Need recommendations for good speakers, headphones

[Crispy]

Since I know we have quite a few sound guys lurking around here, I figured this was a good place to ask: I'm in need of one set of good speakers, and a couple of pairs of good-quality headphones. Any recommendations?

 

Speakers should be stereo; I don't have room for surround sound, sadly.

 

The most important thing for the headphones is that they're comfortable over prolonged use. I've never worn a pair of headphones that felt comfortable; I assume they just weren't adjusted properly, or were low-end, or something. Earbuds are better (they don't squish my ears!) but still not great.

 

Cost and quality are both important, so I'm looking for something mid-range.

[Namdrol]

I just bought some Logitech X 230's a month or so ago and am very happy with them.

 

 

I use mid range buds and find them more comfortable than anything, I've been using Sennheiser CX300 II's for a while and like 'em but I've just ordered Soundmagic PL11's which are supposed to be better and are cheaper at £20.

 

Review of both (plus a good website for headphone info)

 

On the topic of the CX300's, lots say they are identical to the Creative EP 630's (£9 as opposed to £30) but then lots say that they're built in the same place but have different drivers in 'em.

I've bought the missus a set of the Creative's, so am going to do some comparisons with my Sennheisers.

Edited January 7, 2010 by Namdrol

[Serpentine]

I will always recommend Sennheiser's to someone wanting to get into a good pair of headphones, while audiophiles will say that anything under the extreme high end is useless, the vast majority of people just dont head or care about it. HD555's are extremely comfy and sound great, they however are 'open back', which allows outside sound in, if you dont work in a woodmill that's most likely not a very big issue. I havent tested their gaming headsets personally, I dont like mics etc on my headphones.

 

If you shop around you can get them for very decent prices, for the most part they are fully user repairable and replacement parts are avaliable. I've had my pair for more than two years and wear them for 4+ hours every day, before I started buying senns the most I'd get was about 6 months on a good pair... But the last 2 senns have lasted 2-3 years easily and only been retired for an upgrade.

 

So yeah, if you're looking for mid-high end, good bang for buck - I'd suggest some HD555's.

[jdude]

Sony MDR-XD200!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v322/rokuyon/mdrxd200frontsm.jpg

These are hands down the most comfortable headphones I've ever had. They've lasted me three years and sound great and their noise canceling! I can wear them all day and still be comfortable. The chord is something like 3 meters long and the price is only $40 CDN! After three years of use I can confidently say there's still no reduction in sound quality. You can pick them up online or usually in a local store.

 

The downsides are that you probably wont want to wear them in public (yet I've seen a couple people doing so) and there's a sound-mode switch for either ear that as far as i can tell, does nothing. After two years of use one of the foam parts came loose but I just glued it back on and it's good as new.

 

As for speakers

 

I'd recommend trying to get something produced by Altec Lansing. I have speakers and a sub woofer from them which I've used for 6 years and they still sound great and the sub woofer still thumps! So their top notch quality at an affordable price.

http://www.alteclansing.com/

[Mortem Desino]

I've never been dissappointed with Sennheiser. *I'm just thrilled with Koss, though. But their R80 is a superb "cheap" model from them. I've been using that set with gaming, keyboarding, and recording sessions. I've dropped them, knocked them against my desk, gnawed on the cord, so they're pretty sturdy.

 

* (It might just be because their headquarters is a 15 minute drive from home. Makes their no-questions-asked lifetime warrenty really convenient.)

[Goldchocobo]

I use Alesis mixing monitors with a set of sony mixing headphones (cheaper $150 pair, I don't really like them)... though I wouldn't really recommend you buy any of this stuff. They are used to sound unbelievably realistic, not "good (ie "killer" bass, or "awesome" highs).

When I mixed the voices for TDM, I had the some actors in the next room try to tell the difference between the played back voice through the Alesis monitors, and the real actor voicing back the exact same part afterwards... noone could tell the difference

[SplaTtzZ]

I will always recommend Sennheiser's to someone wanting to get into a good pair of headphones, while audiophiles will say that anything under the extreme high end is useless, the vast majority of people just dont head or care about it. HD555's are extremely comfy and sound great, they however are 'open back', which allows outside sound in, if you dont work in a woodmill that's most likely not a very big issue. I havent tested their gaming headsets personally, I dont like mics etc on my headphones.

 

Agreed I highly recommend these too, I have HD555's and if you can afford them Crispy they're extremely comfortable and have great sound. Mine lasted 2 - 2.5 years but i wore the heck out of them and they got too manky so i bought some new ones. They're not USB but so you'll need to have the correct port on your PC (3.5mm jack). I got mine online from a place in Melbourne called PC Case Gear (unfortunately they no longer seem to sell them) and they were cheaper than retail; but you can shop around, i know JB Hifi sells them if you're interested. They retail pretty expensive though; like between 250-350 AUD.

[Namdrol]

My missus's Creative EP 630's arrived yesterday.

They look identical to the Sennheiser CX 300II's

Only difference is the Creative's have a straight jack as opposed to an L one.

The Sennheiser's sound a bit sweeter but then the Creative's aren't burnt in.

But the price is so different I would go with the EP 630's

 

My SoundMagics are going to where I live on Arran but I'm stuck in Edinburgh so haven't had a chance to look at them yet.

 

@jdude, them Sony's look nice, and at only £16-£20 here I might treat myself.

Edited January 8, 2010 by Namdrol

[Crispy]

Thanks all! Sounds like Sennheiser is the way to go. The HD555 is just about within my price range, but slightly cheaper would be better. PC Case Gear has the HD408 on sale for $55 AUD - any good?

 

Built-in mic would be a plus, actually - we're likely to start using Skype soonish, plus they might get used for some gaming voice chat. So it would be handy to have them integrated. I can always add a clip-on microphone though, so no big deal.

 

I also need at least one pair to be closed, since it'll be used in an office environment - sound leaking out could annoy people. That pair probably doesn't need a mic.

[Namdrol]

Ok, I went and got the Sony MDRXD's this morning and I'm very impressed, good build and crisp clean sound.

And nice and cheap at £19.99, easily as good as phones I've had at twice the price.

 

Crispy have you thought of the Senn 418's rather than the 408's? They're closed back and get good reviews.

[Serpentine]

I would always recommend a free-standing mic. The number of times my friends and such replace entire "good" headsets due to the mic dying or whatever is quite strange. Freestanding mics are pretty much impossible to break and these days you can get pretty good ones for a decent price. In Vista/Win7 all sound input has pretty good noise removal applied by default but the mics are pretty clear anyway.

 

I just like dedicated components

[Crispy]

Alright, thanks for the advice everyone. I went ahead and ordered a Sennheiser HD 215 and a Sennheiser HD 228, since they were relatively cheap, got good reviews on Amazon, and are available from PC Case Gear (I've used them before, they're good and cheap). Will compare and see which one I like better, and a relative can pay for the other one. I grabbed a couple of cheap clip-on mics for $4 each as well. (There was a choice between $3.95 and $8.50. If they don't work out, doesn't matter at that price.)