headphone recommendations?

June 5th, 2006

headphones.jpg

For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, or god forbid have social lives and more important things to do, Slashdot.org has gone live with their pretty new CSS design. It’s shiny.

How did they come to this design? They asked the Slashdot horde to do it for free, and they complied. This gave me an idea.

A drunken friend of mine recently attempted to use my glovebox to turn my iPod headphones into a cubist dissection of iPod headphones. He succeeded, and shaved off the stupid third-dimension I didn’t really want them to have anyway. Wait for it…… they sound flat!! Ha! *wipes tear from corner of eye*

But now I’m in need of replacing headphones I never really liked anyway. I’m thinking inner ear headphones, and I have a $100 coupon for J & R burning a hole in my pocket. So, loyal ldopa.net readers, what should I get?



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  • http://www.littletoyrobot.com LTR

    A 13-inch television.

  • Paul

    The Shure e2c’s are amazing. I use them every day, and the sound quality is the best i’ve ever heard, the isolation is (almost too) good, and best of all they’re light and portable while still being durable. Plus, they’re right on your budget.

  • http://letterlabor.de kai

    I second the Shure e2c. Alternatively the pleasingly unstylish suite of Grado headphones might have something to your liking. Not exactly in-ear but still portable and incredible sound. That everyone around you will enjoy likewise and at almost the same volume. Depending where you buy it, you might have enough for a little portable headphone amp left.

  • Taylor MItchell

    Personally, I use Sennheisser PX200s. They’re headphones, but come with a cool little sunglasses-type-case that they fold into. I’ve listened to both the PX200s and the Shure e2c’s and prefered the PX200s. They were $AUD 110.

    Still, if I were you, and if it was possible, I’d ask to have a listen to both and see which you prefer. Luckily, one of my friends had e2c’s and another had PX200s.

  • http://joshua.swingpad.com/ Joshua

    I dig my Sony Eggos. They don’t look stupid, they’re comfortable, the sound is great, and they’ve put up with the staggering level of hardcore too-hot-for-TV abuse I put them through.

  • mO

    my 5 & 6 year olds love those free ones you get on tour buses …
    they are unlikely to cause hearing damage as they don’t usually last more than a week.
    …
    is this for portability or just sitting in the chair like this?

    http://www.totalmedia.com/images/Maxell-Worth_It.jpg

  • http://drowninginreverb.blogspot.com drowninginreverb

    I totally gave up on in-ear headphones. I kept noticing myself turning my iPod louder and louder and that’s not good for a musician. I went on eBay and scored some of those huge-can studio headphones from the 70′s for $20 or so. One 1/4″ to 1/8″ adapter later, I’ve got some awesome sounding old school headphone goodness. I find the new ones have so much bass (for dance music/DJing I suppose) that they make indie bands (Pavement) sound kinda weird. Bonus retro points for getting a pair with a coiled cable.

  • Jesse

    I’m afraid the big headphones are out – I used to own a pair of Grado SR-60s, and they did sound great. But I’m really looking for smaller, active headphones. These are meant for the gym, walks, generally active activities. Sitting in my parents basement trying to play led zeppelin backwards for messages from the devil is out.

    Thanks for all of the input!

    I’m leaning towards the Shure e2c’s right now. But would very much to try them before I invest.

  • Brent

    Sennheiser

  • http://mglwnafh.blogspot.com/ JP

    I have Grado SR-60s for the office and Shure E2C’s for traveling. Both sound great (though the Grados have better bass). I am however afraid to use the E2C’s for walking/running/biking because they isolate sound so well that I fear being run over (I use my $15 Sony earbuds instead).

    I have read that Sony’s MDR-EX71 isolating headphones sound almost as good as $100 isolating ‘phones while retailing for just $50 ($28 on amazon — in black, they cost more in white) though I cannot vouch for this personally.

  • http://www.benbashford.com Bashford

    Sennheiser HD-25s are the best headphones I have EVER owned.

    :: The sound is punchy and clean.
    :: They go LOUD.
    :: They block out most background noise.
    :: They’re built like a tank.
    :: Every part is available as spares. You could even buy the bits and build a pair as a kit (if you were mental).

    Well worth checking out.

  • http://privatehell.org Chroni

    Ultimate Ears EB’s. They run about $200. Worth every penny. Also, the Etymotics EI6′s are pretty good. Inline with the Sures mentioned above.

    The UEs offer cheap replaceable/detachable cords, which is why I no longer use my Etymotics.

  • http://www.jonbro.tk Jonathan Brodsky

    I use a pair of cheap radio shack headphones that I broke the headband off of and stuck into a pair of jackhammer earprotectors. They work pretty well for the amount of money that I spent on them, are far more comfortable than the 1970~ heaphones that I had been using, and block out a ton of external noise. The only downside is that I can’t hear any of my co-workers when they yell at me.

    there are instructions here http://www.instructables.com/ex/i/CFE3912A6BAC1028A786001143E7E506/?ALLSTEPS
    if you need direction on the construction method.

  • ben

    I received a pair of Shure e2c buds for my birthday last year, but after a freak accident involving my dog and his insatiable appetite for all things worth more than $50, found myself in the market for a replacement. Too make a long story short, I can confirm that Sony’s MDR-EX71 buds are the best value out there. Sound quality is nearly as good and your risk of loss is much less.

  • Emma

    Hey, I was curious where you got the picture of old man from? please email me at: esobota20@gmail.com. Thanks!