I need new headphones

March 16, 2005 12:02 PM

I need new headphones. Which ones should I get?

I have a Best Buy gift certificate that's burning a hole in my pocket. The headphones I use at work are busted. They've served me well, and I'd buy them again, but I wanted to check to see if there's something better in a similar style and price range. I checked the previous AxMe threads on the subject, but they seemed to be more focused on audiophile-quality sets. I'm just listening to mp3s through a sound card. And I don't want to annoy my office mates. Oh, yeah, and they need to be something I could get at Best Buy.

posted by MrMoonPie to media & arts (17 comments total)

MrMoonPie: I would suggest reading some of the reviews on ipodlounge.com. I found them helpful. There is a whole section of reviews on head/earphones. Scroll down.
posted by terrapin at 12:21 PM on March 16, 2005

Check out Headwize. Courtsey of Chuckles.
posted by MLIS at 12:28 PM on March 16, 2005

Another review site that has been linked previously on mefi that I found helpful is headphone.com, which has reviews of several affordable models that should be available at Best Buy. I am in a bit of a quandary over this myself, but for the noisy bus/train environment. Let us know what you get!
posted by turtlegirl at 12:30 PM on March 16, 2005

how much have you got to spend? Sennheiser are easily the best brand which Best Buy carrys, and the only one used by professionals (I work in post production).

If it's not out of your price range, the HD280 Pro's for 100 bucks look like the ones for you - Closed (as opposed to Open) mean that they are designed to keep headphone audio in, and external noise out. This also results in more pronounced low frequency (i.e. bass) sounds.
posted by forallmankind at 1:14 PM on March 16, 2005

Best Buy doesn't carry any headphones worth owning. Sorry.
posted by kindall at 1:27 PM on March 16, 2005

I love-love-love Grados. My Grado SR-60s (~$60) lasted me a long time, and positively have the best sound for the money. Recently, I upgraded to SR-80s (~$100) and love them even more.

I also own a pair of Senheiser HD600s ($300), but have stopped using them in favor of the Grados.

All three were purchased through headphone.com.
posted by Laen at 1:28 PM on March 16, 2005

Headphonereviews.org is also a worthwhile resource.
posted by box at 1:57 PM on March 16, 2005

I have Grado SR225s. Great headphones, although likely a bit out of your price range. They are the reason I say there aren't any headphones worth owing at Best Buy. They may not be appropriate for an office, however, because they are open-backed and let a lot of sound leak out. On the other hand, this is what makes them sound so good, and is the reason other most headphones sound so bad.
posted by kindall at 3:23 PM on March 16, 2005

Yeah, Best Buy doesn't have good headphone selection. The one in my area only carries Bose, Sony, etc -- those suck, considering their prices. You're best with Seinheser or Grado (my local circuit city had a good Seinheser pair). You might try bestbuy.com, if they'll let you use your gift card there.
posted by Tlogmer at 4:49 PM on March 16, 2005

I like my Sennheiser HD 515s. I finally had to replace the HD 455s I had because the long cable attached to the headphones got broken internally somewhere, forcing me to contort it in all sorts of ways just so I could get something approximating decent sound from it.
posted by oaf at 7:28 PM on March 16, 2005

I third the Grado recommendation. A number of friends who are DJs prefer the Grados heavily over Sennheiser for rock and other modern music. An audiophile friend loves his Sennheisers for classical. He has never listened to Grados, and I have never listened to Sennheiser, so this isn't a recommendation of one over the other. From the reviews I've read, though, my impression is that most people thought the Grados were a better value for the buck than Sennheisers. I have the SR80s. If you decide on Grado, for your own sake upgrade to the comfy soft earpads. Headphone.com is your friend. Soft earpads are there, here.
posted by autojack at 7:59 PM on March 16, 2005

Hey what's with all the Grado-that-you-can't-buy-from-Best-Buy recommendations? The dude's wanting headphones to listen to mp3s through a soundcard, not ones to rub himself with....
posted by forallmankind at 8:52 PM on March 16, 2005

For something you could get at a Best Buy, I have a pair of full-cup $20 Philips (SBC HP170). Ironically they were also bought with a gift certificate.

Right/Left balance mono switch, comfy earcups, solid comfortable design.

Response is a bit bass heavy but the mids are nice and dry and well presented, and the highs clean and not oversaturated. They're at least tolerable without an EQ and surprisingly nice with a bit of EQ.

These are full over the ear models. Not for active outdoor use or portables unless you're into that pimpin' big silver earcup look. I love 'em on the bus and trains. They cut out a ton of external noise, and it's not a financial or sentimental crisis if they're broken, lost or stolen.

Frankly, I appreciate fine audio in desktop, home and PA settings. But sometimes spending more than you should is quite overkill and wasteful. You can usually get 70% or more of the way to the pinnacle and peak of audio quality with 5-10% of the cost of the peak and near-peak stuff.
posted by loquacious at 8:54 PM on March 16, 2005

Here's the phones at Amazon.

You could get a whole carton of them for rubbing purposes.
posted by loquacious at 8:58 PM on March 16, 2005

So, I went to BestBuy last night, with a list of recommended headphones (I missed some of the late entries). I compared the list to the available headphones, and made a decision--I got that Three Amigos DVD I'd been wanting. Gah, really, really bad selection, at least at the store I visited (Bailey's Crossroads, for you locals).

I'll be checking out Amazon and headphone.com today, thanks. forallmankind is right--I'm not looking for anything high-end--but I also don't want crap, either.

Thanks, everyone!
posted by MrMoonPie at 7:11 AM on March 17, 2005

Upon visiting aforementioned sites, I've found that the Sennheiser HD 202 appears to be the best buy. $25, including shipping, from Amazon ($35 from headphone.com). I've not yet placed the order though--any additional thoughts/warnings?
posted by MrMoonPie at 7:26 AM on March 17, 2005

Finally, the headphones have arrived!

Two weeks for delivery, from Full Compass Systems, via Amazon. That seemed pretty slow, but maybe I'm spoiled.

I'm using them for the first time now. Not as comforatable or as easily adjusted as the Koss headphones I'd been using, but maybe I just need to get used to them. The construction seems a bit cheaper, but, you know, they were, in fact, cheaper, so I suppose that's to be expected.

The sound is totally different--I've switched back and forth a few times, with the same volume and equalizer settings (using winamp). Much louder than the Koss, much, much heavier bass. I'm not going to have to set the volume so high to get the sound I want, and I'll need to play with the equalizer a bit. Outside sound is blocked much better, too.
posted by MrMoonPie at 6:13 AM on April 6, 2005