Headphones Created 14 years ago2010-11-10 18:11:45 UTC by Skals

Hi guys! Is there anyone here into music with some experience into headphones? Atm I'm thinking of buying a nice stylish pair of headphones for my mp3 + PC, but I'm not sure which brand is the best. I am looking for something with a medium price, between the margins of ?30-?60 pounds, not too expensive like studio stuff, but not too crap either. I have been looking at some of the skullcandy headphones and I like some of their wacky and cool designs, but I'm not going for them straight away.
I had my eyes set on these:Skullcandy Skullcrushers Snoop Dogg Headphone - Blue
So I hope that gives you an idea of what I'm searching for.

I don't know much about audio, but I have a pair of green Skullcandy Hesh headphones, and I think they sound amazing. Well worth the $80 CAD I paid for them.

Please. I'm not speaking from personal experience, but I have only seen almost exclusively negative reviews about Skullcandy. Mostly, they're about how fragile the headphones are, not necessarily how bad the sound quality is, and how overpriced they tend to be.

I use a pair of Sennheiser HD205s, and they're easily the best headphones I've had the pleasure of using to date, but they're also generally regarded by others as exceptionally tight. Behind these, I've also used the Sennheiser HD202, Plantronics Audio .360, Razer Moray, and two pairs of Sony headphones that I can't remember. So I've never used a particularly expensive pair.
Strictly from reviews, the general consensus is that the Sennheiser HD202 is the best all-around buy.
I've heard insanely postive reviews about the JVC HA-RX700, but they're also colossal which might turn you away. I'd still like to have a pair of my own, but I'm just waiting until I can afford a legendary Audio Technica ATH-A700.

I'm by no means an "audiophile".

Edit: The best advice I think I can give would be to be very careful about what you're going to buy, and look into a lot of possible headphones. Browse Newegg's selection, and look around Amazon for more products by brands that you saw on Newegg. These are hopefully going to be something that you feel comfortable using for at least a year, after all.

I thought most Skullcandys were something around $50-$70, not overpriced in my book. The one thing that's really attractive to me about them is the earphone cover material. The crap they put on most headphones, like those JVCs and on my Sonys, will start to wear off after a couple years use. It's thinner than tracing paper, and has no resilience at all. I want something like leather or some fake-leather material, something that will stand up to everyday use for an indefinite period of time.

Most of the Skullcandy lineup does look cheap though, the Hesh model in particular. If you look at the Agent series though, they appear to be more sturdily made, possibly having a metal headband instead of a plastic one. That's the kind of thing I'm looking for, at least.

I'm using all purpose headphones my dad bought from a warehouse store. They have radio, wireless transmission from a box you can hook up to anything with a line-in jack, and a line in jack attached to a wire.
They cost around $20, tops, and they work great. The Moral: Don't be fooled by brand names or fancy designs. Just because something is inexpensive doesn't mean it's cheap.

Don't be fooled by brand names or fancy designs.

Unless you're looking for some eye candy at the same time. Why else would someone be looking at Skullcandy, eh?
There's no shame in basing part of your decision on how good something looks

It's thinner than tracing paper, and has no resilience at all.

I think I know exactly what you're talking about. It's sort of spray applied right on the cushion instead of being a separate layer that's laid on top of the padding.

I guess you have a point, but I prefer to wear my headphones rather than look at them.

I PREFER TO EAT MY HEADPHONES.

Smother hot sauce on that bad boy.

All your head phones need is audio range covered 20Hz - 20kHz (18Hz - 26kHz is the optimal choise), low impedance for little week music players - 32 ohms, power in dB - 106 dB is the best.

Thats all you need for small music players, better head phones wont make any difference.

Speaking of better head phones: http://www.gradolabs.com/product_pages/ps1000.htm

I have a pair of Philips SBCHC8440/05 wireless headphones. At first the sound was crap, but I figured it might be because of my integrated Realtek sound chip. And it was. Today I got the Creative X-fi Extreme PCIe soundcard I had ordered and now my headphones finally produce sound of quality equal to their price... which wasn't too high.

I use an 500W amp Electro Industry Nis, and the difference is astronomic! Either an a small house amp (20 W) for head phones or an sound card if you want high quality.

Mostly, they're about how fragile the headphones are

Ditto, the wires look terribly thin and extremely subject to wire twisting.

Skullcandy are rubbish. Soup Miner's advice about Sennheiser is sage. I used to sell headphones and Sennheisers were definitely the better brand. I'm currently rocking a set of CX6 studio buds, which sound amazing.

I'm currently using One of these, a Logitech Clearchat Style.

I've had far worse headsets.

(I'm assuming this is the 'post your headset and rate it' occasion)

I got these
Well.. sort of.. The ones i have are not USB, and i got them for $9.50, BUT it looks like the same EXACT pair.
I actually have this set
Despite the shit ratings i haven't had any problem.
They sounds decent, the volume controls and mic mute are convenient, and i have an extension cord that i plug into/unplug from my speakers when i want to listen to the headphones or not.
Definitely worth every penny i spent. No regrets!
Mic is great too!

Thread reminded me of this article.