Show me your cans, please.

[aerosolcheese]

To all of the audiophiles on the forum, I'd like to know what headphones you use when you work at your desk. I have a set of Shure in-ear phones that I have had for the past few years, and they are just getting to be uncomfortable. I'd like a big set of cans that offer some great sound and are fairly comfortable. I was thinking of getting the Grado SR-80i's. Anyone have experience with these? I'd like to keep the budget under $150. Thanks in advance to my wonderful TPF friends.

[srwatters]

Audiophile and budget of $150 are usually mutually exclusive...

I have a couple of different setups depending on how long I'm going to listen and how much outside world I need to hear. I really prefer my Sennheiser HD-600 cans with aftermarket Zu silver cables driven by a LaRocco built PPA amp. Source is typically a CD player optical out using an external Musical Fidelity DAC. I can't even remember how much I have invested in this setup because it's several years old. It certainly wasn't cheap, but I can listen for hours without any discomfort.

My "portable" system is a iPod driven into a Headroom "Total Airhead" amp with Shure E3c canal-phones. The amp has a crossfeed circuit that makes listening easier for long sessions. Well worth the $ IMHO.

Some resources:
http://www.head-fi.org (Forum)
http://www.headphone.com (Headroom)
http://store.shure.com/store/shure/en_US/home
http://www.sennheiserusa.com/home

Have fun!

[kenw]

Have 2 sets: a grotesquely overpriced noise-reduction set from Brookstone that I use when flying. I bought them when this was about the only choice in NR surround-the-ear cans. Now that everyone has NR cans, these are definitely bottom feeders. But they work great on the airplane.

My home set is an ancient pair of Yamaha open back cans that still sound wonderful. Paid ~$100 in 1980. No NR and I had to swap the plug from the older 1/4", and the cloth part of the span has totally rotted. Wife won't let me wear them in public anymore....

for canal/buds, my son got me a pair of very inexpensive Sonys that fit great and sound pretty good. Not NR (kinda useless in most situations), not cans, but I use them more than anything now. Very comfortable. Can't stand the ones that have the large speakers like the iPhone-included buds. Without a good solid fit to the ear canal, the bass is non-existant. The trick is to get it to fit tight but not feel like a 2x4 is crammed in your ear.

Audiophiles are as a group the only group stranger than photographers.....

[srwatters]

Originally Posted by kenw

Audiophiles are as a group the only group stranger than photographers.....

I resemble that remark

[cooltouch]

Originally Posted by srwatters

Audiophile and budget of $150 are usually mutually exclusive...

Being severly budget-compromised, I did my best with what I could afford. Picked up a set of Aiwa X815s at Costco for about $20 several years ago. The specs looked good, so I thought I'd give them a try. Honestly, I was quite impressed. They certainly exceed my hearing abilities (I'm an ex-rock&roll guitarist with some tinnitus as a result of my young foolishness). The Aiwa X815s fully enclose the ears and are quite comfortable, even when worn for extended periods.

I used them for recording and mixing down several of my musical compositions to CDs. They were more than adequate for this task.

Of course, the X815s are discontinued by now, but whatever the current equivalent is, they might just be worth considering if you're like me, and have to live on a tight budget.

Michael

[SpeedRacerSlots]

Depends on what what purpose I am serving:

iPod in general (normal background noise) : Westone 2 : http://www.westone.com/hearing/UFE/U...Earphones.html

iPod on an airplane (engine noise) : Shure E2C : the noise isolation rocks as opposed to noise cancellation by artificially sampling noise and creating anti-noise.

Full ear coverage : Sennheiser HD280 Silver

[aerosolcheese]

Thanks for the comments ya'll... I went to Sound world on Bellaire in Houston today and picked up a pair of Grado sr80i's for $99. Can't say much for the build quality... They literally look like someone made them by hand from spare parts in their garage, but man they sound very very nice.

[Rson]

Sennheiser HD 650's. Love the Velvet on my ears.

[janikphoto]

For in-ears, I have some sure e3c's and e4c's. Got the e4c pair at Comp USA when they were closing down stores for only $120, so I got a steal there. The e3c pair was a Christmas present from the wife. She bought them from B&H for a fair price. As for the big guns, I got lucky...

There was an estate sale up the street and there was a pile of maybe 6 to 8 pairs, all different brands. They were about five bucks each. I don't think they knew what they were selling. AKG, Stax, Grado, Sennheiser, etc... I picked up three of four pairs at a fiver a piece, then looked them each up on the net when I got home. The worst pair sold for over $150 and others sold for $200-$300 each.

This old man was obviously into sound quality (and smoking, since they STILL smell a bit like old smoke). I use the AKG pair the most. They sound pretty nice - especially for five bucks!