Headphone Recommendations for Commuting
Printed From: Graham Slee Hifi System Components
Category: Headphone Audio
Forum Name: Portable Headphone User
Forum Description: Technical Q&A, hints and tips
URL: https://www.hifisystemcomponents.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4770
Printed Date: 26 Mar 2026 at 10:54pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Headphone Recommendations for Commuting
Posted By: miT
Subject: Headphone Recommendations for Commuting
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2019 at 11:33am
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Greetings all, I have been missing from this forum for a while but it's good to see some of the old faces still active. I have just started a new job which involves a lot of commuting on the trains. Due to this I have blown the dust off my trusty Etymotic ER-4 IEMs and put them back into service; it is nice to be back! I am happy with my Etymotics and have custom moulds for them but as I have been out of the game for quite a while, I am interested to see if things have moved on. I have noticed that Etymotic have a newer model but have not looked much further. Does anyone out there have any IEM recommendations for me? The noise isolation makes London tolerable on my visits and I am not keen on the over-the-ears look so it has to be IEMs. Thanks, Tim Edit: I have opened this up to more than just IEMs as I may eventually convince myself to wear full-size in public...
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Replies:
Posted By: Ash
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2019 at 10:07pm
| I really liked the ER-4S back when I had them. Really clear and musical sound. The new SR (studio response) and XR (extended response) models are revisions of the ER4 so I reckon will sound pretty much the same but the cable is detachable and the housing durability has been improved, I guess. They also cost a lot more now; used to be about £170 but are now double that new unfortunately. Have you got the 4P or 4S? 4P has lower impedance, I think. I would stick with your current ER4 or look for a good deal on Ebay. I wouldn't absolutely splash the cash on something like an IEM because just by the limited amount of air that they move, they don't tend to approach full-size headphones in bass ability and dynamics. They can be very good however and the B&O earphones that have come with my new LG smartphone are decent, with a surprising amount of bass. Boosted bass but without a muddy signature. Not too shabby, but not sure what the model is or how much it would cost alone. |
Posted By: miT
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2019 at 7:32am
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Hi Ash, Thanks for your reply. I have the ER4P but I know this can be converted to the S by means of the special cable. My only issue has ever been their awkward design as the likes of the Shure or Westone models I used to have fit much sleeker in the ear. There will always be limitations due to the design, which in reality all headphones also share to varying degrees, but I do not find their lack of bass to be as much of an issue as people have always said. As with my AKG K701s of old I find myself simply focussing on the quality of the highs instead, but due to having to compete with many other sounds while commuting my listening is also considerably less critical than if I was at home. I am intrigued about the B&Os though... How do you feel the overall sound is with them or is the bass their highlight? They only make one model of earphones so could it perhaps be these: http://https://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/earphones/beoplay-h3?variant=beoplay-h3-natural - http://https://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/earphones/beoplay-h3?variant=beoplay-h3-natural Are there any other recommendations? Has anyone tried full custom IEMs from the likes of ACS, etc.?
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Posted By: Ash
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2019 at 8:21am
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Must be the B&O Play. This? https://www.gadgetwear.co.uk/products/b-o-play-by-bang-olufsen-and-lg-in-ear-headphones-earphones-black-white - https://www.gadgetwear.co.uk/products/b-o-play-by-bang-olufsen-and-lg-in-ear-headphones-earphones-black-white £30? Decent if they are identical to what came with my V30+. There is a bass rise. The low bass is quite earth shaking for such a small device. The highs are a bit lower in level I think but the overall signature isn't really bright or dark. Clear without being harsh and I enjoy them with youtube and the FM Radio. I kinda preferred the elevated bass of the B&O earphones from my phone than the neutral bass of my MySphere 3.1 fro m the phone, but from a mobile they're getting nowhere near the voltage swing and slew rate they need to excel in the bass, despite the low impedance and high sensitivity. From a Solo ULDE, the difference in ability would be substantial. For £30, worth a risk I reckon. I would buy a second pair but there may be better options out there. Not my area of knowledge.
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Posted By: miT
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2019 at 8:25am
| Thanks for that Ash, worth a look. |
Posted By: Ash
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2019 at 8:34am
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I listen to music from many different genres and styles and these earphones are decent with all of them. Solo piano and classical are great as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BV7RkEL6oRc - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BV7RkEL6oRc As an example
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Posted By: Ash
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2019 at 8:47am
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmP9Bp78ayw - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmP9Bp78ayw Sounds good to me...
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Posted By: miT
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2019 at 9:12am
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I remember Ash, much the same as me. I get the premium Spotify premium for free with my phone contract so that has proved useful in discovering new music before buying. Ludovico Einaudi is thoroughly enjoyable, as is Anouar Brahem if it is your sort of thing.
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Posted By: miT
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2019 at 9:27am
I love epic "classical" music like this. So much emotion conveyed through the music; even without knowing the associated visuals of the corresponding scene, I feel tense already!  One of my favourite pieces from a soundtrack is "Like a Dog Chasing Cars" from The Dark Knight. Seriously challenging on headphones or speakers due to the intense low frequencies and the size of the orchestra, but I have always found the way it goes "over the hill" midway after the buildup pretty breathtaking and emotionally-charged, just like the scene in the film. And if I want to feel motivated to face any challenge, the Superman theme is pretty inspirational...
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Ash wrote:Posted By: miT
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2019 at 11:34pm
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I was just having a sneaky listening session and it gave me a thought... Etymotic ER4 (in whichever guise) or the Sennheiser HD540ii; which do you prefer and why? Etymotic claim to be he most accurate headphones but is there any competition (for realistic money)? I just pulled my HD540ii out and listened for the first time in too long. Wow! I want to do some A-B testing! Not sure if I could live with that geeky massive headphones look in public though. |
Posted By: discrete badger
Date Posted: 17 Aug 2019 at 6:25am
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I went down the Shure se530 route for a while, with custom moulded earpieces. They're good for IEMs, but for my ears not a patch on good full size cans. I wonder if we commute to the same London, miT. Everyone's rocking the massive headphone look now! I don't feel at all out of place with the HD250! And it has the closed-back construction which is essential for use out-and-about.
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Posted By: miT
Date Posted: 17 Aug 2019 at 7:45am
I used to have the SE530 for a while, along with the Westone UM3; it was quite a while ago now but I sold the Shures. I still have the Westones though but I have no idea why as I have only used the ER4P since I bought them. Haha. I'm sure we do as everyone seems to wear full-size headphones nowadays, but I just do not like the look myself. Plus I am not keen on getting my decent headphones dirty, the lack of sound isolation, or the restrictions it causes while rushing around due to the limited head mobility. I pretty much walk flat out... I will say that from my limited testing last night they did not sound a million miles away from each other, albeit the openness of the HD540ii clearly stood out with a couple live songs I listened to... Again, I will stress that it was a limited listening session via a poor set up (just plugged straight into my tablet) as I also listened to my Beyerdynamic DT880 but I do not really know why I still have those as everything else sounds better...? My AKG K701 are around somewhere as well, but I could not tell you when they were last used. Pretty though.  If your route goes anywhere near Leatherhead - Croydon (or Soho for my current project), we may bump into one another one day.
I'll be the midget who is tabbing at full pelt as if there is a war to get to.  |
Posted By: miT
Date Posted: 17 Aug 2019 at 7:51am
| Just a quick note. I have now retitled this thread for all headphones, not just IEMs. I may yet be convinced to wear full-size headphones in public, but I would rather have a newer pair so as to not shorten the life of my HD540ii (or if I find the difference to be noticeable enough, perhaps purchase another set of the Sennheisers?). |
Posted By: miT
Date Posted: 17 Aug 2019 at 8:24am
Possibly a slight subject derail but am I the only one who finds the "vacuum" caused by closed headphones a distraction? I have not tried enough to compare with but I first remember hearing it at the old listening posts in HMV and then again when I did that long headphone demo years ago.
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Posted By: Ash
Date Posted: 17 Aug 2019 at 7:28pm
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I compared HD540II to ER-4S a few years ago. The 540II had a flatter response and more bass weight, in my personal opinion. The ER-4S was lacking in bass authority and the upper midrange/lower treble region seemed a bit elevated (at a higher level) in direct comparison. Both are really decent though. Compare them through your powerwire Bitzie after leaving it powered on for a few hours. The difference in ability should be quite apparent. There are different degrees of closed if you analyse various headphone designs. Some are completely sealed at both front and back. Some have a closed back with earpads that let sound through and some are open back with open earpads that let sound in/out both sides. You can put sealed pads on an open back too, if you want to adversely affect its sound with no improvement to isolation. Put 540II open velvet pads on the HD250 and surprise surprise, it sounds pretty much like the 540II.
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Posted By: miT
Date Posted: 18 Aug 2019 at 10:01am
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Thanks Ash. Do you know if the ER-4S sounds considerably different than the PT? I am yet to purchase the converter cable as the loading will present an issue in my current usage. Realistically I won't be able to compare via my Bitzie until the youngest moves out of the living room and allows me to access the PC again, but the remaining option would require buying cables to use with my phone or tablet (Micro B and Type C just to be difficult). Ultimately that could be a waste if I end up with a dedicated unit. I meant fully closed as I have not yet experienced the vacuum effect with any of the open varieties. As open-backed headphones bleed sound to assist the soundstage though, I would presume that they are not ideal for commuting as the noise pollution will compromise the SQ. Irrespective of their own sound signature, the one thing that IEMs cannot be beaten for is that their sound isolation prevents the sound from changing in different environments; they always remain the same, good or bad. If it works for live performers great, but typically the market is saturated with coloured sound as apparently real life needs an EQ to be acceptable...?
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Posted By: Ash
Date Posted: 18 Aug 2019 at 12:13pm
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ER4 P vs S vs PT vs SR vs XR, I have only used the S so can't really comment. P is lower impedance so better for portable use. Maybe it has slightly more bass weight than the S? Isn't the PT just the P and S in one product, is it comes with the impedance adapter? Construction didn't change at all, I don't think. SR and XR have metal body and removable cable, no glider mushroom tips and a 100% price hike over the original cost of the ER4. Uhhhhhhh......... If your ER4 is in good working order, I would stick with it as you probably won't get the maximum potential out of full-size headphones on the go but would have to put up with their disadvantages and increased risk of damage/theft. The newest ER4 models are going to be incremental improvements of SQ at best, in my own judgement without hearing them. This is coming from someone who once owned about 16 different HD540 headphones and at least 6 different HD250 headphones. If quality control was already good then sound consistency between models of roughly the same type and design should be good and certainly comparable so save your money and buy more music with it instead.
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Posted By: miT
Date Posted: 18 Aug 2019 at 5:05pm
Same as me with my version. One day I will have to get the adapter to compare as the ER-4S is respected even on HeadFi, which is impressive considering that community believe you need a different system for every genre of music you listen to...  Unlike the more commercial brands, I like to think that Etymotic have only released a new version after so long because they feel it is an actual improvement. The price most definitely isn't but considering some companies are now justifying a £2k+ price tag on IEMs (at least to themselves), in the grand scheme of things Etymotic are still operating at the lower end of the market and to an extremely limited market. The HD540ii are definitely my favourite of all my headphones, which is why I would not want to risk damaging them. If I had a second set however... You don't happen to have any more you were unable to sell do you?
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Posted By: Ash
Date Posted: 18 Aug 2019 at 5:17pm
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No, I don't have any 540II left but I can advise you on how to source/clean/refoam them from here. They are the best budget high fidelity that I have come across and are a really nice looking headphone too. Definitely worth the restoration effort, hence why I went crazy with them in 2014. 2k+ for an in-ear device is a bit absurd. I would expect cutting-edge reproduction for that price and I really don't think that is achievable with in-ear devices.
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Posted By: Ash
Date Posted: 18 Aug 2019 at 6:03pm
| Just had a look at HD250 and HD540 on ebay.de and no particularly good pickings at the moment for the prices. Although GBP has tumbled against the EUR so prices will be higher these days and part availability has also worsened. Soon, only the most devoted and cash-willing will be able to obtain them. Sad, all I have now are photos of them to show. |
Posted By: Fatmangolf
Date Posted: 18 Aug 2019 at 7:10pm
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Supporting Ash's experience on all those headphones the HD250's are very good. I mainly use my HD250 linear II's to edit soundfiles and sometimes for recordings. I have not tried them on trains but the sound isolation is pretty good so why not. Ash is spot on with the clarity and neutral timbre, which is why Graham recommended them to us as I recall. Moreover Ash's advice on refurbishing the Senns is based on his hands-on expertise and I've seen the great results of his approach to this. ------------- Jon Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC. |
Posted By: Ash
Date Posted: 18 Aug 2019 at 8:27pm
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I'm no expert but I do have some experience that can help. Pleather pad HD250 has really good sound isolation but even the pads are discontinued now, pretty much putting a finite lifespan on the product. I had the right idea with refoaming and cleaning the 540II velvet pads, I think. You supply your own foam rings into them periodically and the headphone will be usable for many years. Or keep the plastic attachment rings from the back of the old earpads and transplant them into substitute or custom or DIY earpads. I hope that the MySphere 3.1 is the future of open headphones. No earpads to replace and adjustable driver positioning. It needs to be made much more affordable though, despite the precision engineering and obvious construction quality. Even water resistant.
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Posted By: miT
Date Posted: 02 Sep 2019 at 5:31am
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Gents, I must apologise. For some strange reason I yet again did not receive notification of your replies so stumbled across them last night as I was able to check the forum while putting the youngest to sleep. Not sure why this happens as the relevant boxes have been ticked and other threads send me notifications... I am back at least. Ash - Thanks for checking for me. I agree that £2k on IEMs is wasteful. I love the concept of a set of CIEM as live performers were the reason I got into IEMs in the first place, but that cost is ludicrous for performance that is limited by the physical design. I finally got a chance to compare my ER4P, DT880 and HD540ii via the Bitzie, but only had time to compare two songs over each set. Every comparison I have carried out of my headphone collection has scored the Beyerdynamic DT880 poorly for SQ as I find them muddy with veiled HF, but without being able to Eq the sound even they sounded better than the ER4P which was thoroughly disappointing (and I seemed to get distortion with them...?). If I want decent sound I may have no choice but to wear full-size headphones in public, although I am still in the dilemma of what to use if I only have 1x HD540ii; once they're broken... Fatmangolf - I'm not sure if I would experience the "vacuum effect" with those closed headphones (if I could even get a set of HD250) but to be fair the trains are not exactly full of excessive noise during my commute so I may even risk semi- or fully-open. I am not sure how badly that would compromise the sound though which could potentially rule out using on the Underground... I need to find a shop where I can demo lots of sets again methinks. The difference of listening via the Bitzie has confirmed the need for a dedicated DAP or DAC set-up though so I need to resolve that first as among other things, better headphones need a better power output.
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Posted By: Ash
Date Posted: 02 Sep 2019 at 7:44am
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ER4P with the Bitzie possibly wasn't the best pairing in terms of impedance matching. 27 Ohms? Although Bitzie worked well with MySphere, which is 15 Ohms. Most headphones I used with it were 300 Ohms. At least the 540ii has a modular design so can be maintained easily in that respect. Just don't drop them on a hard floor as not sure how well the driver modules would stand up to abuse. If the ear pad velvet doesn't get torn up, you can unpick my stitching, discard old foams, wash the velvet skins in warm soapy water, dry out, put in new donut foams and restitch up with needle and thread. I can show you if needed. Part salvaging online is the best way to futureproof your 540ii. In a few more years, they could become completely unavailable. The HD250 is pretty much dead now.
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Posted By: Aussie Mick
Date Posted: 02 Sep 2019 at 9:47am
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Hi All, Devil’s advocate here. For Father’s Day my lovely wife bought me a pair of Bose SoundSport Bluetooth in-ears for use at the gym, where ultimate quality comes behind the ability to not fall out and Bluetooth. Running Tidal on my iPhone straight to the Bose has been a revelation. I’ve ALWAYS hated ear buds and IEM’s for reasons of comfort and/or sound. For AU$179 these stay in my ears while running, sound really good and are very comfortable. Not as good as my full size headphones run out of my Solo ULDE, but absolutely acceptable and engaging on the train and at the gym. I’ve even taking to using them in conjunction with my current Apple TV for late night TV watching when the rest of the house is asleep. I’ve used them for sport, Digital Concert Hall and Netflix with rewarding results. Again, nowhere near the league of the above mentioned ULDE. But, you know (part of me hates this), with good source material they sound really good. Mick. ------------- Rega RP8 - Apheta 2 - Accession MC Enigma PS -Solo ULDE (Focal Utopia) - PS Audio M700 - Fical Kanta No2 |
Posted By: Ernie
Date Posted: 02 Sep 2019 at 5:11pm
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Got to agree with Mick just get a set of Bluetooth headphones for travel. I use Sony WF 1000 xm3 which allow you to kill or boost the background sound allow you to hear people while you’ve got them in listening to music. To kill the background noise you can’t get better than Bose QuietComfort 35’s. Probably not what you want to hear but Bluetooth is too convenient to discount. Discerning listening is not really conducive with travel, mowing the lawn etc. ------------- There are 10 kinds of people. Those who understand binary and those who don't. |
Posted By: miT
Date Posted: 02 Sep 2019 at 5:39pm
I agree, but curiosity meant I had to know how it compared in the SQ stakes. The fragility would make me less concerned if there was at least a replacement in existence but it appears there is nothing out there that compares... Frustrating!
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Posted By: miT
Date Posted: 02 Sep 2019 at 5:53pm
Glad you found something that works for you. Your usage of them is far more active than mine which sadly presents an issue; I will be sitting still and focussing on the music so any SQ inadequacies will drive me nuts. Having "golden ears" is a nightmare! What full-size headphones do you use at home?
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Posted By: miT
Date Posted: 02 Sep 2019 at 7:25pm
While not something I would generally admit on here (  ), I actually find aptX to be very good [for a Bluetooth connection]. I have not been able to test with a particularly decent system yet but it has proved difficult to tell the difference between aptX and a 3.5mm cable connection so far... The lesser Bluetooth codecs grate on my ears however, even on cheaper equipment so it does depend.Active noise cancelling is good but bear in mind that I have custom moulded earpieces for my Etymotic IEMs... I literally struggle to hear someone standing directly in front and talking to me, even with no music playing. This complete isolation means that the 45-minute or so main train journeys I go on are spent bathing in musical bliss. I guess I have been spoiled with my HD540ii due to being old school high-end; they are hard to better by modern competition (sadly at most price ranges!) and were from an era where a higher price meant genuine quality rather than a marketing opportunity with inflated prices to exploit the small-minded public who think that costing more means they have achieved. The problem being why spend more on inferior sound quality when I know what is (/was) possible? And being the only chance I get to listen to music, I would prefer it was the best it could be within realistic constraints. |
Posted By: Ash
Date Posted: 02 Sep 2019 at 7:54pm
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The 540ii is far from perfect in several respects but I have yet to find an alternative that beats it in every aspect and doesn't cost silly money. MS 3.1 is my only candidate but I can't recommend that... The 540ii upper bass to low midrange area was actually better in my opinion (more precise) than that of the K1000 because it was not elevated at all. That is superb considering the K1000 costs a lot more and so does a system for driving it fully. There may be affordable HD540II-beaters out on the market somewhere; finding them is the difficult bit.
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Posted By: miT
Date Posted: 03 Sep 2019 at 7:10am
Agreed, although it is "more perfect" than most other alternatives. I do not believe there is such a thing as the perfect headphones (probably speakers as well); it's about getting as near to it as possible within one's own restrictions (budget, system, etc.). That is impressive as I know how fond you were of your K1000. Although that probably says a lot about how much better your MS 3.1 must be. Also agreed, but it may be worth the effort in the long run. Can anyone recommend any demo facilities with large selections? Hifi Headphones was great before but are there any others?
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Posted By: Ash
Date Posted: 03 Sep 2019 at 9:19am
| The K1000 is sonically a bit of a mess in direct comparison to the MS 3.1. The 3.1 is a significant improvement over both HD540II and K1000. It is like a refined combination of their strengths. Modular construction and neutral sound balance of the 540ii and the acoustic openness and bass weight of the K1000, with huge advancement in low bass presence and purity of the midrange and treble. The only direct competition the MS 3.1 has is possibly the RAAL Requisite SR1a Ribbon headphone. It seems to be a bass vs stereo image compromise between the two. I might have to attend a CanJam to compare. |
Posted By: miT
Date Posted: 03 Sep 2019 at 7:00pm
Wow, I did not realise it had big issues! The official CanJam in the UK is around July or August I believe, but sadly that is now an entire year away. Interestingly a commuter had some (Bose I think, although I would assume not NC?) Bluetooth headphones on the way home this evening. Despite appearing closed, the spilled sound was so loud that myself and another passenger were tempted to put requests in. I hadn't realised how much better IEMs are for travelling...  Does anyone have any feedback about Audio Technica headphones? I remember them appearing in my original search years ago but never got to try a pair.
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Posted By: discrete badger
Date Posted: 03 Sep 2019 at 8:48pm
Indeed - I solved this problem by playing the numbers game - although in my case, with the HD250. In the same way that applying sunscreen is absolutely guaranteed to presage cloudy skies, so having a backup pair - or two - is absolutely guaranteed to render the first indestructible. Which is not to say that these cans are a delicate crystal chandelier; they were designed for the rigours of studio life not for worship as a hi-fi altarpiece. Somewhat appropriate, therefore, that one of my pairs came from the liquidation sale of a recording studio (another sign of the times!) and from the case and earpad condition has clearly had quite a hard life, not that one would know from the sound. So, forgiving the sacrilege of actually using these revered cans; as it turns out, my "commuting" pair - which have been rained on, stuck inside backpacks and suitcases, knocked against train doors, inspected by the cat, left inside office drawers and uncountable other minor challenges that one would not dare expose to the sort (i.e. the expensive sort) of contemporary headphones which might have vaguely comparable sonics - are still absolutely fine. More than fine. I actually think they might sound better than when I first got my grubby paws on them. Or are my ears better? More educated, perhaps? Or have the earpads softened a bit to bring my ears into the optimum position within the cup? Who knows?! Who cares? All I know is I've been very happy with these as commuting headphones, driven by the able Voyager, for about a decade. Will they last another 10 years commuting? I suspect they would but have no intention of finding out. |
Posted By: Aussie Mick
Date Posted: 03 Sep 2019 at 10:49pm
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My at-home ‘phones are the Focal Elear driven by a Solo ULDE. I’m super happy with them. Mick. ------------- Rega RP8 - Apheta 2 - Accession MC Enigma PS -Solo ULDE (Focal Utopia) - PS Audio M700 - Fical Kanta No2 |
Posted By: Ash
Date Posted: 04 Sep 2019 at 11:38am
| Keep looking on ebay.de every so often and you might be able to get spare 540ii bits. You'll have to put £100-£200 aside for it though and offer to pay the extra postage. |
Posted By: miT
Date Posted: 23 Sep 2019 at 5:54am
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Apologies for my "speedy" reply. I did not receive email notifications for this thread again. In recent weeks I have been doing A LOT of research (including listening sessions at home, finally!) about headphone options and learned that ex AKG staff (since Samsung's takeover) have now started Austrian Audio. They are bringing out some closed headphones soon so that could be a new option to try under £300. I am unsure what Sennheiser peddle to their "Pro" customers but Beyerdynamic seem to be one of the few mainstream manufacturers in both markets. My knowledge is far too limited to be reliable but I stumbled across a website that measures the performance of headphones and uploads the results in a graph ( http://en.goldenears.net/index.php?mid=GR_Headphones&search_target=title&search_keyword=Beyerdynamic&page=1&division=-57326&category=275&document_srl=10634 - http://en.goldenears.net/index.php?mid=GR_Headphones&search_target=title&search_keyword=Beyerdynamic&page=1&division=-57326&category=275&document_srl=10634 if you are interested). They appear to have stopped their work a few years ago so most models are slightly older but after reading the graphs of literally everything, the HD540 are in an extremely limited group of <10 [tested] headphones that have a outstandingly neutral response. The Beyerdynamic DT990 versions seem to be one of the few cheap options, albeit still not closed. Other notable mentions are the Beyerdynamic T1, Grado PS1000 and Sennheiser HD800 (which has been updated and re-tuned in recent time) so it seems a long demo is definitely on the cards in the not-too-distant future... Since listening again to compare my existing headphones and QC my ears, I have rediscovered the beauty of the HD540ii. My AKG K701 need to be compared to them again (when I find them!) but this rediscovery of forgotten truths has re-educated me in what I am looking for. The differences between my DT880 and HD540ii are vast enough to highlight them clearly but without focussing too deeply on the actual SQ, the transparency of the Sennheisers is sublime. They somehow disappear from the experience which draws you into the music, but they do it in an unpretentious way (hard to explain). Yes SQ tweaks could be made but as a starting platform, they got it so right! They do not make enough fanfare to stand out to today's general market though so while still hopeful, I cannot see them being matched in the by anything less than audiophile choices costing many £1000s; the customer base who spend less won't appreciate them. This has now made my search a lot more difficult!! As a side point, has anyone found that the Bitzie was enough to run them or would an additional amp dig out even more?
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Posted By: miT
Date Posted: 23 Sep 2019 at 7:33am
I wish I had got myself a set of HD250 while they were still available but I have never had the need for them. Until now. I agree that you have to use them, hence future-proofing them by having multiple sets is so vital on something I cannot readily replace. And I also agree that solid build quality used to be a basic requirement in the past; not so much now sadly. This would all be much easier if progress was an acceptable business plan! I have zero experience with closed headphones so I am not sure how this works but do the HD250 have an expansive soundstage? I'm not sure if that is even possible from a technical viewpoint...?
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Posted By: miT
Date Posted: 23 Sep 2019 at 7:34am
Focal weren't as popular when I did my last demo, but they have quite a few models now.. Worth a listen, thanks.
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Posted By: miT
Date Posted: 23 Sep 2019 at 7:36am
I will keep an eye out, thanks Ash.
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Posted By: discrete badger
Date Posted: 23 Sep 2019 at 9:16pm
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With the usual caveat that everyone's ears are different.... I am familiar with, and dislike, the usual claustrophobic feel of closed-back headphones, so the discovery of the very-open Grado SR series was a revelation to me, although I grew to dislike the sound leakage which limited listening levels. I do not know how, but the HD250 somehow manages to avoid the closed-back boxiness without leaking very much sound at all.
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Posted By: miT
Date Posted: 23 Sep 2019 at 9:38pm
Grade SR80 were my first proper headphones, but they took uncomfortable to another level... The PS1000 (or GS?) were sublime from memory though. This is why I cannot forgive Sennheiser for turning their backs on the achievements they made with both the 250 and the 540ii. At what point did "progress" become moving backwards??
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