Headphones

[OKCisOK4me]

What kind of headphones do you like? Open ear, over the ear, earbuds? Do you consider yourself as the Joe Blow consumer who drops $20-50 on a basic set or are you an audiophile that goes all out and drops $600 on a pair of headphones?

I recently purchased a Fiio Alpen E17 Portable Amp/DAC and it's very easy to distinguish the difference in both types of headphones I own, those being Skullcandy earbuds and Skullcandy Roknation Aviators. I've been researching different manufacturers of various over ear headphones that have rich bass and still carry vibrant mids and highs. Brands I've studied so far are Sony, Sennheiser, V-MODA, B&W, Denon and a few others I can't recall.

Anyone else into this?


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[Plutonic Panda]

Sennheiser HD800s. Yes, they are $1,500, but are truly the best headphones I've ever had(or seen anywhere). Your ears orgasms will have mini orgasms inside of a third party orgasm, don't ask me what that means or why it is, but trust me, if you listen to them, you'll never go back.



Sennheiser HD 800 Stereo headphones at Crutchfield.com

[BBatesokc]

Earphones are like sunglasses for me..... they must serve their purpose, not look ridiculous and have to be cheap because I'm going to lose or break them quite often.

I use Bose noise canceling over the ear head phones at home and work. I always buy them on clearance at Target. Just bought a pair two weeks ago marked down from $174 to $43. For working out or being active and mobile and I the over the ear type because the ones like you get standard with an iPhone won't stay in my ears for nothing. I usually buy them at TJ Max as they often have $30 earphones for $12. The sound isn't a huge deal to me in those because I turn it way down so I can hear approaching/passing traffic, etc.

(FYI - As for sunglasses - $20 for 2 at a kiosk at the mall)

[Urbanized]

Pretty happy with my Beats Bluetooth wireless headphones. Although the Bluetooth function results in a bit of an audio compromise vs regular Beats headphones, they still sound better than most headphones and the wireless capability is a revelation.

[mkjeeves]

Bose Quietcomfort 15. They were gift several years ago. Love them.

[Easy180]

Wear earbuds when I mow. That's about the extent of my headphone wear

[OKCisOK4me]

I bought some different earbuds today, Sol Republic. They're no better than the Skullcandys I already have. I'll be returning them.

I'd love to get those HD800s but, daaaaamm, on the price. Thanks for the hilarious description though. I think I'll end up purchasing the Sennheiser Momentums when it comes down to it.


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[Plutonic Panda]

haha no prob... Also, I believe you can back $250 with mail in rebate also

[elitespy]

I tend to go for the gaming headsets myself. I had a nice pair of Razer headphones where the mic detached and they were just regular headphones but my two year old broke em. Now I have a pair of Turtle Beaches.

[woodyrr]

I use a David Clark Stereo aviation headset when I am at work in a high noise level environment.

https://www.davidclark.com/StereoHeadset.html



I use Grado SR80s at home where it is quiet.

Grado Labs | SR80i



I had a very nice pair of Sennheisers, but the wires were very flimsy and kept breaking. Not good for a multi hundred dollar pair of headphones.

[bluedogok]

I typically use earbuds, a full over the ear just doesn't work well for me because of the situations I use them in (motorcycle riding in a helmet, walking, at work). I use some mid priced Sony over the ear at home when I am doing something like working late and my wife is sleeping, other than that I am listening to the computer hooked to a stereo at home.

For a good earbud I have the Etymotic ER-6i (around $80, they recently dropped the ER-6i for other models) and also have some cheap ones in the JVC Marshmallow ($15-20). I am not a fan of the silicone tips so I usually go through the first set of foam tips, the Ety come with both and the Marshmallow is the foam tip version, they have a silicone tip version. After that set I buy Comply foam tips.

Etymotic Reseach
JVC Marshmallow
Comply

[Money Shot]

Earbuds kill my ears for some reason, I've been using the kids beats when I can sneak them away, they sound good and are soft on your ears.

[Mel]

Only time I use headphones is watching tv or computer stuff. My hearing is so frequency impaired I don't buy real big money H.P.'s. Earbuds drive me crazy.

[MadMonk]

Wear earbuds when I mow. That's about the extent of my headphone wear

It's pretty much the same for me. I use my Galaxy S5 to stream Pandora and just use the earbuds that came with it.

[shawnw]

Keep in mind that you can support a local business by purchasing your earbuds or headphones from OKC-based DD Audio (DD Audio | True to the Source). Most of their selling occurs via resellers, but their direct-to-consumer site is Welcome to DD 4 Life - Audio for Your Life.

To tie this into OKCTalk, their manufacturing facility used to be at 9th and Classen (now the flower shop). They expanded from that 5K sqft facility to the present 12k sqft facility at 1st and Klein in 2006 (former Electricians Union building), and they are already looking for a bigger facility in the core with ~17k sqft (on one floor, vs the two floors they have now) as their operation is growing by leaps and bounds. You can help that growth by buying from them and telling your friends!

(Disclosure, I'm a long time friend of the ownership, but I don't own stock or anything like that. Just want to see my friends do well. Personally, I own their earbuds and home audio equipment.)

[SSEiYah]

I like the Audio-Technica ATH-M50, great headphones for the price. Not very portable. They run about $100 and pair well with a Fiio amp however work fine without an amp.

[adaniel]

I always try to spend a little on good headphones. Its not like I am feeding my non-existant children....ah, the joys of being single.

In any event, I do like the new generation of Bose Headphones. I have a pair of AE2 noise cancelling wrap arounds that I keep at home. You can usually pick them up for under $150. The best part of is the wire disconnects from the headphone. This may sound unusual but typically headphones start going out when the wires inside the cord start getting tangled up, and it happens commonly right where the cord connects to the device. By making it a plug instead of just connecting normally you can prevent this. I also have a paor of Bose sport earbuds that I usually wear when running or at work. They are usually no more than $90.

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT buy skull candy earbuds. They are very prone to going out in one ear, largely due to the wires in the cord getting tangled. In a 6 month period I went thrugh 3.

[Joe Kimball]

I use all three types. I use each kind depending on what I'm doing, or using them for.

For general listening when sound leakage to the outside isn't a issue (that is, not the library), I use my favorite ones, Koss KSC-75s. They're considered by the site to which I linked to be among the best of their type, and they're quite cheap! In general, open-back headphones such as the Grados and those first, really expensive ones mentioned are going to be most accurate.

For closed-back listening, I use a pair of AKG K-44s, which are decent for the price. They're not horrible, but like many closed-backs, they're a tad boomy in the midrange. They're definitely good for the price, and many cuts above those random style-type you'll find on the rack at Fye or Ross.

And, for when I'm playing, I'll use whatever cheap earbuds I can get my hands on. I'll fit to them some plunger-type isolation tips that I got with another set of monitor-type earbuds that have since bit the dust. For what I'm doing, all I want to hear is the click and the other instruments with moderate definition, with as little sound leakage as possible.

[Prunepicker]

I liked the Boze headphones from about 10 years ago. My only complaint
was that they were very hot, temperature wise. I found myself removing
them after a few minutes. The sound was very, very good. I use Sony
headphones once or twice a week for rehearsals and performances, I'm a
pro musician. They aren't hot but they don't have the sonics of the Boze.
I simply deal with them because they are for a working purpose and not for
a crucial listening experience.

[bradh]

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT buy skull candy earbuds. They are very prone to going out in one ear, largely due to the wires in the cord getting tangled. In a 6 month period I went thrugh 3.

That and they're made for Yao Ming. I bought a pair once and they were always getting in the way at the gym. The cord length was insane.

[OKCisOK4me]

That's really interesting about the local company. Looks like a solid pair of over ear headphones. I will surely check them out. I do hope they're still on sale when that time comes. Thanks for the link, Shawn!


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[shawnw]

That's really interesting about the local company. Looks like a solid pair of over ear headphones. I will surely check them out. I do hope they're still on sale when that time comes. Thanks for the link, Shawn!

No problem. For whatever reason they're a lot more well known internationally (and even nationally) than they are here in Oklahoma. But their biggest subwoofers hold a number of world records (for decibles) and they are produced by hand right here in OKC and shipped to distribution centers all over the world.

Personally I'm on my second set of headphones of theirs (newer model, not worn out) and my home entertainment speakers are still doing great after five years, but part of that might be because living in an apartment I can never turn them up more than half-way without the entire floor hearing them. At the owner's place they have a party room with 32 satellite speakers and 8 16-inch subwoofers hooked into their audio setup and when they crank it up you can literally hear it crystal clear, no distortion, at the end of their street (the cops have been called more than once).

[shawnw]

p.s. Before the Frequency club in Bricktown closed down, they had a deal with DD Audio. The entire wall of subwoofers were DD speakers, that were provided and installed for free, on the condition of being able to use Frequency as a "demo lab" for VIPs checking out their equipment. If you had ever been to Frequency and appreciated the loudness and clarity, you know what DD speakers are like.

[Zuplar]

Wear earbuds when I mow. That's about the extent of my headphone wear

This is me. I had mine given to me cause I didn't like the awkward ones that came with the iPhone. I have thought to upgrading, but the ones I have work, so no point in replacing.

[OKCisOK4me]

I just purchased a pair of the DD Audio DXB-03 headphones and I must say that I'm very impressed. I checked out a pair of Beats Pro that a buddy of mine owns and these are very comparable.