Buying good headphones advice needed (uk)

[ManicMatt]

My friend wants to buy some headphones, he's a big music fan. Loves Radiohead. But he's not sure which of the two he should go for on this website. I figured some of you guys and gals are real clever when it comes to this sort of stuff, so could you advice us please? We want to know if the more expensive ones are worth getting over the cheaper ones, if the price is justifiable or not. he tells me he has a good system set up for his music.

this:http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/608456/Sennheiser-HD-650-Open-Headphones/Product.html

or this: http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/587421/Sennheiser-HD-555-Open-Headphones/Product.html

Thanks!

[Nikolas]

If it's for pure listening experience you don't really need THAT good headphones.

The HD650 are the "best" headphones for monitoring, mixing, etc out there (thus the huge cost). The HD550 are much lower in price and in performance, but I doubt he would mind that.

If he would REALLY want to go for the best ones he could maybe settle for the HD600 (the ones that I have) or the HD595. 1 and 2 'generations' behind the HD650.

You can hear pretty much every detail, but it is for refference mostly. I'm not sure that one would enjoy listening to music in those and not to some pumping a little bass headphones, or something simmilar.

Sennheiser are considered to be one of the top 2-3 brands. The other brands are AKAI and SONy, as far as I know.

Again, for simply listening your music, you don't need £200 headphones! And I would imagine that his hi-fi would leave the frequencies untouched (unless it's got an EQ on board), so it doesn't really matter what set-up he has.

Honestly, if he really wants to go for the HD650, let him try and search for the HD600 and 595. Not far apart but different pricing.

http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/589758/Sennheiser-HD-600-Open-Headphones/Product.html

[BOYD1981]

personally i'd buy these http://www.millennium-music.co.uk/home/products.pl?ProductCode=DIREXTREMEISO&mode=detail&subcategory_id=HEADPHONES because they just look totally awesome and you really can't beat isolating headphones for quality sound.
the thing i really like about those HD 555s though is the exchangable components, i've had my IXOS MoS dj1003 headphones (which i paid £80 for at the time) for years and they're falling apart, and years of constant use and sweating has left them not so... fragrant 
but that headband does look kind of uncomfortable with no visible padding, and if you're going to be using headphones alot then comfort is just as important as audio quality.

[ManicMatt]

Thanks Nik! You're the best! I showed my friend this page and he's grateful for your comments, very useful!  

Boyd, thanks, I'll be sure my mate reads this page again!

[m0ds]

I was told the other night that Soundheiser headphones sound better when they're not round your ears... Hope you find some good ones! I have a pair of Philips which I love.

[Nikolas]

Oh btw, MAtt,

Keep in mind to tell your mate that open headphones, or even semi-open are NOT for recording since they leak quite a bit of sound, and especially the open (which are most diserable to have flat response) can even be used as crappy laptop speakers. They can sound quite loud, without wearing them. This of course does not mean that the sound in the ears is loud.

Another thing to keep in mind, before buying is the comfort factor. With such good headphones chances are that your mate might wear them for plenty of hours. He should probably try them out in HIS head before buying.

[BOYD1981]

Oh btw, MAtt,

Keep in mind to tell your mate that open headphones, or even semi-open are NOT for recording since they leak quite a bit of sound, and especially the open (which are most diserable to have flat response) can even be used as crappy laptop speakers. They can sound quite loud, without wearing them. This of course does not mean that the sound in the ears is loud.

Another thing to keep in mind, before buying is the comfort factor. With such good headphones chances are that your mate might wear them for plenty of hours. He should probably try them out in HIS head before buying.

eh, isn't that kind of what i said in my post? 

[Nikolas]

semi-whoops....

Sorry. Actually read your post very fast.

[Evil]

I'm actually in the same boat. I've been on the lookout for some nice closed, noise isolation (not canceling!) headphones.

The ones that Boyd posted look decent, except I've heard they are very uncomfortable and not that great range wise.

LGM has a pair of Sennheiser HD201's which are great. I've mixed with them and they are comfy and have a great sound quality with a good amount of isolation. They are quite tight though and my glasses don't sit right when I wear them. Other that that they only other gripe I have with them is the cable comes from both sides of the headphones and it's rather thin. I've gone through 3 pairs of headphones this year because of tripping over the cable.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Sennheiser-HD201-Pro-Closed-Back-Headphones?sku=242417

And for only $25, you can't go wrong. Though if I had the money I'd buy something like these.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Sony-MDR7509HD-Studio-Headphone?sku=422040

What you really want for mixing, is a closed, noise isolating headphone. Noise cancelling is NOT what you want. The difference is that noise isolating keeps outside noise quiet and less bothersome while working. Noise canceling removes noise from the audio track itself. If you want a killer pair of headphones that cancel, buy some Bose super comfortable ones like they sell at the Sharper Image or something.

[Moresco]

This is what I have, and they work great as a dynamic, closed headphone.  They're not canceling.

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-280-Pro-Professional/dp/B000065BPB

Had them for a few months now and they're superb, no troubles so far.

Here's the same product at Musician's Friend -
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Sennheiser-HD280-Pro-ClosedBack-Headphones?sku=242411

[Gregjazz]

The Sennheiser HD 280 headphones MesaBlue mentioned are nice. They have good isolation and good tone. However, you have to treat them nicely, or else I've heard that the place where the cable connects to the headphones can break.

If you don't care about isolation (like if you don't record with a mic, needing isolation from the monitored signal) you could look into open-backed headphones. The electrostatic headphones sound incredible (of course, they are more expensive).

[Moresco]

The Sennheiser HD 280 headphones MesaBlue mentioned are nice. They have good isolation and good tone. However, you have to treat them nicely, or else I've heard that the place where the cable connects to the headphones can break.

If you don't care about isolation (like if you don't record with a mic, needing isolation from the monitored signal) you could look into open-backed headphones. The electrostatic headphones sound incredible (of course, they are more expensive).

Yes they will break if you are careless with them.  They give you instructions on how to replace the parts that wear or break from excessive guitar gymnastics... tee hee.

[tube]

This isn't much help, but I love my semi-open AKG K-301 headphones. They must be at least 10 years old and there's only slight wear and tear despite heavy use. They're still sold in various web stores for about the same price they retailed for back when I bought them, although I guess AKG hasn't had them in their line-up for years. I hear the newer-but-already-out-of-production K-301 Xtra produces too much bass for mortal ears, so don't mix them up. Or maybe your friend would like it that way.

The real reason I posted was this: If possible, always go to a local music store and ask to try out the phones. Even if you're planning to buy them from some web store. My finicky ears would never forgive me if I bought audio equipment blindly (or deafly in this case). Some of us prefer well rounded and natural sound, others like to be pummeled with tons of bass and close-to-ultrasound tweeter action. It always comes down to preference in the end. Unless we're talking about studio use, in which case one should always go for the former I guess.

[monkey0506]

I would just buy these. If I had the money. And if I wasn't trying to save up money so I can move out of my parent's house.

[BOYD1981]

I would just buy these. If I had the money. And if I wasn't trying to save up money so I can move out of my parent's house.

yeh but if you had your own house you wouldn't need headphones

[Evil]

Just a heads up to anyone reading this, the headphones that Boyd first posted about are on sale at Musicians Friend.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/stupid

Have to buy them tonight though (1/24). :/ Just thought I'd share with those from the US.

[monkey0506]

I would just buy these. If I had the money. And if I wasn't trying to save up money so I can move out of my parent's house.

yeh but if you had your own house you wouldn't need headphones

Why yes, I could just carry my house around with me everywhere so I can quickly go inside and listen to my music any time I like. What a brilliant suggestion!

Actually I was just reading up on canalphones and read a pretty in-depth review of this particular set and it spoke rather highly of them. They seem pretty good.

Update: Life as a turtle isn't quite as easy as it may sound. The problem, or at least one of the major problems, because there are quite a few; one of the major problems is that my house is actually quite large, containing several rooms. Paired with the fact that it is currently shared with my parents and two younger sisters has made the structure no lighter. However I must admit that as I was listening to the music in the movie Accepted through our surround-sound system earlier today, I found the sound to be of a much higher quality than my current Wal-mart $15 headphones. This strain on my back is too much to realistically continue doing this though, so I think at least until I move out of my parents house and get my own (much smaller and light-weight) home I shall confine myself back to my lower quality headphones.

P.S. Matt, hope you liked the update as much as the original. 8)

[ManicMatt]

LMAO at Monkey's reaction to Boyd. 

Well, he's bought some headphones.. and I can't remember the name. So I'll ask him again on monday and let you know this THRILLING CONCLUSION to this thread!!!

[InCreator]

Once you go 5.1, you won't go back.

[ManicMatt]

He bought HD595!

Thanks for the help guys! As for me I'm happy with my Samsung in-ear phones that came with my mp3 player haha.