Headphone/Earphone Recommendations? Ask For Advice Here!

[zeffa]

Originally Posted by ralphy140

Hi Guys,

I am hoping for some advice, I am off for a big trip to Africa int about a month, The Plane ride is about 24 hours each way plus alot of small charter flights inside Africa, I will be traveling with my wife, As i already have a set of Sennheiser PCX 250 noise cancelling phones i am planning on letting her use them and get myself a new pair,

I am happy with the Sennheiser phones for jet airlines but they dont work well on light aircraft with more than one engine and end up amplifying the sound (not good trust me ) I have done some reading and think i would like to look into Canal phones,

So what i am after is high quality canal phones with a high level of noise isolation, i would also like to use them when i get back while i exercise so something that it not going to fall apart would be great i also have an iPhone so was thinking something along the lines of the Etymotic hf3.

Any advice/recomendations would be fantastic .

Ralphy

Surprised you hadn't got any replies yet, so I thought I would.

I reckon IEMs are the way to go with traveling. I've owned the Etymotic ER6i & currently own the Phonak Audeo PFE 122. Using the default plastic earpieces, I reckon the Etymotic triflange ones block out more sound than the Phonak olives. However, either phone using foam earpieces had the best sound blocking. I got one pair with my ety's, not sure if they're included with the hf3's. Downsides are reduced durability, and they get pretty grotty looking v quickly (esp if you have lots of earwax... :S). FWIW, custom IEMs block out the most sound, but carry a huge price premium.

Another tip that works with jet planes (not sure about prop planes) is to try and get a seat near the front, ahead of the engines. Sitting beside or behind the engines always seems louder to me.

Sound quality wise, haven't tried the hf3's, so can't comment. I found the ER6i to have a nice clear sound, but definitely lacked bass. I was blown away by the PFEs when I first tried them - good bass, balanced mids and highs, slightly smaller soundstage, but overall really quite good.

Anyway, there's a lot more info in these IEM comparisons here and here. This was the review that convinced me to get the Phonaks.

[desudesu]

Steelseries Siberia v2

Hi guys just wondering has anyone used the above headset, thinking of upgrading from my gamecom 267.

Just wondering how comfortable are the steelseries, as i just dont like the tight feel about the gamecom 267 kinda gives me a headache after a long time.

thanks

[ralphy140]

Originally Posted by zeffa

Surprised you hadn't got any replies yet, so I thought I would.

I reckon IEMs are the way to go with traveling. I've owned the Etymotic ER6i & currently own the Phonak Audeo PFE 122. Using the default plastic earpieces, I reckon the Etymotic triflange ones block out more sound than the Phonak olives. However, either phone using foam earpieces had the best sound blocking. I got one pair with my ety's, not sure if they're included with the hf3's. Downsides are reduced durability, and they get pretty grotty looking v quickly (esp if you have lots of earwax... :S). FWIW, custom IEMs block out the most sound, but carry a huge price premium.

Another tip that works with jet planes (not sure about prop planes) is to try and get a seat near the front, ahead of the engines. Sitting beside or behind the engines always seems louder to me.

Sound quality wise, haven't tried the hf3's, so can't comment. I found the ER6i to have a nice clear sound, but definitely lacked bass. I was blown away by the PFEs when I first tried them - good bass, balanced mids and highs, slightly smaller soundstage, but overall really quite good.

Anyway, there's a lot more info in these IEM comparisons here and here. This was the review that convinced me to get the Phonaks.

Hi Zeffa,

Thanks for the advice, After reading through the reviews i still decided to go with the HF3, I picked them up yesterday and all i can say is WOW, the isolation is great and i was kind of expecting an anaemic bass response but with a good seal it is fantastic, for some of my more dance oriented tracks it could do with a small EQ boost but overall i have no issue with it, Also the controls work a treat as does the mic. the only issue is that i am going to have to re-encode alot of my music to a higer bit rate

Ralphy

[jcady81]

Hi I'm looking to replace my vsonic ro2pro2 earphones which I lost when my bag got stolen recently. I was just going to buy another set of the same but I figured I'd see what my other options are as they are now quite an old model.

As for needs I like durability, I'm not fussed with bass as I listen to mostly acoustic, singer/songwriter stuff with a bit of new country thrown in.

I was looking at the Phonak Audeo PFE 122 but I don't really need the mic.

I'm not really looking top of the line I just need something that delivers good clear sound around the 100-150 price ranger although less is also welcome.

Any suggestions?

[Snufkin]

The Brainwavz range offer pretty excellent performance for the price.
I've been using a B2 for the past few weeks. Comfy, easy to fit, sounds great, isolates reasonably well too.
The M3 is really nice as well, we have more stock due in a week or so

[micdy]

Hi all,

I am in the market looking for a new IEM. My old IE8 just failed me after 3 years of good service. I am looking for something with good clarity, good bass(I found the IE8 to be too bassy and muddy sometimes making the music too boring.), and most importantly good ISOLATION. (The old IE8 was really really really really bad at this!)

My budget is about $200 - 250. I had a few models in mind:
1. Shure SE315 (I found them for $199 are they a good buy at this price point?)
2. Etymotic HF3
3. Brainwavz B2
4. Ultimate Ears UE700

Please advise. Thank you.

AnDy

[amisty]

what would be best to to go with asus essence stx, to show what it can do. i have some choices in mind but cant decide,

beyerdynamic DT440, DT860 and DT880 32ohm
sennheiser hd595, hd598
Audio Technica:ATH-AD700

[wonga2046]

Originally Posted by micdy

Hi all,

I am in the market looking for a new IEM. My old IE8 just failed me after 3 years of good service. I am looking for something with good clarity, good bass(I found the IE8 to be too bassy and muddy sometimes making the music too boring.), and most importantly good ISOLATION. (The old IE8 was really really really really bad at this!)

My budget is about $200 - 250. I had a few models in mind:
1. Shure SE315 (I found them for $199 are they a good buy at this price point?)
2. Etymotic HF3
3. Brainwavz B2
4. Ultimate Ears UE700

Please advise. Thank you.

AnDy

Mind if I ask what went wrong with your IE8's? Have you tried a new cable? I've got had mine for 2 weeks and hoping keep for lifetime!

I recall seeing a B2 in the for sale section if you're keen.

[Jackolow]

TL;DR - Looking for new headphones, budget around $250, no more than $350, good highs and lows when played quietly. Not AD700's.

I'm thinking of treating myself to a new set of headphones. I don't want to use canalphones anymore because my ears get really tired.. I think I can't seem to relax having canalphones in.. might be something to do with microphonics because I love wearing earplugs.

The biggest thing I can note is that I tend to listen to music quietly. I don't want it to fill my ears, but I want crispness and fullness. Is that counterintuitive? I really enjoy listening to music loud/full sometimes and getting the most out of my headphones, however I only do that for about 5% of the life of the headphones mainly because I don't study well with them loud, and I like my hearing

So far I've had
RE-02 - Really like the 'clinical' sound of it.. the trebles were great. Stopped using it because the cable broke

AD700's - got rid of them. Found that they were kind of good. I appreciated their comfort and the really wide soundstage, but I didn't like that they didn't have much bass and I had to pump them quite loudly to get bass.

Audioengine A5's - I only used them for a couple of hours, but I loved how the sound from it was so crisp and balanced. I didn't need to listen to it very loudly, but it was able to give me shivers because the quality was so good. I didn't get the chance to understand why they were so good, but I think it was instrument separation and clarity.

Audeo PFEs (currently) - liking them, however they're canal phones and I'm finding my ears are really tired after a while. I really need to listen to music from medium volume up to get the most out of it.

So essentially what I would like is basically are headphones that sound like audioengines that will perform really nicely quietly, and is comfortable. Happy to go for open phones.
If it matters, music source is from a Xonar DX and the latest ipod nano, but I might move onto something better like a Cowon unit in the lifetime of the headphones.


P.S. Headphonic - would you guys ever be interested in stocking the silicone ear guides for the Audeo PFEs? Apparently they can be used for other earphones as well, and they're awesome to use. Just wondering... I'm looking for a new set.

[micdy]

Originally Posted by wonga2046

Mind if I ask what went wrong with your IE8's? Have you tried a new cable? I've got had mine for 2 weeks and hoping keep for lifetime!

I recall seeing a B2 in the for sale section if you're keen.

Hey there,

That B2 was sold when I saw it.. Mine died because I accidentally dropped one of the driver into a bowl of soup when I was listening to it and having my lunch...

[zach]

I bought the B2's, sorry guys! Hope they're better than my UE700s


EDIT:

Yeah get the B2's! Shit all over UE700.

[Giscinc]

Dunno if this has been asked, anyone know anything bout the AKG Q701?

Is it worth it? I hear they are the same as the K701/702, are they considered worth it?

using them for
Gaming
General music listening (trance/dnb/psytrance/dubstep/jazz/classic)
Movies (rarely)

[Drubbing]

Originally Posted by Giscinc

Dunno if this has been asked, anyone know anything bout the AKG Q701?

Is it worth it? I hear they are the same as the K701/702, are they considered worth it?

using them for
Gaming
General music listening (trance/dnb/psytrance/dubstep/jazz/classic)
Movies (rarely)

They're worth it if you like them. The Q is exactly the same, only with different colour schemes. Overkill for gaming, as you'll get the same soundstage from AD700. Will also need a decent amp (and source). That doesn't mean just any cheapest on ebay job.

[Snufkin]

Originally Posted by Giscinc

Dunno if this has been asked, anyone know anything bout the AKG Q701?

Is it worth it? I hear they are the same as the K701/702, are they considered worth it?

using them for
Gaming
General music listening (trance/dnb/psytrance/dubstep/jazz/classic)
Movies (rarely)

I wouldn't recommend them for your music tastes, plus you'll need a good quality dedicated amp.

A more efficient model like the AD900 might be a better choice, alternatively if you want something bassy we're currently offering the Beyer DT770-32ohm for only $250 delivered

[Giscinc]

An amp is fine, btw would an Asus d2x or stx count as a high quality amp, the bt770 won't do cause I want an open headphone rather than closed.