Please Help Me Choose My Headphones

[admin_exported]

Hi there,

This is my first ever post, not only on this forum but on any forum so please be gentle . I am here because I am at a point where I would like to spend what I would consider a lot of money on a pair of headphones but every shop I have asked to try a pair to ensure I like them they tell me I am unable to. For this reason I need help from people who know what they are talking about .

This is currently my shortlist;

Sony MDR-NC60
Bose Around-Ear
Sennheiser HD25 Mk2
Philips SHN9500/00

My first question is are noise cancelling headphones worth it? With that feature turned on does the sound quality suffer?

If this is the case then that eliminates 3 of my four selected.
Are these the best I can get for no more than £150? Many thanks in advance

 

[idc]

Hi Mark. Hopefully this will help.

Noise cancelling or noise reduction (NR) headphones use active measures to attenuate the noise from outside you. Some only work when powered with their battery, such as Bose QC and others will work with or without the battery such as the Goldring NS1000. Then some headphones, called closed backed, isolated you from outside noise by their design and fit, such as the Senn HD25 Mk2. The degree of isolation varies with the headphone.

My preference is not to use NR as it brightens the sound and can add a slight hiss noise in the background. Others prefer that sound and find NR off sounds a bit flat and dull.

Of your list the Sony and Philips are NR but the Bose and Sennheiser are not, they are closed backed isolation headphones. The only ones I have heard are the Bose Around Ear and I have mixed opinions. I like the Bose sound with its overall dynamics and clear bass. But sometimes its emphasis does not match the music you are listening to and it sounds a bit odd. The audiophile would argue a headphone sound should be neutral and not impose itself on the sound. But as I say, I still like it. However, whilst it is comfortable it does not use the greatest materials to make it. Overall, I would buy the Denon Ah D1001 before the Bose.

Of the rest all I can say is that on a headphone forum they rave about the Sennheisers and I have no recollection of either the Sony or Philips being mentioned.

If you near a John Lewis or Apple Store, both have good selections of headphones at listening stations that you can try out of ipods.

One last thing to bear in mind is that just because a headphone isolates you from outside noise, it does not mean it does not leak noise that would disturb others. The Denon and Goldring I have mentioned both leak noise that can bother others about you in a quiet environment.

 

[Anonymous]

Hello mark,

I was in the same position as you a couple of months back, and I read a lot about the usual suspects; Sennheiser, Sony, Grado etc... Then a friend told me to come over and listen to a pair he'd bought from eBay for 35 quid. He was raving about these 'phones on the way to his place but wouldn't tell me the make or model. Now, my friend has spent a fortune on 'phones in the past, and for him to 'rave' about a pair costing just £35 put them onto my shortlist immediately.

The phones he bought were Superlux 668Bs and they can be bought from eBay. I was so impressed I ordered a pair as soon as I got home. They are easily the best 'phones I've ever owned, Deep but well defined bass, astounding mid-range and highs so sweet and detailed, you'll wonder if they've missed off a '1' in-front of that '£35'. They image better than any 'phones I've owned as well. Build quality is excellent and best of all, you get a nice carry bag to pack 'em into and a quality gold plated 3.5 - 6.5mm adapter. The piece de resistence though is that they are supplied with two excellent headphone leads, one short for listening to your iPod/MP3 player on the move. The other, a good two and a half metres in length, to listen to your home hifi. These leads plug into a 3.5mm plug just below the left-hand cup on the 'phones and can also be plugged into one another to give you a superlong headphone lead. Oh and by the way, they are very comfortable too... The only downside is that they are a bit big to use outside unless you don't mind people staring at you.. lol

 

[Anonymous]

i would say the grado sr60s are gooe headphones, very nice sound very detailed. apparentley the sr60is are suppose to be even better, and all for about a hundread pound.