Looking for specific headphones

[TMRNetShark]

Hey all, I have a small request today from all the tech heads out there.

I'm looking for a name of a very specific type of headphones that I want to buy. I'm assuming it's in the $200-$400 range (or more, I don't know!). It looks very much like a WWII pilot officer's headphones but obviously having amazing sound quality with our modern day headphones. An example of what it looks like is below. I do remember seeing the headphones having a leather head band and the light tan color for the earpiece covers. If anyone knows of brands of headphones that match this description, please let me know!

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[fohfoh]

http://north-america.beyerdynamic.com/shop/hah/headphones-and-headsets/studio-and-stage/studio-headphones/dt-880-pro.html

Closest I've found.


This is worth sifting through too if you want it that bad.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/433318/shootout-96-portable-headphones-reviewed-v-moda-m-80-added-11-27-11

[Meomix]

http://north-america.beyerdynamic.com/shop/hah/headphones-and-headsets/studio-and-stage/studio-headphones/dt-880-pro.html

Closest I've found.

That looks like a makeshift HeadSpeaker.

[TMRNetShark]

Thanks for your help! I found a pair sorta what I'm looking for... But sound quality is more important than looks, I guess!

[kitamesume]

^yes sound quality does matter, imho you wouldn't wan't a pair of overpriced headphones that sounds like telephone speakers now would you?

[fohfoh]

^yes sound quality does matter, imho you wouldn't wan't a pair of overpriced headphones that sounds like telephone speakers now would you?

No need to be an asshole. it's not like he's buying BOSE.

[TMRNetShark]

^yes sound quality does matter, imho you wouldn't wan't a pair of overpriced headphones that sounds like telephone speakers now would you?

No need to be an asshole. it's not like he's buying BOSE.

Yeah, in an over the ear headphone... sound quality is paramount. Styling does come in next. I don't want like Dr. Dre headphones and have someone instantly be like... OMG! He's got some expensive headphones. That's why I'll probably be going for these. You can't really tell if they are THAT expensive but I've been reading some reviews (not just on Amazon's website) that they are pretty good. Suggestions? Or could I get could I get something better for the price?

[fohfoh]

I believe those are headphones that set a standard at one point. If you look at the link about, it should be there.

Off the top of my head, the ones that set standards were:

Sennheiser 280pro
Sennheiser HD555/595
Beyerdynamic DT770/880

Obviously, this list should be at least 30 different sets. The ones that people use to compare new headphones to.

[AceHigh]

I would also recommend to see how comfortable they are. Ideally if you have had them on for like 8 hours and the tip of your ears do not hurt or feel fatigued afterwards, they are good.

[fohfoh]

I've put in an order for the ATH M50s and the Beyerdynamic DT770s. I'm gifting the M50s to my brother for his birthday. I hear the M50s have "legendary comfort", so I decided to put in an order to test it out. (My bro wanted to sell his beats to upgrade to the M50s, so hey, skip the poor student part for him and outright buy it for him)

Beyerdynamics look damn comfy in general and I like the idea of comfort and closed system. The HD 555 are comfortable too but the open system part at times requires you to crank it up so much more to drown people out.

Once I receive these, my household will have the HD280 pro, HD555 (moddable to the 595), ATH M50 and DT770 to toy with and compare.

I really need to listen to more orchestral though. My ability to determine the difference between oboes and clarinets needs more and more concentration these days. Kinda sad.

[TMRNetShark]

That's the one thing I've heard negative about the Sennheiser HD25-1 II. But after I break in the "head band"... then the comfort level goes up. Not too big of a deal to break in head phones... but if it continually hurts my ears... then fuck 'em!

BTW, my current headphones are Sony MDR-NC7 ($50 noise cancelling headphones...). For $50, they work well and I've gotten a lot of use out of them. The only thing is that the sound quality is only "meh" compared to my sound system (which only costs around $150...). So these headphones needs to be a good buy to upgrade my listening experience. XD

[AnimeJanai]

Many users mistakenly think that (1) comfort and (2) accurate frequency response are the primary ratings for headphones.  That is incorrect.  The third major factor is rate of response which is similar to "rise time" in concept.

I have always liked and used Sony MDR-V6  (not V600) headphones for both physical comfort and audio accuracy.  They are studio monitor type headphones which means they reproduce the audio fairly accurately and have an "okay" rate of response..  I prefer frequency accuracy in the headphones.  Many people don't have ideal hearing response levels across the frequency spectrum and so the Sony MCR-V6 might not be for them.  They may prefer headphones that color the music or have a "faster response" crispness that the much higher cost headphones have.  But I am fairly confident that the MDR-V6 is the best value in the range below $250 headphones.   I've seen the "DR DRE" rapstar headphone line at Fry's and they seem all that impressive to me unless you need to "prove" you are an edgy type person to your friends by wearing them along with some tattoos.  Also, I'm not into those other types of strange high-end high-cost headphones which also come with required headphone driver amplifiers.  One of them even comes with vacuum tube amps.  Ugh. 

It is possible to beat the Sony MDR-V6 with fast-response headphones but that type of music is not what I listen to.  Amazon.com has them at a good price.

[TMRNetShark]

Many users mistakenly think that (1) comfort and (2) accurate frequency response are the primary ratings for headphones.  That is incorrect.  The third major factor is rate of response which is similar to "rise time" in concept.

I have always liked and used Sony MDR-V6  (not V600) headphones for both physical comfort and audio accuracy.  They are studio monitor type headphones which means they reproduce the audio fairly accurately and have an "okay" rate of response..  I prefer frequency accuracy in the headphones.  Many people don't have ideal hearing response levels across the frequency spectrum and so the Sony MCR-V6 might not be for them.  They may prefer headphones that color the music or have a "faster response" crispness that the much higher cost headphones have.  But I am fairly confident that the MDR-V6 is the best value in the range below $250 headphones.   I've seen the "DR DRE" rapstar headphone line at Fry's and they seem all that impressive to me unless you need to "prove" you are an edgy type person to your friends by wearing them along with some tattoos.  Also, I'm not into those other types of strange high-end high-cost headphones which also come with required headphone driver amplifiers.  One of them even comes with vacuum tube amps.  Ugh. 

It is possible to beat the Sony MDR-V6 with fast-response headphones but that type of music is not what I listen to.  Amazon.com has them at a good price.

Nice suggestion... but besides being cheaper than the Sennheiser, does it have anything else in it's advantage? Honestly, for $62~ on Amazon, the Sony MDR-V6 looks temping (and I've officially bookmarked it)... but I want to be convinced that it's very comparable if not on the same level as the Sennheiser. The only thing that the Sennheiser has over the Sony (that I can tell from my research) is that the Sennheiser has a slightly better Impedance and sensitivity (aka, I don't know what it means, but more is usually better XD). Now all I want to know is that will I notice the difference OR is spending the extra $70-$90 worth getting the "better" product?

[fohfoh]

Actually, Sony headphones aren't bad either. I can't remember what model I played with in HK, MDR-400 or something, and they were actually quite nice with a price point that wasn't overbearing either. They're actually a set that's worth playing with, but not super durable that I'd run around places with. That's why I have the HD280 pro and soon the DT770. They're beaters.

Sony MDR have always been nice in my books, but moreso for an actual studio set up.

[AnimeJanai]

Now all I want to know is that will I notice the difference OR is spending the extra $70-$90 worth getting the "better" product?

I just don't know because I have not worn the Sennheisers to compare to the MDR-V6.  And if my ears have a different audio response curve than yours, it makes comparisons possibly inaccurate when using important types of descriptions such as "it has more/less bass ambience 'aftertaste' you get when your chest physically thumps from bass subwoofers"  or "the multiple violins' interbeat notes have a faster NON-muddy rise and falloff".  While both types of descriptions relate to the response rate of headphones, I'm not willing to go find a high-end audio store to pretend to test drive their Sennheisers.   I remember one time I got the sales pitch for monster cables.  UGH UGH.  The salesman told me how important it was to have flexible shielded cables with good insulation to prevent noise and static getting in; that was his lead to get me to psychologically say "yes" and thus have a "yes" frame of mind as he led into the monster powerbar and power cords.   Shielded powercords protect the gear better and using the monster powerbar is also important to protect against static and small types of power-surges that have effects on audio that regular powerbars don't consider.   I cut him down with the talk about filtered power supplies in the gear being adequate and by the way, how about them unshield powerlines in the wall going to the wall socket?  Isn't it useless to shield the powercord going from the wall-socket to the audiogear when all that other wire is unshielded all the way to the hydroelectric power generators at the dam?    Humbug on sales talk on high-end high-cost gear. 

[TMRNetShark]

Now all I want to know is that will I notice the difference OR is spending the extra $70-$90 worth getting the "better" product?

I just don't know because I have not worn the Sennheisers to compare to the MDR-V6.  And if my ears have a different audio response curve than yours, it makes comparisons possibly inaccurate when using important types of descriptions such as "it has more/less bass ambience 'aftertaste' you get when your chest physically thumps from bass subwoofers"  or "the multiple violins' interbeat notes have a faster NON-muddy rise and falloff".  While both types of descriptions relate to the response rate of headphones, I'm not willing to go find a high-end audio store to pretend to test drive their Sennheisers.

Sorry, edited non-related schtuff....

So what you are saying is unless I'm an audiophile and my life's obsession is music and sound (or somewhere within that ballpark)... I won't be hearing much of a difference from most of the pop/rock songs I listen to. I don't really listen to opera nor do I think I can pick up the difference in "the multiple violins' interbeat notes have a faster NON-muddy rise and falloff"...

If I cannot draw definitive conclusions... I'll just have to take the plunge in either one.

[AnimeJanai]

Hmm, I wouldn't go that far.  Many people who are not audiophiles still can hear a difference just like non-anime fans can look at an anime and see that Guilty Crown looks more detailed than Puella Madoka, but Kyuubi beats the pants off Gai in terms of sales (so to speak).

I have a pair of Sony noise-cancelling MDR-NC7 headphones too.  I mentioned the violins in my prior post because on the MDR-V6, I can clearly tell a mass of violins playing is significantly clearer than on the noise-cancelling headphones where the violins seem like they were "swirled together" to form a uniform muddy mass.  Hmm, an example of what I mean to say is:   (1)  Draw a 6-inch circle on Strathmore heavy tooth reserve watercolour paper.  Draw a 5-inch diameter circle on the sidewalk.  Draw a 3-inch circle on top of a room temperature chocolate pudding.   (2)  Take 7 oreo cookies and lay them in the 5-inch circle semi-randomly; this is the Sony MDR-V6.   (3)  Take 7 oreo cookies, crush them into rough semi-small pieces and put the jumbled up mess inside the 3 inch circle; this is the Sony noise-cancelling MDR-NC7headphone.   (4) The 6-inch circle represents my guess for some un-named high-end headphones.  Depending on the headphones, I assume the +2,000 USD ones let you hand-pick 9 cosmetically perfect oreo cookies with all the nabisco raised lettering and designs sharp and not chipped or crushed (you get these cookies at the output of the nabisco factory conveyor belt oven and not from a store package).  Lay them nicely even and symmetical inside the circle.

[TMRNetShark]

Hmm, I wouldn't go that far.  Many people who are not audiophiles still can hear a difference just like non-anime fans can look at an anime and see that Guilty Crown looks more detailed than Puella Madoka, but Kyuubi beats the pants off Gai in terms of sales (so to speak).

I have a pair of Sony noise-cancelling MDR-NC7 headphones too.  I mentioned the violins in my prior post because on the MDR-V6, I can clearly tell a mass of violins playing is significantly clearer than on the noise-cancelling headphones where the violins seem like they were "swirled together" to form a uniform muddy mass.  Hmm, an example of what I mean to say is:   (1)  Draw a 6-inch circle on Strathmore heavy tooth reserve watercolour paper.  Draw a 5-inch diameter circle on the sidewalk.  Draw a 3-inch circle on top of a room temperature chocolate pudding.   (2)  Take 7 oreo cookies and lay them in the 5-inch circle semi-randomly; this is the Sony MDR-V6.   (3)  Take 7 oreo cookies, crush them into rough semi-small pieces and put the jumbled up mess inside the 3 inch circle; this is the Sony noise-cancelling MDR-NC7headphone.   (4) The 6-inch circle represents my guess for some un-named high-end headphones.  Depending on the headphones, I assume the +2,000 USD ones let you hand-pick 9 cosmetically perfect oreo cookies with all the nabisco raised lettering and designs sharp and not chipped or crushed (you get these cookies at the output of the nabisco factory conveyor belt oven and not from a store package).  Lay them nicely even and symmetical inside the circle.

Ok, I see where you are coming from. Basically the Sony is able to render each individual sound a lot clearer than the NC7, but the difference from the Sony MDR-V6 to the Sennheiser is only one more "cookie" (source of sound) and a slightly bigger circle (range of the sound). Correct?

[AceHigh]

($50 noise cancelling headphones...).

About that, I wouldn't recommend active noise cancelling headphones to anyone who uses them for prolonged periods of time. It's not good for your ears and I personally know several people that suffered from headaches until they found out the cause. Just remember that the sound isn't magically isolated with this technique, rather you are bombarded with extra sound which is is phase inverted in addition to the music you are listening to.

Maybe it is just an extreme case at my work and it works fine in an already quiet environment, but the guys who tried to block out the noise of industrial machinery at work for 8 hours were a good example of how not to use this technology.

[AnimeJanai]

I like to use the noise-cancelling headphones (no music) when I am cutting wood with a chainsaw or using a circular power saw.