View Full Version : portable Headphone choice suggestions
I have the following sources. Samsung Galaxy s2, old ipod nano 2, IPad 1. I have the following headphones, Sennheiser HD580 precision (very old hardly used), Sennheiser CX200 in ears and my final purchase a year ago Klipsch S4 in ears which I got for £20 when the new version came out.
I was all set to buy a set of bluetooth headphones but now recon even the good ones would not be of high enough quality. FSL Zeros get good reviews but then at that price Im thinking good for a price so to speak. Sennheiser MMX400 are around £150 but are not loud enough for almost all users.
I have decided on a set of small on ears as the in ears constantly need to be put back in when moving about. The AKG 450/451's seem to be a well regarded place to start.
What are you folks using when out and about. My pressure washer is rather loud so would like something thats good at blocking the noise out and work with my SGS2 so i could take the odd call. Budget ideally up to £100.
Thing Fish
20-01-2013, 14:49
Slightly more expensive unless you get a deal but amazingly detailed. The Senheiser HD 25 II's.
I bought a pair early last year and they blew me away.
Very sturdy as well. Good to throw in a backpack.
Is this them seems too good a price to be true. are they easy to drive ie with my mobile.
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/sennheiser-hd-25-sp-ii-headphones-black-17853506-pdt.html
It is. No stock anywhere near me.
Westyman
20-01-2013, 16:58
Lots of headphone info on www.innerfidelity.com
Thanks never seen that site before.
Slightly more expensive unless you get a deal but amazingly detailed. The Senheiser HD 25 II's.
I bought a pair early last year and they blew me away.
Very sturdy as well. Good to throw in a backpack.
hD SP 25 II back in stock in Currys for just under £80 i was going to buy them then noticed they have a three metre cable:doh:
morris_minor
25-01-2013, 16:49
I've just got a pair of AKG K450s for use with the iPad and various iPhones in the house. £40 from Richer Sounds. Hard case, two cable lengths.
I plugged them into my Graham Slee Solo UL h'phone amp in place of the HD650s I usually use and was actually quite impressed, especially as the sound should improve with some running in.
I've just got a pair of AKG K450s for use with the iPad and various iPhones in the house. £40 from Richer Sounds. Hard case, two cable lengths.
I plugged them into my Graham Slee Solo UL h'phone amp in place of the HD650s I usually use and was actually quite impressed, especially as the sound should improve with some running in.
I use these with my nexus tablet, ipod and laptop when travelling around with work. I find the quality good, lots of detail, great natural bass rather than overblown, comfort excellent and they fold up nicely in the carrying case. Also got mine from Richers for £50 a few months ago. Thought they seemed a bit flimsy when i first got them but they've proved surprisingly robust. Used them daily for at least 4 months. They do improve with time, I just let mine run in naturally with regular use. Beware of fakes on that auction site and the big river shop, apparently they are hard to distinguish but sound awful. Richers seems to be the retailer of choice for these. Great value if they're £40 now. They really shone with my Hot Audio Dac Destroyer
If you can swing it, These are easy to drive and they rock! They fold up nicely too,and are made very well.
http://www.amazon.com/Ultrasone-HFI-780-Surround-Professional-Headphones/dp/B00101XVH2
35 ohm
http://www.ultrasone.com/index.php/en/products/hfi-780.html
The Ultrasone's are really nice and really well made.
Alternatives I could recommend:
Denon AHD 1100 - little plasticky but nice sounding.
Audio Technica ATH ES7 or ES 55; you can find them at really cheap and heavily discounted prices on the internet. Very well made.
Creative Aurvana Live: There seems to be a factory in SE Asia that churns out the same cans for various different brands - but these seem to be highly rated. Nice looking too.
Philips (seriously) has a really nice portable line: Fidelio M1, Downtown and Uptown that offer good vfm; cool looking too.
Hope this helps.
Thing Fish
27-01-2013, 14:03
Hi Paul, is a 3 meter cable too long for you then?
Don't know if they are the same as mine as mine are the SP 25 II I's and are 70 ohms. It makes a difference as there is a cheaper inferior pair. Mine have the split headband.
Thanks folks was thinking this thread was dead. AKG 451 seem good value for money. Can anyone state how easy they are to drive with an ipod or smartphone with not much guts as having to play almost at full volume really saps the battery with the S4s im currently using whereas the sennheiser cx200 need very little to get them going.
Hi Paul, is a 3 meter cable too long for you then?
Don't know if they are the same as mine as mine are the SP 25 II I's and are 70 ohms. It makes a difference as there is a cheaper inferior pair. Mine have the split headband.
For portable use 3m is way too long. I see yours are different on checking kinda thought the price too good to be the same.
Koss Porta Pro all the way. Bit of a cult following on Head Fi, and for good reason.
£21 on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00001P4ZH/ref=asc_df_B00001P4ZH11665467?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE
Koss Porta Pro all the way. Bit of a cult following on Head Fi, and for good reason.
£21 on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00001P4ZH/ref=asc_df_B00001P4ZH11665467?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE
Those things have a 60 ohm impedance?
They better be dammed sensitive.
Those things have a 60 ohm impedance?
They better be dammed sensitive.
Not massively sensitive at 101 dB/mW, but I've used them with iPods, smartphones, mp3 players etc. & never had any issues. They are cheap, but cult! Great fun, rich sound.
Jays Binaural in-ear headphones for under £20 are phenomenal in both performance and in price. Beat my Senns and Grados....utterly destroys them!
stupinder
03-02-2013, 10:46
Anything by Fanny Wang....dunno what they're like but gotta be worth a punt for the name alone!
Anything by Fanny Wang....dunno what they're like but gotta be worth a punt for the name alone!
Had positive reviews but have you seen the styling..Id feel a *#%%* wearing them.
Jays Binaural in-ear headphones for under £20 are phenomenal in both performance and in price. Beat my Senns and Grados....utterly destroys them!.
In ears though, was looking to go over ear.
Got a set of bluetooth headphones from Philips and felt a new post was worthwhile http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?p=411074#post411074
The more I read about the Koss portapro it seems to be the best on ear for the money.
But not from ebay as there is mostly knock offs not made by Koss at all.
In fact they look jst like the koss but use crap drivers.
seoirse2002
08-02-2013, 21:40
where do you recommend they are bought to be sure of originality?:)
In the U.S. Kmart sells them, I would go to the Koss web site and look at there list of authorized dealers save the receipt as they have a life time warranty as long as you bought from a real dealer , at least that's the deal in the U.S.
seoirse2002
09-02-2013, 09:41
Thanks for that...Ill check it out:)
George
A good read on how to identify fake Koss Portapros.
Seems on line a good number are cheap Chinese fakes that are in no way made or have anything to do with Koss.
http://loveray.blogspot.com/2010/12/how-to-identify-fake-koss-porta-pro.html
Even on amazon fakes have been reported,the market is flooded with phony headphones like Monster Beats,Portapros ect...
seoirse2002
11-02-2013, 10:16
Very useful post,thankyou
George:)
where do you recommend they are bought to be sure of originality?:)
Amazon.co.uk.
The box design has also changed, it's in a black box with "Koss Porta Pro Classic" branding.
seoirse2002
20-02-2013, 11:42
well,having had a good search I found the Koss porta pro headphones on Play.com for £20.98...but thats not all....I got a second pair for £5.98!!
Heres what to do: Register with Play.com....when your registration is confirmed...find Koss Porta pro for £20.98,they are sold on Play.com by a company called MyMemory...click on buy which will take you to the MyMemory site..along the way you will be offered a £15 discount on next Play.com purchase from "shopper discounts and rewards"....sign up for that,(but be aware the first month is free,afterwards its £10 per month)
Buy the first pair at £20.98.....
When you get the confirmation email from "shopper discounts and rewards"
Then get back to Play.com....sign in and buy the second pair for £20.98(make sure to do it through play.com)...send a copy of your second purchase to shopper discounts and rewards,link,or cut and paste receipt and order number and send it to them.....you will then get the £15 back in a few weeks...at least thats the theory,I was happy to buy 2 sets anyway.
Be sure to cancel your shopper discounts and rewards membership before the month is out or you will be paying a monthly fee of £10...but there again you may want to keep it as they have some good deals there.
Having read all the wisdom about fake porta pro's,I was ready for when they arrived..just in case.
They were posted from Switzerland,both came together in seperate packs,they both came with a nice pouch to store them in and best of all,they are genuine and carry all the hallmarks of the real deal..they fold up so easily too for travel.As a test myself and the wife downloaded a program from bbc iplayer on the ipad and watched it using an adapter so both sets of phones could be used together.....great! no more boring flights,armed with an ipad full of free iplayer downloads,music,etc.lots of viewing.....sorry about the long post....but its a no brainer...2 sets of genuine Koss porta Pro for £27...
Downside?...no adapter to use in a standard headphone socket,but I dont listen to h/phones at home,but adapters are cheap so no prob there.
;)
well,having had a good search I found the Koss porta pro headphones on Play.com for £20.98...but thats not all....I got a second pair for £5.98!!
Heres what to do: Register with Play.com....when your registration is confirmed...find Koss Porta pro for £20.98,they are sold on Play.com by a company called MyMemory...click on buy which will take you to the MyMemory site..along the way you will be offered a £15 discount on next Play.com purchase from "shopper discounts and rewards"....sign up for that,(but be aware the first month is free,afterwards its £10 per month)
Buy the first pair at £20.98.....
When you get the confirmation email from "shopper discounts and rewards"
Then get back to Play.com....sign in and buy the second pair for £20.98(make sure to do it through play.com)...send a copy of your second purchase to shopper discounts and rewards,link,or cut and paste receipt and order number and send it to them.....you will then get the £15 back in a few weeks...at least thats the theory,I was happy to buy 2 sets anyway.
Be sure to cancel your shopper discounts and rewards membership before the month is out or you will be paying a monthly fee of £10...but there again you may want to keep it as they have some good deals there.
Having read all the wisdom about fake porta pro's,I was ready for when they arrived..just in case.
They were posted from Switzerland,both came together in seperate packs,they both came with a nice pouch to store them in and best of all,they are genuine and carry all the hallmarks of the real deal..they fold up so easily too for travel.As a test myself and the wife downloaded a program from bbc iplayer on the ipad and watched it using an adapter so both sets of phones could be used together.....great! no more boring flights,armed with an ipad full of free iplayer downloads,music,etc.lots of viewing.....sorry about the long post....but its a no brainer...2 sets of genuine Koss porta Pro for £27...
Downside?...no adapter to use in a standard headphone socket,but I dont listen to h/phones at home,but adapters are cheap so no prob there.
;)
Koss portapros come with a 1/4 adapter, always have.
seoirse2002
20-02-2013, 17:30
Hi Jeff,
Maybe the latests ones dont?....Ive checked the Koss website and no mention of an adapter,nor is it mentioned on Play.com.....I have,of course, emailed both and hope to get a satisfactory reply
seoirse2002
27-02-2013, 15:52
Hi Jeff,
Follow up to the Koss Porta Pro headphones not having an adapter..
I have contacted Koss in the US through their online support chat and they have told me that the porta pro no longer come with a headphone adapter....They offered to send me 2 adapters free of charge if I was in the US or Canada though....when I said I was in the UK they directed me to their international customer services.
So all is OK... I had previously contacted play.com who told me exactly the same.
but just to be sure I contacted Koss as well.
luckily I have a couple of adapters lying around(if I can find them!):)
All well that ends well....I was worried there for a while:cool:
Don't be afraid of secondhand in-ear phones if they have removable squidgy bits.
Here's a pair of Shure SE530s that went for just £100, lightly used. (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shure-SE530-Headphones-in-Great-Condition-/190802137904)Was a £450 rrp in-ear monitor when current. The current SE535 is about £350 odd new.
I got mine for about £150 or so 2 years ago and could easily still sell them on for that - i.e. no real cost, I'm just borrowing them unless they break.
Sound fantastic - detail and punchy bass that sometimes goes surprisingly deep. Probably a testament to their accuracy is that bass appears and disappears as it comes and goes with the music whereas many others have constant bass, like it's been boosted too much. And being proper in-ear types (I use the buds that are made of ear-protector material - where you squash it before putting in your ear and let it expand to fill the canal) they also help cut out outside noise.
Can be slightly hissy though as they're sensitive - need a very quiet headamp ideally.
I can recommend proper in-ear types if you can stand them (some hate having things in their ears). Before I tried them, I found myself wanting to squash the normal, rest-in-your-outer-ear types, closer just to get full bass or more treble detail.
.
In ears though, was looking to go over ear.
oh..... :doh:
Hi Jeff,
Follow up to the Koss Porta Pro headphones not having an adapter..
I have contacted Koss in the US through their online support chat and they have told me that the porta pro no longer come with a headphone adapter....They offered to send me 2 adapters free of charge if I was in the US or Canada though....when I said I was in the UK they directed me to their international customer services.
So all is OK... I had previously contacted play.com who told me exactly the same.
but just to be sure I contacted Koss as well.
luckily I have a couple of adapters lying around(if I can find them!):)
All well that ends well....I was worried there for a while:cool:
Thats good news, I think some day the 1/4 inch jack will go the way of the 8 track tape deck for home audio but I hope not in my life time.
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