Over the ear head phones

Ive used Sennheiser HD595's for my comp and I love them! They are not noise cancelling however, so if that is important to you try a different model. Prior to these I went through a few pair of Bose with noise cancelling and ended up breaking all of them...pissed me off each time until I said enough was enough (super glue could not help either) The Senns seem to be pretty bullet proof.

Not always true.

Ok, maybe not useless, but it's like night and day compared to each other.

The most expensive Shure headphones you can get!

Ive used Sennheiser HD595's for my comp and I love them! They are not noise cancelling however, so if that is important to you try a different model. Prior to these I went through a few pair of Bose with noise cancelling and ended up breaking all of them...pissed me off each time until I said enough was enough (super glue could not help either) The Senns seem to be pretty bullet proof.

 

I have those but they are way too big imho. I rather have something smaller if I'd use them 'outdoor'.

The most expensive Shure headphones you can get!

 

SRH-840 is about $200 and 440 about $100....taste will dictate between the two.

 

Interestingly enough, these things are incredible for isolating sounds. Just putting them on your head without music, and all you hear is your jaw and teeth.

Ive used Sennheiser HD595's for my comp and I love them! They are not noise cancelling however, so if that is important to you try a different model. Prior to these I went through a few pair of Bose with noise cancelling and ended up breaking all of them...pissed me off each time until I said enough was enough (super glue could not help either) The Senns seem to be pretty bullet proof.

 

So I take it the 595s come with the small jack...or do you have an adapter to make it small?

 

 

So I take it the 595s come with the small jack...or do you have an adapter to make it small?

 

Mine is big, came with a small adapter included as well

Grado

Grado

 

I want to frame the gs1000 and hang them up as art!

They are basically a rip-off of the old Bose QC3, both in tech and design (and they got sued for this and lost I think). I would say they are good for the price (1/3 to 1/2 of Bose), but the Bose QC15 are still a lot better. In a lower pricerange I would definitely buy the AT.

 

Also remember we are talking about headphones for flying here, models without active noise cancelling are useless on planes imo.

 

Thanks Placid (missed the AT reference in the earlier post), I wasn't aware of that, haven't really paid too much attention to Bose in the past because it generally appears that there are better options for the $$$. I will have to go to the Bose store and give them a try sometime, it's a lot harder to find somewhere to audition their competition i'm interested in like the AKG 701/AKG 702, Alessandro MS-Pro, Beyerdynamic DT's etc...

 

Anyway, if you are suggesting headphones with active noise cancelling does it increase the requirement for a portable headphone amp to get the best out of them?

 

Fellippe,

 

Do you have any experience with Audio Technicas?

 

I've heard good reviews for most of their range and have been considering picking up a pair of AD900's, but I admit I haven't paid too much attention to their closed range which would obviously be more suitable for travel.

 

Just so happened I picked up an Audio Technica ATH-M30 on a trusted recommendation....

 

Very nice pair of headphones.....and for the money, fantastic.

 

It has a very smooth signature, relaxed top end, warm. Sounds like a closed back version of a Grado SR60/80/225 type, with more bass in exchange for some midrange purity. For some people it may sound "too relaxed", maybe even boring. Only real weakness is that it doesn't play very loud off unamplified of iPods, computers, etc.

 

However with a nice headphone amp, this is a non issue. I haven't had a chance to audition it in that scenario, but I feel very confident it will sound better than the Sennheiser HD-600/650 line.

 

Like the look, and very comfortable:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATHM3...io+Technica+y30

I use the Bose QC15 for flying and I'm very happy with them. Sleep like a baby through every transatlantic flight with my Gareth Emery podcasts drowning out the remaining plane noise that the noise canceling doesn't take care of.

How did I miss this thread?

 

Let's begin with the user's needs. You need it for flying so I would assume portability would be a bit of a priority: that would rule out the Sennheisers 595, 600; the Beyer Dynamics etc... (But these are all great headphones). And like Fellippe said, most of the "better" phones will need a headphone amp to get the best out of them. Is background noise an issue? If so, I guess noise-cancelling is a must but that said, I have yet to hear a pair of noise-cancelling headphones --- large or small, whatever technology and whatever brand --- that actually "works" without severing the dynamics at both ends (especially the top end) of the audio spectrum. And there are headphones out there which would do a fairly good job on isolating ambient noises WITHOUT any noise-cancelling technology whatsoever. The flip side of it being "hot" to wear after a few hours. That's the trade-off: good isolation = sealed enclosure = poor ventilation = hot ears. Sorry if this doesn't sit well to a few members here but Bose is all marketing hype. They appeal to the masses and are far from hi-end or accurate. Nothing too wrong with them per se but nothing spectacular either. Consider the noise-cancelling Bose similar to a Toyota Corolla; it does the job but nothing to write home about. Shure makes very accurate headphones and would fit the needs of an audiophile. But by the same definition, it reproduces whatever the source gives; crap recoding goes in, crap comes out; great recording goes in, beautiful music comes out, period. This also applies to the Sony studio monitor headphones; afterall, they are MONITOR headphones so they will tell it exactly like it is. Whether that's you cup of tea or not, you have to decide yourself. And for flight entertainment use, you really don't need the top end models from Shure or Sony. Grado, on the other had and to a certain degree the Sennheisers, will "beautify" the music with a frequency bump in the audio spectrum. It does sound "nicer" but it's less accurate. Again, you need to audition them to see if you like the frequency bump. Grado does make good sounding headphones but all their models were never known to be comfortable for prolong wear. So if you are doing long-haul flights, you need to factor that in. Audio Technica makes superb headphones but choices are limited outside of Asia and there's a huge price difference between the Asian and North American and European markets. Their hi-end models are $$$ and the sound, while extremely accurate, are too "clinical"; they lack musicality which will induce hearing fatigue after a while. Their lower end ones are for the masses and are no better than your Skullcandy, Dre (all marketing hype and extremely inaccurate frequency emphasis) etc... Mid-end AT's are by far the best buys but are far cheaper to get in Asia.

 

So...after being so long-winded, what would I choose? Factoring in portability, comfort for pro-long use, price and , of course, sound quality:

 

Sony MDR-V6, Audio-Technica ATH-M50 and --- this is a surprise --- Focal Spirit One.

Each has their own tonal signature so you just have to try them yourself. I found the Focal a very pleasant surprise: well-designed & built, quite portable, very accurate sound but not too clinical and rather musical sounding. It has a signature like the high-end Ultrasone so it will offer some "kick" when needed. No need for a headphone amp and if you have an Apple device, it even has a remote built-in (personally, I'd rather they do without it as it would compromise the sound but you can't have everything I guess). Not the last word in comfort but you have to factor in portability and passive sound isolation (as in sealed ear pads). Maybe not too well-known on this forum but the Focal Spirit One is one of the best bang for the buck.

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

Sorry if this doesn't sit well to a few members here but Bose is all marketing hype. They appeal to the masses and are far from hi-end or accurate. Nothing too wrong with them per se but nothing spectacular either. Consider the noise-cancelling Bose similar to a Toyota Corolla; it does the job but nothing to write home about.

I agree that the sound quality of the Bose is not up there with the best, but they are still very good in that area. Their noisecancelling however, beats every other I have tried hands down. After all they invented the technology, and are a preferred brand among pilots for their NC capabilities. And in a flight, the most important thing is the NC, it doesn't matter how high end the audio is if you can't hear it

 

How did I miss this thread before I wasted my money on a pair on Sennheiser ?

Fortis, you don't like your Sennheisers? What don't you like?

How did I miss this thread before I wasted my money on a pair on Sennheiser ?

 

Fortis, you don't like your Sennheisers? What don't you like?

 

 

Which ones did you get?

 

And how are you using it.....ipod, computer, headphone amp into a stereo?

 

 

I agree that the sound quality of the Bose is not up there with the best, but they are still very good in that area. Their noisecancelling however, beats every other I have tried hands down. After all they invented the technology, and are a preferred brand among pilots for their NC capabilities. And in a flight, the most important thing is the NC, it doesn't matter how high end the audio is if you can't hear it

 

All's cool. But after the source went through the NC circuit, it's far from high-end as it chops off the most of the HF and some of the LF. I see your point for the pilots and concur with you entirely; however; the purpose for the pilots is solely for communication, i.e. speech, and normal speech (unlike music) does not fall into the extremes of HF & LF. As such, the NC circuitry serves its purpose really well as it can reproduce speech clearly and thus can enhance communication (and even increase safety as an added incentive). I suppose if one watches an in-flight movie where much dialogue is involved, the Bose would be the winner. But if it's the sound effect of the movie and/or music are the criterion, the Bose would not do so well.

 

How did I miss this thread before I wasted my money on a pair on Sennheiser ?

 

Yes, do tell which Sennheiser do you not like and how are they being used. It seems rather odd.

Fortis, you don't like your Sennheisers? What don't you like?

 

I am not sure which ones I got, I was looking on them to see what model they are but I couldn't see any markings, I bought them few months ago from a retail store, I usually use them with my iPad because the kids are watching TV next to me.

 

I spent about an hour listening to headphones, I got bored, confused and irritated with all the models and I just picked up the Sennheisers that were 3rd or 2nd most expensive , when I know nothing about a product I always go with most expensive must be best, but in this case the most expensive didn't seem to have enough bass, which I really didn't like.

 

The reason I am saying I don't like them is because I went and tried a noise canceling BOSE (sorry VCR ) and they sound soooo much better, to my deaf tone ears anyway, that's what makes me regret buying them.

Late entry, but I bought a pair of Klipsch One Reference headphones recently, on sale for $70. I think they sound very good. I always have used Klipsch earphones; the headphones did not disappoint. Very balanced sound, nothing over powers, not too bass heavy, hits the highs well, nice and clear, etc. They are comfortable as well. If they are like anything else I've bought from Klipsch, they should last a while too!

 

I am not sure which ones I got, I was looking on them to see what model they are but I couldn't see any markings, I bought them few months ago from a retail store, I usually use them with my iPad because the kids are watching TV next to me.

 

I spent about an hour listening to headphones, I got bored, confused and irritated with all the models and I just picked up the Sennheisers that were 3rd or 2nd most expensive , when I know nothing about a product I always go with most expensive must be best, but in this case the most expensive didn't seem to have enough bass, which I really didn't like.

 

The reason I am saying I don't like them is because I went and tried a noise canceling BOSE (sorry VCR ) and they sound soooo much better, to my deaf tone ears anyway, that's what makes me regret buying them.

 

The HD-800 does not have as much bass as the 580/600/650 lineup, that is true.

 

I can see why audiophiles and non audiophiles alike would be critical of the Sennheiser lineup, just like the BOSE.

 

I still haven't heard the BOSE noise cancelling phones yet, but on the point of chopping high and low frequencies out, it gets interesting.

 

If you do that on a really well balanced pair of headphones or speakers, not good. If you do it on something that is bright or bass heavy, then that's exactly what it would need!

 

A Dre Beats that had such treatment would probably sound very nice, lol; an Audio Technica ATH-M30, not good.

 

 

Ok I looked for markings again, too lazy to put the light on last time

I have a Sennheiser HD 448

 

Not sure where they are standing on the Sennheiser's chart in terms of quality as I said at the retailer they were 2nd or 3rd from the top from memory.

The HD-800 does not have as much bass as the 580/600/650 lineup, that is true.

 

I can see why audiophiles and non audiophiles alike would be critical of the Sennheiser lineup, just like the BOSE.

 

I still haven't heard the BOSE noise cancelling phones yet, but on the point of chopping high and low frequencies out, it gets interesting.

 

If you do that on a really well balanced pair of headphones or speakers, not good. If you do it on something that is bright or bass heavy, then that's exactly what it would need!

 

A Dre Beats that had such treatment would probably sound very nice, lol; an Audio Technica ATH-M30, not good.

 

I would say that the HD-800 does not have as much bass emphasis as the 500's & 600's series.

All your other points I fully concur. I think we both know what Bose's tonal signatures are so if they cut off a good amount of HF, you know where that's going as far as tonal neutrality is concerned.

 

Ok I looked for markings again, too lazy to put the light on last time

I have a Sennheiser HD 448

 

Not sure where they are standing on the Sennheiser's chart in terms of quality as I said at the retailer they were 2nd or 3rd from the top from memory.

 

Fortis, how much time have you spent on the HD 448? Give it about 100hrs and they will "open up" more. The other obvious problem is "power". Even if the HD 448 is rated at 32ohms (which technically will sound ok on an Apple device), you will still need more power to drive those large diaphragms on the headphones. In plain English : first, you need to break-in the headphones. Turn on a radio, plug the headphone into it and leave it for a few days; you will hear improvement afterward. Second, imagine putting an Audi A4 4-banger engine into a Q7. The car would still go but you are not going to get much out of it. Your iPad does not have enough power/amplification to drive the HD448. Like all things hi-end (and expensive), you will need proper ancillary equipment to complement them to get the most out of them. In this case, you will need a headphone amplifier. But don't bother with that. Use the $ to get a pair of Audio Technica instead (like the models recommended above); I think you would be happy with the results.

 

My only mistake was not consulting my electronics advisor ( VCR) prior purchase

 

I don't think I've used them for 100 hours, I only use them sporadically, I will try to run them in as you suggested they aren't that bad but i still think they lack bass and the crispness of the Bose I've tried, I will try the recommended Audio Technica.

A few years back when I started flying regularly I came across the same dilema, not really knowing much about headphones I went to Bose and purchased a pair of the QC3 headphones. Since buying them ive replaced the battery and ear pads since the old ones wore out. I know that there are better headphones but for me they are perfect, I like the way they fit my ears and how they cancel out all noise.