Head/earphones

[jonny_rat]

I've seen a fair bit of talk on here about what types of head and earphones you lot go for, so here's a thread of it's own (reckon it'll turn into an argument about Radiohead? ).

I've never spent more than a tenner on a pair of earphones in my life; even trying out a much better pair, I couldn't tell much of a difference when walking about (although I might invest in a better set next time - reccomendations on value for money in-ear pair, mm?).

At work howver, I'm a lucky little pup. Since I'm in a department that does auditory research, I've nabbed some of these babies for my listening goodness. They're pretty amazing (as they should be at that price..); you can listen loud without disturbing others in the office. It's less like listening to headphones than actually hearing the music from a good set of speakers. Well and good, yes, but I'm a bit gutted in that I'm now going to be tempted to buy a pair like this after I''ve left here.

I do sometimes wonder if they're specifically designed for listening rather than monitoring, though. I sometimes get some distortion with a load of bass, which doesn't seem right for such expensive equiptment.

[McNeillR]

I had a pair of the fontopia's ages ago, and lost some of the little buds, so forgot about them and lived with the Sony in-ear types at around 15 bob [i lost a pair and got another one] for ages. Then I lost yet another pair, and eBayed myself the fontopia's for 18 quid, practically new about 4 months ago. I can't hear a thing with them on, which is a good thing.

On the computar I just use a pair of cumbersome, yet comfortable Phillips that we were trying to sell for 15 quid before the shop closed...so I got them for free

I find headphones deliver a more detailed sound than even the 4.1 setup I have in my room, you find sounds you never knew existed on headphones!

[Poet]

Sennhesier MX500s when I'm walking about. Some Sennheiser wireless 'phones for home, which I hardly ever use (what with not living with anyone anymore, means I can rock out loud late into the night - yay old buildings with thick walls!).

[Poet]

Double post. Yes.

[Jack]

A set of Sony in-ears that I got from HMV for £12. Work fine and give a good quality sound. Lead could be a bit longer though.

[iloverage]

I have a pair of Sennheiser 497s. They're pretty cool, but only for home use, due to the open design.

[pledge]

I have pair of grado sr60 for indoor use and Sennheiser mx500 for my portables.

[Magoo]

Grado SR-60's, the bee's knees apart from the fact they died after a year and theres no way in hell I'm paying £74 for a new pair . Beyerdynamic DT100's for music monitoring soon, I think they're shit for listening to music normally though as they do nothing to sex up the sound.

[Dr Slotter]

I use Sennheiser MX500s on my MD walkman and Sennheiser HD25s for DJing.

I have used Grado SR-60s and if I had a need for some cans purely for use at home I'd probably get a pair.

[jeff mills gran]

sennheiser hd25sp's.

[Lovelyman]

I use my Grado SR60s at home, in the office and ON THE STREET!

[fragglerock]

I use a pair of stax at home, open back so not good at work.

These are INCREDIBLY good though

http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/review_read.asp?ID=488

They do an in ear version, but I have not had a go.

http://www.walrus.co.uk/stax/stax.htm

http://www.stax.co.jp/ENG/products.html

[pledge]

Do you think they were worth the £400?

[fragglerock]

They are fantastic, I would say cheap at £400!

Also they last for ages, I must have had mine 5 years. I have demoed the REALY expensive sets and they are mindblowingly good, but 2 grand for headphones! you have to draw the line somewhere

I am no fan of mp3 though, they may be a bit revealing for compressed sources.

[Alex W.]

Until you get above £15, there's no difference between headphones. When you get above that, you start entering decent headphone territory. I use a pair of little Sony earbuds, not the forum reccomended one but one of its predecessors, mainly because they sound good and are plenty portable.

[fasteasyfree]

I just use a pair of £15 ones from Dixons. They're perfect for what they do.

[Rex Grossman]

I need to replace the awful iPod ones that I've been suffering with for ages. It'll either be the Sennhesier MX500s or the Fontopias McNeillR has. Decisions…

[Calashnikov]

[Aardvark]

I have a pair of Sennheiser 497s. They're pretty cool, but only for home use, due to the open design.

Likewise, but I use mine in the office. Nobody has complained about the noise and it means I can hear when somebody asks me a question. They're really comfortable too.

[Flockheart]

I own these headphones, Sony MDR-V700's, very good headphones and you get two free lesbians with every pair (well maybe the second parts not quiet true).

67 quid from amazon

[dizogg]

I have these!

They are comfortable, but quite heavy. And the sound quality is good enough for me.

[McNeillR]

I need to replace the awful iPod ones that I've been suffering with for ages. It'll either be the Sennhesier MX500s or the Fontopias McNeillR has. Decisions…

You can get a pair of WHITE fontopias, if you wish to keep in with the 'image' generated from the iPods.

And if you want to get mugged easier