Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
At The Back => Time Out => Topic started by: indysmith on December 30, 2007, 11:19:07 PM
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Sorry about the capitals...
But honestly - this is the biggest, bestest piece of advice any of you will ever have had as music fans.
Get some decent headphones. Real ones; spend some damn money on them. I know loads of people - guitarists, non-guitarists, doesn't matter, who love music, but listen to it through shitety iPod earbuds, or some cr@ppy £20 "streetwear" things...
I got some Grado SR-80s for Christmas (not ridiculously expensive - a bit less than £100; less if ur in the states) and they have COMPLETELY changed the way I listen to music. It's a completely different experience; it's like I'm standing in the room with the musicians, where before i would have had trouble counting the insturments, i can hear every minor detail of each instrument, easily seperating it from the mix. Everything's just fuller, fatter, but also airier than before, retaining clarity at any volume level. I feel involved in the music in a way that i never have before.
This is all awesome - but I've found the greatest thing about these new headphones is that i can now listen to live albums! Before they were a mess of sound, muffled by the bloody screaming audience. Now it's like I'm one of the audience. Shut your eyes and it's like you're standing in the middle of a venue surrounded by hundreds, thousands of people, seeing your favourite band, whenever I like :D It's incredible. I can't preach this enough.
Obviously there will be those of you out there with decent headphones already; please back up my point and share your experiences. Thanks
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Well, ultimately, it depends on your hi fi. A good pair of headphones, however, can give you the equivalent sound quality of a very good hi fi. The better your hi fi, the less earth moving good cans will sound.
That being said, there is an immediacy that you get from headphone listening that only the best hi fi systems, played at reference (often this is also "lease breaking") volume, can achieve.
As for headphones, they fall into 2 categories -- open ear and closed ear. I prefer the naturalness of open ear headphones; their major drawback is the fact that everyone can hear what you hear; they are also a little impractical for tracking -- I prefer closed ear cans for that.
My absolute favourite headphones are made by a Japanese company called STAX. I have a rather old pair of STAX headphones (about 10 years old). They are NOT portable, however; nor would you want to carry them around as they need their own power amplifier and cost a lot of money!!
For more day to day listening, I prefer Grado. I'm on a first name basis with John Grado, as I've been in the audio wars for a looong time. :)
I own the following Grado heaphones:
iGrado (for PSP); my son and daughter use these headphones, too
SR60 (iPod)
SR80 (usually for checking mixes; I think I have 4 pr of these!)
SR125 (music listening)
SR325 (music listening)
RS1 (reference listening)
I also own the Grado RA-1 battery powered headphone amplifier.
The new GS1000 headphones from Grado are truly mind blowing! But, they cost a lot of money!!
For closed ear/in ear listening, I really like ETYMOTIC RESEARCH. They are not cheap, but are the best 'ear bud' style earphones out there.
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i got a pair of sennheisers. the HD280Pro. VERY comfortable, very clear .. they're well worth the money. they might not be the best for mixing, but for tracking they are hard to beat. especially in their pricerange
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For use with my Ipod I use the Bose in ear headphones. I've found them to be a good comprimise between sound quality afordability, and comfort. I know in ear is not the best for sound but when I'm out and about I like to wear a hat without getting it caught in my headphones. Also because they are small I dont feel so much like I'm saying these are really expensive come and mug me.
They come with different size attachments for different size ears. I found the attachments fell off easily so I've had to super glue my size on, but that's ok I'm not exactly going to share them.
There are better more expensive in ear headphones but I thought about £80 was more than enough to spend on an item that I find I have to replace every few years as I use to destruction.
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I use Koss Sparkplugs, not the best quality but a huge improvement over my cr@p ipod headphones I was using beforehand. http://www.koss.com/koss/kossweb.nsf/p?openform&pc^eb^SPARKPLUG
My first pair that I got in america broke, so I got some replacements here and they dont sound as good - much more muffled and bassy whilst the ones I got from america were much clearer and better. Are the ones sold in america any different or did I just get a cr@p replacement pair? They're really comfy though :)
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i got a pair of sennheisers. the HD280Pro. VERY comfortable, very clear .. they're well worth the money. they might not be the best for mixing, but for tracking they are hard to beat. especially in their pricerange
Hi-five fellow hd280pro owner :)
I find them difficult to track with - they tend to slip off too easily if i start to nod my head! Mixing isn't too bad with them, and listening is quite nice, but again, if i lean back into my chair, they slip off my head :p
Def. worth the money though :)
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your head is too small :P
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I use:
Senn HD25
Tracking and some mixing. Great cans. My favourite sounding, and tough as coffin nails. Outside of my Adams and B&Ws/NAD my main reference cos I know them iside out.
Senn HD202
Tracking: decent sound for the money, and good isolation. I dont mind throwing them around, either. 3m cable is handy too.
Future Sonic Atrios (IEMs)
Mixing and tracking. Amazing sound for in ears. The only thing stopping them being my best sounding is a slightly overhyped low end. Otherwise phenomenal
Shure E4 (IEMs)
Refference. Very clear, but not so pleasing to listen to cos of being a bit sterile and (though actually perfectly flat: the vast majority of speakers and phones overhype bass at least a little) subjectively lacking low end.
Senn CX300: for MP3 players. Overhyped bass and a bit sibillant, but tollerable for sitting at my desk or marching about the place. Good for the money (bought so I can keep my atrios and shures at home rather than put expensive phones in harms way).
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@ TO: those Grados look nice, but none of them are closed construction... that is really unfortunate. I am all about the closed construction headphones. I feel that the isolation creates the perfect atmosphere in which to work with mixes. I am not planning on spending any major money on nice headphones right now though.
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I'm happy with my Skullcandy ones.
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my sennheisers are the best thing I ever bought, I've got the PC150s for £45 a few years ago, so much better than the cr@p I used to use, everything is clearer and more defined, if they ever break I'm gunna spend £150 on a top of the range pair
anyone got any idea how the top of the range sennheisers compare to mine? I'm guessing the main benefit would be more defined and sharper bass
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i got a pair of sennheisers. the HD280Pro. VERY comfortable, very clear .. they're well worth the money. they might not be the best for mixing, but for tracking they are hard to beat. especially in their pricerange
+1 I own these too, and they are just second to none! very good value, very flat frequency response, and very high noise reduction -32dB! I've used them to mix loads of material, and they work fine.
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I'm looking for some headphones for out and about ipod listening. I watched Reign Over Me last week and Adam Sandler's headphones looked so comfy, but not huge and obtrusive. So something of good quality but wont make me feel like I'm wearing a helmet.
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@ TO: those Grados look nice, but none of them are closed construction... that is really unfortunate. I am all about the closed construction headphones. I feel that the isolation creates the perfect atmosphere in which to work with mixes. I am not planning on spending any major money on nice headphones right now though.
Also useless for tracking.
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i just dug out the record player and I've hooked it up to my A/V reciever, which i got my headphones plugged into.
Dug out loads of old queen, genesis, XTC, Jam, Boomtown Rats, Sex Pistols, Dire Straits, Barry Manalow (!?!?!?) etc. This is AWESOME. actually flawless audio (minus a few pops and clicks, which add character anyways).
LOVE IT. Just gotta figure a way to get this gear back to Uni.
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I've got a set of Sennheisers too. HD555s I think.
Really makes a change from tinny PC speakers. Of course what TO said is true though; Hi-fi's just rule. Don't have a personal system myself but my parents have got a rig downstairs and it's awesome just sitting back and cranking the volume. Best way to listen to music, imo.
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I've been listening my gf's hello kitty cd player, was amazed how good zakk wylde's rhythm tone sounds on ozzy - facing hell, I think I've been using headphones for so long I've never noticed what I've been missing out on, I thought my sennheiser pc150s we're good but they are no match for my gf's cd player, in the bassier department at least
how much do you need to spend on headphones do get a really good clear, well defined bass sounds?
ps the compressed sounds of the song on youtube probably doesn't help but I'm sure the real cd would still not be as sharp in the bass on this headphones)
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I've been listening my gf's hello kitty cd player, was amazed how good zakk wylde's rhythm tone sounds on ozzy - facing hell, I think I've been using headphones for so long I've never noticed what I've been missing out on, I thought my sennheiser pc150s we're good but they are no match for my gf's cd player, in the bassier department at least
how much do you need to spend on headphones do get a really good clear, well defined bass sounds?
ps the compressed sounds of the song on youtube probably doesn't help but I'm sure the real cd would still not be as sharp in the bass on this headphones)
Indeed, nothing matches a good speaker. Have you ever heard Zack Wylde through £40,000 speakers? It will make you cry! with tears of joy :twisted:
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Indeed, nothing matches a good speaker. Have you ever heard Zack Wylde through £40,000 speakers? It will make you cry! with tears of joy :twisted:
I get to do that every day through multiple choices: JMLab Grande Utopias, Peak Consult El Diablos at the +$100K range, and may more choices in the $20-40k range as well.
Depends on the album, however. The older stuff, especiall Book Of Shadows sounds amazing on a proper hi fi, as well as Blessed Hellride. On a reference system, those albums are jaw dropping experiences!
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I have to say, book of shadows is awesome
BUT
Blessed hellride sounds pretty cr@ppy on my
EMU1616M -> Adam A7s + (NAD 352 ->B&W DM602s) #
And with both the adams and the NAD+B&Ws sperately.
Plus my CD players, technics pgsl409 (I know its a bang-for-buck player but its OK) and awia XC005- sounds no different and worse, respectively.
Now I realise that this is NOT by any stretch of the imagination a high class system. Oh no. Not at all. But it owns the living $%&# out of everything else I've ever seen in anyones lounge and.....
Blessed hellride sounds high middy and obnoxious. If it doesnt sound good on that, what eactly is it supposed to sound good on? A one-box sony? An average car stereo? I think the blessed hell not!
If its produced to sound great on only super-high-end gear then its produced badly IMO.
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Just got a pair of SR-80s through the post on Indys recommendation and love them. They do seem a bit thinner/less bassy than my Koss Sparkplugs, but they're so much clearer and better, I can hear everything properly now :D
Just listening to the Best of Black Sabbath through them, its so good :D I think I'm going to have to go back and buy most of the cds I've downloaded though, as a lot of them are pretty poor quality mp3 rips. Sounded fine through my creative pc speakers but I keep hearing clipping and just generally poor quality through these :(
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I had a bad ass pair of Bang & Olafsaon headphones (until they got stood on). Best advice I can give is to stay away from any with a volume control on the lead, I kill loads of headphones by breaking this.
Really makes a change from tinny PC speakers.
Connect it to the stereo :lol:
At uni we nicked a projector and were playing worms armageddon on my bedroom wall with the volume through the stereo
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The new GS1000 headphones from Grado are truly mind blowing! But, they cost a lot of money!!
No kidding ..... £549? .... Holy sh*t!!!!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BRAND-NEW-GRADO-GS-1000-GS1000-Headphones_W0QQitemZ260206453587QQihZ016QQcategoryZ109019QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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I'm going home tomorrow guys to fetch my Graham Slee Voyager headphone amp that's just been built for me. It's going to be ridiculously delicious I think (and hope!!), although I've read that they can take upwards of 400hours play to burn in. my 'phones are going to have fused to my head by the end of Feb!
I've read no bad reviews of it at all, so it seems a pretty safe bet, and it's portable which is nice for the train :D
http://www.gspaudio.co.uk/preamps/voyager.htm
Also - loosely connected to headphones... I fancied a headphone stand so i'm bidding on this awesome 1920s mannequin head on eBay. It'll be AWESOME if i get it. I think i might decorate her a bit, make her a bit of a cyborg 8)
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Most electronic components need 1-200 hrs to break in.
Any component with moving parts (loudspeakers, headphones) need anywhere from 300-1,200 hrs.
I would run music through the amp continuously (while it's seeing the load from the cans) for a week to be on the safe side.
EDIT: Indy, you might consider getting a good pair of interconnects to put between your source and the headphone amplfier, too.
At the price point you are in, I would recommend the following:
Nordost Blue Heaven
Straightwire Symphony II
Kimber PBJ
You can usually find high end cables for really good prices if you get em used.
If your source only has a mini jack output, look into the mini-to-RCA cables made by these companies.
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Sennheisers - HD580. they used to sound great now one ear doenst always work.
Its not the speaker part its the lead connection. The lead is detachable. They plug into the earmuff part with a 2 pin type connection. When I pull the headphone lead in one direction that side works again. It must be the connection. I dont know how to fix it. Can they be taken apart?
They were very expensive at the time and they sounded amazing. Headphones are def worth the money especially if your in a shared house or uni and want a gd sound.
Can anyone advise how to fix this?
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I've ordered some SR325i's :D (dispatched today!) apparently they're very bright and forward sounding (classic Grado sound exaggerated), with ridiculous amounts of detail. I can hardly wait :D Also due to their superb accuracy they're supposed to be great for mixing, which'll be handy. :D
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325s are very nice.
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Im a Music tech student and headphones are absolutely esential!!
The first pair i bought were cheap sony's then i got some AKG K81 (amazing bass resonse!!!) but my faves ever are my equation audio RP 21's. they sound very close to my freinds grado sr80's and at only around 70. they also have veryvery good isolation which i consider very important for headphones
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OH MY GOD. All i can say right now.
Yesterday some SR325i's and an Apogee Duet turned up at my house (new headphones and source in the same day 8) nice). It's amazing - added SO much more detail and richness to my setup! I'd heard the SR325i's were rather cold and analytical, and while they have ridiculous amounts of detail and are incredibly accurate, I find them to be warm, thick, fat, and revealing. Brutal to bad recordings they are, and uncomfortable they are (as with all grados, except these have aluminium alloy cans, so are heavier on the head), but never have I heard ANYTHING so revealing and true to the recording.
The SR80s will still be getting a lot of headtime, as they sound more 'fun' with any genre of music (kind of like there an e.q. dialed in), but thats not to discredit the 325s which sound delicious - as I speak I'm hearing background guitar passages I'd NEVER noticed before in an album which has a playcount of 48 on iTunes!