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Headphone Brands Ranked from Worst to First

time.com

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Re: Headphone Brands Ranked from Worst to First

#21

Post by aeberbach »

peter_l_downs wrote: post #19

Here's my favorite headphone model: the Bose QC20. The noise cancelation is unreal – when friends try them on for the first time the consistent reaction has to be to smile and laugh. The earbud that just rests in your ear instead of drilling into the center of your head only makes the experience better. No I'm not a shill I'm just in love with these headphones.

Canalphones beat active noise cancellation (ANC) every time. ANC doesn't attenuate all frequencies as evenly as passive protection does and it sounds very strange to me. To rub salt into the wound, passives don't need batteries and they pack into a tiny pouch that takes almost no space in carry-on bags.

Re: Headphone Brands Ranked from Worst to First

#23

Post by aeberbach »

ScottBurson wrote: post #10

Let me toss in my favorite headphone model: the PSB M4U2. This is a $400 pair of closed-back 'phones with a built-in amp and active noise cancellation. Don't buy these for the ANC -- buy them for the sound: clear and smooth, with clean highs, good imaging, and extended but not overemphasized bass. Very musical. There's a less expensive M4U1 model with no amp or ANC; these might be a better deal. I was hoping the ANC…

I have the M4U1 model after owning Sennheiser Momentum for six months - they are obviously better in side-by-side tests and they have larger ear cups that I can wear all day with comfort in a noisy office. Definitely my closed-headphone favourite. Too bad they aren't pretty stitched leather like the Sennehisers!

I don't believe ANC is worth the $100 - as you say, same headphones minus ANC.

Re: Headphone Brands Ranked from Worst to First

#26

Post by aeberbach »

Ryanmf wrote: post #7

This turned out to be a bit more credible than I expected, though I'm surprised to see Shure rated higher than Grado. Moepstar is right, Beyerdynamics should absolutely be on the list, and given the success of the TMA-1 Aiaiai should be as well. Also, Audio Technica may have produced some cheap crap in the past, but they should be at least one category higher based merely on the strength of the ATH-50.

Absolutely - Grado is fine if you really like supra-aural open headphones, but you can pretty much rule them out if you sit anywhere near another person who doesn't care to hear your music. Another problem with Grado is they "protect" international distributors who are free to add any ridiculous markup they like to arrive at a local price. There can be no competition because headphone vendors like Headroom and Amazon just aren't allowed to ship Grado products internationally under threat of no supply.

Re: Headphone Brands Ranked from Worst to First

#27

Post by weirdcat »

moepstar wrote: post #2

So, a list about supposedly the best headphones doesn't list any Beyerdynamics? mhh, sounds legit.

If anyone is looking for portable headphones, Beyerdynamics DTX 501p are brilliant (and great value at that). Comfortable, good isolation, no music leaking out bothering others, surprisingly nice sound for their price and size. These days I tend to pick them up more often than my Grado SR-80 (which I also recommend).

Re: Headphone Brands Ranked from Worst to First

#28

Post by beedogs »

possibilistic wrote: post #8

Any recommendations from the HN community? I'd like to get a new set and I don't really trust Time's research.

Find an old pair of Sennheiser HD-580s. They were so good they un-discontinued them. Been using the same pair since 1999, with the same cable they came with (apparently the cable can be problematic.)

Re: Headphone Brands Ranked from Worst to First

#29

Post by vl »

Ryanmf wrote: post #7

This turned out to be a bit more credible than I expected, though I'm surprised to see Shure rated higher than Grado. Moepstar is right, Beyerdynamics should absolutely be on the list, and given the success of the TMA-1 Aiaiai should be as well. Also, Audio Technica may have produced some cheap crap in the past, but they should be at least one category higher based merely on the strength of the ATH-50.

I'm surprised Grado is at this high position at all - their production quality is absolutely abysmal, they came apart in a year - unlike Sennheiser (using for few years), Audiotechica (using for few years) and Technics/Panasonic (these I use for 15 years!). As for the cost - for same money there is always better alternative than Grados.

Re: Headphone Brands Ranked from Worst to First

#30

Post by TrainedMonkey »

While indicative of overall lineup, rating by brand is suboptimal in regards to picking actual headphones for use. For example Koss, while being rated bad has some pretty good performing headphones.

Anyways, here is more substantial headphone buying resource: http://www.head-fi.org/a/headphone-buying-guide

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