Re: Best Headphones/Headsets
I found the Sennheiser neckband headsets rather good, but managed to kill it by falling over the wire. :(
Replaced them with a set of Sennheiser HD205s and a Logitech USB Desktop Mic which seems to work quite well in everything I've tried (just need to set the Logitech up within Vista now).
Re: Best Headphones/Headsets
Just had a set of these
http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/st...gId=1500001501
Not the best but at that price they do the job
Re: Best Headphones/Headsets
A set of Sony noise cancelling - brilliant on aircraft, not quite so good on trains (seemed to cancel high frequency noise more than low) but still good.
Re: Best Headphones/Headsets
i never bother with headsets because the mic will inevitably eventually brake and your just left with headphones. I tend to strap a mic to the front of my monitor and just put some gain on. Its ok for teamspeak and such, none seems to complain like.
Headphones - for at home and doing media work i currently have some beyerdynamic DT770s and they are superb i apsolutely adore them, soooo comfortable and the sound it totally flat and crisp - for out and about i have some sennheiser CX300s which i again adore. Slightly heavy on the bass and light on mid but they have got a lot better with being worn in :)
Re: Best Headphones/Headsets
razer barracudas are the best i've ever used,just the microphone on them is pants.
Re: Best Headphones/Headsets
I cannot recommend the Sennheiser range enough.
My PC-160 headset gets upto 40 hours of use a week and I forget I am wearing them a lot of the time and the sound quality (both of the cans and the mic) is very good.
Re: Best Headphones/Headsets
Headset, I am not too sure. I went for a Creative Fatal1ty headset just because they could be had cheap from Dell a while back.
Headphones, I am going to make an assumption that you are only looking to spend about £20-ish. If you can afford more, I'll recommend accordingly. My favourite at that price range is the Koss Porta Pro (and it's derivatives like the Sporta Pro, KSC-75, KSC-35 and so on - they all use the same drivers but you wear them differently). Those sound (quite a bit) a bit like Grados many times their price. Obviously not the same thing, but they are definitely eye (ear?) openers. My second choice at that price range is the Sennheiser PX100 (which is deemed as better than the PX200 if you do not need the isolation).
Those two are really quite similar quality wise, yet they sound vastly different. Sennheisers are more mellow, I'd consider them better for instrumental, classic etc. The Koss are more aggressive and I prefer them for rock, hip up, dance etc.
Re: Best Headphones/Headsets
Not wanting to hijack the thread but I'm looking for a cheap pair of head phones to use with my work station. Using a cheap pair of ear bud ones at the mo but these are showing signs of wear and tear and I think they will die fairly soon. I'll probably just pick up a cheap pair of head band type ones from currys (pc line or something like that) unless someone has a suggestion? Although I may get a pair that I could use for skype with my Eee...
anyway open to suggestions.
Ta
Z
Re: Best Headphones/Headsets
Sennheiser HD201 - Fantastic value for money!
Re: Best Headphones/Headsets
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Biscuit
i never bother with headsets because the mic will inevitably eventually brake and your just left with headphones. I tend to strap a mic to the front of my monitor and just put some gain on. Its ok for teamspeak and such, none seems to complain like.
Headphones - for at home and doing media work i currently have some beyerdynamic DT770s and they are superb i apsolutely adore them, soooo comfortable and the sound it totally flat and crisp - for out and about i have some sennheiser CX300s which i again adore. Slightly heavy on the bass and light on mid but they have got a lot better with being worn in :)
I use a pair of Grado SR125s and they are great.
Re: Best Headphones/Headsets
Quote:
Originally Posted by
CAT-THE-FIFTH
I use a pair of Grado SR125s and they are great.
Nice :D
Re: Best Headphones/Headsets
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Biscuit
Sennheiser HD201 - Fantastic value for money!
Those look pretty solid! cheap as well £11 - £17 (quick look with google).
Re: Best Headphones/Headsets
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Biscuit
Nice :D
I used to have a pair of DT231s before I trod on the cord!! :(
I seem to prefer open-backed headphones now to closed-back ones though!! The worst thing was when Richer Sounds were doing HD600s for around £100 brand new a few years ago!! I wish I had bought a pair then!! :(
BTW the DT231 would actually make a good recommendation for a decent pair of headphones for under £30:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyerdynamic.../dp/B0002DDGFG
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyerdynamic.../dp/B0001AQQZW
http://www.froogle.richersounds.com/...DT231-GALACTIC
The Galactic version has slightly better sound quality though. They are both really comfortable though!! Excellent pads!!
What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision recommended them for years!! This was when they were around £40 too!!
Re: Best Headphones/Headsets
Don't wanna hijack the thread, but are there any in-ear earphones which cost around £20? Currently just using a cheap pair of SHE8500 (Only £10 from Argos) and they're really awesome for the price I guess.
Re: Best Headphones/Headsets
Quote:
Originally Posted by
CAT-THE-FIFTH
My dad has the 231s and i used to steal them all the time :D They use them in the editing suite at uni too. Fantastic headphones, im considering some myself (along with about a million other things) for just general usage as the 770s are a touch OTT.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Ulti
Don't wanna hijack the thread, but are there any in-ear earphones which cost around £20? Currently just using a cheap pair of SHE8500 (Only £10 from Argos) and they're really awesome for the price I guess.
http://www.play.com/Electronics/Elec...s/Product.html
These are what i have for in ear ones, doubt they will be a great improvement over the phillips though.
Re: Best Headphones/Headsets
Seinhesser HD212 Pro's here, got them for about £12 off ebay, I think their only around £30 normally? Get a seperate mic as said above, you'll really appreciate the quality of the headphones and not be too scared about breaking your kit. I just unplug mine and use them for the ipod on the move aswell. As has already been said, you can't go far wrong with Seinhesser stuff. The best feature of these ones (compared to the earlier hd 497 version) is that they have mini-jacks going into each of the cups so if you step on the cable they just unplug rather than break, which used to force you to either buy a new wire or get soldering, which is a pain in the arse :).
Re: Best Headphones/Headsets
Quote:
Originally Posted by
CAT-THE-FIFTH
I seem to prefer open-backed headphones now to closed-back ones though!! The worst thing was when Richer Sounds were doing HD600s for around £100 brand new a few years ago!! I wish I had bought a pair then!! :(
I also have a preference for open headphones. See if you can audition the AKG K501. They can be bought for about £115 delivered.
I've listened to couple of somewhat similar sounding headphones including the Sennheiser HD600 and Beyerdynamic DT880 and a bunch of other less similar sounding headphones (HD650, DT770/990, Sony SA5000/3000).
Between the HD600/DT880 and the K501, I actually preferred the K501. While the K501 is the least bassy of the three, it also has the widest soundstage. All three produces clear, reference class sound in my opinion, and I'd put them in the same class.
Re: Best Headphones/Headsets
Quote:
Originally Posted by
TooNice
I also have a preference for open headphones. See if you can audition the AKG K501. They can be bought for about
£115 delivered.
I've listened to couple of somewhat similar sounding headphones including the Sennheiser HD600 and Beyerdynamic DT880 and a bunch of other less similar sounding headphones (HD650, DT770/990, Sony SA5000/3000).
Between the HD600/DT880 and the K501, I actually preferred the K501. While the K501 is the least bassy of the three, it also has the widest soundstage. All three produces clear, reference class sound in my opinion, and I'd put them in the same class.
I actually own a pair of SR125s now. People complain that they are quite bright but most of the brightness does disappear after they have been broken in for a while. They really have a lovely sound stage too!! :) I also like the fact that they are very easy to drive too!!
I think with the HD600 it does need a good set-up for it to shine with although it really depends on which type of sound you like more TBH!!
AKG and Audiotechnica seem to harder to find than either Sennheiser,Grado or even Beyerdynamic in shops.
I think at some point in the next year(hopefully) I will see if I can pass the optical or coaxial out from my computer into a decent budget DAC like a Bereford or whatever I can afford.
Re: Best Headphones/Headsets
it was a total toss up between the 880 and 770 (exactly the same except open/closed) but i take my headphones out when im working at gigs/shoots so i opted for the closed.
Never been a fan of the AKGs, i dont like the way they are put together they always felt flimsy to me and a bit uncomfortable but if your struggling to find them then check out dolphin music im pretty sure they have a good selection of AKGs. I know sound control did before they where taken over but i dunno if their new owners still do.
Re: Best Headphones/Headsets
@CAT-THE-FIFTH: Ah, I've not heard the SR-125 but based on what I am getting with the HF-1, they can't be any more different than the HD600. They are definitely brighter than other headphones I've tried (but not unbearably so), I don't think the soundstage is nearly as wide as the Sennheiser/AKG/Beyerdynamic I've tried, but they are still great rocking cans :) And yes, sooooo easy to drive. Not that I suggest doing so, but my Grados sound alright out of an onboard soundcard (I reckon that if anyone is planning to do that, they should just get a Koss), yet when I tried the DT880, they sounded utterly underwhelming until I moved into a better source. The only thing worse I have experienced with an onboard soundcard was with the Westone UM2 (canalphone being so sensitive they pick up a lot of noise). I *think* that the HD600 might be a touch easier to drive (never tried, and don't think I will in the near future).
It's kind of funny that Audiotechnica have so little presence here. When I went to HK and, especially (though I suppose unsurprisingly given that's where they are from) Japan, they were everywhere. They make the only closed headphones I've tried in the £100 range that I actually like.
Re: Best Headphones/Headsets
Quote:
Originally Posted by
TooNice
@CAT-THE-FIFTH: Ah, I've not heard the SR-125 but based on what I am getting with the HF-1, they can't be any more different than the HD600. They are definitely brighter than other headphones I've tried (but not unbearably so), I don't think the soundstage is nearly as wide as the Sennheiser/AKG/Beyerdynamic I've tried, but they are still great rocking cans :) And yes, sooooo easy to drive. Not that I suggest doing so, but my Grados sound alright out of an onboard soundcard (I reckon that if anyone is planning to do that, they should just get a Koss), yet when I tried the DT880, they sounded utterly underwhelming until I moved into a better source. The only thing worse I have experienced with an onboard soundcard was with the Westone UM2 (canalphone being so sensitive they pick up a lot of noise). I *think* that the HD600 might be a touch easier to drive (never tried, and don't think I will in the near future).
It seems that you like your headphones!! :) I also had a pair of SR80s for general use but I managed to break them. I seem to be a bit accident prone with headphones!! :(
TBH some of the newer onboard codecs are not too bad for general listening. According to some of the reviews I have read they are better than some of the discrete soundcards from a few years ago.
The best in ear headphones I have heard are the Shure E500 TBH.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
TooNice
It's kind of funny that Audiotechnica have so little presence here. When I went to HK and, especially (though I suppose unsurprisingly given that's where they are from) Japan, they were everywhere. They make the only closed headphones I've tried in the £100 range that I actually like.
Another company that was not represented well for years was Onkyo. Some of their high end stereo Integra series components are very hard to find too. I have listened to some of their higher-end stuff which was built in the 1970s and 1980s and they were pretty good for the time.
This is unlike their fashion systems and AV stuff though which is ubiquitous!!
