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Author Topic: What do you think are the best sounding headphones? Mark J. Marshall Film God Posts: 3188 From: New Castle, DE, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 02-15-2011 08:29 AM                    Sometime in the late 80s or early 90s, I picked up a pair of Sony MDR-V6 headphones - at Sears of all places. I think they were around $110. I was working at a radio station in college and was tired of their crappy headphones. These caught my eye because their frequency range was 5 Hz to 30,000 Hz. This of course translated for me to "so low you can feel it to so high you can barely hear it anymore." I was blown away by how they sounded. Over the years the ear pieces started to flake off and the foam fell apart and all of that. I made the mistake of throwing them away (you can actually replace the earpieces for about $5) and "upgrading" to the V600. I thought they sounded terrible in comparison. I never went back to get another pair of the V6s - I thought they were replaced by the V600s and never dug deeply into it. Well, my wife bought me a brand new pair of V6s for Valentines day. (The perfect gift for a guy is a techie toy - even on Valentine's day!) I've been listening to my iPod, and they are still by far the best headphones I have ever heard. I've tried all kinds of expensive ones between then and now including noise canceling ones, expensive Bose ones, and all of that. Nothing compares to these. And they came out in 1987 I think. I'm curious if anyone else has any experience with these or what your favorite headphones are.  |  IP: Logged John Lasher Master Film Handler Posts: 493 From: Newark, DE Registered: Aug 2001 posted 02-15-2011 10:26 AM                        The best sounding pair of headphones I've ever owned is probably the pair I'm wearing now: Sennheiser HD-201s. They're a bit bassy, but pretty good (and comfortable). I researched them before buying and they were the best reviewed in my price range at the time I bought them. I was also familiar with the brand, I have been happy with Sennheiser mics I've used in the past (my church uses all Sennheiser mics in the main sanctuary, a marked improvement over the EV gear (which has been relegated to the fellowship hall)). Nice long cord, too, I could probably walk around to the other side of this desk and grab a record to listen to without unplugging them. I had a pair of Audio Technica headphones when I was at the Art Institute in Philly that sounded pretty good, but unfortunately the construction quality was crap and they just couldn't take going back-and-forth on the train 4 days a week, by the end of the semester my brother had repaired them with some wooden kebab skewers and copious amounts of packing tape. I knew I wasn't getting on a plane with that, so I bought another pair when I went to Miami, same story: great sound, shitty construction.  |  IP: Logged Greg Anderson Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 766 From: Ogden Valley, Utah Registered: Nov 1999 posted 02-15-2011 06:40 PM                        Whenever I worked on feature films or TV shows it always seemed that the sound mixers were using Sony MDR-7506 headphones. So I came to trust those headphones for good, solid sound on location work. Then, like you, I decided to get MDR-V6 headphones because, as far as I could tell, they were just like the 7506s but just a little less costly. I soon found that the V6 cable seems to lose the "spring" in its coil and the cable is easily tangled compared to the 7506. Today I see that B&H Photo carries the 7506s for only $4 more than the V6s. For that price, I'd buy the 7506s and enjoy the better cable. Meanwhile, everyone who uses the 7506 headphones knows that the pads go bad easily and you'll need to order more. But then I see that B&H sells better-than-original replacement pads that look like a nice deal. In fact, they'll sell them with brand new headphones with a $2 "package deal" discount. If you already have a pair of V6 or 7506 headphones that need new pads, you might consider this... Pearstone Deluxe Earpads  |  IP: Logged Paul Mayer Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under! Posts: 3836 From: Albuquerque, NM Registered: Feb 2000 posted 02-15-2011 07:28 PM                        Back in the day for home listening I enjoyed the Stax Lambda Pro electrostatics - the sound not the price. In dynamics, I had started with the old Yamaha HP-1, later the YP-1. These days I like the Sennheiser HD-600 - great sound for not much cash. The pair I use now was bought used for about $200 USD a few years ago. In earbuds I still use a pair of Sennheiser MX-50. Great sound with better bass than many earbuds, and cheap too. I also have a pair of Shure e2c for the occasional freelance jobs that still come my way.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 02-15-2011 08:01 PM                        We used to sell Koss phones at the store. I remember one particular model that sounded great, I think it was the H-50 or H-100 or something like that. It was an "on-the-ear" type when the most popular phones then were the over-ear giant cup type. I've had a few pairs of phones over the years that sounded OK, but were not comfortable to wear or wouldn't fit right. I had a set of $35 Maxell phones last year that sounded real good if I pressed the cups to my head while listening, but if I let go, they would tilt out at a weird angle and most of the bass would disappear. I currently have a Bose QuietComfort that I got for Christmas. I really like them, but then I haven't had a chance to "shop around" much to try out the others in this thread. I will say the Bose is great for riding on airplanes -- they cut the noise out very efficiently. I'll keep this thread in mind in the inevitable event that I lose the Bose's!  |  IP: Logged Ian Parfrey Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1049 From: Imbil Australia 26 deg 27' 42.66" S 152 deg 42' 23.40" E Registered: Feb 2009 posted 02-15-2011 08:24 PM                     Paul is on the money here. Stax SR-Lambda Signature are just magic. Absolutely brilliant.  |  IP: Logged Claude S. Ayakawa Film God Posts: 2738 From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 02-15-2011 08:33 PM                        I have two iPods (iPod Touch & Classic) as well as a Samsung Vibrant smart phone that I use to listen to music when I go to Honolulu on a bus when I do not need to drive and the headset I use is a Shure SE210. At $179.80, it is the least expensive of their three modes but I could not tell the difference between the one I have and the others costing more after I had tried them all. I used many headsets before and some were very good but nothing so far has equaled the sound quality I am getting from my Shure. Everything sounds great from a Beethoven Symphony to a Haydn string quartet. -Claude  |  IP: Logged Mark Ogden Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 943 From: Little Falls, N.J. Registered: Jun 99 posted 02-15-2011 08:57 PM                     I have a pair of Sennheiser HD650s, great dynamic open-ear headphones. They sound great, but at 300 ohms they are not really appropriate for use directly out of an iPod without extra amplification. Plug them into a headphone amp and they are hard to beat. They are a little pricy, though, but Sennheiser has other models available at lesser cost. For iPod use, the in-ear-monitors made by Etymotic are my favorites. The ER4p is a fine pair and pretty easy to drive. Some people dislike them because the bass can be lacking unless you seat them pretty firmly and deeply into your ear canal. Once you do, though, they really sound fine. Some people go so far as to go to an audiologist to have impressions made of their ear canal, if you then send those to Etymotic they will create custom ear molds that you can use with them. If you listen to iPod most of the time, but hate to stick things in your ears I would strongly recommend something from Grado Labs. They have a line of terrific sounding cans that are only 32 ohms impedance. The SR60i is probably the greatest steal in headphones right now, only $79.00. You see a lot of these on the streets here, and I can tell you from first hand experience that they sound great with an iPod, almost as good as the Etymotics. I find them a little tight for long-term wear, though.  |  IP: Logged Sam Graham AKA: "The Evil Sam Graham". Wackiness ensues. Posts: 1431 From: Waukee, IA Registered: Dec 2004 posted 02-15-2011 10:37 PM                        I have a pair of Sennheiser PX-100's (which have apparently since been replaced by PX-100 II) for my iPod. Huge improvement over Apple's earbuds. I've sworn by Sennheiser for years.  |  IP: Logged Scott Jentsch Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1061 From: New Berlin, WI, USA Registered: Apr 2003 posted 02-16-2011 02:47 PM                        Since I live in Koss country, I should be touting the products of the home team, but my personal favorite is also the Sony MDR-V6. I first listened to them many years ago (probably the early 90's), and they left a lasting impression. For portable use, I have a set of Sennheiser PX100's that collapse into a plastic holder that makes them ideal for traveling.  |  IP: Logged

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