Need MP3 player for HD280s which won't break

[sdr]

Hello and thanks for taking the time

I have a pair of Sennheiser HD280s and love 'em to bits. Thing is, they've broken 4 MP3 players now (iPod touch x2 (one under warranty), old iPod, walkman). The jack wiggles around in the port (insert euphemism here) because I put the player in my pocket. Eventually the sound with start cracking and I have to hold the jack in with my hands.

So I need a new MP3 player, with the following:
- 8GB >
- works well with my headphones
- small and can be held on a belt or around neck (so I don't have to keep it in my pocket)

[CrowdAds]

[WalkGood]

What you might want to add for your next player is a Replug," this should save your audio jack as the replug is designed to detach itself to prevent your current problem with mp3 players. BTW they sell for around $10.95 on amazon http://www.amazon.com/Replug-Breakaw.../dp/B0013KXCMO

[JK98]

Don't plug a long straight headphone plug directly into your player. Plug it into something like this, then plug the right angle plug into your player.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2404397

You need a player with high power output to power the HD280 properly. I suggest you get the Cowon D2+. It is one of the most powerful players.

[Jack4L]

If someone ever combined the right angled adapter with the replug, I would buy that ;P

[JK98]

Replug looks like it is designed for use with notebook computers, so if you your foot pulls the cord attached to the notebook, the notebook doesn't get pulled to the floor. I don't see it being practical for use with a portable player that is being carried around though.

[sdr]

Thanks for your interest.

The replug thing, although interesting, doesn't seem like it would stop my headphones from wiggling around in the port. I will try the headphone adapter, mainly because it is so cheap.

Anyone have suggestions for actual mp3 players? To reiterate

small, durable, 8GB>, works well with my HD280s. Oh, and no touch pad.

thanks again.

[dgb52]

how about a clip+?

[JK98]

The Clip+ does not do a good job powering 64 ohm headphones. It doesn't work well with my 63 ohm Sony V6 headphones. The sensitivity of the HD280 pro is 102 db/V, which is just 96 db/mw. The Sony V6 is 106 db/mw. If the Clip+ doesn't adequately power my V6(it seems loud enough at max volume but the sound sounds constrained), it surely isn't going to properly power the HD280 pro. The Clip+ and Fuze work best with 16 ohm earphones, but will also work quite well with headphones up to 32 ohms. much above 32 ohms though, and the Fuze and Clip+ don't do so well.

[JK98]

"Oh, and no touch pad."

The most powerful players seem to be touchscreen or touchpad. The Cowon D2+, i7, S9, Samsung P3, Samsung Q2, etc. If you don't like these, you could use an external headphone amp, or get more efficient headphones. At 64 ohms, and 102 db/V(96 db/mw) , the HD280 pro is not easy to drive with a portable player. If you don't power it properly though, the HD280 pro won't sound so good. The HD280 pro probably sounds great with plenty of power, but won't be loud enough or have decent sound quality with a low powered portable(unless you use an external headphone amp).

"I will try the headphone adapter, mainly because it is so cheap."

In the walkman tape player days, I broke the headphone jacks on some walkmans until I started doing this. Since then I have not broken any headphone jacks. The right angle plug was developed to solve this problem, and it works quite well. Imo all 1/8" headphone plugs should be right angle ones.

[The DarkSide]

No matter what player you get, you'll damage it the same way as all the others.

[sdr]

Thank you guys for the help! I appreciate you taking the time.

1) I will get the right-angle jack. No argument there.
2) I will search this forum for a nice headphone + player combo.

[JK98]

"1) I will get the right-angle jack. No argument there."

Get one with a cord, not just a plug adapter.

3) if you want to get new headphones, I suggest you get efficient ones 32 ohms or under. Efficient 16 ohm earphones would be good even with a lower powered player such as the Sony or Sandisk ones.

For earphones, a good inexpensive choice that is easy to power is the Sennheiser CX300 canalphones, or the Sennheiser MX560 earbuds. For headphones, if you don't mind open ones, the Sennheiser PX100 are quite compact and sound quite nice.
The HD280 is quite large and bulky anyway to use as a portable headphone. The CX300 would be a good choice to use while commuting.

[sdr]

Howdy

I can't stand earbuds. They make my ears hurt, and if I use them for athletics, I get a tiny electric jolt in my ear.

Will take a look into the other ones though.

[sdr]

Hello again.

I've decided to hold onto my headphones (the HD280s) because I love em too much

So I was going to buy the D2, but they're not available in Canada.

What sort of mp3 players run at 64 ohms?

[JK98]

"So I was going to buy the D2, but they're not available in Canada."

You could order a D2+ from B&H Photo or J&R. Both are in NYC, sell Cowon players, and ship to Canada.

"What sort of mp3 players run at 64 ohms? "
It isn't just the 64 ohms, but also the low efficiency(102 db/V which equals 96 db/mw for a 64 ohm headphone). You coult bring your headphone with you to a store and try some of the Samsung models such as the P3 and Q2. Those have greater power output than most mp3 players, but not as much as the Cowon D2+ or i7. Alternatively, you could get any lower powered player, and get a portable headphone amp.

[sdr]

Ah, I see.

Unfortunately Samsungs aren't available in the great white north. And don't really want to get a headphone amp.

Guess what I'll do is buy a player, and if I'm unsatisfied with the sound, go and get more efficient headphones.

[Enigmatic]

Originally Posted by JK98

The Clip+ does not do a good job powering 64 ohm headphones.

The specification to look at is not impedance. It is dB/V. If the vendor only gives impedance and dB/mW, it is relatively easy to convert to dB/V.

The sensitivity of the HD280 pro is 102 db/V, which is just 96 db/mw.

Sennheiser claims it is 113 dB/V--http://www.sennheiserusa.com/media/p...oductSheet.pdf. This works out to about 101 dB/mW. Even if it was 102 dB/V, it works out to about 90 dB/mW. How did you get 96 dB/mW?

[saratoga]

Originally Posted by JK98

The Clip+ does not do a good job powering 64 ohm headphones.

It works fine. Drives my HD280s uncomfortably loud and the distortion is very low.

And anyway you don't need ridiculous sensitivity on a pair of closed headphones. They're isolating you from the outside so that you can listen at comfortable levels. Thats the whole idea of closed cans

Originally Posted by JK98

It doesn't work well with my 63 ohm Sony V6 headphones. The sensitivity of the HD280 pro is 102 db/V, which is just 96 db/mw. The Sony V6 is 106 db/mw. If the Clip+ doesn't adequately power my V6(it seems loud enough at max volume but the sound sounds constrained), it surely isn't going to properly power the HD280 pro. The Clip+ and Fuze work best with 16 ohm earphones, but will also work quite well with headphones up to 32 ohms. much above 32 ohms though, and the Fuze and Clip+ don't do so well.

"sound sounds constrained" is just typical audio gibberish. The Clip works great at higher impedances:

http://rmaa.elektrokrishna.com/Compa...2048%20Ohm.htm

The 48 ohm results are even better then the 16 ohm results. Which is to be expected, since higher impedances load the amp less. Theres basically no DAP on earth that drives best at 16 ohms since even if it handles 16 well, it'll handle 32 even better.