iGrado - too loud for fellow passangers

[admin_exported]

Hi,

I have a pair of iGrado headphones that I use when travelling, with my iPod Touch. I love them, the fit and the sound. Trouble is that when travelling by air I have the volume pretty high. I didn't realise quite how much the music spilt out until my neighbour started singing along to the tunes I was playing. All very well, but a bit embarrassing when I'm listening to my 70/80s disco collection!

So, is there something that will give me a similar sound to the iGrados but without entertaining (or annoying) my travelling companions. They need to be relatively small to fit in my hand luggage, and I realy can't get on with in ear type, I just find them really uncomfortable.

Appreciate your help.

D

 

[Clare Newsome]

I'm not a fan of in-ear headphones, either. I use Sennheiser's folding PX range of headphones; the PX100s are also open-backed, so not ideal for travelling, but there are closed-back options, and personally I prefer the PXC models with active noise-cancelling.

Yes, they have a clip-on battery pack, but I'm willing to put up with this mild inconvience for the extra noise isolation it prefers; ideal for the gym or travelling.

The PXC300 (@£100, as here on Amazon) is the top model in the small, folding range, but there are cheaper options in the line-up

 

[professorhat]

I bought my friend a pair of these for Christmas and she loves them - they're closed back so shouldn't leak sound like the iGrados and they fold up very neatly for storage. Unfortunately I can't tell you how the two compare I'm afraid.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Claire and professorhat.

I got a pair of PXC 300's last time I was on a long haul flight from the dutyfree after the singing along incident. They don't leak so much sound. However, I have just done a side by side comparison, and they lose such a big chunk of the bass and sound so much less coherent than the iGrados. (It's amazing what you find time for when working from home!)

For this reason I always end up taking the Grados and leaving the 300s behind. I suppose it will mean spending more money - it normally does!

D

 

[Clare Newsome]

Yep, the Grado's sound better - they are phenomenal value for money (hence their habit of winning Awards!). We haven't found any similarly small designs that offer the same level of performance just yet - and with most manufacturers concentrating on in-ear designs*, there may not be many fresh options due.

Just one point: did you do the A/B comparison with the Sennheisers with the noise-cancelling enabled? I find the low-end firms up considerably with the battery in play. Still, you're not going to get the sheer, open sound of the Grados...

* As the sales figures here show, 5.1m in-ear headphones were sold last year, compared to 638,000 mini over-ear design such as the iGrado or Sennheisers.

 

[Anonymous]

Yep, I had the noise cancellation switched on. I guess I'll just have to stick to the iGrados until something better comes along.

I've seen some very expensive Bose noise cancellation phones in the dutyfree as well, how do they compare? (I can't remember the model, but I think they were around 300 Euro)

D

 

[Clare Newsome]

The new Bose Quietcomfort 15 headphones are excellent - best Bose ones yet, in our opinion. I wouldn't class them as mini headphones, though!

There's a round-up of noise-cancelling headphones of every size/price in our current, March issue, by the way....

 

[Anonymous]

I have some shure 115's and they sound fantastic. Get a good seal in the ears and sound does not leak out. The bass is very good as well, might be right up your street!

 

[Clare Newsome]

But the OP doesn't want in-ears....

 

[Anonymous]

Clare Newsome:
There's a round-up of noise-cancelling headphones of every size/price in our current, March issue, by the way....

I'll look forward to reading it. Unfortunately, I get it delivered to my home (in UK) and am currently working in Eindhoven, NL. I'm travelling to Taipei next week so I guess I won't be able to read it before I go.

Any chance of a sneak preview of the results?

D

 

[Anonymous]

Come on Clare, you know you want to...

 

[idc]

The problem is that noise cancelling does not necessarily mean no sound leaking. Second to the Bose was the Goldrong NS1000s and they leak sound to an extent I would not want to sit next to me on a plane.

 

[matengawhat]

try sennheiser hd280 virtually silent for others and pretty good and keeping noise out far better than the Grado at preventing noise leakage also try the hd380s

 

[jcoops16]

I dont think your gonna get the grado sound with a pair of sennheisers.

If you want bass then you will be looking at say the denon 1001s or a similar price ultrasone, which are mostly easily to fold and store for portable use even their edition 8s, which you would be mad to use considering their price

 

[idc]

I auditioned the Denon AH D1001 and they also leak sound, though not as much as the Goldrings. My PX200s leak the least and with an amp such as the FiiO E5 and its bass boost, they can do bass.

 

[jcoops16]

idc:I auditioned the Denon AH D1001 and they also leak sound, though not as much as the Goldrings. My PX200s leak the least and with an amp such as the FiiO E5 and its bass boost, they can do bass.

Yeah but unamped do the px200s sound like a grado?

 

[bigboss]

I have a pair of Bose QuietComfort 2 headphones, & they're absolutely superb! And no, they don't leak noise at all! The newer QuietComfort 15 has received excellent reviews.

 

[JorisC]

Maybe you'll have to wait to try out the all new P5 headphones from B&W. They have a metal cap on the outside to isolate noise from outside. (Sale price I came across: £199 or 249?).

I'm dying to read the first reviews, I heard they'll be on sale in April (in Belgium at least).

Currently I have also some in ears (Creative 630i), but I agree that they are not the most comfortable way to listen to music.

Joris

 

[idc]

jcoops16:

idc:I auditioned the Denon AH D1001 and they also leak sound, though not as much as the Goldrings. My PX200s leak the least and with an amp such as the FiiO E5 and its bass boost, they can do bass.

Yeah but unamped do the px200s sound like a grado?

No, the amp is needed to add dynamics and attack.

I went today to see if a certain shop had the new B&Ws in yet, but their website had not updated the fact the shopis now closed. Bah Hifi Corner ex of Bath St, Glasgow!