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What headgear do you own/use?

Discussion in 'Tilted Gear' started by Remixer, Mar 14, 2012.

  1. Remixer

    Remixer Middle Eastern Doofus

    Location:
    Frankfurt, Germany
    Yo. Got the idea from Craven Morehead 's thread on Apple earphones.

    What earphone/headphone/headsets do you own and use?

    Which is/was your favorite?

    What attributes make/made it special to you?

    Originally, I've used a lot of Logitech headsets and mostly for gaming only. For the past 5 years, though, I've been really into Sennheiser headphones/-sets.

    My first one was a Sennheiser HD595 and I loved it, until I broke it in a drunken stupor in Germany one night. I still don't know how it happened. It was extremely comfortable and the sound it produced made my brain have multiple orgasms caused by the awesome quality of sound waves that would enter my ears and, after conversion into electrical signals, my membrane. Listening to music and watching high-quality movies suddenly became a new experience. It looks like this:

    [​IMG]

    When I had to replace the HD595, it was around the time I was really starting to talk to my now-fiancée on Skype a lot, so I went for the Sennheiser PC350 since it has a microphone on it. All in all, it's an excellent headset... has great sound quality and the mic is pretty good, too. It's also very comfortable. But somehow, it lacks compared to the HD595. The PC350 is not quite as comfortable and does not quite have the same sound quality. The HD595 was in these aspects just that little bit better, and I will get it again once I move in with my fiancée and won't have to talk on Skype that much anymore. It looks like this:

    [​IMG]

    How about you, TFP?
     
    Last edited: Mar 15, 2012
  2. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member

    Koss Sparkplugs

    [​IMG]

    I prefer small ones that I can use while taking a walk or working out, and I don't use them enough to justify spending big bucks on a high end pair. I like that these are soft and can conform easily to almost any size ear canal.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  3. Zweiblumen

    Zweiblumen Slightly Tilted

    Location:
    Iceland
    Schennheiser RS120 simple wireless set. Have used them about 8 hours a day for 5 years.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  4. Charlatan

    Charlatan sous les pavés, la plage

    Location:
    Temasek
    I use my Apple ear buds until they don't work and then I buy whatever sounds decent and doesn't cost a bomb. I definitely get ear buds as I couldn't imagine walking or running around with big cans on my ears. It would make me look like more of a tool than I already do.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  5. Stan

    Stan Resident Dumbass

    Location:
    Colorado
    Byerdynamic T1's driven by a Woo Audio WA2 tube amp

    [​IMG]
     
    • Like Like x 4
  6. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    I always aim for inexpensive-but-not-crap. I want mine to last, but I can't justify spending more than $40 or so on a set.

    Right now I have a pair of Sony sports earphones for my iPod, so they don't fall off when I'm out and about. I also have a Logitech headset for gaming, but I accidentally snapped them, so I can only listen in one ear. I've been meaning to get some Krazy Glue. I think the mic is broken on them though. Either that, or I need to check my Windows settings. Damn Windows....

    I've always dreamed of getting top-of-the-line Sennheiser gear, but I can't justify spending the money. :(
     
    Last edited: Mar 14, 2012
    • Like Like x 2
  7. Fremen

    Fremen Allright, who stole my mustache?

    Location:
    E. Texas
    I bought a pair of cheap Sennheisers for around $23 from Amazon recently. I'm happy with them so far.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    At the same time, I bought some cheapo earbuds by JLabs called JBuds.
    [​IMG]
     
    • Like Like x 1
  8. Remixer

    Remixer Middle Eastern Doofus

    Location:
    Frankfurt, Germany
    Borla : My German IT/graphic design friend is really into earphones. Loves those things and spends more money on them than I ever would on mine. I guess earphones would also be much better for conserving the battery charge. I have a big head though, so no. ;)

    Hah. I look like a huge doofus when I wear baseball caps (which I never do)... and huge headphones don't make me prettier. I wear them anyway. :D

    The hell are those glass bulbs for?

    Hopefully one day your dream will come true. That probably won't happen till you embark upon man's real path of meat again, though. :p
     
  9. Zweiblumen

    Zweiblumen Slightly Tilted

    Location:
    Iceland
    When I'm out and about I use either Shennheiser (came with iRiver player)
    [​IMG]
    or Motorola S9
    [​IMG]
    when I use the phone as mp3 player.
    But the Shennheiser RS120
    [​IMG]
    is what I use on daily basis, when I have to replace them I will get something with noise-canceling.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  10. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    A real man needs neither meat nor Sennheiser.
     
  11. When I'm doing cardio, I usually surf the web with my iPad. I'll listen to music with a Sony Ericsson bluetooth headset

    [​IMG]

    Other times when I'm using my iPod, I'll use Sony earbuds

    [​IMG]
     
    • Like Like x 1
  12. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    I used to have some Sennheiser headphones as a teenager. My dad had bought them for himself but never really used them, so I snagged them. I had to return them when I moved out of the house. I'm looking at getting a pair of their earbuds as my husband keeps stealing mine.

    Currently, I rock a midrange pair of Sony earbuds. They came with multiple sizes of rubber thingies to fit my smaller ear canals. I like them because the squishy part blocks out sound well--sometimes too well--which is good for studying. They look similar to the ones Craven posted above, but black.

    We've tried several different brands of earbuds in the $20-$30 range in the last couple years, and the Sony ones I have are the best we've found so far.
     
  13. Shadowex3

    Shadowex3 Very Tilted

    i used to use a mediocre but passable set of plantronics for gaming until i decided id had enough burnouts and ear pain and started loking for a decent set of "real" headphomes. in the end i was given a set of hd595s as a graduation gift right before ordered some hd555s myself. theyre enormous but theyve lasted forever and are phenomenally comdortable... amd so good for gaming that i have actually been accused of cheating when using them.

    also remixer, the glass lightbulb things are vacuum tubes. for audio purposes vacuum tubes tend to provide a sound more appealing to the average human ear, and subjectively louder.
     
  14. martian

    martian Server Monkey Staff Member

    Location:
    Mars
    Those are vacuum tubes; they fulfill the same role in a circuit as transistors. Most modern electronics uses transistors because they're more durable, much more compact, and don't wear out. There's a fair bit of audio gear that still uses tubes, though, and audiophiles will tell you that it produces a warmer overall tone.

    The device with the tubes is an amplifier. It takes a clean, unamplified signal as inputs, and then provides amplification for the headphones attached. High quality amps should have a high signal fidelity, being able to amplify it and produce output at the desired levels without any distortion or loss of signal.

    It would appear Stan is serious about sound quality.
     
  15. Shadowex3

    Shadowex3 Very Tilted

    And now is of course where I have to disclaim that an "Audiophile" can be defined as someone who, if they could prove a single one of their claims under scientific scrutiny, would be promptly paid a million dollars by James Randi. Cable burn in, super-oxidized electron alignment, special thousand dollar ceramic stands to keep the cord off the floor... all sorts of audio shenanigans that "serious" people fall for. Headphones are notorious for this kind of thing, as a trip to Head-Fi will quickly show.

    That being said tubes don't fall into the BS category, like I said earlier they physically produce different sound than solid state hardware and the human ear on average tends to find it both more pleasing and louder.
     
  16. Tubes used to be in all TVs and radios. Not uncommon to see tube testers in stores like this one

    [​IMG]

    Pardon the off topic excursion, but as an old fart I thought I'd share some useless knowledge.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  17. Leroy7908 New Member

    [​IMG]Thanks a lot
     
  18. Stan

    Stan Resident Dumbass

    Location:
    Colorado
    Sorry, I honestly thought you were kidding. Yep, they are vacuum tubes. The coke bottle shaped ones in the front could qualify for their own AARP card.

    What Martian said. The black device is a headphone amplifier. The headphone output from most receivers is utter crap and an afterthought. I grew up listening to headphones and vinyl. Digital sources through headphones always sounded harsh to my ear. Vacuum tubes solve that problem for me. It's all subjective; but this setup sounds very good to me.

    This gear was a negotiated settlement when my wife evicted my disco era stereo from the living room.
     
  19. fhqwhgads

    fhqwhgads New Member

    I'm looking for a new pair for when I run with my iPhone. The damn earbuds that come with it fall out too easily, and the 'in ear' style are $70. Can anyone recommend a pair that will stay in my ear, has a mic/button, and won't break the bank?
     
  20. nikkiana New Member

    Location:
    NYC
    I used to be one of those people who didn't much care about the quality of my headphones.... and then I started dating a sound engineer and well... it was all downhill from there.

    These days, I do most of my headphoned listening on the Sennheiser HD280 Pro.