These are likely the best things in that price range:
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Klipsch-Image-S4--II-Black/dp/B008X9Q0JK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1422563033&sr=8-2&keywords=klipsch"]Klipsch Image S4[/ame]
The Headphone Thread
- Thread starter General Zod
- Start date
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Klipsch-Image-S4--II-Black/dp/B008X9Q0JK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1422563033&sr=8-2&keywords=klipsch"]Klipsch Image S4[/ame]
Bryant
Mr. Sleepy
Dude, if you reposted this on SOME hi-fi forums, you wouldn't believe what a can of worms you would open. I've seen people pay hundreds of dollars for speaker wire. I am a VERY staunch believer that you need to buy quality speakers, but there are some orthodox audiophiles that really go to some pretty absurd lengths with their equipment.
The job of a DAC is to simply decode the digital signal applied to it and convert it to it's corresponding analog waveform correctly. An amplifier's job is to take a small analog waveform and make it bigger while maintaining linearity. Amplifier companies over Engineer these tasks so that they can lay a claim to them being superlative to their competition.
Yet, I see people say things like....... I like so and so amp because it sounds "warmer" than the others. Well if the others sound the same and THAT one is different, which amp is not doing it's job correctly ? It is extremely difficult to get real world info on audio electronics other than listener tests which is quite subjective.
Yippee38
Living the dream!
My old headphones are JVC HA-RX900s that have been modded slightly. I liked them, but they were heavy.
Now I've got a pair of Sennheiser HD-600s and I love them. They are much lighter and sound much better.
Of course, I'm using mine on my PC through an Asus Xonar Essence STX.
For portable, I bought a pair of Sennheiser ear buds a long time ago, and they are awesome. I don't know the model number of them. As you can imagine, I don't want to be carry around a pair of cans with me all the time. Ear buds ar great. They go in my lunch bag, so I always have them. They weigh next to nothing. They block out the sound of annoying people on the airplane (when I'm riding in back obviously). And they sound great.
Has anybody else noticed the trend? Headphones and phone started out huge, then they got smaller. Then they got a lot smaller. Now they're all getting bigger again. Why?
Now I've got a pair of Sennheiser HD-600s and I love them. They are much lighter and sound much better.
Of course, I'm using mine on my PC through an Asus Xonar Essence STX.
For portable, I bought a pair of Sennheiser ear buds a long time ago, and they are awesome. I don't know the model number of them. As you can imagine, I don't want to be carry around a pair of cans with me all the time. Ear buds ar great. They go in my lunch bag, so I always have them. They weigh next to nothing. They block out the sound of annoying people on the airplane (when I'm riding in back obviously). And they sound great.
Has anybody else noticed the trend? Headphones and phone started out huge, then they got smaller. Then they got a lot smaller. Now they're all getting bigger again. Why?
Bryant
Mr. Sleepy
Part of is simply trends, but another part is bass response. Just like in home speakers, the larger the driver (woofer in the case of home speakers) the easier it is to get the lower bass frequencies. The over the ear headphones have much larger drivers (speakers) built in to them.
Bryant
Mardoch
Defender of the Universe
Several things. Smaller and smaller phones were fine for when telephony was their only use. Reading the internet on a 1.5" square screen ain't happenin, though. If you were to build a phone for pure telephony with the miniaturized components available now you'd need a separate screen and pad to dial on cause the rest of it is smaller than an iPod Nano now.
As for headphones, the big ones never went away. It's just that a smaller more convenient form factor emerged for daily walking and listening kind of stuff. You wouldn't catch me with ear buds when I'm on site though, cause I hear too much of everyone else's BS. I've always preferred circumaural for actual sit down use, and they've always been an option.
Truth. But there are a lot of people who hear what they want to hear. Similarly there are a lot of people who will wax poetic about a bottle of wine if you tell them it's $100, but would deride the same wine if you told them it was $5. There will always be people who use price as a barometer, because they're incapable of perceiving the subtleties themselves.
Yep. And I see people demonstrate that such wire is no better than using a coat hanger for transmitting the signal.
I agree with you on speakers. However, I've also read that the difference between a $1,000 DAC and the DAC in an iPhone is indiscernible.
Agreed. Part of it is simply a fashion trend, and part of it is people wanting something better than iBuds. It's also headphone manufacturers catching up to the cell phones. Bigger headphone had typically been designed to require more power to properly drive them. However, many headphone makers have seen the market trend, realized that people want quality headphones that can be driven by devices with limited power (smart phones), and designed their headphones to meet the demand.
AngraRULES
Member
Since last October, I've owned a pair of Bose FreeStyle earphones. By far the most comfortable and best-sounding earphones I've ever owned, and well worth the $129 price tag.
Plus, I think they're stylish as well too!
http://www.bose.com/controller?url=...=40-23728239-2&perfsourceid=K22350&src=K22350
Plus, I think they're stylish as well too!
http://www.bose.com/controller?url=...=40-23728239-2&perfsourceid=K22350&src=K22350
Bryant
Mr. Sleepy
What is important to remember is that all ears/brains are not the same. I have 0% doubt that there are people out there that have the ears and brains that can hear a difference between different audio components because they simply train themselves to do so. Being an audiophile is their passion, and they are truly good at it. They ALSO listen to a "standard" album or albums that they have trained themselves to hear. They WILL be able to discern things that 99.99% won't be able to do, but some do also claim more than they are capable of.
Also, an orthodox audiophile wouldn't listen to an MP3 or CD, much less metal music, so I don't relate too well with them in general. Because they take their "craft" so seriously, I do respect their opinions about some things, though. You just have to be careful and use your best judgement and common sense.
I own a set of Klipschorns and a Belle Klipsch I use as a center. Those speakers are rather expensive to just fork out at one time (although I got a very nice deal on them) but I likely will NEVER have to buy another set of front and center speakers barring my house catching on fire and my family not already out of danger ^___^
AS far as DAC's...... ehhhh..... it is apples and oranges. My Oppo DVD player can play SACD and DVDAudio etc. etc. Your IPhone doesn't play those, or even a redbook CD. Your iphone decodes MP3s and FLACs (I think that is what the Apple compression is called.)
Having said that, I don't feel like having an iphone decoding an MP3 would sound any different than having some audio component do it. My opinions are mine alone, but I can guarantee you that they are based on quite a bit of both personal listening and objective study of diverse internet resources.
True. I fully accept there are those who can discern and appreciate a level of nuance and subtlety that I cannot. Whether it's bourbon, cigars or audio equipment, I accept that my perception of flavor and sound is more limited than some. That said, there are things we can definitively measure and often the science shows that the hi-fi industry is simply selling snake oil.
Bryant
Mr. Sleepy
Pretty much dude. However, why were you asking everyone's opinions on buying a set of headphones ? Also why have I spent hours and hours of research trying to find the best Home Theater for me? Ha ha ha...
They certainly are NOT all the same. However, finding that balance of paying for quality vs. quality and some snake oil added is what we all want to know. Please let me know when you figure it out and I will do the same for you.
Hi-fi systems are simply a way to amplify "art" and therefore are subject to not only the same objectiveness of art, but even more because they have to amplify the said art in a way one wants it to be done correctly.
I asked for a few reasons. One, I expect the overlap of music fans and hi-fi fans is not insignificant. I assumed there were a handful of people on here who had done some research and have some strong opinions. Two, as you're aware, some headphones are considered better for metal than others. So I was intrigued to hear the opinions of a forum like this, as opposed to a vanilla hi-fi site. Finally, there are so many headphones to choose from, I was curious to know if there was anything I was missing (from my own research) that represented a good value proposition.
So far, the best headphones I've heard are the V-Moda Crosffade M100s. However, I haven't gone too far above the $350 price range. The headphones I'm currently intrigued by are these:
http://hifiman.com/Products/?pid=208
Agreed. And it's hard not to get sucked into always wanting something new and shiny, that teases to highlight that art in a new and better way.Hi-fi systems are simply a way to amplify "art" and therefore are subject to not only the same objectiveness of art, but even more because they have to amplify the said art in a way one wants it to be done correctly.
