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Best Headphones out?

WBMc36

WBMc36

Android Enthusiast
i have been trying to decide on which pair of noise cancelling headphones i should buy and have pretty much narrowed it down to the Bose Quiet Comfort 15, or the Audio Technica ATH-ANC7b.

I have been reading review online but that doesn't come close to actually testing the product and seeing how well it works. The main problem i have with deciding is the bose are 300$ and the Audio Technica are around 150 on amazon.

Big price difference, and im wondering if any of you guys have been using either of these products and have insight as to which i should get?
 
Go to Head-Fi.org - Headphone forums and reviews for audiophiles and read their forums. Audio Technica makes some pretty good headphones.. I have never personally listened to the ath-anc7bs tho..

I have used the Bose ones.. and first off Bose is like Apple... Your paying more for the Bose name, Bose make great products but they are not price appropriately. Also those headphones gave me a massive headache... and there was this weird hum when the music was low.

Have you considered in earphones? If your willing to pay $300 you can get a top of the line triple driver set and if you fit them well you don't need electronic noise canceling features to drown out surrounding noise.
 
That's the thing, i know i am basically paying for the name, but i also know bose makes solid products. Many have stated that the noise canceling on the bose is the best, and that the audio technica's are almost on the same level but leak sound which would be a problem for me, basically i need something i can use in the library to cancel ambient noise with or without music, as well as produce quality sound for when i want to listen to music.
I haven't considered earphones due to the fact that i have really never been sold on earphones. I have had some crappy skullcandy in ear and over the ear, i just like over the ear better. Especially since i have gotten my new turtle beach for xbox, i really dont want to spend 300$ on headphones knowing that i could get something just as good for less money, but realistically you get what you pay for and the lower the cost the lower the quality.
 
Skullcandy are fine for the price. But overall they are kinda crappy, I would not base your earphone opinions off them alone.
 
Yeah i went to bestbuy again today and tried out the bose headphones one last time. I did not like the pressure sensation i got from them as others have commented. I think i will start with the audio technica's and if i decide i need something better then i will move up the ladder to more expensive units.
All this means for me is more money for a 4G enabled android phone :)
 
I'm looking to replace my Bose around-the-ear headphones too. I might go with some in-ear ones. I have no idea which to choose though. I saw a bunch of in-ear buds from multiple companies. Anyone have a pair that they can recommend?
 
WBMc36 said:
That's the thing, i know i am basically paying for the name, but i also know bose makes solid products. Many have stated that the noise canceling on the bose is the best, and that the audio technica's are almost on the same level but leak sound which would be a problem for me, basically i need something i can use in the library to cancel ambient noise with or without music, as well as produce quality sound for when i want to listen to music.
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Surely there isn't much ambient noise in the library? Unless it really is a terrible library, standard closed headphones should block out the noise. Noise Cancelling headphones produce a slight hiss too, which I find annoying :/

WBMc36 said:
I haven't considered earphones due to the fact that i have really never been sold on earphones. I have had some crappy skullcandy in ear and over the ear, i just like over the ear better. Especially since i have gotten my new turtle beach for xbox, i really dont want to spend 300$ on headphones knowing that i could get something just as good for less money, but realistically you get what you pay for and the lower the cost the lower the quality.
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Skullcandy are horrible >.< Brands like Sennheiser, Shure, Audio Technica, Ultimate Ears, Grado, etc have equal or better build quality as Bose.

DaedalusxX said:
I use skullcandy headphones...relatively cheap (depends on type) and work like a charm :)
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Skullcandy are horrible >.<

VegasOnAcid said:
Skullcandy are fine for the price. But overall they are kinda crappy, I would not base your earphone opinions off them alone.
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Skullcandy are horrible >.<

NYCHitman1 said:
I'm looking to replace my Bose around-the-ear headphones too. I might go with some in-ear ones. I have no idea which to choose though. I saw a bunch of in-ear buds from multiple companies. Anyone have a pair that they can recommend?
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Really anything from:

Sennheiser
Shure
Ultimate Ears
Etymotic
Klipsch

It depends largely on your budget.


To avoid:

Skullcandy
Monster Cable
Bose
 
i have a pair of klipsch image S4's and Im a huge fan. They arent the best available but for the money there is no complaint. I use them at the gym and I cant hear any outside noises and they stay in my ears the entire workout. My next set of headphones will most likely be a set of shure though, I love their fit and the quality is some of the best.
 
I have the klipsch image s4s and they are super dank.

I highly recommend ($80)

Require 80 hours of burn in on medium-high volume before they hit full potential.

Very comfortable in my ears, smooth bass, and noise canceling.
 
Dead link but yea that's the right product.

But be careful with reviews. This particular model requires AT LEAST 50 hour break in period. They will initially sound tiny with small bass. A lot of people will jump on right away and without the break in period and so their review is skewed. (that's why you must be careful when reading headphone reviews).

They improve sooo much over 80 hours. I am very happy with these. If I wasn't, I'd still be looking around for another model.

What I love about them is the amazing bass (I like house/techno) and the sound canceling (you can't hear anything around you).

The amazon reviews seem a lot more accurate.

Do some shopping around there I'm sure there are plenty of ear-buds that sound just as good if not better around the same price point.
 
jamor said:
Dead link but yea that's the right product.

But be careful with reviews. This particular model requires AT LEAST 50 hour break in period. They will initially sound tiny with small bass. A lot of people will jump on right away and without the break in period and so their review is skewed. (that's why you must be careful when reading headphone reviews).

They improve sooo much over 80 hours. I am very happy with these. If I wasn't, I'd still be looking around for another model.

What I love about them is the amazing bass (I like house/techno) and the sound canceling (you can't hear anything around you).

The amazon reviews seem a lot more accurate.

Do some shopping around there I'm sure there are plenty of ear-buds that sound just as good if not better around the same price point.
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The link works just fine for me, nubsauce! I'm gonna do some shopping around. Just was showing you that Newegg has it for $79 w/ free shipping (as usual).
 
If you have any chance at all to try the headphones WITH YOUR PLAYER before you buy, do so! The headphones make a huge difference in the sound quality, of course, but your playback device is just as important. I have a set of AKG 701s (open-backed headphones) and Etymotic ER-6is (canal earphones) that both sound fantastic on my iPod and my Mbox. The Etymotics have super-low impedance, though, so when I plug them into a device with noisier sound hardware&#8212;like my laptop or my phone (HTC Incredible)&#8212;the Etymotics reproduce the noise along with the music. The AKGs, meanwhile, still sound crystal clear.

I see in your profile that you're from the Pittsburgh/Erie area. If you're planning to use these headphones with a portable device, you could bring it to the Bose outlet in Grove City and try some of their stuff. It's definitely overpriced for what you get, though.
 
CriticalMass said:
Long time ago I paid $300.00 for a pair of these, they were completely fantastic. For reasons I don't want to get into, I had to sell them and needless to say my listening experience has never been the same since. :(
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Westone announced some quad driver earphones at CES... I really really really want to hear them..

Penguissimo said:
If you have any chance at all to try the headphones WITH YOUR PLAYER before you buy, do so! The headphones make a huge difference in the sound quality, of course, but your playback device is just as important. I have a set of AKG 701s (open-backed headphones) and Etymotic ER-6is (canal earphones) that both sound fantastic on my iPod and my Mbox. The Etymotics have super-low impedance, though, so when I plug them into a device with noisier sound hardware
Click to expand...
 
VegasOnAcid said:
Westone announced some quad driver earphones at CES... I really really really want to hear them..



This is usually cause of the amp within the device is not very good. If you want, you can buy a headphone amp and then it would not really matter what your playing it out of it should always sound nearly the same cause it gets filtered thru the portable amp.
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Oh, absolutely. That's why the Etymotics sound fine through the Mbox but terrible hooked right into the laptop's line-out. But since the OP didn't specify what equipment he plans to use, I thought it was good to warn him about this in case he's planning to use something with a crappy DAC.

Unless, of course, he plans to lug around a headphone amp with his EVO or something ;)
 
I'm not a fan of paying for overpriced earphones. I picked up a relatively cheap pair of KOSS KE29E custom fit noise isolating earbuds for $24.88 @ Wal-Mart. Comes with a lifetime warranty and they sound great. The bass is excellent even at low volume levels.
 
Yes they did and I'm glad. They are my spare headphones. My main pairs are my Ultimate Ears Metro-fi 220s and Sennheiser CX-300. RIP Fritz Sennheiser: 1912 - 2010.
 
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