This is a thread discussing about the various earphones, headphones and in-ear monitors we own and love. Post pics and some info about your gear, and gladly help of those wanting to have them.
First of all - classification:
1. Earphones - The most common type of all. Earphones reside in your ears, delivering portable music on-the-go. They usually have small dynamic drivers that have decent sound quality, while others are fine-tuned for detailed music. These do not block any outside noise, as they do not seal your ears.
2. In-ear Monitors - Also known as canalphones, IEM's sit deep inside your ear canal, delivering better sound quality and even blocking out noise. They have smaller, more-efficient drivers that are very sensitive to the volume. While capable of having superior sound output, these phones are uncomfortable to most people. These are usually used in concerts by artists, as they need the superior isolating features of IEM's.
3. Headphones - Literally called "cans", the headphones are the largest ones available and are bulky. However, the size enables them to carry more detailed and powerful drivers, sometimes using neodymium magnets to produce incredible detail. These range from cheap phones found in computer shops to expensive ones that are for audiophiles. The sound output from studio-grade headphones are the closest thing you can get to an authentic listening experience.
So, here is my baby, the Sennheiser HD 555 audiophile headphone.
It is just a mid-high end headphone but still delivering impressive clarity and detail in any music type. Very expensive at 7k, it is still worth the money considering its neodymium magnet drivers and advanced technologies present. Its frequency range is 15-28,000 Hz (way beyond our human ear ROFL) and has an impedance of 50 ohms (easier to drive using portable players). there are even better models than this one, believe me.
So, how about you guys? Express your headphone and earphone thoughts and questions here.
I dun invest that much on my earphones/headsets. I have two audio technicas, one pioneer, and one phillips. I switched to the wire headset thingy from the bulky full blown headsets from pioneer and philips since both of the "sets" broke. I use my green earphones mainly for listening to music while i'm on my bed. And the pink wire headset when I play on me pink psp and laptop. wooo! pink power. :))
What was the model of your Audio Technica? It's a great brand of audio products. If you want earphones, you can get cheap Sennheiser/Pioneer ones for great sound quality.
I really don't get why other teens go for SkullCandy phones. they're not that great in sound quality, and their absurd size and design makes them look goofy on the streets. They could have invested in better headphones which offer better musical detail.
-- Edited by jjsoviet on Tuesday 9th of June 2009 02:11:56 AM
(PICTURE IS NOT OF MY EARPHONES. They just look the same, except mine's pink )
I use these. They're shoved deep in your ear so tightly that you can hear your teeth grinding. But even if you put the volume to zero on your iPod, you'll still hear music playing.
I have horrible luck with earphones or in-ear monitors. They never last long no matter how nice their make is. It's either only one earphone plays, or they snap, or they don't play at all.
__________________
Glee's my new black. This is how a high school musical should be.
If you have the money, invest in Shure, Klipsch or Ultimate Ears earphones. Those things have a 2 year warranty, and also have tough construction. They're generally worn by professionals and audio enthusiasts and they say they're hard to break. Some parts are also replaceable.
Seriously, what is up with SkullCandy? I don't catch their drift.
-- Edited by jjsoviet on Tuesday 9th of June 2009 02:19:32 AM
@jjsoviet The pink wire headset from Audio Technica is a special edition ATH-ON3 Onto. The green earphones are also from Audio Technica, but i dun know what model they are. D: My classmate from high school has one of those Skull Candy headphones and it has this bass woofer thingy that's powered by 2 double A batteries. Lulz. The phones have prety decent bass power when you turn the woofer thingy on. If they arent, the sound isn't that much great. Not even enough to mask out the sounds of a regular classroom.
@Giselle woot pink power, eh? :P Have the same problem with headphones. As mentioned, two of mine have snapped. The worst thing that's happenned is that my Samsung YP-K5's included in-ear phones lost the rubbery thing that makes it "in-ear". Huhu.
-- Edited by Erika on Tuesday 9th of June 2009 02:20:35 AM
-- Edited by Erika on Tuesday 9th of June 2009 02:22:41 AM
Earphones generally have thin cables, thus easy to break. If you're one of those annoyed by the breakage, I recommend using portable cans that have thicker cables. Try Sennheiser PX100 or the Grado SR60.
Sennheiser PX100
Grado SR60
-- Edited by jjsoviet on Tuesday 9th of June 2009 02:25:05 AM
Actually, the wires arent the ones that are breaking. My mp3 player recently lost its left audio because of too much yanking. It damages the jacks and all. @_@ I wish they sell Replugs here in the Phils. http://www.replug.com/home.php
-- Edited by Erika on Tuesday 9th of June 2009 02:29:32 AM
Highly unlikely. Putting foreign objects inside jacks might do more damage than good. Aluminum isn't gonna improve an earphone's performance; people may expect it to conduct better, but a wiser action would be using better connectors.
You had me at "2 Year Warranty". Are they incredibly expensive? I'd want to try those, but I don't trust myself at not breaking them. Maybe I'll just stick to cheap regular disposable earphones :|
They're more of aesthetic than function.
Skullcandy's kind of like Von Dutch. It's the new "in" thing that would probably die down soon. Some people buy it because it's not the typical black gigantic headphones they'd normally see, and compared to a few of those black ones, Skullcandy's pretty cheap.
In function, I don't see any significant difference from using normal, non-Skullcandy earphones/headphones.
__________________
Glee's my new black. This is how a high school musical should be.
Do you know that Klipsch's cheapest IEM is around 5K and the most expensive is at 25K? Yup, they're serious about the technology involved in earphones. The price is likely to be very expensive, as most high-end equipment are carefully made with the best materials and technologies in the audio world.
They're dead serious about the tech in their products.
-- Edited by jjsoviet on Tuesday 9th of June 2009 02:41:20 AM
Maybe I'll just stick to cheap regular disposable earphones :|
If you're looking for reaaal cheap stuff, try CD-R King's own set of ear/headphones. Haha. They cost 150 bucks a pop. They produce pretty decent sound. :)
And well, they don't look *that* bad.
-- Edited by Erika on Tuesday 9th of June 2009 02:43:34 AM
I've been through countless generic earphones, and their only flaw is their lifespan. Cheap as they are, it's hard to replace them after a month's use. Stick to precision-engineered products that are reliable and deliver excellent quality sound.
Good to see you're using the reliable Sennheiser MX series. I believe the MX 360 is around Php700-800, right? It delivers good stereo sound for a relatively low price.
@Erika
I understand, since you're a casual listener. Hardcore audiophiles don't mind burning their wallets for high-end equipment. $1000 for a headphone? Yes, they buy 'em.
@jjsoviet: Holy crap! 25K!? So maybe I'll just veer away from the possibility of those headphones. I thought when you meant "if you have the money," it's somewhere along the lines of able-to-be-bought-by-a-college-freshman-whose-benefactors-are-her-practical-parents.
@Erika: Oh yeah! Pink Power! True that, CD-R King does have decent earphones. (FYI I learned something recently: if you're trying to be cheap, never be too stingy. Php66 can only get you so far.) What doesn't look "that" bad?
__________________
Glee's my new black. This is how a high school musical should be.
Yeah, it's pretty good for someone who's not that into audio technical stuff and just wants to listen to music. (like me :)) ). Well, I got mine at the Mac store so it was kinda overpriced, LOL(regrets buying from Steve Jobs' shop).
@Giselle Since you prefer form over function, I thought to assure a prospect customer of CD-R King's [awesome cheap] stuff that their products do not look horrible.
Oh, I see. Try cheaper alternatives, like the Senn CX 300 (Php 1000+) which has good build quality, or just stick to CD-\R King ones if you really don't have the money. BTW, selling Sennheiser HD 437 supra-aural headphones for 1000 pesos. Barely used, in good condition. It's pre-burnt in, exhibiting better sound quality than ones out-of-the-box.
-- Edited by jjsoviet on Tuesday 9th of June 2009 03:01:54 AM
Burn-in is a state of any electronic equipment to be exercised in its components to achieve its full potential. Headphones have drivers much like speakers, and as the drivers are exercised with use, they get more flexible, thus sounding better in the long run.
The HD 437 is a slim pair of cans, very portable. You better stretch the headband though, as it has an unusually strong clamping force on the head.
Usually, they do the following to achieve that kind of experience:
Step 1: Records - Those big brothers to the CD hold more musical information, thus able to produce better sound.
Step 2: Record Players - Advanced versions of such players are able to directly translate the info inside the records into high-quality sound.
Step 3: Amplifiers - In order to drive the headphones efficiently, they use pre-amps and tube amps. These make the signal cleaner and more airy in sound, thus improving the sound quality.
Step 4: High-end Headphones - Last but not the least, they use the most capable headphones around. These are no average cans; they use advanced diaphragm and neodymium magnet driver technologies to achieve musical fidelity.
Speaking of Skullcandy, I wouldn't recommend them. I got a pair of SC canalphones as a gift in January this year. Took a while to get used to jamming stuff in my ears, but the irritation went away after a while and it was all normal since then. Sound was pretty good for the price. I was happy to replace the earphones that came with my iPod with the SC canalphones.
But...
I have this terrible habit of listening to music in bed. So I wore them to sleep. You could imagine how much tension was applied to the cord with all the tangling and moving around in my sleep. By April or May the left earpiece stopped working. :(
I also had trouble using canalphones outdoors. I commute a lot. Since canalphones almost completely block outside noise, it poses a problem. I'd still go for cheap earphones for outdoor use; it allows me to hear my surroundings. And I wouldn't be too bothered if they got stolen, either.
At home I use cheap headphones. It still works, surprisingly, after like 5 years. Decent range, works for me.
If I had the money, I'd get the stuff jjsoviet recommended. Sennheiser is the way to go. But for now, I'll stick with my below P500 headphones. Still works like a charm.
I did NOT buy these. My brother gave them to me as an impromptu congratulations-for-passing-Ateneo gift. I was about to confined to the hospital that day. [Yes, memorable. HAHA] I think its more or less ... P2.5K when he bought it. I posted a Christmas wishlist in my Multiply during vacation and I specifically said I don't like SkullCandy because they were too skull-ey. So much for reading comprehension. :|
When it comes to sound, I love 'em.
When it comes to if-you-want-people-to-look-at-you-ness, they do a good job. ==
When it comes to durability, I abhor them. =___=
After 3 short-lived months [ NOTE: I barely used them. :| ], it snapped when I took them off. Sadness. I know. u____u That's why take it from me, DO NOT BUY HESH!!! I read a rant from the net with the same occurrence. 3 short-lived months. *sigh*
Oh well. Di naman ako ung gumastos. :)) HAHA
***
#2. SkullCandy iCon.
The story.
Since my Hesh met a very unfortunate bitter yet accidental and random *breathes in* end, we stuck to our crappy iPod earphones for a while. I have to say, they're like the Methuselas at home. The pair I'm using right now are like ... 3 years old. o_____o
So since we're stuck to crappy earphones, my sister bought these from Bangkok. She bought two pairs, one for her and one for me. Since they come with exchangeable covers, we could at least tell which one belongs to who. [I'm using the yellow covers. These are belong to her. :))] She bought them for 830 Baht which is more or less ... P1.1k. So far they're still alive and well. Wee. :) And they're half the price of Hesh. :> They're the cheapest SkullCandy among them all. [I think.]
They're so-so at everything. So-so sound, so-so bulkiness, and for now, so-so durability. HAHA
But still. I DID NOT BUY THEM. :|
***
Okay. So if I were to choose earphones. I'd really go for Sennheiser and Sony. [Ewan ko, biased ako sa Sony. :)) Got to love Walkman, Bravia, Vaio, Handycam, and Cybershot. HAHAHA]
Thus, do not give me the SkullCandy-is-crap shizz. Because based on experience, they are. :| HAHA.
Some Sennheisers that have caught my eye: HD 205, MX 95, CX 300-II, MX 760, and CX 200 Street II.
My brother bought himself ... 2 pairs of Shure in-ear's and 2 pairs of Sennheiser in-ear's and he lost them all. =____=
@Jake: My brother bought my dad the same earphones! I wish I could steal 'em. :| HAHAHA.
P.S. Sorry for the ridiculously long post. I edited the photos just so that I could kill more time. I'm bored as hell. @@
__________________
Ariela.* frInternational Christian Academy BS MAC BlockQQ
@ariela: i didn't know you were into this kinda stuff. my dad is, but i'm not. haha. when my 3 year old ipod buds broke down i bought a sony one for like, 490. then i lost it so i use one now that says "stereo" haha
I did NOT buy these. My brother gave them to me as an impromptu congratulations-for-passing-Ateneo gift. I was about to confined to the hospital that day. [Yes, memorable. HAHA] I think its more or less ... P2.5K when he bought it. I posted a Christmas wishlist in my Multiply during vacation and I specifically said I don't like SkullCandy because they were too skull-ey. So much for reading comprehension. :|
When it comes to sound, I love 'em.
When it comes to if-you-want-people-to-look-at-you-ness, they do a good job. ==
When it comes to durability, I abhor them. =___=
After 3 short-lived months [ NOTE: I barely used them. :| ], it snapped when I took them off. Sadness. I know. u____u That's why take it from me, DO NOT BUY HESH!!! I read a rant from the net with the same occurrence. 3 short-lived months. *sigh*
Oh well. Di naman ako ung gumastos. :)) HAHA
***
#2. SkullCandy iCon.
The story.
Since my Hesh met a very unfortunate bitter yet accidental and random *breathes in* end, we stuck to our crappy iPod earphones for a while. I have to say, they're like the Methuselas at home. The pair I'm using right now are like ... 3 years old. o_____o
So since we're stuck to crappy earphones, my sister bought these from Bangkok. She bought two pairs, one for her and one for me. Since they come with exchangeable covers, we could at least tell which one belongs to who. [I'm using the yellow covers. These are belong to her. :))] She bought them for 830 Baht which is more or less ... P1.1k. So far they're still alive and well. Wee. :) And they're half the price of Hesh. :> They're the cheapest SkullCandy among them all. [I think.]
They're so-so at everything. So-so sound, so-so bulkiness, and for now, so-so durability. HAHA
But still. I DID NOT BUY THEM. :|
***
Okay. So if I were to choose earphones. I'd really go for Sennheiser and Sony. [Ewan ko, biased ako sa Sony. :)) Got to love Walkman, Bravia, Vaio, Handycam, and Cybershot. HAHAHA]
Thus, do not give me the SkullCandy-is-crap shizz. Because based on experience, they are. :| HAHA.
Some Sennheisers that have caught my eye: HD 205, MX 95, CX 300-II, MX 760, and CX 200 Street II.
My brother bought himself ... 2 pairs of Shure in-ear's and 2 pairs of Sennheiser in-ear's and he lost them all. =____=
@Jake: My brother bought my dad the same earphones! I wish I could steal 'em. :| HAHAHA.
P.S. Sorry for the ridiculously long post. I edited the photos just so that I could kill more time. I'm bored as hell. @@
back in 4th YR HS, a few of my classmates had this SkullCandy, & I thought they were really cute, so I went to the mall & looked until I found it - gosh, ang mahal pala, umaabot ng P2.5k! the headphones I'm using right now is WAY cheaper.. :P so now that i've read this, I'm not really that disappointed about not being able to acquire my very own SkullCandy headphones. :) anyway, my dad bought me a new laptop naman, at sa ngayon nag-iipon ako para makabili ng electric violin. these stuffs are way more important investments than an expensive new pair of headphones :D
-- Edited by emo_iceprincess on Tuesday 9th of June 2009 08:50:36 AM
Frankly, SkullCandy products are way overpriced and underpowered. You basically have a nice-looking pair of headphones but the sound is unsatisfactory. You could settle for Sennheiser, Sony, Pioneer, Shure, Klipsch, Grado, Beyerdynamic, Koss, and many other brands.
The most recommended brands are mostly based in Europe and US, and Germany's Beyers and Senns are leading by far.
BTW, the most expensive but the best-sounding headphone in the world, the Sennheiser HD 800. At a whopping $1400, you can enjoy musical nirvana as this pair is the most accurate-sounding headphones ever. It's like you're enjoying your own surround sound concert privately!
The excellent sound lies in the technology:
The HD 800 sets new standards with its innovative transducer technology. Measuring 56 mm, the transducer in the HD 800 is the largest that can currently be found in a dynamic head-phone. In simple terms: the more transducer surface area that vibrates, the purer the headphone sounds at low frequencies. However, transducers with a large surface area have the disadvantage that, at high frequencies, undesired resonances occur at the diaphragm, resulting in distortions in sound reproduction. The new design principle of the HD 800 resolves this dilemma. "Sennheiser's patented ring design for the diaphragm minimises the distortion of the sound image, even with a transducer as large as 56 mm," explained Axel Grell, acoustics developer at Sennheiser. The result is impressive: the HD 800 has brilliant trebles, precise bass reproduction and an exceptionally clear sound image. The frequency response is an unprecedented 6 to 51,000 Hertz. - Sennheiser
Impressive.
-- Edited by jjsoviet on Tuesday 9th of June 2009 09:09:51 PM
I would actually want a BEATS by Dr. Dre headphones, I've heard ALOT of great reviews, but it costs around 17k+ so, can't afford :)) I own a Skullcandy NINE Terje Haakonsen just 4k, the quality is reasonable for the price.
Here's the pic I took when it was unopened :)) (sorry for the crappy quality, taken using my cell)
When I'm wearing it IN THE ELIAZO DORM :D (LOL sorry crappy rin, webcam pic haha)
-- Edited by therese on Saturday 13th of June 2009 08:39:35 PM
__________________
Somehow everything's gonna fall right into place.
If we only had a way to make it all fall fastereveryday.
I definitely wouldn't want to buy SkullCandy with my money. Too many bad memories. u____u HAHA.
I agree with you. Seriously, why are so many people attracted to that brand? The build quality is underwhelming, and its sould quality is just unreasonable for the price. You could buy better headphones from Grado, AKG, Audio-Technica, Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic with similar prices.
So, will you buy a better phone if ever you want to replace your own?
@therese
Beats by Dr. Dre is indeed a good headphone, recommended by many audiphiles. However, since you are very concerned about the price, why not buy cheaper high-end headphones?
My Sennheiser HD 555 is about Php 7,000 and its sound quality is already excellent. You can buy Senns in the Power Mac Stores around the country, and they could order if they don't have a specific model in hand.
-- Edited by jjsoviet on Saturday 13th of June 2009 10:22:17 PM
Wooow, you guys are serious about this =)) Anyway, i just borrowed my bro's just for the ipod.
MOTOROKR S9 :)
What's cool about it is... it uses bluetooth, has those rubber thingies that block the sounds from the outside, lightweight, no annoying cord, and its easy to use also, it comes with this thingy for the iPod (Wireless Adapter D650)
I have no idea how much it really is @.@ but I think they got it from eBay =))
Wow, you guys actually use Motorola products? I'm so surprised! I thought people here use only Nokia and Sony Ericsson handsets, as there are only a few (like me) who own Motorola phones and accessories. Yes, i have tried the S9 headset, and it's a very good mid-range earphone. Its Bluetooth stereo can be used by any phone or an iPod with a BT adapter.
The MOTOROKR S9 retails at Php 3,500 and even comes free with a purchase of a ROKR Z6 phone.
-- Edited by jjsoviet on Sunday 14th of June 2009 03:57:45 AM
Awesome. I've been looking for a Bluetooth headset that's meant for listening to music. You think that'd work on any computer with a BT adapter as well? Are there any other alternatives?
Are they incredibly expensive? I'd want to try those, but I don't trust myself at not breaking them. Maybe I'll just stick to cheap regular disposable earphones :|
