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Need new headphones

J

jamesrb

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jul 29, 2004
Messages
1,051
Well, I have the need for some headphones as somebody decided to turn up my old ones and use them as speakers. Now that rattling and distortion doesnt quite work for me, I dont know about you guys. Now, I attempted to post this at head-fi, but for some reason my newly registered, and activated account doesnt have priveledges to post for some reason.

Anyways, I have done my research before posting this. Here is the situation:

Source: an Audigy 2 ZS, where it will serve many purposes (DVD's, TV, Music, Games). The ability to be driven unamped is a must. Also, being able to use it with a discman would be nice, but not required.

Problem: I have a roomate who likes to go to bed at about 11PM, while I am usually up for 3 or 4 hours after that relaxing at the computer. While he is sleeping, I can keep the volumes pretty low, but I have a feeling that Open headphones are out of the question. His bed is about 6 feet from where I sit. I do not mind how much sounds come in, but I guess I need to keep them from going out. I dont really want total isolation either (I at least like to be able to hear the phone and door at low/mid volumes)

Price: under $50 (including shipping). I know this is a limiting factor, but I am in college and do not have a lot of spare cash. Preferably as far under $50 as possible. I understand that there are a lot of good sounding open headphones. It appears that it is the exact opposite with closed headphones.

Priorities:
1. Sound Quality and durability (I am not rough on my stuff, but it is a dorm room)
2. Cord coming out of 1 ear and removable cord (not necessary, but nice)

I do not really care about portability and looks.

If it werent for my sleeping roomate I would probably get the Koss Portapros or the PX100, but I guess I need to get a closed set.
Ideally I would go for the Sennheiser HD-25 SP or the HD-280 PRO, but on my budget it looks like its going to be either the HD-212 PRO or the PX-200.

I have read some people bashing the PX200 for a lack of bass and at the same time heard others bashing it for too much bass. I did read one person say that the headphones would have a lack of bass if being driven by an underpower source and that they had no such lack when adequatley powered, but it was just a random forum post if I remember correctly.

I am open to suggestions.

Anyways where are some good cheap sites to buy headphones from. I do not mind used stuff espicialy if I will be able to get something a little better with it.

Thanks
 
Newegg has the PX200's for 39.95 with 4.99 Fedex Shipping.
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=26-106-334&depa=0

My friend has the PX200's, and he says the noise cancellation leaves a little bit to be desired, when in public. I'm guessing it's because of the compact design. It doesn't surround the ear, but merely sits on top of it. It'll probably do great for you, since you will be using them in a quiet room.

I recently purchased the PX100's. I just tested them out with a rap song with heavy beats, and it's really not very loud. The sounds coming from my mouse clicking and keyboard typing would probably be more of a bother and louder, imho.

Go for the 200's.
 
They are earbuds, but the Sony EX-71 would give you decent sound with no fear of bugging your roomate.
 
mustang_steve said:
They are earbuds, but the Sony EX-71 would give you decent sound with no fear of bugging your roomate.
Click to expand...

I second that. You could be going deaf with high volume and he wouldn't know it.
 
vamp said:
I second that. You could be going deaf with high volume and he wouldn't know it.
Click to expand...
I don't know about that :rolleyes: :D only problem is they are little fragile (for a dorm room) You could also go for the EX 51's they are pretty much the same...
these headphones got a good review by iPod lounge and are cheaper

Personally i'd go with either EX 51 or EX 71
 
I carry mine around outside of their case and use them at work all the time...and my job is anyhting but a desk job....lots of moving around and chances to break em.

Lets put it this way, my nomad zen fell out of my pocket and the only thing that kept the player from hitting the floor was the phones got stuck in my ears....tough phones, but man that incident HURT! :(
 
i considered the in ear stuff, but the more i think about it, i do not want TOTAL isolation (door knocking, fire alarm, phone ringing). And also do not want to have to take the time to put them in and out.
 
I have the etymotic ER-4Ps... while these are beyond both your price range and your preferred type, I did want to address your comments about this type of headphone.

While they are labelled "isolation" phones, they are only so up to a certain point. In this specific case, mine are rated to 20dB. Quiet things are unheard, but things like fire alarms, and phones ringing would be heard.

Second, in my opinion, they do not take any longer to put in or take out than the normal earbud variety. It does take some getting used to, they tend to feel pretty strange at first :)

I just thought I would post this so you dont totally exclude this type of headphone from your search. There is no possible way they could disturb your sleeping roomate, and how many people come knocking on your door while your roomate is sleeping?

I've had many many pairs of cheap headphones, and when I heard about these phones, I was quite skeptical to say the least. I got some with the full intent to return them after finding out it was all hype. 6 months later, and I can't believe I made myself suffer through all those crappy sets :)

P.S. I use these with an Audigy 2 ZS and an iPod.


 
jamesrb said:
i considered the in ear stuff, but the more i think about it, i do not want TOTAL isolation (door knocking, fire alarm, phone ringing). And also do not want to have to take the time to put them in and out.
Click to expand...

If you're listening on a low volume as stated, you're not going to get complete, active noise cancellation. You might not hear a soft door knock, but you'll definitely hear fire alarms and phones ringing. With in-ear style headphones, you'll only get strong outside noise cancellation if you turn up the volume and/or listen to loud music like rock/dance etc.
 
The Sonys have very low isolation...i can hear door knocks if the volume is kept low, but I wont hear say, my computer's case fans. I can also blast to my heart's content.

Remeber, the less sound that can get out, the less sound that can get in. It's a two way street.
 
And the standard Sennheiser recommendation for closed supraaural under $50....
HD-212
 
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