Headphones (again)

oXYnary

The headphones I bought 1 year back broke so Im going for a real pair this time (the original thread didnt cover these below).

Ok I have been trying for the last two weeks to get an over the ear headphone that I can listen to without my ear cartilage literally becoming painful after an hour. So that means a full ear surrounding. Not this dj types you see everywhere that place the pressure still on the ear.

If I could find them for under $100 the sennheiser hd580 would be perfect. Of course I cant find any deals that good even on ebay.

The Grado hd80 are incredible sounding for the price, but im not sure if I will still encounter ear fatigue with their design.

My current "test bed" is the AKG k301. No longer made. I plan to return them as supposedly I got a smoking deal for some display models for $100 they said was worth $200 when new. Turns out the k301 "xtra", the model that replaced it brand new can be had for the same price. They dont fatigue my ears and sound good, but <u>I don't like being fucked with</u>.

Any other suggestions $100 price point. Over ear. No ear buds, or anything else. Hell maybe one of you know someplace I can ge the sennheiser hd580 from in my price range. Or maybe one of you with some grados can comment on long listening periods?

I should mention I have been all over the puget sound the last three weeks trying to get a decent pair. The above are my current attempt. Needless to say Im getting frustrated.

Joshua Stubbles

I use some pretty decent sony headphones at work. Can't remember the model name. Only like $39. Good low respones (10-60hz), and the highs go into the 30-40,000khz range.
Good for the money. They've lasted about 5 months now, still no issues with them.

oXYnary

Are they surrounding the ear though? Click on my links to see what I mean. The cheap ones just wont cut it anymore.

LAGtheNoggin

Don't be so sure ear surrounding headphones will cure your problems, I've used a few pairs of buckets in my time and the weight, heat, and pressure that builds up under the headphones can prove uncomfortable surprisingly quickly.

Personally I use the Grados, they're light weight and breezey so they're good on long stretches, however they're not perfect, they do put pressure on your ear cartilage and you'll find yourself shifting them now and again, still, they're the pair I can last longest with. Sound wise they're also some of the best, but that comes at a price, even at low volume they'll fill a room with tinny sounds leaving them completely unuseable in an office.

Leave Grados at home. For work I've been recommended the Sennheisers.

PaK

I have 2 pairs of headphones. These are the ones I use when I exercise. They accually cancel sound just as well as my sienhausser's but I can't hang them around my neck when people come to my desk to talk.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000779...ce&n=172282

I used to always get the headphones that cover your entire ear cuz I thought it'd keep out sound. Then a co-worker of mine let me borrow these for a day:

-They don't hurt you ears, even if you use them form the morning to the night.
-They cancel sound very well
-They aren't crazy expensive
-They sound great!
-You can pull them off fast and talk to people, unlike buds.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000089...p;s=electronics


-R

Striff

I have Plantronic's DSP 500. Love em, although they are a headset, so they have a mic. They dont enclose your ear, but I can have em on all day without discomfort. Had em for a year without any problem what so ever.

oXYnary

[ QUOTE ]
Don't be so sure ear surrounding headphones will cure your problems, I've used a few pairs of buckets in my time and the weight, heat, and pressure that builds up under the headphones can prove uncomfortable surprisingly quickly.

[/ QUOTE ]

From personally experience though, having to "vent" my ears for a minute or so to get some air in or having to shift them versus literally with the on the ear type wincing when I take of headphones or even shift them and my ears feel raw, I would take the buckets anyday.

[ QUOTE ]
even at low volume they'll fill a room with tinny sounds leaving them completely unuseable in an office.

Leave Grados at home. For work I've been recommended the Sennheisers.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good advice. I didn't think about that portion (the noise the open ones would create). Im working in a quite studio and I dont want to bug my neighbors.

*Sigh* Guess that leaves the Sennheisers. I mean they are wonderful. Lite, incredible clean rich sound, and they use a felt/velvet type material versus leather or plastic so it feels like your ears are surrounded by pillows.

Man. Anyone know of any black market dealers?

(Pak, though the ones you listed are good for noisy enivironments, they literally kill the depth of the music. The inverse noise they create also cancels some of the richness of the music itself. There is a reason none of the audio companies offer any of their higher end range with noise cancellation.)

Rhinokey

http://www.bose.com/controller?event=DTC...&src=k15318 i own a pair of these, and why they are pretty frail, mine have broke once, bose has an excellant replacement plan, (i just put a drop of super glue on mine tho.) they sound great and are REALLY comfortable, VERRY COMFORTABLE

Downsizer

http://turtlebeach.com/site/products/earforce/hpa/producthome.asp

Amplified 5.1 Surround Headphones. Not as comfortable as I would like in the ear padding, but the auto adjusting suede head rest is quite comfy. I use them with an Xfi Plat.

The downside. They use an AC Adaptor... so.. not very portable.

hawken

noise cancellation really works, get some of them, it's honestly the best option for work environments. Especially when you have annoying co-workers!

LAGtheNoggin

Whoop, just managed to get my hands on a pair of Sennheiser HD600s to compare with my Grado SR125s, both one model up from what you're after, or thereabouts, so they should be compareable.

First noteable point is that the HD600s sound mushy. Grados in comparison are clear and immediate. Given the price differences between the two, I'm surprised.

In terms of comfort, the Sennheisers keep off your ears and are nice, although much hotter and heavier than Grados. I'm finding the skull area around my ears tire quicker than my cartalidge does, maybe due to lack of training. So I gotta love the Grados here again.

As for external noise, the Sennheisers are better performing, keeping more sound in your ears than outside, but they're still very noisy using the open air design and you will annoy table neighbours. Open airs really aren't good for office.

Verdict:
GRADOS ARE AWESOME.

Well that really wasn't much help... Sorry!

oXYnary

LOL. No, but I agree on the grados (american made to). I would say though the Sennheisers would carry less sound through a room however. Its also not like I play them loud. These are a better option than in the ear types which put the sound too close to your eardrum.