.

If you have decently silent room and you desire comfortable headphones that don't apply excessive pressure (mechanical or thermal) on your ears, open dynamic headphones are probably the better choice.

If you have some background noise you want to filter out, and you don't mind headphones that WILL get hot, sweaty and uncomfortable over time, then closed headphones are better.

And either way you choose, the best phones are the ones that sound the best for you - which is a function of what you're used to, and what kind of sound you happen to like.

My preference so far goes to Sennheiser's open dynamic HD series headphones. Sound quality wise, I have been rather satisfied with my old pair of HD515's, and more satisfied with my current HD558's. But, I don't have any data point outside of these so I can't even subjectively say that these phones are "better" or "not as good" as some other make and brand of phones. All I can say is that for me, these are good phones - at least where sound quality is concerned. Mechanical quality could be better - there are a few issues with the design and construction that doesn't deserve full points, but overall I've been satisfied.

The open dynamic headphones have one more drawback - by not blocking any significant amount of sound coming in, they also don't limit sound going out. Which means in an environment such as computer classroom, you will likely be forced to turn the volume up high enough that the people next to you also get disturbed. I would probably recommend closed phones for such an environment, or alternatively open dynamic sound-insulating in-ear phones (which you will also be able to use walking or exercising much easier than any traditional headphones). You can get a decent pair at 30-50 USD and if you want to cheap out, Koss SparkPlugs will offer a decent, affordable sound quality - though the foam earplug design shares opinions.

Unfortunately these won't be very comfortable or recommended for PC gaming; for that I would recommend open phones (such as Sennheiser HD5 series or HD6 if you want to go all out and pay yourself sick).

The phone type that would best fit both your needs is probably closed phones with full ear coverage, but not the most massive kind so that you can think they won't make you look like an utter pillock when you wear them in public, but they do it anyway.

Though if you want my recommendation - buy a nice pair of open headphones for gaming and music on home, and in-ear plug type phones for on-the-go listening. It will be much better than getting a set of headphones that works marginally for all purposes but not really nicely in either. Closed headphones will get uncomfortable in extended use (such as gaming tends to be) and open headphones are no good in outside environments with lots of background sound.
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: z64555 on July 07, 2012, 04:17:28 pm: My newest pair:
(http://ii.alatest.com/product/full/4/3/Case-Logic-HD101-Stereo-Headphones-With-Boom-Mic-Black-0.jpg)
Wearing them for extended times gets painful, but you can make them a bit more comfortable if you rotate them so that the band is behind your head. They reduce high-frequency environment noise, but you still can hear people talking well enough. Bass and mid-range is good, and if you can get some audio software that has an equalizer you can adjust the gains so that you get a good overall frequency response.

Oh, the pair I picked up happened to have one of the metal meshes loose, but a few drops of super-glue fixed it quickly.
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: LHN91 on July 07, 2012, 04:22:59 pm: ^ SO MANY GOOD POINTS (from Herra)! Personal preference is a good quality set of closed 'phones like the Panasonics I mentioned, I like the dynamic feel that most closed sets lend to the sound, along with a bit of a recessed mid-range.

These are the ones I had, except I had them in black: http://www.amazon.ca/Panasonic-RP-HTX7-Portable-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B0014IM2RQ

If you find yourself interested in a set of in-ear buds, these are a pretty decent quality set, despite the unknown name: http://www.mp4nation.net/headphones-amps/headphones-earphones-1/soundmagic/soundmagic-e30-iem-earphones-black
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: FlamingCobra on July 07, 2012, 05:08:41 pm: I have a pair of Koss in-ear headphones and I love em
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: JGZinv on July 07, 2012, 06:45:06 pm: Audio Technica ATH-AD700s
http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATH-AD700-Open-air-Audiophile-Headphones/dp/B000CMS0XU

Own em... love em... long as you don't need a mic.
Worn em for about 17 hours straight. Can you do that with regular headphones... nope. ^_^
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: pecenipicek on July 07, 2012, 07:03:58 pm: i personally have these: Sony MDR-XD100 (http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&partNumber=MDRXD100) and these: TDK ST-PR300 (http://www.tdk-media.com.sg/sg/products/peripherals/STPR300.php)

both are el-cheapos, but both are glorious when it comes to the actual sound. sony's are unwieldy to lug around, due to the 3.5 meters of cable and the fact that they are just too damn silent on any portable player. chalk it up to higher impedance.
They are also a bit weak on the bass and my earlobes tend to hurt after a while with them (a while being around 4 hours, while sweating like a moron), but they are still quite decent and i find no reason to get anything better.

TDK's headphones were a "buy it for ****s and giggles for $25-ish". turned out they are brilliant when it comes to bass and anything else, but they are a bit iffy if you have a big head. you can adjust the width, but it also unfortunately modifies the angle of the actual shell, so it usually doesnt sit properly on my ears, sadly enough. An added bonus is the volume dial on them and they're surprisingly durable. (i've stepped on them accidentaly around 5 times, sometimes on the volume knob, sometimes on the headphones themselves, but they are just fine.)

Also, as far as i care, Sennheiser can go **** itself with its branded stuff.
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: Nuke on July 07, 2012, 07:10:26 pm: the bets set of headphones i have are a set of $3 headphones witch has had a wire transplant with some crap from my spare wire box. they used to work but they would electrocute you very time you walk under power lines. they dont work on one side anymore and need to be hackish modified again.
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: KyadCK on July 07, 2012, 07:58:37 pm: I'll probably catch flak for this, but the best pair of headphones I have owned are Creative's Tactic3D Sigmas.

Their sound quality is nothing to to astounded by (standard 20-20k), and the price tag is still up there ($90), but they are the single most comfortable pair of headphones I have ever used. I can wear them for hours on end without them getting uncomfortable/itchy/anything. I consider this a much more useful feature then most things have personally.

(http://i3.squidoocdn.com/resize/squidoo_images/-1/lens18225705_1311791588pdt_Sigma.png)

The mic is detachable, and those pads will cover your whole ear.
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: Klaustrophobia on July 07, 2012, 08:44:31 pm: i have a pair of sony earbuds that sound absolutely amazing, far better than should be possible through earbuds. it sounds every bit as good as music from my computer through my x-fi and 5.1 speakers. (this is plugged into an ipod using lossless music). unfortunately i don't know the model and threw the box out long ago. it doesn't say anywhere on them.

i also have a pair of giant over-ear headphones i originally got to plug into a bass amp, but sound remarkably good just playing music also. they were the best i'd had before i got the sony earbuds. superlux HD 681. a good way to find some you'll like without relying on word of mouth would be to go to a music store, like an alpha music or guitar center or something like that. the people who work there can hook you up, and you can probably demo a bunch too. secondary option would be best buy or FYE or something like that, but their workers probably won't know much about them, even if they pretend they do.
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: swashmebuckle on July 07, 2012, 09:29:18 pm: I don't recommend spending a lot of money on headphones in general. They are very useful to have and they do have a couple big advantages over speakers, letting you hear a lot more detail and tending to provide nice low frequency accuracy for the amount of money they cost. That said, I think they hit the point of diminishing returns really quickly, and no matter how much you pay for them, they just don't move your diaphragm like the sound in modern PC games (or the majority of music from the past 50 years) is supposed to. In any case, I'd make your own personal physical comfort the most important factor in deciding what to buy.

I got a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-M20s (http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-Stereo-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B00012F7G4) in a package deal along with my studio monitors, and I've been very happy with them over the past couple years.
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: FlamingCobra on July 08, 2012, 02:11:38 pm: Quote from: LHN91 on July 07, 2012, 02:38:11 pm
Brand isn't really always the best indicator of sound quality. Though in general, SkullCandy are awful, and that by the company's design direction and target audience simply being contrary to quality sound - and Beats would be alright headphones, if they sold the Solos for about $35, and the standard model for $80. At their current price though, they are outclassed by heaps of heaphones in their respective price classes.

I loved my pair of Panasonic RP-HTX7's, until they wore out (Edit: after 3 years of heavy abuse), and they run about $50 if you can find them. Not an analytical/flat sounding set by any stretch, very dynamic and playful. Though if you're a fan of a flat-response set of headphones, these won't be for you. Also a great example of why brand isn't the best indicator of quality - most of Panasonic's sets that I've used, except these, were bass-heavy and muddy sounding.

Other than that, I've not spent enough or really any time with Grado or AKG sets to make any comment beyond having heard good things. Sennheisers please some people (and I would imagine their higher end product is better), but not me personally - most of the set's I've used lacked almost any sense of dynamic sound.

What is flat response and what is dynamic headphones?
Dynamic means changing but how...... how does that apply to headphones.
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: LHN91 on July 08, 2012, 02:38:39 pm: Flat response refers to (I'm paraphrasing, anyone feel free to correct me) having a sound output that equates to a flat equalization. Most headphones produce sound that has more gain in some frequency bands than others. Many audiophiles are picky about having speakers and headphones that produce a flat sound by default.

When I refer to a dynamic sound, think of it as "punchy" or having individual sounds and instruments "pop" out of the music. Some headphones produce a sound in which the instruments all kind of blend together and the sound, overall, is laking (imo) "liveliness".
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: jr2 on July 08, 2012, 11:16:48 pm: ...Isn't that what your EQ is for? I mean, bass is great, but not if you happen to be listening to a speech by someone with a deep voice (for example).

Usually audio playback devices either have some preset EQ settings, and/or a Bass Boost function. Of course, a 5+ band EQ would be nice to always have...
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: The E on July 09, 2012, 12:04:46 am: There's your equalizer settings, and the audio properties of the speakers. Just as it is possible to build "flat" ones, you can also design ones that have particular sound qualities, which may or may not be desirable to you. Depends on your taste, really.
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: pecenipicek on July 09, 2012, 04:42:39 am: there's also the problem of horrible horrible compression in almost all modern music. (and no, i'm not talking about the format compression ala mp3, flac, ogg or others.)

you might have the best speakers in the world, but that wont mean **** if you have only total and utter **** to play on them, and thats where no equalizer will save you.
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: jr2 on July 09, 2012, 05:14:13 am: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_compression

Quote
Audio compression (data) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_compression_(data)), a type of lossy compression in which the amount of data in a recorded waveform is reduced for transmission with some loss of quality, used in CD and MP3 encoding, Internet radio, and the like

Dynamic range compression (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_range_compression), also called audio level compression, in which the dynamic range, the difference between loud and quiet, of an audio waveform is reduced

...Although I'm disappointed that apparently Monkey's audio and FLAc don't count as Audio data compression... :rolleyes:
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: Ghostavo on July 09, 2012, 06:01:25 am: Quote from: jr2 on July 09, 2012, 05:14:13 am
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_compression

Quote
Audio compression (data) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_compression_(data)), a type of lossy compression in which the amount of data in a recorded waveform is reduced for transmission with some loss of quality, used in CD and MP3 encoding, Internet radio, and the like

Dynamic range compression (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_range_compression), also called audio level compression, in which the dynamic range, the difference between loud and quiet, of an audio waveform is reduced

...Although I'm disappointed that apparently Monkey's audio and FLAc don't count as Audio data compression... :rolleyes:

Quote
A number of lossless audio compression formats exist. Shorten was an early lossless format. Newer ones include Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC), Apple's Apple Lossless, MPEG-4 ALS, Microsoft's Windows Media Audio 9 Lossless (WMA Lossless), Monkey's Audio, and TTA. See list of lossless codecs for a complete list.

:confused:
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: watsisname on July 09, 2012, 12:43:11 pm: Yeah, FLAC format is compressed in a non-lossy way, just like PNG images compared to JPEG.
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: jr2 on July 10, 2012, 12:14:56 am: In other words, in the brief (disambiguation) article, wikipedia seems to state indirectly that all audio data compression is lossy.
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: The E on July 10, 2012, 01:07:47 am: In so far as any translation of an analog to a digital medium is always lossy, yes, that is true. For very pedantic and nitpicky values of true.
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: jr2 on July 10, 2012, 01:08:45 am: Point.
Title: Re: what brand of headphones is the best?
Post by: Nuke on July 10, 2012, 04:36:09 am: the resolution of most dacs these days is good enough that the human ear doesnt know the difference. if 16 bits arent good enough there is hardware out there that will do 24 bits, for the average wanker. what matters more is the signal to noise ratio, isolation analog components from digital components, accuracy and stability of analog reference voltages, and quality of the filters in your crossovers.