Hey all,
Was wondering if any of you guys had some recommendations for a great set of headphones that sound great (look great would be a plus) and are portable enough for me to carry in the park or listen to music at a cafe? I'm looking for something that's considered an "audiophile" headphone, not some run-the-mill "Skullcandy" ones (no offense, they do make decent earphones and I hear their customer service is great), but I'm just want something with a little more depth than your standard headphones. Any tips?
Thanks, Ryan
Hello there Ryan, and thanks so much for writing! We've done a number of roundups for headphones before so feel free to take a peek at some of them below if you want to have a diverse selection of recommended cans to choose from:
If none of the above cater to your palette (everyone's definition of style differs quite a bit), one of our favorite sets that we've heard recently and highly recommend are the Audio-Technica ATH-SQ5 Portable Headphones. We found them to be one of the best looking headphones that actually balance style with great sound, all in a sexily painted piano rectangular package.
You can grab them for a very reasonable price of $120, hopefully not going completely over your budget, but that's the general going price for these higher-end headphones.
Do you have a personal recommendation for Ryan? Let him know in the comments below!
[Image: Plastic Nico]
Without a budget, this is an impossible task.
Take a look at the breakdown on this forum post over at head-fi:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/headphone-buyers-guide-271258/
view charmac's profile
I really like the Bose Tri-ports and the Bose Quiet Comfort 2's (not tried the QC3's). Not sure if these are considered audiophile though - but I like them!
view c_henry's profile
Avoid Bose. All show and no go.
Grado makes a nice can called 'iGrado' which uses the same transducer as their low-end SR-60. You'll be hard pressed to find a better sounding headphone for the money. Be aware, however, that they're an open-air headphone, which may annoy the people around you at the coffee shop or library.
For an isolating headphone, I'd recommend the Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro. Great sounding headphone, and it'll only get better if you decide to use it with a headphone amplifier further on down the rabbit hole.
view therobbstory's profile
If you have money, go for the Grado GS1000s. They are bomb. ;)
view ekoshyun's profile
Grado SR80. Inexpensive, small, comfortable... perfect.
Easy to drive without a headphone amp.
Classic looks.
Powerful, smooth, warm sound.
YOU CANNOT GO WRONG WITH GRADO.
view Citizen Gain's profile
While we're on the topic, anyone know of a good portable headphone amp for a laptop output? Oh, and this might also be a stupid question, but can you output music from your iPhone through an amp? Thanks guys!
view ekoshyun's profile
I second the recommendation of the Grados...also, I've had good luck with AKG headphones. I've used these for a while:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000BDD56W/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance
AKG reportedly has great customer service.
@ekoshyun: For a very cheap portable amp, I've used a "boostaroo" for my ipod before. It's works okay, although is a bit draining on the battery. (And I usually find the tangled cords/dangling amp more of hassle than its worth--except for on airplanes, where it definitely helps increase volume. Beware, it can also make defects in sound files clearer as well.) On the bright side, it also acts as an audio splitter, so if someone wants to listen to music with you on a separate set of phones, it makes that possible.
http://www.boostaroo.com/
They make two models, so be sure to check which one will work best with the frequency range of your headphones.
view nicolson's profile
@ekoshyun:
If you're into DIY, You can't beat this combo which can be built for under $200:
http://www.amb.org/audio/gamma1/
http://www.amb.org/audio/mini3/
view therobbstory's profile
If your going to be using them in noisy environments, I would not recommend the Grados. They have virtually no noise suppression. Sony MDR-V6s offer excellent sound quality for the price. They don't look like anything special though.
I have a pair of AKG k171s I really like. I think they look quite stylish. They are closed and intended to be used as studio monitors.
view roger_lew's profile
I have an older pair of AKG k26p's. They're called something else now but are exactly the same.
The sound suppression is great. I bought them for drowning out the drone of the subway. JBL makes an almost identical pair that are much more muffled so stay away from those.
view kmrd's profile
Sealed cans offer the best isolation, and the AKG k271 is my personal favorite of the sealed cans. They're fairly affordable, too, for the quality.
>>ekoshyun
A company called NuForce has recently released a solid headphone amp called the NuForce Icon Mobile. It's a combo of headphone amp AND DAC, which is perfect for laptops. It's also a tidy $100, which is GREAT for that kind of combo, in it's quality. It was reviewed quite favorably by 6moons recently: http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/nuforce10/mobile.html
view Citizen Gain's profile
The k171s and k271s are both pretty easy to power since I believe they are both 65 ohms. The k171s are smaller than the k271s.
view roger_lew's profile
Looking into the K271's. Thanks guys!
view ekoshyun's profile
As charmac said, anyone interested in audiophile headphones needs to check-out head-fi.org. For closed (i.e.--they don't let as much sound in or out as "open" phones) portable headphones, Audio-Technica's are a pretty good bet.
The K271's are nice headphones, but the Audio-Technica's might sound better without a dedicated headphone amplifier. I haven't heard the SQ5's, but even Audio-Technica's high-end models tend to be easier to drive without an amp.
And avoid Bose products. They're definitely not audiophile, and are way too expensive for the sound quality they deliver. The Grado's are nice, but they're an open design, and some people find them uncomfortable.
view paulg's profile
Also, if you find them comfortable, in-ear monitors (IEM's) can provide very good sound and isolation without the need for a headphone amp. I own and enjoy the Head-Direct RE2's. They're only $40, but compare favorably with higher-priced Etymonics.
view paulg's profile