Need headphones - must be comfortable! (1 Viewer)

[Lee Scoggins]

I highly recommend Grado headphones which sound better than Sennheiser and almost as good at the upper end as Stax.
They are damn comfortable as well. I use them for long listening periods when I record orchestras and small jazz groups.

 

[Michael Klein]

Check your private messages, Tim.

I also have the Etymotic ER-4Ps, which I think are wonderful, but I recognize may not be for everyone. Additionally, they're a LOT more money than the others you're looking at right now.

 

[Brian Foley]

I highly recommend Grado headphones which sound better than Sennheiser and almost as good at the upper end as Stax. They are damn comfortable as well.

Boy, you must have some of the higher end Grados. On Saturday I compared the Grado 125's with the Sennheiser HD580's, and there was no comparison. The Sennheiser's had far superior bass, comparable or better mids and highs, and significantly greater comfort. Switching back and forth, listening to songs from several CDs with each, I couldn't wait to take off the Grados and put on the Sennheisers. Both can be bought online for about $150-160, so it's a fair comparison, even though the list price on the Sennheisers is higher.

Tim and Stephanie, incidentally, were looking for closed headphones.

 

[Jeff Kohn]

I'd have to agree with Brian. I bought a pair of Grado SR-80's after hearing all the hype about how great sounding they were. I thought they were lacking in bass, with a boosted midrange resulting in a colored sound, and the high-end treble was sometimes somewhat harsh sounding. I like my Sennheisers much better.

And I've never heard anybody call the Grado's comfortable before. They were hurting my ears after 20 minutes of use, while I can wear my over-the-ear Sennheisers all day with no discomfort.

 

[StephanieM]

Sorry Tim, I've been pretty swamped lately, leaving little time to check out the forum. I received the 212s on Saturday and have been breaking them in with a continuous stream of music. I was very pleased with them to begin with but am curious to see if I can detect a difference after the break-in period. Though I won't have time to play around with them until the weekend. They are quite comfortable, but the molding is cheaper than I expected-plasticy but still they are very lightweight. IF you give me your email I'll send you all the amazon codes

 

[StephanieM]

Tim, I finally got a chance to really enjoy the 212s. I am very satisfied with the comfort and the quality. I'm hearing things on movies I'd never heard before (and we have monitor 11s and minis for our main home theater). I was especially impressed with the matrix lobby scene. With the 212s, the bullets sounded like they were spraying all around me. Very cool. And it is not bothersome at all for the person sitting next to you. I would highly recommend these. Thanks again to Wayne for suggesting them.

As a side note, newegg got the 280s back in stock but they raised the price so amazon is cheaper now!

 

[Lee Scoggins]

And I've never heard anybody call the Grado's comfortable before. They were hurting my ears after 20 minutes of use, while I can wear my over-the-ear Sennheisers all day with no discomfort.

Wow, I am surprised by this. As an engineer, I often wear my set for 6-8 hours at a time. I must have hundreds of hours of use on them. The Grados take a few days to adjust to your head though. The metal loop conforms over time so it may feel slightly tight until then, but never uncomfortable.
I also do not find the midrange to be boosted. I find the midrange to be clear and transparent, not as open as the Stax of course, but that's a whole different league. Perhaps our differences are due to my typical use of high end headphone amps.
I use both the Grado 125s and 80s and my friend's RS1s for 88.2khz recording. I use Grado's headphone amp on RS1 listens and XCan and Max headphone amps.
Maybe headphone amp is a good line of discussion here as well.

 

[Greg Bright]

I've been using the Sony MDR-V600s for several years and they still sound great. They got great reviews then and probably would now.

Greg

 

[Tim_Wetzel]

I got my 212s on Sat. Thanks, Stephanie! They're not totally broken in yet (only ~24hrs on them), but I'll start listening to them today anyhow. I think they'll be just fine for my use.
Will a headphone amp be benificial if I'm just listening to a portable mp3 player (RioRiot, no "line-out")? What's the cost on a decent one?

 

[MikeH1]

I have had my Grado SR125's for over 2 years now and think they have some great sound. I am too now in the market for new cans since the left speaker quit working on me. I took them apart and found a few wires that were not sodered anymore, I sodered them but it still doesn't work. :frowning:
I compared these to a Seinhesser model of less money back when I bought them and since I do most of my listening on portable units the seinheisers were too quiet at full sound. This time though I will try some different models, if I choose to buy a new set.
As for the Grado's, if I can fix them or get them fixed cheap I'll stick with them. But I have to agree that after a hour or so they can get very uncomftorable.

 

[Steve & Karen]

Does anybody have experience or info on wireless headphones... which brands/models work well, InfraRed (IR)versus Radio Frequency (RF, e.g., 900 mHZ)...? Price limit is

 

[Tim_Wetzel]

I am loving these Sennheiser 212Pro's. At work they sound better than the Grado SR-80s b/c they keep out all the sounds of people talking and such. Even though the Grado's may have better detail, I can't *hear* it well b/c of all the noise in this cramped office. W/ the 212's I can.

 

[Jeff Kohn]

Does anybody have experience or info on wireless headphones... which brands/models work well, InfraRed (IR)versus Radio Frequency (RF, e.g., 900 mHZ)...? Price limit is

 

[Anthony_Gomez]

Another vote for the 280's.