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Headphones - the new fleecing tool

AndrewR

pfm Member
Am I alone in noticing that crap headphones nowadays tend to be sold by once reputable brands for £70-100. I mean that's a lot of money still.

Looks like iPod owners are looking for the next excuse to spend lots of money, Dr. Dre came up with the answer, people flocked and other manufacturers have met the demand and lowered expectations.

Tell me how I can bypass the dross ...please.

Andrew
 
Andrew, the headphone market turned to shit about 18 months ago. All of a sudden it was awash with £200 IEMs that had ben selling for £50 or less a few months previously.

The Sony IEM's are good, the top two models at least, as are the Senheiser ie8's and various designs from hearing aid companies.

But for over ear headphones stick to the established brands, Senheiser, Grado, AKG, Audio Technica, there's loads of crap out there and the viral marketers are seriously at work in this market, so largely ignore any flavour of the month models.
 
Not sure I agree with the comment about the Grados. I've never cared for their "sound" personally, but I'm not aware that the quality of the SR series has changed (at least at the SR80 level and up). I don't think Sony or Audilo Technica were ever a high quality headphone maker and AKG seem to be going down that path also. As for Koss...........

My 1995 Sennheiser HD545s still sound pretty good to me. My 1968 Sansui SS-2s sounded like dynamite when I first got them (yes, in 1968). Today they sound pretty awful - not sure if they have deteriorated or if the state of the art has got that much better. Probably both!
 
I just bought some Beyer DT770pro-80Ohm and I think they're great. I think they were about $250. However I think an ipod might struggle a bit to drive them. They work fine from the headphone output of most amps / CD players.

Prior closed back headphones were Sennheiser Hd280pro, a fixture in the recording industry, but the Beyers are in another league.
 
......The Sony IEM's are good, the top two models at least, as are the Senheiser ie8's and various designs from hearing aid companies.........
Add Klipsch Custom 3 to that list. Had 'em for about 3 years and still liking muchly.

Steve
 
Try the Koss Porta Pros out(make sure you get a genuine pair).

I picked up a pair of KSC-75 to put in my ski helmet this year as they were far cheaper than the ones made for the helmet itself and I was extremely surprised by how much fun they are to listen to. They were rated in the top 10 on headphone.com which was quite a surprise given the cost.

Apparently the Porta Pros have the same drivers and they are supposed to be very comfortable as well. The look is very retro but I quite like it.

Picked up a pair of Grado SR60i for the missus for a mother's day gift and they are quite good and I found them to be comfortable but the next pair that I buy for the ipod will be Porta Pros.

Plus, they have a lifetime warranty so that is also a plus if you like the sound.

Not a ton of money spent if not.
 
Not sure I agree with the comment about the Grados. I've never cared for their "sound" personally, but I'm not aware that the quality of the SR series has changed (at least at the SR80 level and up). I don't think Sony or Audilo Technica were ever a high quality headphone maker and AKG seem to be going down that path also. As for Koss...........

You really should get out more, Sony have made some of the best phones ever, same as Audio Technica. The ATH-W1000X are a classic as are the Sony MDR-R10 and the Qualia.
 
i'm glad that a headphones expert has told me that my day to day sony studio japan cd 900 pro phones are rubbish too....thank god for internet experts.
 
Can anyone make a case for the HD800s? I mean they look great, but £800+:eek:

I thought my 701s were pricey at £150 S/H.
 
A few months ago I was living off a hotel with no sound system. it was then that I bought the Ultrasone Edition 8 which is "semi-portable", and, surprisingly, the best headphone sound I had ever had experienced, and that was off a Macbook and an iPhone.

Fast Forward to now back to my living room system, it sounds just insanely good driven by the Leben CS660 integrated amp.

Bottom line is it is more than possible to get very high end sound from a pair of cans without the extra amplification required by the likes of Sennheiser 800. By the way I also tried the Senn 800 and liked the Ultrasone much better.

In ears are good only to a certain point, (for running etc), but are a long long way from the full size cans.
 
I use some shures E2C (I think,anyway about 5 years old and at the time the entry to shure's in ear range)? I use them with a custom ear mould, that you can get from any hearing aid specialist. They not as good as my 1990 vintage Sony MDR-7 headphones, but they are very good for mobile use.
 


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