Headphones, i'm lost, and a previous thanks

[eskimo4130]

Firstly, a big thanks to the informative topics some of you guys wrote and posted in. I finally managed to decide on a Cowon J3. It was a hard choice, but if only i was able to demo one, then it wouldn't of been


Anyhow, i was planning for new headphones, but even more so now my Bose IEs don't perform so well with the J3.

I was hoping that i wouldn't have to use peoples time by registering and asking for advice on headphones. But i'm really struggling to understand some of them, and how they sound due to no experience. I've registered over at iaudiophile to better my understanding even more.

My previous setup was a Walkman A818 with Bose IE and WMA 196kps (WMA > MP3 so i was led to believe over the years). That sounded good, and was happy. But wanted more recently. (forgive my descriptions now!) The treble/highs is 'put forward' and 'clear'. The mid 'kicks precisely' and well, with voice being clear at the same time. The lows, well there isn't any. A very light clean thump is what you get, unless the EQ comes into play. But this messes up the relationship with other sounds, quite noticeable on particular sections of music, but only now and then. The J3 gave them even more clarity, and that's on flat settings, used flat settings on the Walkman 90% of the time too. The 'soundstage' was good, but i know there's gotta be better due to my untrained ears.


A closed headphone is what i'm after. Pure isolation from the outside. I will in the near future, be buying some Vinyl decks to mix DnB, (wait there). They may also be used for video editing, i use a Rode mic with my camera to film bmx/trials. And will be using these when riding sometimes, when a helmet isn't required. They will be used at work (in a warehouse), but i won't be there forever so DJ/ Mixing is the highest priority. (one more thing), i may use these for gaming or films if the 'soundstage'? is good. Soundstage how you perceive noises to come from different areas from around you??


Music genres. Yeah i'm a DnB head, but the DnB i listen to has a large variation of sounds, while also becoming very busy with many different sounds sometimes. [BSE, Ed Rush, Gridlok, Prolix] for those aware of.
However, not straying to far away from there, Venetian Snares, Classical based albums.
Next up, Punk and Metal. [We're talking Slayer, Adolescents, Rancid, Blink] So yeah slightly contradicting in themselves even.
A big fan of any old game music and mixes. [Sonic Mayhem [quake] OC Remixes [voices of the lifestream!], Frank Klepacki, Bart Klepka, Zircon]
On a happier note. [The Sounds, Trocadero]
And it's probably is irrelevant now, but [DJ Hixxy [bonkers]]

--So a round up. Non mainstream DnB, Punk, Metal, Classical and all things electronic inbetween.


What would i like?
Clarity highs and vocals
Aggressive and precise on fast busy music
Real on form bass, not forced, or overdone
Spacious, large soundstage to get lost in

One sided replaceable cable.
Room (my ears are slightly bigger than average)
A box or case would be nice.
And the best durability if possible. Weight isn't and issue if comfort isn't completely poor.


OK, i suck. But i would like to be able to beatmatch while mixing and take advantage of the J3's EQ settings to bring out for highs or lows when required.

90% of my music is purchased and owned on CD. So FLAC is the game when i get round to re-ripping my CD collection. Currently in WMA lossless. The other 10% is Mp3 downloaded free stuff, unavailable to purchase.


Budget huh? Ideally £100 to £200 GBP. I was lucky to get my J3 for £150 straight from Korea.


Unfortunately in the nearest city, there isn't any places that demo all the brands. Only Bose, Sennheiser, Beats, Skullcandy. But i'm gonna keep looking.
From what i currently know and have read (i've read allot, i hide in the warehouse while my friend does the work, which we take in turns );
Shure 940. Smart, boxed, cables, studio monitoring, and can handle bass when EQ'd
Audio Technica M50s. Good allround studio monitor but poor soundstage
That's as far i've got to ones i like/ suit.


Hopefully not missed anything! Feel free to rip my questions/ ideas apart. I'm always open for improvement.

And again many thanks. PS, you may see this topic at iaudiophile.

[jupitreas]

Shure 940. Smart, boxed, cables, studio monitoring, and can handle bass when EQ'd

The Shute SRH840 might be a better choice. It has better bass and is still quite clear and detailed. The big issue with these headphones is that they are very uncomfortable for many people though. They also don't isolate particularly well (the SRH840 has better isolation though).

Audio Technica M50s. Good allround studio monitor but poor soundstage

This is always a good can to consider. The soundstage is not as bad as many people claim, it is a pretty OK soundstage for a closed studio-type can. Their cable is not replaceable though. Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about replaceable cables though, you can always just mod the cable to make it replaceable.

Some more options:
AKG K550
Pioneer HDJ-2000
Ultrasone PRO750 or PRO900 (although you'd better audition them first as they are a polarizing headphone due to their unique approach to soundstage and high amount of harshness)

[JK98]

What you ask for sounds a bit contradictory. You want it to be very open sounding with a large soundstage, yet be closed and isolate well. The most open sounding headphones with great soundstage are open headphones like the Sennheiser HD598.

Perhaps you should consider an IEM(in the ear canal earphone), as some of those isolate better than any closed headphone. An IEM might also be able to give you the open sound sound you want, yet still isolate very well. If your focus is on treble and openness rather than bass, perhaps a balanced armature IEM might be the best idea.
I have been thinking about buying the Etomotic HF5 or Sony XBA-1. The Etomotic HF5 is one of the best(if not the best) isolating earphone. Some complain it doesn't have
enough bass. Another idea for an open sounding isolating earphone is a microdriver IEM. I have the $35 JVC HAFXC80. It has very open sound. on head-fi.org the Yamaha EPH-100 microdriver IEM($150) is very popular.

Do you want this to be compact? Smaller headphones usually don't isolate well, the exception being the Sennheiser HD25-1mk2.

[The DarkSide]

Check out the Incase Sonic. I got them for $99, and they can even be found for $70. The SQ is so good I'm shocked. I'm also posting in the thread I'm linking to, so ask questions if you have any,...

http://www.head-fi.org/t/588289/incase-sonic

[jupitreas]

Originally Posted by The DarkSide

Check out the Incase Sonic. I got them for $99, and they can even be found for $70. The SQ is so good I'm shocked. I'm also posting in the thread I'm linking to, so ask questions if you have any,...

http://www.head-fi.org/t/588289/incase-sonic

Wow, these look quite interesting. I like their design, looks like a more modern variation of the Senn HD202 design. Do they have any of that metallic twangy sound that some other titanium-coated drivers seem to have (fe. KOSS KSC75, Ultrasone PRO750 and PRO900)?

[The DarkSide]

The highs can be a bit sharp. But, like some of us would recommend, that's what an EQ is all about. I luv 'em,...the SQ is not what I was expecting. I thought I'd try them and return them. No way!!! They're a "KEEPER!!!".

[nathang]

Eskimo4130: The Cowon J3 plays WMA-Lossless, so there's no need to switch to FLAC unless you have other reasons for doing so.

If you want to maximize your J3's storage space, any of the common lossy codecs (WMA, MP3, Ogg-Vorbis) at the 192kbps (or equivalent VBR) level should be enough quality, since even more sensitive/critical listeners usually can't tell the difference when the bit-rate gets that high.

[eskimo4130]

Thanks for all the input. I've found a shop not overly far away which sells the SRH940 and ATH-M50s so going to see if i can go there and demo them. These two are still on my high list.

I've crossed the Ultrasone 750s off my list and the Denon1000s i think it was as well.

The AKG K550s seem very positive, if a little big.

JK98: yeah, you're right. Though i was hoping that there was something that existed that ticked the boxes. But i think closed headphones should suffice as isolation is still key. Had a look at them IEMs but i would like to try some overheads and they will be more practical for mixing.

Not keen on them Incase Sonics, they have fashion written all over them :P (yeah looks is something that i am taking into consideration)

As for FLAC, i was under the impression it's smaller and more versatile than WMA. At the time i wasn't ready for the move. I've currently had no isssues with WMA lossless on the J3 except cover art but that's probably easily sorted.

More suggestions/ criticisms are very much welcome.

[jupitreas]

just save all cover art as a cover.jpg image in the album's folder.

[eskimo4130]

Originally Posted by jupitreas

just save all cover art as a cover.jpg image in the album's folder.

Ah sweet, thanks man. I'm trying out Musicbee and have it set to copy image art separately thinking it might help, but now i know for sure it will, just with the addition of a rename.

Also demoing Playlist Creation, seems promising.

[JK98]

How about the AKG K240 studio or Sennheiser HD380 pro for home use/editing, and a Sennheiser HD25-1 mk2 or VModa M80 for portable use? It seems like one headphone won't be best for all the things you want to do.

[nathang]

FLAC is more versatile in that more players support it, though it's not necessarily smaller. I've found no consistent winner as far as compression ratios. Peoples' (and my own) results vary depending on the music and the winner rarely wins by a significant margin.

The reason I chose WMA-Lossless (for archiving) is because of its tag integration with Windows 7's Explorer windows. Windows doesn't support FLAC in this way (not by any official means, anyway).

[eskimo4130]

I said screw it yesterday and just bought the M50 coiled model for £130GBP. So if somehow i'm totally disappointed i will save these for mixing and just buy something that has a warmer or more coloured style. As yeah, JK98, two HPs might be best anyway as i was finding it incredibly hard to find something that ticked all boxes.

I'm gonna download Exact Audio Copy and probably go with FLAC. WMA i never found overly useful in it's lossless state. I'm now using MusicBee so shouldn't have any issues.

[jawnn]

I got Sentinal head phones on a recomendation and it turns out to have too much base, and they have a swich in the ear pads that do not work right.

Then one of the plastic parts that hold the pads broke. Good thing for duct tape.
I will never buy plastic agian.

[eskimo4130]

Originally Posted by jawnn

I got Sentinal head phones on a recomendation and it turns out to have too much base, and they have a swich in the ear pads that do not work right.

Then one of the plastic parts that hold the pads broke. Good thing for duct tape.
I will never buy plastic agian.

This was my thread from May last year dude! I've been through 4 headphones and 2 iems already, and have 2 dacs now too

[The DarkSide]

Originally Posted by eskimo4130

This was my thread from May last year dude! I've been through 4 headphones and 2 iems already, and have 2 dacs now too

I'm just trying to figure out what his/her useless post has to do with your thread??? Oh, well, back to the blizzard in NYC.