Closed back headphones

[BigSilverEstate]

I am thinking about getting some decent headphones for use while commuting. I already have a pair of 'Hi-Fi' cans (Sennheiser HD650s) but these are completely unsuitable for use out and about as they are very difficult to drive (600 ohms impedance) and make no effort to reduce sound leakage. When I was burning them in by leaving them running overnight I could actually hear them in the living room from upstairs even though the doors were shut...

So the AKG K550s are very keenly priced at the moment and the reviews are good, but you get a very long cable and they appear to be massive, plus you can't take phone calls unless you get the considerably dearer K551s. Any thoughts from the panel on these or other closed back headphones, or would I be better with some IEMs, or even noise cancelling versions (which I am prejudiced about because of the sound processing involved and the seemingly silly prices)

Please don't mention Doctor Dre, I listen primarily to classical music, jazz and all that type of nonsense so I'm just not cool enough.

 

[LTD]

Bose sound cancelling phones.

 

[BigSilverEstate]

Bose sound cancelling phones.

I'll have to have a listen.

 

[st13phil]

If you're considering closed back headphones for their external noise suppression capabilities, consider also custom fit in-ear headphones / in-ear monitors. Take a look at the ACS website to see what can be done.

 

[Ferrets Bueller]

Bose sound cancelling phones.

Yep I have a pair of the Bose QC15 and they are brilliant highly recommend them.

 

[SportsCoupeRich]

I have a pair of Atomic Darts which I think are unbelievable. They are the in-ear mini darts - great depth (i listen to a lot of music with quite heavy bass lines) and also I had the service where they come to your house and mould the inserts to your exact ear shape.

I also use them as earplugs on flights (which is essential for me as I do 4 - 6 long hauls a month).

I think all in I paid 220 including the moulding service.

 

[SportsCoupeRich]

Link:

Atomic Floyd - The New State of Sound

 

[C320]

Agreed, in ear headphones are worth considering.

I fancy myself as a bit of an audiophile and I am currently using the Sony XBA-3:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007VXRCB4/?tag=amazon0e9db-21

They have triple drivers and sound great. They have come down in price as well. Used to be around the £275 mark. The only cons with these are that there is no MIC but there is an iphone compatible version available for ££ more if you wanted that option.

They sound about right to me because the bass is balanced and fluid, not muddy, the mids are spot on and the highs are not to bright. It makes for a natural sound with lots of detail.

 

[Godot]

This just popped in to my "in Box" any good ?
NWZ-W273 | Audio MP3 players | Features | NWZW273B.CEW | NWZW273 | Sony

 

[BigSilverEstate]

This just popped in to my "in Box" any good ?
NWZ-W273 | Audio MP3 players | Features | NWZW273B.CEW | NWZW273 | Sony

"Designed to stay in ear when the action's fast or wet". Like it.

I am tempted by the IEMs suggested here though the ACS ones are starting to exceed my budget... My only reservation from past experience is they tend to be rather fragile and not last more than a few months.

 

[st13phil]

I am tempted by the IEMs suggested here though the ACS ones are starting to exceed my budget... My only reservation from past experience is they tend to be rather fragile and not last more than a few months.

Another option is the ACS Custom Earphone Sleeves which can be made up to suit a number of Etymotic Research, S_h_u_r_e (no idea why the swear filter objects to that?), Klipsch, and Sennheiser in-ear headphones. The advantage of using the custom sleeves is that if you damage one (or both) they can be replaced without incurring the full cost of another set of IEM's. Having said that, ACS will always refurb any of their IEM's at significantly less than the original retail price.

FWIW, I've used their DriverComs on motorcycles for years (a pretty harsh environment) and find them very robust, so unless you're very ham-fisted I'd expect their IEM's to last rather longer than a few months.

 

[SavMan]

Ultrazone PRO 750 really easy to drive as only 40 ohm

 

[verytalldave]

Unfortunately these earphones aren't suitable for music on the move............

Welcome to STAX Earspeaker

However, if you want the very best at home - and have deep pockets - then these really do offer a sound that other "ordinary" headphones simply cant match.
I have heard them at a demo at an exhibition several years ago and they do offer a significant audible improvement over all the other makes you could name.
If you are serious about your music (specially classical with its wide dynamic range) then I would respectfully suggest you consider these and go for a demonstration to hear for yourself.
Costly - yes - but worth it.

 

[BigSilverEstate]

Extremely curious to hear some of this exotic/high end equipment, though I suspect once I heard it I would never be satisfied with my mid-fi equipment again and my children would have to beg on the streets etc...

 

[Charles Morgan]

I have been there, spent the money and enjoyed myself, (I even have a pair of Stax from the 80s, marvellous things), but you can get 95% of the pleasure for a lot lot less. As a music lover rather than an audiophile, it is the recordings that count, and you can buy an awful lot (especially at current CD prices) for the difference.

On the Bose noise cancelling headphones, I have a pair of QC15. They are good at cancelling noise (although on the bus an annoying reverberation manifested itself). As to their hi-fi capabilities, they are quite mediocre. I listened to Bruckner's 7th on the bus, recorded from my CD and put on iTunes as lossless. It was difficult to pick up the glorious texture of the strings in the Rattle recording, bass was pretty absent and it was all a bit mushy. For the money, you really have to want to suppress noise to the exclusion of everything else, and I think you could do better.

 

[BigSilverEstate]

Well after much agonising I went for a pair of Sennheiser IE80s. They arrived yesterday and I am very happy. Won't review here but will say it is a much more satisfactory experience than listening to my HD650s once in a blue moon when nobody is around me, and being aware they are being under-driven.

Some good tips from the panel - made me look in more detail at IEMs.