Headphones ! Need expert help

D

DavidJohnnR91

_Dave Roberts
Joined
Sep 8, 2007
Location
Kent, Maidstone
Basically, been hitting up sites, places & forums to find out where the best place to get a decent pair and what pair to get.
A lot of people have said that the Seinhessiers HD25's are good, obviously for listening to drum and bass, I want a good pair for that, deep bass, I don't want any sound to be let in either.
But I also listen to a range of heavy electronica, down tempo, idm, chillout & even ambient.
Can anyone who has a pair talkk to me, or give me feedback or advice.
Or anyone who has good headphones hit me up!

PZ
_D
Cheers/Respect
;)
 
You mean to listen to? Or to mix with?

Very different things, and if you want somthing for both, you might even be best getting two pairs.

hd25 sennheisser's are the standard for mixing.

For listening, best to try some out. I've been using grado sr-80s recently, and they're rather impressive. I'd recommend them for everything you're after - although they're rather unwieldy, not ideal for walking about, walkman stuff.
 
I would use them purely for listening;
I don't mix, but over the years I have bought many crappy and expensive pairs that just fall apart.
I want like a thick wire, and I have a technical ear, I want to hear a difference and have an all round better listening experience out of my music.
 
I just bought Crossroad Mylar XB's and they are so so good! I spent a good while browsing the net for earphones and wanted a good pair. Basically, yes, at first you think crossroads, never heard of the brand, but they are excellent. They are actually earphones and not headphones

You can buy them here http://www.jaben.net/ and i think they are the only place on the 'net that they are available.

You can buy the X3 version or the XB version. Basically XB just means xtra bass, and obviously better for hip hop dnb or anything with a heavy bassline. But, supposedly you lose a little on the mid levels for the xb compared to the x3s. Trust me these earphones are excellent. They cost $65 w/free shipping (and well worth it) and the shop fix it so you don't pay tax, and the service is top class. If you read the forum linked below you'll see loads of recommendations.

Have a look at this thread (46 pages though!)

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=241541

I use them for my ipod and the sound quality of them over the ipod standard earphones is immense. When i listen to my mixes you can hear so much of an improvement in the 'boom' of the bass, and the drums are a lot more audible and is way way louder. Sometimes depending on what i'm listening to i barely have it over 50% volume and for my ipod earphones i used to always have it up 100%. Also, they are really good for when you're in the street because they are sound isolators which basically means they block out excess sound as they sort of 'click' into your ears, for instance you hardly hear the traffic in the street or outside noise as much, which also means you don't have to have your music up too loud. The thing i love about them is that compared to ipod earphones you actually hear more like the sound is more prominent.

One thing is, is that you gotta make sure they're in your ear, when i first got them i thought, hmm this bass isn't too heavy, then i pushed them in a bit further then it was like whoah a real rich heavy prevalent bass appeared. Anyway i highly recommend them!

If you really want to spend big bucks there are probably better ones, but for this price range £30~ i can't see there being any better ones for drum n bass.

Pic

mylarx3-4.jpg
 
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Yeah cheers man.
They do look good, im just worried that at the price they make break or something.
Have you dropped them, or stood on them or anything, are they built well?
All im saying is I'd rather pay double for a pair that will last and have effective sound, then pay half and get a pair that does have good sound but break easy, or the other way round.

From what you say the sound is outstanding, do you have anything to compare it too, like sony's or bose's?
Sorry about the questions its just that I want to make the right decision
_D

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Hi David,

Right first thing, about the company, i have heard so much good stuff about their service, and say for instance they broke or whatever and it wasn't your fault i hear they're really good about replacements. As for build quality only time will tell (as i have only had mine about 2-3 weeks), but if it's poor build quality and they break, they will replace them no probs, they seem like seriously friendly guys. But generally they do seem well made, however, on that forum there seem to have been the odd person saying something happened their earphones, but it's probably a minimal amount of people that have had problems with them.

Basically have a look at that forum i linked you as its site is full of people who know a lot more than me, essentially they're headphone geeks :)

Or google the name for reviews, where professional reviewers have actually reviewed them, say in comparison to other ones. All i can compare them to are my shitty ipod stock earphones, but then again anything would sound better than them - more of a fashion icon i reckon!

I have heard the Etymotic ER-6i iIsolator (but £72 on amazon) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Etymotic-ER-6i-iIsolator-In-the-ear-Earphones/dp/B0007WTHLO are amazing headphones, but no real bass, ie probably good for non dance music. The isolation is meant to be better than the xbs that i mentioned but in regards to bass, it's meant to be very low, but mids etc really good. My opinion on them would be if you don't listen to electronic music they'd be perfect, but i do listen to a lot of electronic music so...

Have a look at this page:

http://headphonedeals.org/?cat=23

This guy reviews them comparing them etc

I was tempted like you spending double what i spent, thinking at this price £30~ the build quality won't be much, but personally i'm delighted with mine, and do spend a lot on technology and was well happy hearing the sound quality from a totally unknown brand (they're South Korean i think). Just look at all the positive words from that forum link.

Obviously if you spend double the money, the chances are you'll have better headphones, maybe go on that forum and ask the experts i'm willing to spend £x these are my requirements what do you say.

I know you want to make the right decision, it took me about 2 weeks to make my mind up, as i kept seeing headphones i liked reading a decent review, then the next review was like not good for bass, etc so the lack of bass put me off but eventually found the crossroads and would definitely recommend them.

Also, ultimate ears is meant to be a really good brand for earphones, but pricey.
 
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Yeah I guess those headphones do look good, seeing as a whole 46 pages of forum agree.
It's just i want perfection, over the past 5 years I have bought a new pair every six months, for about £40, and they have lasted half a year+.
I want a pair (preferably headphones) that have absolute quality, sound, structure, and rhythm.
I listen to mostly electronica, dnb, down tempo, trip hop, and very vague ambient.
I want a pair that will emphasise all this music I listen too, and bring out the intense vibes I look for I guess.
I'm willing to pay £100+ a little extra if willing.
That will last me a few year, if your sure about these headphones then I will research into them more, but I want something preferably overhead, that will take my whole listenining experience to a whole new level, music is my bare passion & I want to experience something amazing, through a new pair of good phones.
Do you know any decent overhead pairs at all?
Cheers for the help man :)

:word:
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Well... I do think those Grado's are worth a listen. I've had a pair for over a decade, and have just had to replace the foam cushions, but all else is going strong.

They were the best I could find at the time (in the £100 area), but things could well have moved on since then. I'd go to a showroom with some cds, and try some out. Everyone has slightly different preferences for music reproduction.

If you're paying £100+, they really should be sturdy enough to last, as standard.
 
Ah well, headphones is another matter, because i'm sure headphones would be better sound quality, especially bass because they're so much bigger. I did hear those grados were very good, but if they're the ones i'm thinking about, well they were headphones and that put me off as i was only after earphones at the time, but heard good things about them. The Headphones i use for my decks are these:

PIHDJ1000.JPG


but i'm not sure if these are really only 'dj minded'.

Anyway what i really think you should do is browse that forum and/or register, asking the people there, because there are people that know what they're talking about and a lot of posts like tell me the best headphones for £x etc

For me the key thing is -the more advice you get the better. Don't just listen to one person.

As you'd prefer headphones i'd say probably don't go for the crossroads, even though i do think they're awesome earphones. But good luck finding a good pair!
 
Yeah i have registred & already posted a thread.

Looks like this is going to be a long and waiitng road for a pair of headphones haha

Cheers for the help mate
Just a quickfire

What artist's you into, dnb wise.
 
At the end of the day, it's best giving it a little time, you know what i mean? Say you rushed into spending £100 and then realised you made a mistake, you'd be pissed off, so it's best being definite. What i would do is try and get about 5 or less maybes, google for reviews, then try to narrow it down, then when you're definite, use those best price sites for the cheapest price (although it's probably cheaper from usa even if you get charged import duties).

I like all sorts really dnbwise, drumsound/bassline smith, high contrast, dillinja, a lot of renegade hardware tunes, commix, logistics, some hopsital, total science, marcus intalex etc... can't think who else :)

What about yourself?
 
watch out for the fake Pioneer HDJ-1000's on ebay at the moment OK they are good fakes but still fake and not worth more than about £20:tut:
 
Denon HP 1000's. I have used just about all brands(techs, sony, pioneer, stanton) of headphones for djing and these Denons I picked up a few month back put them all to shame. Their design is similar to the Sony & Techs but much more durable construction. They are the only phones out there with a 53mm driver which make da bass go BOOM!!! The highs are loud & crystal clear.
 
Really got to say... DJ headphones are shit for listening pleasure. Would be a waste of time to even look into them. It's not what they're designed for.
 
Ez, yeah thanks for the head's up.
As impatient as I am, I will have to take your advice and make a list or handful of about 5 faveourites.
I think already on the list may be the sennheiser HD-25, a lot of people have said they are good for listening to for only, and have great bass, good sound, allround isolation too.
Ncie set up & structure.
Cheapest I can get £77

I appreciate all the help man, means a lot :)

As for my taste, I like a bit of everything, Spor is one of my favourites, Apex, Unknown Error, Evol Intent, Ewun, Chris Renegade, Teebee & Calyx, Break, Gridlok, BSE, Noisia, Ed Rush, Optiv, Phace, Fierce, quite a lot of the Lifted stuff, faveourite label of mine.
Subtitles current releases really topping things of too, quite into the new sounds of the scene myself ;)

_D
 
DavidJohnnR91 said:
I appreciate all the help man, means a lot :)


_D
Click to expand...

No worries :) Hope you like the ones you get

Word...expensive but well desgned, not sure how comfortabel they would be for pure listening but damn rugged, loud too....
Click to expand...

Yeah, for listening i've just realised it's not a good idea at all, too heavy. Very good though, well worth the money considering i spend a lot of money on other shit and if you compare it to the thousands of pounds you spend on vinyl throughout the years it's nothing!
 
Senheisser%20HD25sp%20Headphones.jpg

I use Senheisser 25sps. I like them cause they're lighter and the ear cups are removable so if you step on the cord or it gets snagged one will pop off instead of everything crashing down.. They sound great as well and everything is replaceable.
 
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