Headphones/Earbuds - Recommendations?

[SLP]

Hi folks,

I'd like to buy some new earbud/headphone for everyday use, e.g. while walking in the city, in the train, etc. with my my mp3-player.

There's just one important thing:

It has to isolate the outside noise. Traffic and human conversations can be pretty loud sometimes, with "common", non-isolating earbuds I have to turn the volume up, what is surely not that good for my ears.

Do you have any recommendations for me? They shouldn't be too pricey. 40€ is my absolute maximum.

thanks,

matthias

[MTE]

-> http://www.alternate.de/html/product/Kopfhoerer/AKG/K_324_P/183090/?

Ive bought them for my friend....they sounds deep, clear and LOUD  ;D When they plugged into your ears you cant hear something from outside, trust me !

[nILS]

My favorite in every respect: http://www.thomann.de/de/sony_mdr7506_kopfhoerer.htm

[stryd_one]

Visit head-fi.

FWIW, I use Sennheiser HD25's (with lots of mods) and for buds I use q-Jays. The Sony MDR-7506/9 are pretty damn sweet.

[Smithy]

Visit head-fi.

FWIW, I use Sennheiser HD25's (with lots of mods) and for buds I use q-Jays. The Sony MDR-7506/9 are pretty damn sweet.

You wear HD25's on the street?  :D

[stryd_one]

Of course!

Buds and such are no good for active people (read: running, jumping, skateboarding in my own case) as they are highly effected by cable microphonics (vibrations on the cables wind up in your ear), and they can serve to seal in sweat, which can lead to ear infections. I don't like buds/IEMs in general for that last reason, and sonically because they simply don't have the driver sizes needed to really give you a nice linear response. I bought the q-jays because I needed buds/IEMs for work, so I could be subtle about listening to music at my desk. They're a dual-armature design, so they have a separate bass and high-freq driver. This gives a nice linear response in comparison to other buds. q-jays are also freakin TINY. Smallest dual driver headphone in existence, by a long shot.

Plus, the HD25 (BTW, you don't want the SP model) are extremely sturdy, hold fast to the head without high pressure on your scone due to the split headband and cup design (most headphones leave a dent in your flesh if you have a shaved head like me) and the best thing: every little part of them can be replaced, so if you bust a cable or something, you don't have to throw out a few hundred bucks worth of otherwise perfectly functional drivers.

I'm yet to find a more appropriate can for skating with...

SLP: Cans are like monitors, whether they sound good, is highly subjective... Likewise, if you're used to nice monitors in your studio, shitty cans will really annoy you. If you tell me a bit more, I could be more specific with my recommendations; what monitors do you use in the studio? What kind of music do you want to listen to? Do you want a coloured hifi kind of sound, or a flat studio kind of sound? What MP3 player do you have? (do you know it's amp specs?) Will you be using a headphone preamp? Do you move around a lot?

Fortunately one of the biggest concerns about headphones is now all but gone - once, you had to worry about whether you could win a fight if someone tried to roll you for your flashy-looking expensive cans.... these days, people mug the guys wearing white buds, cause they know the person is carrying an iPod ;D

[SLP]

Thanks for your recommendations!

Stryd:

Studio? Monitors? I've attached a picture of the place where I do my music and all the other stuff (work, etc.). I'm using a Panasonic SA-PM11 I got 6 years ago as a baptism present (please don't think that I'm highly religious. It's just Bavaria. we were catholic even before Christ was born  ;D). I really have *no* sound experience, but I think I'm pretty used to that colored sound. 

Also I don't understand that HiFi stuff:

There's a musician. he uses some highly linear monitors and makes his music sound best with those speakers.

Now the consumer buys a CD and listens it on a a pair of probably pretty coloured mainstream speakers.

Another point is the background traffic noise. I don't know wether I really get to enjoy the q-jay sound when there's so much background noise. And they're pretty expenisve too, btw.

As for the music I listen to, there's no special genre.

At the moment it's mainly (Vocal) Trance stuff, Electronic, little bit of Techno, Hiphop, some Mainstream Rock too, of course.

My Mp3-Player is this one

http://www.trekstor.de/en/products/detail_mp3.php?pid=72&cat=0&language=de

But I'm thinking about buying a second one as this was impulse buying. There was a special offer where I bought it.

[Smithy]

Of course!

Buds and such are no good for active people (read: running, jumping, skateboarding in my own case) as they are highly effected by cable microphonics (vibrations on the cables wind up in your ear), and they can serve to seal in sweat, which can lead to ear infections. I don't like buds/IEMs in general for that last reason, and sonically because they simply don't have the driver sizes needed to really give you a nice linear response. I bought the q-jays because I needed buds/IEMs for work, so I could be subtle about listening to music at my desk. They're a dual-armature design, so they have a separate bass and high-freq driver. This gives a nice linear response in comparison to other buds. q-jays are also freakin TINY. Smallest dual driver headphone in existence, by a long shot.

Plus, the HD25 (BTW, you don't want the SP model) are extremely sturdy, hold fast to the head without high pressure on your scone due to the split headband and cup design (most headphones leave a dent in your flesh if you have a shaved head like me) and the best thing: every little part of them can be replaced, so if you bust a cable or something, you don't have to throw out a few hundred bucks worth of otherwise perfectly functional drivers.

I'm yet to find a more appropriate can for skating with...

SLP: Cans are like monitors, whether they sound good, is highly subjective... Likewise, if you're used to nice monitors in your studio, shitty cans will really annoy you. If you tell me a bit more, I could be more specific with my recommendations; what monitors do you use in the studio? What kind of music do you want to listen to? Do you want a coloured hifi kind of sound, or a flat studio kind of sound? What MP3 player do you have? (do you know it's amp specs?) Will you be using a headphone preamp? Do you move around a lot?

Fortunately one of the biggest concerns about headphones is now all but gone - once, you had to worry about whether you could win a fight if someone tried to roll you for your flashy-looking expensive cans.... these days, people mug the guys wearing white buds, cause they know the person is carrying an iPod ;D

Meh, maybe theyre not as huge as i remmebered then!

Sony mdrv-700s like the ones i have, would be a bit overkill for the streets!

I wish i had found out about the HD-25s before i bought them , have them years now.

[stryd_one]

Smithy: They're pretty large but it's mostly just the way the headband is designed. FYI Sony MDR-V700 == MDR-7506. The sonys are really good sounding (you won't hear me say that about sony a lot, and I took some convincing, but the rumours are true), in comparison to the hd25, they're a bit bass heavy/hd25 are a bit top-heavy. But the sonys cost a LOT less. They definitely win the price:performance ratio. Not very portable though, they're way bigger than hd25. ;)

There's a musician. he uses some highly linear monitors and makes his music sound best with those speakers.

Now the consumer buys a CD and listens it on a a pair of probably pretty coloured mainstream speakers.

Fashion... ::)

Another point is the background traffic noise. I don't know wether I really get to enjoy the q-jay sound when there's so much background noise. And they're pretty expenisve too, btw.

The isolation on these things (when you select the correct plug size for your ear - they come with several) is actually incredible. You're supposed to pull your outer ear upwards, to line up your ear canal, and place them seated inside. When you let go of your ear, it snaps sealed shut. When I use them at work, I have to leave them hanging half-out of my ear, or I can't hear squat. They even manage to isolate most of the noise of my skateboard, which is the ultimate test.

They do cost a bomb though... might be overkill for your setup TBH.

I could make a few recommendations, but I still think my first one was the best I could give you - visit head-fi. That'll give you enough reviews to get an idea of how well each model you can find will isolate and the kind of sound it gives. headphone.com will give you a pretty good selection of what's out there too.

[SLP]

As I'm also thinking of getting some professional hearing protection, I'm thinking of adding the possibility of tunring them into a in-ear-monitoring system.

http://www.thomann.de/gb/hearsafe_hs_154_transparent.htm?sid=a971a36859b3436fea1906ac741b4bb0

http://www.thomann.de/gb/hearsafe_hs_15_twin_transparent.htm

But I don't know how they sound with my mp3-player.

The problem is that I've got a very small ear channel. When using common hearing protection (ohropax) I have to take them out avery 30 mins because it really starts to hurt. I'm afraid that this will also happen with common in-earbuds.

[stryd_one]

As I'm also thinking of getting some professional hearing protection, I'm thinking of adding the possibility of tunring them into a in-ear-monitoring system.

http://www.thomann.de/gb/hearsafe_hs_154_transparent.htm?sid=a971a36859b3436fea1906ac741b4bb0

http://www.thomann.de/gb/hearsafe_hs_15_twin_transparent.htm

But I don't know how they sound with my mp3-player.

The problem is that I've got a very small ear channel. When using common hearing protection (ohropax) I have to take them out avery 30 mins because it really starts to hurt. I'm afraid that this will also happen with common in-earbuds.

>200 euro? And you thought the jays were expensive :D

Custom IEMs are pretty sweet, but way pricey. On top of the price of those drivers, you're up for a fair amount for ear moulding (often called an "imprint", done by a specialist) and the actual 'plug' itself which is produced from the imprint. You'll be looking at 3-400 euro in the end. I was also looking at a custom IEM when I bought my q-jays, the LiveWires: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/livewires-california-dreamin-259853/ and they were the only ones of a decent price which seemed the way to go... When I went to search for that link, I came across http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/hearyourself-com-custom-iem-discussion-thread-368009/ and they seem not bad... Of course, there's no returning a custom IEM if you don't like the sound, so choose wisely ;)

Such a can, is certainly worth the money if you need it... But TBH, this is way out of MP3 territory. If you're listening to FLAC files on a DAP with a digital output, a pricey custom DAC and headphone preamp, all carefully matched; or if you're monitoring live audio on stage or something; then you want to think about this kind of quality level.... Otherwise, it's really a bit of a waste.

I mentioned earlier that the q-jays were the smallest dual armature driver around, and as it happens, that's one of the major reasons I selected them. I have *tiny* ears, inside and out. I'm yet to meet another person who has smaller ears than me.... and yes, in-ear buds do get uncomfortable/painful, with the qjays being the only exception I've encountered. I can wear the stock sony buds for about 15 minutes before I have to remove them from the pain. I can wear the qjays for ... well, 8 hours is the longest stretch so far.

Now that I know you are concerned for ear discomfort due to your special requirements (you know what they say about guys with small ears... big ****! :D ) I would have to say - go for a closed superaural can, not buds/IEMs.

[Wilba]

My favorite in every respect: http://www.thomann.de/de/sony_mdr7506_kopfhoerer.htm

Ahh, but do you also have the velour padded earcushions?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/313962-REG/Beyerdynamic_942704_Padded_Earcushions_for_DT250_DT280.html

Noticeable improvement... more "closed", more comfortable.... (from first hand experience ;))

[stryd_one]

velour padded earcushions?

Definitely a nice thing to have in any headphone. leather/pleather makes you sweat. Yucky.

[bugfight]

Ahh, but do you also have the velour padded earcushions?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/313962-REG/Beyerdynamic_942704_Padded_Earcushions_for_DT250_DT280.html

Noticeable improvement... more "closed", more comfortable.... (from first hand experience ;))

cool, those fit the 7506?

[Wilba]

cool, those fit the 7506?

Do you doubt the production description or me? :D

This is a pair of replaceable padded ear-cushions for the Beyerdynamic DT 250 and 280 professional headphones. The replacement ear-cushions also provide a velour alternative to the pads on the Sony MDR 7506 and V6 headphones.

They fit, as if they were meant to fit... but I used the foam discs that came with them (what goes over the "speaker" bit) instead of reusing the foam bits from the original Sony ear-cushions (some people do that, I'm not that audiophile or obsessive).

[bugfight]

Do you doubt the production description or me? :D

ahhh that text doesn't appear til you enable scripts.

plus, i doubt everything...

thanks for the info.

[Smithy]

Its time to finally replace the mdr-v700s.

Can anyone recommend some closed backed headphones, with similar performance or better?

I dont need them to be able to swivvel or anything, my ears are long so the HD-25's are out unfortuneatly.

So far the Sennheiser HD -380s have caught my eye:

Any ideas if they would be a good replacement?

Cheers!

[cimo]

Ahh, but do you also have the velour padded earcushions?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/313962-REG/Beyerdynamic_942704_Padded_Earcushions_for_DT250_DT280.html

Noticeable improvement... more "closed", more comfortable.... (from first hand experience ;))

Anybody who could send me a pair of those? Not so fun to pay 50$ shipping for a 20$ item... any european shop ?

[Flying Panther]

As Beyerdynamic is located in Germany, you might want to try using their own shop / support department. (http://shop.beyerdynamic.de or http://www.beyerdynamic.de/en/home/service.html)

[cimo]

Smart and simple idea but that road brings to nowhere, I need a reseller/shop who sells those ... maybe ebay..

[rvooh]

I'd like to buy some new earbud/headphone for everyday use, e.g. while walking in the city, in the train, etc. with my my mp3-player.

I know you want isolating headphones,

but these earbuds are VERY good and fit your budget:

yuin pk3

first google hit:

http://headphones.com.au/psingle?productID=324

35 euro in holland

http://www.fresh-sounds.nl/Webwinkel-Product-999351/Yuin-PK3.html

The sound is amazing compared to much more expensive earbuds..

[reboot]

i used hd-25 for studio and everything if you have a big head ,forget

just my opinion...what i used

7506...studio

7509...hi-fi

Koss - portaPro..for street , very good and light

yuin pk3 ..i don't know

[rvooh]

well about those yuin pk3's, there's lot the be read about them on the internet..

http://iaudiophile.net/forums/showthread.php?t=17667

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/yuin-pk3-appreciation-thread-237063/

made in china, but the good stuff it seems..

a friend of mine bought them to see if all those good reviews online made any sense.. immediately ditched his +$100 sony's afterwards..

I'm planning to buy myself a set one of these days..