Deang Posted September 8, 2001 Share Posted September 8, 2001 I like to watch movies after the kids go to bed - and well - the one year old likes to stay up with me. She always seems to be on a different schedule. Debbie usually can get her asleep around 10 or so and will lay Temple on the couch. The problem with putting her in her own bed is that it resides on the second floor and it's just not really safe to do so since we are downstairs. Deb will then hop on the computer and I'll pop my DVD of choice in - and then come the complaints. "Too loud...still too loud...lower...lower" - and right about the time the volume level hits the acceptable level - I have to press my ear against the drivers to hear anything. I decided I need a set of headphones. I learned that most decent headphones are designed for listening to music and not watching movies. Why is this a big deal. Well, I wear glasses. Most headphones I tried out were horrible when wearing glasses. Most headphones designed for my budget did not sound all that good - or were very uncomfortable. Now a funny thing is - I remember many years ago that decent headphones always sounded better than decent speakers. And very good speakers were usually compared to headphones. I spent all day looking for a set under $100 that could best my Klipsch and I couldn't do it! Some of the highly rated ones sounded very mediocre to me. The bass on both the Grados and Sennhiesers sounded artificial and exaggerated. The surprise of the day were the Sony MDR-V600's. A full size, very comfortable fold up design. A very crisp and clean sound. Highly recommended ------------------ deanG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomer9911 Posted September 8, 2001 Share Posted September 8, 2001 I will say Sennheiser,the cordless series is nice. I have also been a Koss fan for many years(own both). Koss had a rep for headphones, my 1st pair were 80, bought them in Virgina at the American PX while there in the Navy, never forget $49.00(and our $'s were even..HA). Best headphones I've ever heard, next to Zen's(IMO), fits your ear but not 1/2 your head. I must ad though, it's how it fits and envolopes your ears. Besides quality, doesn't fit, not buying it! I agree somewhat with the Sennheisers, flat, foam, in cheap plastic, $$$, but I have had 3 pairs over the last 10 years and enjoyed the sounds depth and dynamics. Sony has always made a nice headphone, to big for my liking mind you, and the parents owned several sets. I was 15, and my brother had a pair of Koss, the foam covered your ear, top and bottom, the roundness of your ear. The speaker sat comfortably in the middle of your ear, the sound was incredible! The more I think about it..KOSS, that was then, this is now. This message has been edited by boomer9911 on 09-08-2001 at 09:24 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Palm Posted September 9, 2001 Share Posted September 9, 2001 Got a pair of Beyer Dynamics. The're kinda like Klipsch that you wear on your head! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted September 9, 2001 Share Posted September 9, 2001 A friend who felt he owed me a favour, recently got me a pair of headphones (sorry - ear speakers) as a present. These are Stax headphones that come with their own amp (Stax model SR-80 pro with SRM-Xs amp). Frankly they are the purest sound source I have ever heard - just incredible, neutral sound that will play anything and everything. I would recommend them to anyone except for the price tag - I believe they are exceptionally expensive but I really dont want to look. At some point I will try to put together a comparison of their sound against my Heresy's driven by both the Accuphase amp and the tubes. First impression and a one line summary would be - zero flavouring, which means that if you are like me and a horn fan Jazz will sound a bit flat. Will put together that analysis for anyone who is interested sometime soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boa12 Posted September 9, 2001 Share Posted September 9, 2001 the above comments make me wonder why there are no 'phones i've seen w/ horns in 'em. tiny lil horns. why not klipsch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Garrison Posted September 9, 2001 Share Posted September 9, 2001 Anybody who's reading this tread because you're interested in getting a pair of headphones: I recently got a pair of Sennheiser HD600 phones. http://www.sennheiserusa.com/pages/products/headphones/600.htm These are the best headphones I have ever heard. I used to own some early 1980's series STAX, both electret and electrostatic, I currently have a pair of AKG K340 and the Grado SR-80, I've had the K-240, had Yamaha, Beyer Dynamics, several others. The Sennheiser HD600 are so far superior to any of them that it's hard to quantify. These are expensive, but Audio Advisor currently has some "B-stock" units on sale for $250. There is no other way to spend $250 and get such magnificant sound. Ray ------------------ Music is art Audio is engineering Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKlipsch Posted September 9, 2001 Share Posted September 9, 2001 Lemme get this straight Ray.....You have heard the high zoot Stax headphones with the separate tubed amp that drives them, and prefer these Sen's...That would save a boatload of $$$$$ if this were true, even @ $450+ for the Sens....I too have been considering headphones, but there is no one in my area that has Stax to demo....Always heard they were the ultimate headphones if $$$ were no object... This message has been edited by MacKlipsch on 09-09-2001 at 03:52 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Garrison Posted September 10, 2001 Share Posted September 10, 2001 No no no no no... sorry if I misled anyone with my last post... I have NEVER EVER EVER had the chance to listen to the higher end STAX multi mega $$$ series (SRS 2020, 3030, 4040, 007 Omega, et al) with the dedicated tube drivers. The STAX I was talking about were more the (much) older SR-Ë Pro and SR-Ë series (see http://www.stax.co.jp/ENG/History.html for reference) which were very highly rated at the time. These were produced back in the early 80's. The Sennheiser HD600 are way better than the STAX that I've tried, but I haven't tried their current line. If someone is looking to spend $1K plus on headphones, I'd sure go listen to the STAX if I could. For $250, I don't think you'll do better than the Sennheisers. Sorry for the confusion. ------------------ Music is art Audio is engineering Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Garrison Posted September 10, 2001 Share Posted September 10, 2001 ...and I just noticed this review on the Stereophile site, which DOES compare the HD600 to STAX's current $1700 model... http://www.stereophile.com/fullarchives.cgi?408 ------------------ Music is art Audio is engineering Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oosting Posted September 10, 2001 Share Posted September 10, 2001 I've had the HD600's for about 2 years now. I love them. The sound is crystal claar and they are extremely comfortable. $250 is a good price for them. I had a pair of the closed Sony's and didn't like them. They made my head sweat and they gave up the ghost in about one year! One replacement driver was about $120! You can get replacement everyting for Sennheiser phones...even the OLD ones! I have a pair of HD400's from '83 that are still working just a good as the day I bought them and I can STILL get replacement ear cushions for cheap on the Sennheiser web site. Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drobo1 Posted September 10, 2001 Share Posted September 10, 2001 Having been through Koss, Sennheiser, and Grado I finally settled on Beyer Dynamics as my headphone company of choice. drobo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted September 10, 2001 Share Posted September 10, 2001 I have the Stax SR30 combination - any idea where I can get specs on them? ------------------ horns, tubes, subs, leather couch & female vocalists Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted September 11, 2001 Share Posted September 11, 2001 So I take it that the Stax should be regarded as a good gift, even if there are other headphones out there that some regard as better. Certainly for me the price was right!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Turner Posted September 11, 2001 Share Posted September 11, 2001 MacKlipsch... I've had both the Senn 600 and the tubed Stax...while the 600's are very, very good, the tubed Stax are truly magical. I also had a pair of non-tubed Stax from the mid-80s but there was a bit of harshness with those you had to accept to get the magical soundstage...not true with the newer tubed Stax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted September 13, 2001 Share Posted September 13, 2001 Good headphones? I have a few very good,Sennheiser 565 Ovation, Sennheiser HD6000 and Grado RS-1.And the Koss PortaPro for the portable AIWA walkman(old old old and good good good). Talking about electrostatic the Stax Omega series with the matching tube amp is the very finest headphones at any price.The transparency is total,its THE headphone to have of money is no object and if you must hear the recording's every detail. For the dollar the HD600 outperform any mass market units hands down.If more exotica you want then the Grados Reference series are superb with the help of a dedicated headpone amp. TheEAR(s) Now theears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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