Jump to content

The earphones thread


Recommended Posts

I couldn't find any threads specifically about earphones so I thought I would start one.

I am somewhat of an enthusiast when it comes to earphones for my portable devices and trying to find a good sound at a reasonable price, to the extent were I have accumulated quite a lot of sets (ranging from mediocre to excellent). The Soundmagic brand is particularly good at offering very good sound quality without costing as much as other brands.

One thing I have never tried but have toyed with the idea of trying is noise cancelling earphones. I thought these would be good for air travel and commuting and a few different brands appear to be highly thought of but very expensive. Has anyone ever tried any noise-cancelling earphones and are they worth the money?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 19
  • Created
  • Last Reply

I've got an old set of Bose QC15's and they are really good.  I got my wife a set of QC25's for Christmas and they seem to be just as good, if not slightly better.  My Father in law got a set of the bluetooth QC35's and I couldn't notice any difference to the sound quality when on bluetooth rather than using the cable that is also supplied.

I'd recommend any of them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 hours ago, KnightswoodBear said:

I've got an old set of Bose QC15's and they are really good.  I got my wife a set of QC25's for Christmas and they seem to be just as good, if not slightly better.  My Father in law got a set of the bluetooth QC35's and I couldn't notice any difference to the sound quality when on bluetooth rather than using the cable that is also supplied.

I'd recommend any of them.

I've got a pair of QC25 and I think they're top notch (so long as you put the noise reduction on).  I had a pair of Steinhausser HD201s which were about £18 on Amazon, and they were great value for money.  Apart from the cable, which was about five metres long and got tangled constantly.  But then they broke.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, M0rtonfc said:

Do Apple design their earphones so that they constantly fall out of your ears on purpose? I'm on the hunt for a new pair, will keep an eye on this thread.

How much are you looking to spend?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00UVASGIM/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1519769913&sr=8-6&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=soundmagic

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0133ACE8O/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1519769991&sr=8-8&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=Soundmagic&dpPl=1&dpID=31Ov6zn5ItL&ref=plSrch

 

These are both worth a try if you want the ones that go in your ears. They come with a variety of different earpieces (and I mean ALOT) to help them stay in your ears.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎27‎/‎02‎/‎2018 at 22:23, Richey Edwards said:

How much are you looking to spend?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00UVASGIM/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1519769913&sr=8-6&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=soundmagic

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0133ACE8O/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1519769991&sr=8-8&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=Soundmagic&dpPl=1&dpID=31Ov6zn5ItL&ref=plSrch

 

These are both worth a try if you want the ones that go in your ears. They come with a variety of different earpieces (and I mean ALOT) to help them stay in your ears.

 

Nice one, cheers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
What's the best budget bluetooth earphones for iPhone? (Listening to music for up to 8 hours a day in work)

I used to listen to music 8 hours a day at work years ago. Now I lie in bed at night listening to the sound of airline engines whining in my ears.

Tinnitus is avoidable, partial deafness is avoidable if you use headphones sensibly and not 8 hours a day.

Ps the partial deafness only stops me going mad with the tinnitus through the day but at night in bed.......

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

I really only buy Sony high end headsets after destroying many sets of many different manufacturers during the years with sound engineering.

Finding a brand that suits your particular audible spectrum is like finding a fitted bespoke suit. Not everyone's ears hear the same frequencies at the same volume and headsets come in many differing sound qualities from bass heavy & loud, clear and light and reference studio quality.

Noise cancelling headsets are usually full cup over the whole ear with the ear unit manufactured to minimise outside interference as well as keep the sound in the headset without pestering folk with loud headsets. These are excellent choices if you don't mind wearing a larger headset. Smaller noise cancelling in the ear buds can be quite painful and annoying imo which is why I only wear full cup headsets nowadays.

My current headset is Sony's MDR R1 reference quality with 40mm liquid filled polymer drivers. I had been used to their discontinued MDR900 50mm headsets which were utterly amazingly rich in bass and quite clear mid to high end and had used them for years.

Read all the reviews about the R1's and had to get a set.  I was totally taken aback with the actual tone from the R1's because it sounded so fucking weird at first and thought I had bought a fake set at first. There is something different from the liquid filled drivers? They eliminate a lot of passive reverberant feedback from the casing unit itself making the sound feel as if it has closed in on you and takes a while to get adjusted until you find the right EQ settings you like. I did some testing with some music software on individual instruments and the bass drum and low frequencies were far more clearer and thicker somehow because of the R1's liquid drivers. Higher frequencies like metal percussion instruments sounded more like metal even with high quality MP3 conversions.

Only drawback was they weren't loud enough to me because the liquid filled drivers would distort but that was after a 5 hour session of intense listening and tried to combat hearing impairment with more volume.

I'd deffo recommend these headsets only if you like a flatter response spectrum. Not for folk who like to crank the bass up at high volume like DJ headsets. These headphones are for people who don't like squashed music ie compressed a lot like a lot of modern recordings. They are much more suited to full dynamic range recordings where low sounds do sound low and loud sounds do sound loud. In my experience they also hold up extremely well to watching movies with DTS Dolby Master Audio in stereo, they do not rattle and distort at low frequency scenes in a movie where the low sub harmonics can be very taxing on other headsets.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Two pairs on the go just now, both cheap with good sound quality

Skullcandy grind - I use them mainly for work as while they are wired the cable is replaceable, use them for my ps4 as well since they have a microphone.  

Defunc Go - use these the rest of the time, first pair of Bluetooth headphones and I think they are great, there will be better out there but these tick all the boxes.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

any recommendations for wireless ones for running*
 
*fat b*stard waddling at a brisk pace.

I've been using these for the last couple of years for running, gym and general use and they've been great. Good sound quality, never fallen out my ears and decent battery life for a reasonable price.

SoundPEATS Q12 Upgraded Version Bluetooth 4.1 Running Earphones with Stereo Magnetic Earbuds and Mic - Black https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N9SB5V6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_lpn5AbHZKGP68
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

 

 

Some great headphones out there, but a note of caution.

 

If you're over 18-20, take an online hearing test.

It deteriorates vastly after that point.

 

Will save you a lot of cash when you realise you cannot hear the frequencies on offer.

 

 

Tailor your purchase around your audible range, and save a few bucks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just bought a pair of House of Marley Smile Jamaica earphones. They are 20 bar in HMV but I got a brand new pair for less than a tenner on ebay. I'm pretty impressed with them. The sound quality is fairly good. They also look pretty cool as they are made of wood and the lead is in Rasta colours. 

A decent purchase overall.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...