rosen@gypsy.UUCP (06/28/85)
I am in the market for a pair of headphones for my stereo system. Since I
purchased my CD player I have been really cranking it up because I can't
seem to get enough of it. This is getting to be too loud for the general
public and I have to limit the music to blowing out my own eardrums. Can
someone recommend a set of headphones that really perserve the fidelity of a
CD player? I know that Sony makes a pair that is specifically designed for
CD usage, but I am wondering if there is really anything else. Any general
prices ranges for such a beast would also be greatly appreciated.
Steve Rosen
Siemens Research and Technology Laboratories
Princeton, NJ
USENET: {ihnp4|princeton|adrvax}!siemens!rosen
ARPA: siemens!rosen@TOPAZkarn@petrus.UUCP (06/29/85)
I too am interested in headphones for a CD player. I've found that the difficulty is not in finding phones that can do justice to the performance of a CD player, but rather in finding a set that can ALSO seal out enough room noise so you can hear the full dynamic range. On the basis of simple performance, the best headphones these days seem to be the on-the-ear types (e.g., Sennheiser) but they provide no isolation at all from room noise. Listening to a CD player with phones like these while hacking away in front of a noisy Sun or IBM PC is like listening to a CD player in a car -- you end up cranking the volume so high to hear the quiet passages that you damage your hearing on the loud parts. Can anybody recommend a set of phones that are at least as good as the larger Seenheisers AND do a reasonable job of sealing out external noise AND aren't uncomfortable to wear? Phil
herbie@watdcsu.UUCP (Herb Chong [DCS]) (06/29/85)
i'm posting this because i think the volume issue is of general interest. In article <30200012@gypsy.UUCP> rosen@gypsy.UUCP writes: >I am in the market for a pair of headphones for my stereo system. Since I >purchased my CD player I have been really cranking it up because I can't >seem to get enough of it. This is getting to be too loud for the general >public and I have to limit the music to blowing out my own eardrums. what is this with volume? there is realistic sound volume, and then there's too loud. too loud for the general public usually means too loud to be safe for the ears. my speakers are inefficient at 83db/W/m and i think that running at about 10 to 20 W peak through them is a realistic and comfortable sound level for listening. it's loud enough to show the detail and have reasonable tonal balance when my tone controls are shut off in my smallish room. the actual measured SPL is about 95dB peak at my listening position. of course, i have considerably more power at my disposal, but i rarely use it. >Can >someone recommend a set of headphones that really perserve the fidelity of a >CD player? I know that Sony makes a pair that is specifically designed for >CD usage, but I am wondering if there is really anything else. Any general >prices ranges for such a beast would also be greatly appreciated. what are you looking for, accuracy, or volume? if high accuracy is the prime requirement, consider electrostatic or electret headphones (if your budget can stand it). these phones will play loud too, but that's not why you buy them. various models of Stax or Audio Technica electret headphones are highly reccommended. people mention the Sennheiser HD430's as another good headphone, but i have never tried a pair. Sennheiser also makes electrostatic and electret headphones, but no-one around here carries those models. if you read back through the last few months of this newsgroup, there was an extensive discussion on choosing a quaility headphone. Herb Chong... I'm user-friendly -- I don't byte, I nybble.... UUCP: {decvax|utzoo|ihnp4|allegra|clyde}!watmath!water!watdcsu!herbie CSNET: herbie%watdcsu@waterloo.csnet ARPA: herbie%watdcsu%waterloo.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa NETNORTH, BITNET, EARN: herbie@watdcs, herbie@watdcsu
herbie@watdcsu.UUCP (Herb Chong [DCS]) (07/01/85)
In article <385@petrus.UUCP> karn@petrus.UUCP writes: >Can anybody recommend a set of phones that are at least as good as the >larger Seenheisers AND do a reasonable job of sealing out external noise >AND aren't uncomfortable to wear? i think you will be hard pressed to find such a pair of phones. the trend these days is for open-back headphones because they are lighter, more comfortable, and generally still provide good bass response because they use the trapped air between the driver and the ear as the load to the driver. as i remember it, the older phones that were total sealing types (Koss Pro4/AAA and the like) did not provide that good an isolation anyways, at least not enough for the dynamic range for a CD. and they were heavy and uncomfortable after only a few minutes of wearing them. the typical dynamic range of a CD just isn't suitable in any noisy environment like a car. a pair of headphones with outstanding isolation provides maybe 10dB more room to work with, and i don't think that's enough. what you really want is to stick the CD output through a compression unit. when i'm listening on my headphones, the noise from my refrigerator in the kitchen is quite audible on the quieter passages and it's not a noisy fridge though there are many quieter. Herb Chong... I'm user-friendly -- I don't byte, I nybble.... UUCP: {decvax|utzoo|ihnp4|allegra|clyde}!watmath!water!watdcsu!herbie CSNET: herbie%watdcsu@waterloo.csnet ARPA: herbie%watdcsu%waterloo.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa NETNORTH, BITNET, EARN: herbie@watdcs, herbie@watdcsu
ron@brl-tgr.ARPA (Ron Natalie <ron>) (07/03/85)
Harumph! Digital Ready is one of the biggest scams in history. As far as headphones go. If you want reasonable durable use KOSS-PRO 4AA vise grips. Otherwise find some nice electrostatics. The problem with most of the light weight headphones is that they don't provide good enough seal for really decent base response. This is one of the advantages of the Koss's. -Ron
tynor@gitpyr.UUCP (Steve Tynor) (07/05/85)
In article <11374@brl-tgr.ARPA> ron@brl-tgr.ARPA (Ron Natalie <ron>) writes: >As far as headphones go. If you want reasonable durable use >KOSS-PRO 4AA vise grips. Otherwise find some nice electrostatics. >The problem with most of the light weight headphones is that they >don't provide good enough seal for really decent base response. >This is one of the advantages of the Koss's. Maybe, but Pro-4A's are very uncomfortable. (Vise grips is an apt term!) I have a pair of Sennheiser 430's that are both comfortable (they're lightweight, but around the ear), and have excellent response (both bass and otherwise). Organ music can be uncanny in the 430's (I've often been tricked into thinking my speakers were still on, due to their good bass response. Oh yes, the 430's can be had relatively cheaply. I bought mine for ~$70. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Never put off until tomorrow what you can avoid altogether. Steve Tynor Georgia Instutute of Technology ...{akgua, allegra, amd, harpo, hplabs, ihnp4, masscomp, ut-ngp, rlgvax, sb1, uf-cgrl, unmvax, ut-sally} !gatech!gitpyr!tynor -- Steve Tynor Georgia Insitute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332 ...!{akgua,allegra,amd,hplabs,ihnp4,masscomp,ut-ngp}!gatech!gitpyr!tynor
caf@omen.UUCP (Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX) (07/06/85)
In article <385@petrus.UUCP> karn@petrus.UUCP writes: >I too am interested in headphones for a CD player. I've found that the >difficulty is not in finding phones that can do justice to the performance >of a CD player, but rather in finding a set that can ALSO seal out enough >room noise so you can hear the full dynamic range. ... I have a pair of Sony MDR-CD5 at about $80 discounted that do a fair job of shutting out ambient noise. Their sound is about as good as any cans I've heard, and they are sensitive enough to use with the headphone output of a CD player. Their sensitivity also means longer battery life when used with a battery powered radio. The only cans I know of with bettern isolation are the Koss 4's, but their sound leaves much to be desired. Senn's sound fine, but lack the sensitivity and isolation needed to use them directly connected to the CD player when a PC is nearby. Having just said all that, I must admit to listening to FM most of the time lately - it's less bother and the compression makes it easy to hear on the speakers. Sometimes tho I just have to switch on the CD when the record scratch and/or distortion get out of hand. BTW, if anyone knows of a great sounding pair of cans with HIGH isolation, let's hear about it. -- Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX ...!tektronix!reed!omen!caf CIS:70715,131 Omen Technology Inc 17505-V NW Sauvie Island Road Portland OR 97231 Voice: 503-621-3406 Modem: 503-621-3746 (Hit CR's for speed detect) Home of Professional-YAM, the most powerful COMM program for the IBM PC
jobusch@isucs1.UUCP (07/12/85)
I dont know about "digital ready" or what that even means, if anything. I just purchased a Sony CDP 302 cd player and have the same problem (that is the neighbors can't appreciate a pair of Klipsches). I have had a pair of Sennhieser 420 headphones for 3 years now, and have enjoyed them a great deal. They also crank with the CD player. They retail for $90-100, but I got mine mail order from Stereo Corp (NYC) for 48. I beleive the price mail order is still about the same. It would be worth your time to audition these. And about Sony headphones...the only ones I have seen of late are of the type that you wear with your walkman. The Sony's MDRs that I have listened to tend to be tinny and lack in low end, probably because of the size of the mylar? drivers. But to each his own. Dave Jobusch Com S/Math Iowa State University jobusch@iowa-state isucs1!jobusch s