What headphones or buds are you using for your portable player?

[Gadabout]

I have been putting off burning my CD collection to FLAC because my portable player didn't support it. Amazon had a deal for a $100 merchandise certificate if you joined Audible for a year.

I had been thinking about joining Audible for quite awhile as I listen to lots of Audio books while I drive. I decided to take the $100 off and get a new PMP. After doing a fair bit of research I pulled the trigger on a Cowon J3 16 Gb Model. There are some detractors, but most give it really favorable reviews and everyone really likes the quality of sound too. The 64 hour battery life was also another impressive factor.

So, due to upgrading the player I now need to get some better headphones / ear buds. I spent some time over at Headfi.org looking around and reading and I'm leaning towards the Audio Technica ATH-M50s

I know some guys do a lot of head phone listening here and I'm curious to find out what your using on your portable player?

Scott

[zingo]

Klipsch X10i sound fantastic for in-ear monitors.

[eeagle]

The Audio Technica ATH-M50's are likely some of the best reviewed "closed back" out there and an excellent choice for full size headphones that produce a punchy bass.

For a more flat less exaggerated response I would select Sennheiser HD650's "open back" headphones.

My favorite IEM's are the Shure SE535's w/triple micro drivers. They not only sound superb, but they can totally isolate you from air noise & crying children on a long flight.

[carwashguy]

Sennheiser MM100. Not the best sound quality available, but awesome in every other way. Bluetooth so completely wireless, can sync a phone and an iPod simultaneously. Rechargeable battery last all day. I mainly listen to podcast during the day so having perfect sound is not the highest priority.

[Dobermann]

My on-the-go earbuds are Auvio. They're a Radio Shack brand but they're the best in-ear phones I've ever heard.

My at-home headphones are Sony MDR-XB1000s. The ones with the giant cushions. The bass that comes out of these things will cave in your skull if you turn it up too loud.

[cristo]

Etymotic ER6 for in ear.
Grado GR60 for over the ear.

[dorokusai]

Shure 580's I believe.

[sucks2beme]

The Audio Technica ATH-M50's are likely some of the best reviewed "closed back" out there and an excellent choice for full size headphones that produce a punchy bass.

For a more flat less exaggerated response I would select Sennheiser HD650's "open back" headphones.

My favorite IEM's are the Shure SE535's w/triple micro drivers. They not only sound superb, but they can totally isolate you from air noise & crying children on a long flight.

Senn 650's for portable use? Maybe a re-read of the original post is needed.
Grados makes some nice portable stuff. Igrado and some new in ear stuff.

[coolsax]

I actually use B&W P5, and like them a lot, but i got them used, I wouldn't pay $300 msrp on them, but if you can get them for 150-200 they're pretty good and quality built. the ATH M50 gets a lot of props from Headfi as one of the best bang for buck closed back entry level phones. Grados are a good choice as well portabillity wise, but the over the ear phones are not closed back so they will leak sound if you are worried about that sort of thing.

[GoBigBlue]

Klipsch Image X-10 in ear. I've had them for 3 years and they still sound great. I got them on sale for $100 right after they were discontinued.

[gudnoyez]

I have a pair of Klipsch S4 on my new I POD touch, and some Bose IE 2 on my old MP3 player ,they both sound pretty good the Klipsch seem to be the ones I like best.

[DMara]

So, due to upgrading the player I now need to get some better headphones / ear buds. I spent some time over at Headfi.org looking around and reading and I'm leaning towards the Audio Technica ATH-M50s

If you ever decide to go with Audio Technica, there's some pretty good pricing at The Sound Professionals, make sure you apply the appropriate coupon: http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cg...tegory=coupons

[fastz28]

Sennheiser

[Monster Jam]

Musician buddy and I did a critical comparison of the Audio Technica ATH-M50s (I bought new) and his older AKG Open-back headphones.

I found the Audio Technica headphones had a more forward sound (high and low end slightly exaggerated) and slightly veiled mids while the AKG was nearly flat across the freq range and more revealing. Because the AKG are open back, others can hear them easily.

I walked away feeling that the two headphones were very different and were best suited for specific uses: The Audio Technica phones were best for casual listening while the AKG were best for critical listening (e.g. pro sound mixing, editing, etc.).

My mobile headphones are a pair of in-ear Sony noise-cancelling buds. I selected them as a work award, and I am very satisfied by their sound.

[Gadabout]

For right now, these will be for portable use only. I might consider getting a headphone amp in the future, but for now whatever I get will need to be fairly easy to drive. I'll also probably go with a closed back design or an isolating bud. Mainly for when I'm flying and at other times I'm in close proximity to other people. If it were just for home use, I would definitely get an open back, circumaural headphone.

I'm looking at all your recommendations and still doing more research. The cheapskate in me doesn't know if I should "start out" with a $500 set of headphones. The person in me that bought the Cowon J3, says you should get what will last and sound great and be done with it. The main attraction of the Audio Technica ATH-M50s was the great reviews at an amazing price. Essentially, a bang for the buck kind of deal.

I don't mind wearing in-ear headsets and they are certainly more portable than a set of on ear headphones. Kind of nice that all the Etymotics can get custom fit tips for an extra $100 (with a trip to an Audiologist). I did look at the Shure SE535 & the Sennheiser IE8 specs. If the choice was between these 2, I would try the Sennheisers. (The cheapskate in me speaks again.) The Klipsch x10i would be a consideration if I was using an " i " anything.

Thanks for the tip about Sound Professionals. I'll go take a look at their website. I did find HeadPhone.com that does testing on headphones and has published their graphs (if you like that kind of thing). They even let you compare 4 headphones at a time with 6 different graph types. The one below is frequency response:



Thanks for all your input, I'm still looking around and any comments are appreciated.

Scott

[fastz28]

Sennheiser any of the hd line

[Gadabout]

Musician buddy and I did a critical comparison of the Audio Technica ATH-M50s (I bought new) and his older AKG Open-back headphones.

Monster, when you did this comparrison had the M50s been broken in yet? Just curious as all the reviews mention them opening up after a decent break in time. If they were, broken in then it is probably the difference between open back and closed back being so different for sound stage. Also, if they were that different I might just go with buds for portable use and get a pair of open backs for home and hotel use.

Scott

[fastz28]

driving in most states with headphone on is illeagal

[Gadabout]

Ohhh I wouldn't drive in them. I have USB and Aux inputs for the car stereo. I travel a lot for work. Would be nice to have some good tunes in the motel room and when I fly.

The current headphones and MP3 player are old and don't get much use because I don't care for the MP3 format. I also don't like carrying lots of CD's with me especially this time of year in Texas. I miss not having decent tunes with me when I'm traveling. That's why I decided it was time to upgrade the MP3 player (and headphones / ear buds).

Scott

[coolsax]

driving in most states with headphone on is illeagal

yet unfortunately this doesn't stop people.. I've seen way too many who have earbuds in while driving and recently saw a moron jamming in his car during morning rushhour with over ear headphones on.

[fastz28]

FOR BEST RESULTS A GOOD HEADPHONE AMP/DAC AND A PAIR OF Sennheiser HD ANY OF THE HD LINE

[Monster Jam]

For truly mobile headphone solutions, don't discount the in-ear buds.

In response to your question regarding break-in, I will answer your question truthfully, then inject my own commentary: The M50 headphones were about a week old with less than 12 hours on them. They are about three months old now and have about 24 hours on them. The AKG headphones were pretty old - at least they looked it. He also has a headphone amp and used it with both headphones where I just listed to them through my mp3 player.
The commentary: If you notice difference in these headphones after "break-in period", that means they are broken.

[DMara]

FOR BEST RESULTS A GOOD HEADPHONE AMP/DAC AND A PAIR OF Sennheiser HD ANY OF THE HD LINE

Please don't yell. You stated your opininon in the previous posts, that's good. But please don't try to jam it in continuously and boldly as if your belief would be best for everybody :tongue:

[fastz28]

wasnt yelling didnt notice caps were on.

[fastz28]

from his source to get best sound you would use a headphone amp/dac not my opinion just fact

[TouchOfEvil]

I use some Ultrasone hfi-780's for in home and panasonic hje900's for portables.

[Gadabout]

from his source to get best sound you would use a headphone amp/dac not my opinion just fact

That's true but for now, I won't be getting a headphone amp or DAC. If I decide that I really like the sound from headphones, I'll consider one in the future.

I'm kind of new to headphone listening. That's the reason for all the questions and asking of opinions as I do some research to try and figure some of this out. Since my knowledge on the subject is pretty limited (right now) all opinions and comments are valid as far as I'm concerned.

Thanks for your input,
Scott

[Gadabout]

Sennheiser MM100. Not the best sound quality available, but awesome in every other way. Bluetooth so completely wireless, can sync a phone and an iPod simultaneously. Rechargeable battery last all day. I mainly listen to podcast during the day so having perfect sound is not the highest priority.

The was a video review at Head-Fi about the Sennheiser MM 450 bluetooth noise cancelling headphones (and WOWee). If I flew more, the MM450 would certainly be on my short list

Looks like the Panasonic HJE900's have been discontinued :\


Scott

[sucks2beme]

FOR BEST RESULTS A GOOD HEADPHONE AMP/DAC AND A PAIR OF Sennheiser HD ANY OF THE HD LINE

Not real practical for mobile use. Semi portable(like work) maybe a Pico
combo dac/amp. I believe the OP was looking for something less over the
top.


Gadabout, you ever want to listen to Grados, Senn hd650, or Stax with amps and a DAC,
come see me! There's really a lot of great buds and closed portable choices out there right now.
Unfortunately, my headphone stuff is all for serious home use, so I really don't have any good opinions
about the typical portable market other than the sources you already have(like head-fi).

[Gadabout]

Gadabout, you ever want to listen to Grados, Senn hd650, or Stax with amps and a DAC, come see me! There's really a lot of great buds and closed portable choices out there right now.

Thanks for the offer! Next time I'm out toward the Dallas area I'll give you a shout and see if or schedules match up. I'll be glad to bring the refreshments for the listening session. It would be nice to put my ears on some home listening phones with an amp and DAC.

Since the Cowon is shipping on Monday, I needed to get something for it's arrival. Somehow I just didn't think the Koss PotraPros or my 3 year old Bose ear buds (that I never really used) would do it justice. So, after spending all weekend researching I pulled the trigger.

After all the researching the Shure SE535's were at the top of the list. I was choking on the price. Not that they wouldn't be worth it, but I thought that I should make sure this isn't a passing fancy and I'm actually going to use the new player a lot. The cheap skate in me, won this part of the decision and I reverted to the best bang for the buck argument.

I decided to get the Audio-Technica ATH-M50s headphones. I would like to thank DMara for pointing me to the SoundProfessionals.com. The price on the site was $169 but they were offering a $60 off instant rebate and I couldn't pass up $109 price.

I also wondered if these were going too be to large for me to carry all the time. Size wouldn't be an issue in the hotel, but might be a hassle while flying or the times I'm working alone and I could wear a headset. I decided to see what was out there for in-ear headphones. I spent most of the day waffling back and forth over several models and pricing (as usual). I was considering the:
Shure SE425, Audio-Technica ATH-CKM99, RE0, Sennheiser IE 7.

I wondered about the RE0's build quality. I knew that if I got the Shures or the Sennheisers I would probably wonder what the top of the line always sounded like and might be disappointed that I didn't go all the way. I almost got the CKM-99's because of the low microphonics from the cords. After all the debating, I decided on something else.

I grabbed a pair of Phonak Audeo PFE (Perfect Fit Earphone) 112's. These are a single, balanced armature design. Included are 2 different filters for a mild frequency change (they offer a third filter but has to be bought separately). The reviews at Head-Fi.org were positive for the most part. I was also impressed with the frequency response chart:

The folks at Anything But IPod.com have some better images of the headphones and filters. Should anybody else be interested in IEM reviews, here is a link for a list at Head-Fi.org.

Looking forward to getting this stuff and giving it a whirl. Thanks for all the comments and help. Now, I'm off to find some stuff for converting to FLAC.

Scott

Edit: I forgot to add that I got the Audeo's at Earphone Solutions. They have a 15% off offer. Use the Code H15. They also say they will beat any Amazon price.