Hello all, Regrettably, I spend less and less time at home these days and more and more time listening to soundtracks on my iPod. I acknowledge that this isn't the ideal way to listen to music from an audiophile's perspective, but I suspect that the choice of headphones might improve the listening experience. So, my question to you more experienced listeners out there is: what headphones or ear buds do you use to listen to your scores?
I tend to run with my iPod quite a bit as well, so ideally I'm looking get a decent pair of earbud style headphones. My budget would allow me to get anything under about $75 or so.
I use Bose earbuds. I used to have over-ear earphones, but I found not only that my ears got warmer, but also that the positioning of my head was more limited, and that I sometimes got annoying "earphone hair". The Bose earbuds are moderately expensive, but they're comfortable and the sound is beautiful.
used both of em and they're both great. if you can afford it go with the klipsch one, but if you're on a budget J4 is great. just have to burn them in after you get it.
although if you're running with it don't know why you want one that goes in the ear. won't it keep slipping out? *yeah I know that's what she said*
I got a pair of black Sony MDREX71SL earbuds. They're the best earbuds I've owned. I need to get the white pair as the black pair something isn't quite right with them.
Hey, Capt. Don't feel like the "lone ranger". I use my ear buds endlessly. You are correct, most of the people on the board are kinda "uppity" about the sound quality of I-Pad.....Personally, I enjoy the music too much to worry about whether I may be loosing a few decibels in the bass or treble....As to selection of ear buds, I use MONSTER TURBINES. The only complaint I have is about the soft rubber inserts (ear inserts) that are not good if you are jogging or on the tread-mill -they have a habit of vibrating out too easily. I think I would try the "expanding" type which automatically seals the ear canal after placement. They also have better noise cancellation......... Cost can be a little steep ($100.00+), but you may be able to find a deal on Amazon... Hope this helps,
I use a pair of Shure 500E's with iPhone (probably 3 years now) and they are great but very expensive. They are fairly/very* (*depends on ear shape) good at isolating outside noise.
I want to get something more comfortable for living room/hifi use. Probably going to try the can's that Mark Isham suggests.
Mark Isham apparently uses:
"For traveling I use the Bose Quiet COmfort 15 noise canceling headphones. In the studio or at home I love the Sony Studio Monitor MDR-7506. I also have m-audio headphones."
Well it depends I think on how sensitive you are to noises and stuff. I have a great set of in the ear headphones the Sleek Audio SA6. They have ear plug style tips so they may be uncomfortable for you in the ear while running, at least for me the noise of my foot steps is a bit too much. I can't run with any headphones in because the cable noise drives me nuts.
I have all my music on a Cowon S9. Currently I use either a set of Klipsch Custom 3's or a pair of Koss PortaPros. Other headphones I've owned were the Bose Triport AE, the Bose Triport OE (great sound, but only for short listening sessions due to ears getting hot and head clamping force), the Bose Triport IE (they were ok, but the sound wasn't FULL enough for me), and the Sennheiser PX100 (very similar to the Koss PortaPros but not as comfortable and more expensive). I really want to try the new Klipsch Image One On-Ear headphones. I've heard they sound great.
I use Sony's MDR-V6. They won't quite give you the detail, especially in the surrounds, that phones like Sennheiser would. But you'll get crisp, clear and unfiltered audio:
Don't forget that the MP3 player and encoding bitrate of your MP3s make a big difference too. Cowon is well known for the playback quality of their media players; they just came out with a 160 GB rival to the iPod Classic called the X7. I don't put anything less than 320 kbps MP3s on mine.
VBR V-0 is typically better than 320kbps for your mp3 encoding. Especially for soundtracks you will get smaller files by a significant degree because it lowers the bitrate for the quiet parts. Only with stuff like metal is 320 worthwhile because there is no dynamic range.
Oh one thing I should add try and get "Closed" headphones if you are getting over earphones. "Open" leak noise which will likely annoy anyone sitting nearby. I trailed a pair years ago with the idea that I could listen to them while the missus watched telly. They didn't work well as the sound competed and just annoyed my wife.
The cord is ridiculously long (I have it shortened with a band) and I've never really been able to tell if the "sound mode switch" on either side has any real effect. I swapped the leathery skinned pads for fabric pads from older headphones because of both comfort and noise, since those leathery pads both stick when it's hot, and are always squeaking and making creaking sounds, similar to sitting on a leather chair.
I use mp3 LAME VBR-0 (like Siriusjr mentioned), and 256kbps (iTunes' Plus) / 320kbps / Apple Lossless, depending on the source.
I alternate between a pair of Audio Technica ATH-AD700s for film music, and Grado SR-80s for rock/indie/dance/jazz etc. The Audio Technicas are superb for revealing every nuance in the original recording, assuming one uses Apple Lossless (or similar) and NOT NOT NOT MP3s. How anyone can make comments on the sound quality of a release, when they're listening to a track which has literally had sounds digitally thrown away - that it *thinks* you cannot hear - for the sole purpose of taking up less HD space is beyond me. In effect you've altered (or remastered!) what you're listening to, possibly without realising it! Likewise anyone who listens with a cheap $20 pair of buds and a laptop is NOT going to hear how good (or bad!) the release in question is.
I get quite annoyed when I see people commenting authoritively about a scores sound quality, and then find out in another thread that they're using inadequate equipment to listen to the scores on... Must drive soundtrack labels and those that put the care/love into the mastering up the wall when all their good work is undone by crappy equipment and MP3s.....
If one REALLY loves film music you need to invest a little money into the gear that reproduces it - there's no way around that.
If one REALLY loves film music you need to invest a little money into the gear that reproduces it - there's no way around that.
Rant over
This is very true. The labels invest so much effort and money into making their releases sound so great that it drives me crazy when I read that people are using ear buds out of their laptops.
