Best Headphones for PC and Portable Use?
 

I recently eyeballed the SENNHEISER HD580s and noticed a $150 price. What I want (actually) need to know is if a standard CD player can handle them. I don't want to hear a sudden quality dropoff by swapping headphones, so whatever I buy for my PCmust be able to be used on a headphone jack of a CD player.
If the only consequence of using them on a CD player is increased power drain, so be it; me CD player can pull over 60 hours of life so that wouldn't be an issue. But I have heard if the power requirements are too high, the headphones wont be able to go above a certain loudness and would be far too quiet to be able to listen to on a standard jack.

Any good set of cans will always sound better when coupled with an amp. You can get a portable amp to go with your CD player, but that will set you back a few hundred. Get some cheap low impendence cans if you're dead-set on a pair. Otherwise, get some plugs instead.

Almost all good points...but a portable amp doesn't cost a few hundred dollars. Decent homebrew CMoy amplifiers start at $40 USD. Of course, they add size (a mint-tin amp is bigger than an iPod) and they need their own batteries, so I'd agree that in-ear headphones are a better choice.

In-ears are a better choice for portable listening anyway, since the best quality regular cans are open-back, so you'll hear every damn thing outside your music. In-ears can still sound quite good, and have the added benefit of blocking out a lot of ambient sound.

Never buy Sony's in-ears though... I used to endorse them, but now I've had two pairs' right bud give up the ghost in very little time. You're better served by paying a bit more for something nice like the Etymotic ER-6is than buying the same set of cheaper Sony canal-buds over and over.

While I own and love a pair of HD-580, they're strictly home cans (I amp mine with a Pimeta there). In addition to not being very portable at all, they require a LOT of power to drive - considerably more than a CMoy can provide. A PA2V2 or Go-Vibe could at least tolerably drive them but wouldn't begin to tap the full potential of the cans. A true portable amp that would fully drive the 580s would in fact set you back two to three hundred dollars.

It depends on how you're willing to go with your portable cans. If you're willing to go for a full-sized pair of circumaural cans, I reccomend the Sennheiser HD-280. Fantastic computer cans and they don't require amplification, so they can be driven fine right out of a portable CD or MP3 player.

If you want a true pair of "portable" cans, the Etymotic er6i and Shure e2c are both about $100 and have great sound quality, but canalphones take a bit of getting used to. There's also the Koss KSC-35, KSC-75, and PortaPros. They're all rather inexpensive (sub-$30), but the sound quality is nothing short of stunning for the price.

I own KSC75s and I want to step up majorly. But I do not want earbuds or in-ear headphones. Even the slighest bit of sound pressure that close to my ears caues what I like to call "listening fatigue", which is unbearable for me due to my hypersensistive ears (they don't hear any better, they just have very sensitive nerves). I'd like to have something like the Sennheiser HD-580s, but can be used on a portable CD player without amps or modification, but if it'd be too impractial, then I'll settle for the 280s.

EDIT: I am also wondering how much Impediance has to do with output volume. For example, the HD555s (which look very promising) have an impediance of 120ohms, conversely my KSC75s have a 60ohm imepdiance. How much farther would I have to crank the volume to get the 555s as loud as my KSC75s (if that'd be even possible)? I don't crank up the volume all the way, only to 1/4 in most cases, so I'd have room to crank up the voume if I needed to do so.

Using big headphones for portable use isn't practical for most people. I used to do it with a fine pair of closed Sennheisers, but the wear and tear takes it's toll, and they can be cumbersome. Don't even think about wearing them for a workout etc.

No one has ever backed me up on this decision, but I like Panasonic's HG-52S. They are cheap, comfortable, and easily portable. They do not sound anywhere near as good as a closed pair, but for a set of headphones to be used on the go, often in noisy situations, they are good enough. When you break your nice big headphones, it costs a lot more to replace than if you had a cheaper set.

Just my .02

I own a pair of Shure E4C/Gs (same thing, differet cord lengths), and they are stunning. The frequency response is almost completely flat from the 20hz all the way to around 4000hz, with only a slight dip in the mid-treble. (I've never noticed it.) The bass is tight and punchy, and the mids are liquid smooth. Listening to people sing, it's almost as if I'm not wearing any phones at all.

Edit: Oh, you don't want IEMs? Oh well, your loss. If sensitivity is a problem you should get the comply tips. They're extremely smooth and soft and once you've worn them for a while they disappear completely.

Any way, I bought a pair of Grado SR-60s and they are damn awesome for the price, and easy enough to drive out of an iPod. They have smooth mids, sparkling highs, and a tremendous amount of mid-bass. But it all works. They're completely open though, so no public listening!

Right now I'm stuck between the SENNHEISER HD 555s and SENNHEISER HD 280 Pros. I want the one that gives the best music playback quality, I don't care about underpowering since 120ohm didn't stop most people (from what I've read on the web) from using them on a portable music player. As long as the final choice can pull better bass (and much better highs) than the KOSS KSC75s, I'll respect your judgement.

The 280 Pro is very comfortable and sounds great. I've only tried the 555 in a store and it was uncomfortable to wear (subjective), so I didn't give them much consideration. The 280 is fantastic, and I'm looking to get another pair since my last one is... gone.

The Shure E4C/Gs after probably the most expensive set of ear piece headphones that I have seen to date, for about £150 they had better stop me hearing a nuclear explosion going off if I was ever near one otherwise I would ask for my money back... and a new body.

That SENNHEISER HD 555s looks pretty good, but again with a price tag of around £65, I would seriously have to try them out before buying.

What's that? I couldn't hear you with these E4Gs in my ears! :D

Seriously, I can't even hear it when I snap my fingers right next to my ear. But then again I'm using the rather larger (in comparison to the stock foamies) comply tips.

To be honest, spending that amount of money is a little extreme for a pair of mini ear headphones.

But I guess if you really are into your music then you don't like being interrupted by anything else, it would make sense to buy these.

The only concern I would have is breaking them because of the size of the ear pieces, it must be really difficult NOT to break them. For that concern to be done away with, insurance would definitely apply here which again adds to the value of purchasing a set of these.

Purchasing a set of these would be heaven for me since I'm constantly around kids that are shouting like no tomorrow.

I don't think so. The sound quality is extremely good, better than anything else in its price range, IMO. Smooth, incredibly detailed, and with a nearly flat frequency response. (Something that I personally like.) These aren't some crappy earbuds we're talking about. Also, I only spent $200 on mine because HeadRoom had a discount.

And if you think that is expensive, I also plan on buying the Shure E500s. :D

I change my mind, THOSE are the most expensive set of earplugs I've now seen to date.

At £400+ those earplugs had better send either me or my wallet to heaven if I ever bought a set. ;)

Supposedly, they're nearly equal, or equal to, the UE-10 Pros in terms of SQ.

Yume, have you ever looked into Hi-Fi Audio? I mean, $800 (what the E500 cost if I remember properly) is an intro-level speaker setup. Pair of B&W DM601 and a receiver. And their sound quality is absolutely stunning.

The E500s can be preordered at HeadRoom for $399. I'm tempted to go ahead and do it, honestly.

Oh, I must have been thinking of the UE-10 Pro. Yeah, $400 for a pair of cans really isn't that hideous. More than I could make myself spend at the second (I've probably got about $400 invested total in my chain of Source, Amp, and Cans), but not at all unreasonable.

Let's see:

5G 30GB iPod: $330
Shure E4Gs: $211
Grado SR-60s: $76

Hehe, I win! And I'm probably not done yet. Those bastards at Head-Fi did this to me. :(

;)

Let's see:

Chaintech AV-710: $25 (Best sound card EVER for the money. Indisputable. This sucker beats anything short of an EMU0404, and those things cost 6 times as much)
Maxed-Out Home Pimeta: $150 (Admittedly, it'd be $225 new from the guy who built it)
Sennheiser HD-580: $105 (Would be about $130 New)
Sennheiser HD-280: $20 (Would be $100 New)
Grado SR-60: $65

I've reached a Plateau for now mostly due to saving up money through college and the funds I've recently put into other stuff (car, DSLR camera). I don't intend to upgrade for at least a few years, although Head-Fi still has some small pull over my soul.

How is the S/N ratio for that sound card? My job (I mean my actual job) is audio editing, and I could always use a little less hiss.

I hear you about things like cars and college. I don't think I can truly justify buying the E500s, so I probably won't. I could really use a car...

What I'm wondering is if the HD280Pro's cons are true (according to Newegg reviews). Meaning it hurts to wear them if you have glasses on, the top breaks easily and the bass can be poor. I just want to make sure all this is BS before I make my final choice.

I love playing these games, though I think you have me beat value-wise:
M-Audio Revolution 5.1: $75 (best soundcard I've ever used.)
40GB iRiver H-140 mp3 player: $325 (I'm not sure what its going for now since I can't find them on the market anymore. But mine is over 3 years old and still working to this day.)
Sennheiser PX100: $40 (mostly use it with the mp3 player.)
Super Mini-Moy Amp: $100 (I don't think you can get this anymore, given the link he seems to have improved the design. Same burr-brown opamp though.)
Sennheiser HD 595: $220 (got it from a sale, normally would run for $280)
Grado SR-325i: $290 (Head-fi made me do this ;_;)

I've finally stopped with the upgrading, for now. College isn't getting any cheaper. But I will say I am eyeing out a better amp, I just wish I had more information on it (its a Symphony Headphone Amp.) My other choice is the Emmeline SR-71 Amp. Too bad its still over $400, and for good reason ._.

I believe the Chaintech AV-710 has a SNR of 106dB. Its a hiss level alot of audiophiles won't even notice.

Haha, well I think that's true with any full-sized headphone. They're just not made to have glasses underneath. As for the HD280 durability and sound quality, I wouldn't take newegg's customer reviews too seriously. They seem to complain about everything that could be wrong with their purchases (including myself sometimes.)

The Headband does tend to wear down over time, but by "over time" I mean "heavy use for 2-3 years". Even then, a bit of Duct Tape (I used Electrical Tape myself because it was black) fixes them good as new. My pair are about 6 years old and I'm the third owner - they still go fantastic.

As far as uncomfortable with glasses, I've never had an issue with that and I wear glasses. One of my friends with glasses doesn't like them, but that's just because they're closed and they make his ears warm over long periods.

A lot of people call the bass poor. These are, in my humble opinion, the same people who think filling your trunk with subwoofers gives you a great sound system. The 280s do not have giant boomy bass. They have flat, VERY well-extended bass - it's there, but it's not in your face.

Piccolo - I get no hiss whatsoever. I use it only for Stereo Output and turned off all amplification in the card with jumper settings, and the Wolfson DAC that's on the high-quality channel is stunning. I leave the volume on the card turned to max and get no hiss or distortion at all. When I turn my Pimeta's gain to the absolute max, I think there may be the tiniest bit of hiss, but I don't listen to music that loud ever other than the briefest bit of testing (no need to destroy my eardrums), so I can't be certain.