Headphones

etymotic.

their er4p's at 200 and something U$ are amongst the best (i hear that sure has some out as well) sounding portable headphones out there, and they isolate 20+dB's of external noise. Can't travel without them and an Ipod anymore... they've got a cheaper variant, the er6's, that really aren't as good IMHO. They don't isolate as much, either. but they probably look less dorky when you wear them (what, me, two black cables sticking out of my ears ?).

BTW, they retail for u$ 330 and can be had for 250 from headroom.

the best metaphor to what these things are like is that they sound like plugging a jack in the back of your head.

There's also Bose. Now I doubt they would sound as good as the Eymotic, but you might be able to find them cheaper or perhaps even used.

I've used the Etymotics daily for 3 years now. They are the ONLY bit of my hi-fi I couldn't swap.
I also have the Senn. HD600s, but only use them for listening to the telly.


Oops, just noticed your budget. I think they are all much the same at that price, but would probably go for the Senns.

Thanks everyone.

The Sennheiser HD280 Pro certainly seems worth investigating - 32dB attenuation seems pretty good.

Also, my friendly neighbourhood Naim dealer used to stock Sennheiser so (assuming he still does) I'll probably get them from him.

I'll report on on them (or whatever I get) when i get them (in anything from a few days to more than a month).

I'm in the Film/TV business and we tend to use Beyer DT100s for minimal "leakage." They're also built like a brick bog.

Ben.

I couldn't find anyone who stocked the HD280 locally, so I ordered a pair from Super-Fi. They arrived this morning, and apart from the fact that 280g (or whatever the weight is) seems a lot heavier than I expected, they seem to fit their primary purpose - cutting out external sound - quite well, so I don't expect to send them back.

As for their musical performance, my first impression, after a brief listen with my new Marantz CD5400 CD player, is that they are slow (for headphones) and lacking in tonal colour, sounding like an improved version of my old HD320s. But perhaps even headphones need to be run in. Or maybe they need a better source and amplification to show what they can really do.

I'll report again if further listening and/or running in paints a different picture.

They have improved since I first tried them, to the point where I can believe most of the failings I'm hearing now are due to my new CD player* and its headphone amp. Notes that seemed to either start suddenly or fade in from nowhere now have a proper attack - or maybe my ears are better this week.

However, it is difficult not to blame the headphones for the lack of tonal colour, and their speed has only improved a little.

Nevertheless, on the odd occasions when I've listened to music rather than self hypnosis tapes I have wanted to go on listening, which is almost too much to expect from a £180 "system".

* A Marantz CD5400, which I got soon after starting this thread.

Good sugestions here, just wanted to add another for you to concider. The Sure E2c's can be had for $80 and are exceptional value. They are not as good as the etymotic in terms of sound quality, but great bang for the buck.

Also (maybe true with erymonic's - but I have not tried) - these in ear phones let you do something you really cant do with the HD280's or other regular headphones. You can rest your head (and ear) on a pillow and they are not uncomfortable and do not change their sound.

Very usefull for the type of listening you are after.

They are 2nd to none in their ability to excelude screaming babies and slamming doors from your inner world!

Adam

Also Beyerdynamics DT831's

A nice comfortable closed headphone.


Mitch