What type of headphones do you use?

• Cucurbita wrote on 2013-05-14 01:03

  Quote from Aubog007;1087508:

  As long as i can hear the nuiances with sound on my headphones, i am content.

  
  
  At that level of headphones, you often miss a lot of what was intended to be heard. It feels like going from 480p to 1080p. (but I don't store music in flac because I don't have the hard drive space for it)
  
  If I'm in a very music appreciation mood, I really need to grab my headphones. I have a cheap 15 dollar one I got as a gift, and then I got my studio headphones. The difference is too obvious to ignore. Its not even about quality, but rather I actually hear things I don't hear on speakers or other headphones.
  
  I'm not actually picky, but when I play Guild Wars 2 (sick sick sick soundtrack), my mind literally falls in to an illusionary immersion only when I wear my good headphones. I hear subtle instruments in the background, the balance of sounds is so perfect, everything is crisp and clear. Once I got used to it, I became unable to go back.
  
  Technology has very steep initial curve in the law of diminishing marginal return. Let me draw you a neat little chart.
  
  

  [Image: http://i.minus.com/iwime8GNljWic.png]

  
  
  If you buy a 50 dollar headphones, you could actually just spend 50 dollars more for double the quality. Obviously that isn't always the case (especially in peripherals), since when I look at 50 dollar headphones they're almost always just glorified 10 dollar headphones with nice plastic on it. No wonder you don't see the difference. I had a "nice" 60 dollar skullcandy before. It wasn't actually nice.
  
  But then at the 100 dollars, the quality increase per dollar does seem to slow down. Its the perfect price point for a budget setup. I wound say about 40 dollars is the good price point for mouses. About 100 for keyboards, assuming you want a mechanical one. If you don't want a mechanical keyboard then there's really no reason to spend any more than 25 dollars on one though.
• Cookieknight wrote on 2013-05-14 04:13
  SL300GG and Dr Dre Beats(on ear/red)
• RB2temp wrote on 2013-05-14 05:35

  Quote from Lewd;1087551:

  I dont think anyone here was saying that you play better with better headphones, but better headphones do allow for a more immersive experience.

  
  Actually I am saying that.
  
  Better positional knowledge results in, well, doing better. All things equal, of course. And it's only relevant for first person shooters (or similar games) and even then, only for certain ones. It certainly won't do jack shit for anything that doesn't require you to assume people are sneaking around behind walls.
  

  Quote from Hanna;1087590:

  http://us.akg.com/akg-product-detail_us/q-701.html
  
  BF3 + These = Eargasm

  
  Was gonna get those because they're good all around. If anyone's looking for some in that price range those measure very well. One of the best soundstages for gaming, I've heard. Oh, they have a shit headband, but you can replace that.
  

  Quote from Cucurbita;1088039:

  [IMG]http://i.minus.com/iwime8GNljWic.png[/IMG

  
  I've always considered it to start dropping off at good $20-30 headphones. Average ones do require a bit more money.
  
  But uhh, yeah, it's around there and what you said isn't unreasonable at all. Well actually, I won't argue this too much because it's so subjective lmao. I'll just end up going back and forth with myself when asking questions like, "Are $100 headphones really 5x better than $20 ones? Probably not. Well they kinda are. Shit."
  
  It's not saying much, though, because $25 mice are not 5x as good as $5 mice either. Maybe twice as good.
• Cucurbita wrote on 2013-05-14 06:11
  Thats why I said peripherals kinda don't count as much. The chart does apply a little more to actual hardware.
  
  I have a lot of experience in headphones ranging from 5~150 dollars, and the ones I got now feels like the perfect balance between sound quality and expense.
• RB2temp wrote on 2013-05-14 06:52
  Yeah but even with headphones it's like, eh. I really disagree that $100 headphones are 2x as good as $50 or even close.
  
  I got really good $80 headphones earlier but only because they were discontinuing.
  
  I mean I dunno, $200-400 has a really good lineup (value-wise) as well. The K701/702/Q701, HE-400, HD600, HD650, HD555/HD558 (well now this is cheaper), DT770/880/990 and their variants, and many more... those are just the biggest ones. Of course prices are all over the place and this mostly assumes they're discounted and might not always fall in that range. It's only after that when the "next step up" starts being several times that. And those aren't necessary... most people view that set I'm talking about as about the best money can reasonably buy. These, to me, are the $100-150 mechanical keyboard, so to speak.
  
  You can get a lot for 100 bucks though, for sure. And I also think the ones you have a pretty exceptional if they're the ones I'm thinking of. At least from what I've seen of them. The problem I have with $100 headphones is while they're great overall, there's virtually always something missing, even Sennheisers (I owned some myself). But again, who's to say what's "pretty much perfect" for anyone?
  
  To the others who are shopping... when in doubt, just go listen to them in a store if you can. I suppose that's the only way to really know.
  
  And yeah, Sennheisers tend to have a good reputation for balance, but their mids are a bit higher than what may be desirable and the bass can feel lacking to some people. It's still a nice sound, but it kinda obscures the other sounds a little which is the real problem.
• Aubog007 wrote on 2013-05-14 07:51
  For me it feels the same.
  
  Probably because my music quality is low as well, but hey, im content, doesnt matter to me.
  
  Just all in my preferences
• Sumpfkraut wrote on 2013-05-14 18:32

  Quote from Aubog007;1087999:

  To me it's the same experience. I don't understand "immersion"

  
  May have to do with the music you listen to as well.
  
  If it's punk rock or something there isn't much to get immersed in by either 30$- or 150$+ headphones.
  
  

  Quote from Aubog007;1088284:

  For me it feels the same.
  
  Probably because my music quality is low as well, but hey, im content, doesnt matter to me.
  
  Just all in my preferences

  
  
  Duuuuuuude. When I first listened to some Sigur Ros song on my new headphones as opposed to the old shitty 5.1 squeakycube system, I let a few tears flow because it was so damn beautiful.
  

  Quote from RB2temp;1088252:

  when in doubt, just go listen to them in a store if you can.

  
  If the surroundings aren't rather quiet and you can't be sure the test unit is not FUBAR from all that wear and tear, then it actually doesn't help to get more reliable information.
  
  Re Gaming with HiFi Headphones
  

  Quote from RB2temp;1088221:

  Better positional knowledge results in, well, doing better. All things equal, of course. And it's only relevant for first person shooters (or similar games) and even then, only for certain ones. It certainly won't do jack shit for anything that doesn't require you to assume people are sneaking around behind walls.

  
  Spatial awareness is not the only feat of high quality headphones. It's also the fact that you can pick up much quieter sounds than with average headphones, where they'd just drown in the resonances.
  
  IN TF2 on 2fort I used to stand on the stairs down to the canal as heavy, and would hear any enemy approach from the taps in the water from quite a distance, even if Demomen and sentries were laying waste to the fort entry room. I would wait a few seconds until they got louder so they're in better range and can't retreat fast enough, then jump over to where I have full view of the corridor, rev up and mow anyone down who'd walk there. They probably thought I hacked.
  
  It was a lot of fun.
• RB2temp wrote on 2013-05-15 02:06

  Quote from Sumpfkraut;1088532:

  If it's punk rock or something there isn't much to get immersed in by either 30$- or 150$+ headphones.

  
  Oh, I see how it is.
  
  [SIZE="1"]Nah, I get what you mean. But there are still details that become more prominent.[/SIZE]
  

  If the surroundings aren't rather quiet and you can't be sure the test unit is not FUBAR from all that wear and tear, then it actually doesn't help to get more reliable information.

  
  Yeah, but it's pretty subjective what's "good enough" to many people. If the environment isn't quiet, some of the softer details will be lost, but it's not the end of the world. At the very least, it's a good way to determine what sound signature you find enjoyable without going through several different kinds of headphones first.
• Mentosftw wrote on 2013-05-15 02:35
  You know you have good headphones when you can sneak up on other players while at the same time someone can sneak up on you irl.
• Cucurbita wrote on 2013-05-15 04:38
  I feel like you usually don't need noise cancellation on your headphones. Unless you live in an environment where there are loud machines in the background. Usually, good ear cups will block out most sounds. I wasn't even listening to anything so there wasn't any sounds, but I couldn't hear my phone ringing in front of me.
  
  Anyways, here is one of the examples of songs I really feel like I need good headphones to fully enjoy.
  
  [video=youtube;gEy6UWQKbag]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEy6UWQKbag[/video]
  
  I don't know. Its self explanatory. The difference is so clear I could write a whole essay about what I'm hearing differently with my skull candy and my sennheiser. I certainly know I'm not getting the full experience if I'm just using my speakers or a cheap headphone. I can literally hear things that I couldn't without my headphones. The balance is perfect, the bass is so wonderful, and each instrument is coming through clean and crisp enough for me to hear it echo off studio walls.
  
  Earlier in a skype call I kept asking Shawn if he could hear the white noise coming from Teneshi's mic. Did I tell this story already? Turns out the only reason I could hear it was because my headphones are letting me hear things that you normally wouldn't hear through speakers and cheap headphones.
  
  Between my skullcandy and sennheiser, it feels like I'm setting this video from 240p to 1080p. At least you could hear that difference regardless of your sound system. Try it. The dubs are wub wub wubbing.
  
  [video=youtube;ZMAwiJ5R69I]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMAwiJ5R69I[/video]
  
  If I had to visualize the experience, its like having 10 folded origami cranes to present to your girlfriend. The skullcandy puts those cranes in to a compact ball, so when she opens the package they are all squished together and crumpled up. The sennheiser set them on to a box with a platform for each of them, so you can see each crane individually.
• RB2temp wrote on 2013-05-15 04:56

  Quote from Cucurbita;1088872:

  Usually, good ear cups will block out most sounds.

  
  I wouldn't use the word "good". Technically, open headphones (ones that allow sound to exit the back as well) tend to produce better sound for less money. The cost is, of course, that you can hear the things around you as well. If you're using HD 280s like I think you are, they're closed in which case you have built-in noise cancellation as a result of their construction.
  
  But definitely, if you want to keep outside noise mostly outside and feel like the music is "in your own space" rather than "in a room you happen to be in", get closed headphones. That part depends entirely upon what you prefer. Closed headphones also tend to have better bass.
  
  And Skullcandy typically makes very low end headphones while Sennheiser typically makes very high end, so it's really comparing tiers rather than price point. It would be more fair to compare good cheap stuff vs good expensive stuff.
  
  Speakers have the potential to be superb, better than headphones, even... but there's a lot of shitty ones, and the good ones tend to cost a lot of money by comparison (I believe "good" starts at $200+ rather than ~$30, but I'm not a speaker guy at the moment). In addition, you have to set them up properly in a treated room and other things like that to get the proper sound. So it really is an investment, both financially and physically, to where it's almost not the same product anymore.
• Cucurbita wrote on 2013-05-15 05:05

  Quote from RB2temp;1088883:

  But definitely, if you want to keep outside noise mostly outside and feel like the music is "in your own space" rather than "in a room you happen to be in", get closed headphones. That part depends entirely upon what you prefer. Closed headphones also tend to have better bass.

  
  
  I definitely like this more, I prefer to be closed off from the outside. It provides better privacy and immersion. Disconnection from the outside world is necessary for me. Also, the 280HD actually isn't well known for its bass. I had to tweak some settings to get it to a reasonably decent level. I'm not a huge fan of strong bass, but it is quite enjoyable for the WUBS.
  
  [/quote]And Skullcandy typically makes very low end headphones while Sennheiser typically makes very high end, so it's really comparing tiers rather than price point. It would be more fair to compare good cheap stuff vs good expensive stuff.[/quote]
  
  I had to make the comparison because most cheap headphone users literally look up to skullcandy as a quality product. I feel almost similar about turtle beach. These products are almost identical to cheap 15 dollar headphones, but a lot of users dismiss expensive headphones after trying these brands and saying "well I didn't really hear a difference". Of course you didn't, they're trash.
  
  

  Speakers have the potential to be superb, better than headphones, even... but there's a lot of shitty ones, and the good ones tend to cost a lot of money by comparison (I believe "good" starts at $200+ rather than ~$30, but I'm not a speaker guy at the moment). In addition, you have to set them up properly in a treated room and other things like that to get the proper sound. So it really is an investment, both financially and physically, to where it's almost not the same product anymore.

  
  
  My speaker system: http://amzn.com/B0002WPSCG
  My rating: 4/5 great system, would use
  Status: Never use
  
  It is actually fantastic, I have it surrounding my desk space in a complete circle. Except you can hear the bass from like a mile away (even when set all the way down!) and these walls are really thin. It would bother the neighbors. Headphones are my only real option where I live.
• RB2temp wrote on 2013-05-15 05:14

  Quote from Cucurbita;1088894:

  Also, the 280HD actually isn't well known for its bass.

  
  That's more of a Sennheiser sound signature thing :P All I really meant is that closed headphones have the capacity for greater bass.
  
  And the reason I haven't ever owned closed headphones is mainly because I wanna hear what's around me sometimes. Cars pulling up, phone calls, people ringing the doorbell, etc... and the price thing. If not, I'd probably get them.
  
  Can't say shit about the speakers because I don't know them or what to look for. Never really wanted some that badly. Maybe one day!
  
  [SIZE="1"]Interestingly enough, I do have a subwoofer though, which I don't use much anymore.[/SIZE]
• Ashikoki wrote on 2013-05-15 05:36
  My "shitty" headphone is one I got as a gift.
  
  

  [Image: http://a3.dealfindcdn.com/34015/34015_web_landscape_450x338_2.jpg]

  
  
  One of these except its green plaid. Lemme find another picture...
  
  

  [Image: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31ShKn1LurL.jpg]

  
  
  Its terrible. But really cute.
  
  Terrible. But cute.
  
  Cute.
• SKochiya wrote on 2013-05-15 07:04

  Quote from Ashikoki;1088924:

  [Image: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31ShKn1LurL.jpg]

  
  
  Its terrible. But really cute.
  
  Terrible. But cute.
  
  Cute.

  
  
  Hah, mine look exactly the same, apart from the colors.
  
  

  [Image: http://puu.sh/2TPk6.png]