looking for a decent pair of headphones

[Katlan]

I really like the Bose 100$ headphones... also cause the ear jacks come w/ the thingies that make em all snug in ear so that your not irritated for wearing em extended periods of time. I used to like the muffler type headphones for airplanes and stuff, but I've heard those types are notorious for accumulating tons of bacteria... so I have stayed away from em.

The Bose ones are small, come w/ a mini carrying case, and the size options just make em snug & I recommend em for your price range.

Bose® - In-Ear Headphones - In-Ear

[Demosthenes]

Bose and Skullcandy are two companies that need to stop making headphones. They fail at it.

[Akucaen]

JVC HARX900 Headphones - In Stock at OneCall.com

The JVC HARX900 headphones are very, very good headphones. The soundstage is excellent and it does feel submersive. The audio quality is surprisingly good too. You'll still hear when a bass note is supposed to punch, but you'll obviously never feel it. These have been, by far, the best compromise between gaming headsets and music headsets I've ever heard. Most gaming headsets use cheap materials/bad magnets and the whole thing sounds 'tinny', for lack a of a better term. Most music headsets have a crappy soundstage that doesn't give you a good immersive sound and always sounds like immediate left, immediate right or >, heh

They're hard to find though, that site I listed was the only one I /could/ find them on, as they came highly recommended to me a while back. Still, I highly, highly recommend them. They're the absolute best buy for your money (as an audiophile) without immediately jumping into the $400-$1000 range.

[Vazgen]

Sennheiser OR Icemat Siberia's those are your two options...

[Akiyama]

Hell. I just need a decent, cheap USB Headset for my PS3 and was looking at this:

Amazon.com: Used and New: Logitech Premium Notebook Headset

Gogo cheap, lol.

[Myst]

lol you wont go deaf. where are you getting 120 db from?

[Myst]

if you're getting 120db because of the combine total signal going into your ears from the noise canceling process, you're a fucking idiot. noise canceling works by equalizing the wave to zero, or as close to it as possible. you're actually keeping your ears healthier by using this because you dont have to turn up your mp3 player to compensate for ambient sounds already taken out by noise canceling.

this reminds me of the plane on a treadmill question. idiot.

source: HowStuffWorks "How Noise-canceling Headphones Work"

page 4 specifically.

[Jefe]

Eh, went to fry's a week or two ago and bought a 2 dollar ones <_<

[levish]

if you're getting 120db because of the combine total signal going into your ears from the noise canceling process, you're a fucking idiot. noise canceling works by equalizing the wave to zero, or as close to it as possible. you're actually keeping your ears healthier by using this because you dont have to turn up your mp3 player to compensate for ambient sounds already taken out by noise canceling.

this reminds me of the plane on a treadmill question. idiot.

source: HowStuffWorks "How Noise-canceling Headphones Work"

page 4 specifically.

keeping out ambient noise is good but every active noise cancelling headphone i've used had its own background noise.

passive > active

and Bose in general is ok but not ok for the money, you can do much better

Audio Technica / Senn / AKG / Grado all solid names and all better bang for the buck

[Myst]

every active noise cancelling headphone i've used had its own background noise.

bose QC2 does not have this issue. thus the price tag. they are worth it if you love music.

[zoobernut]

Nothing Bose is worth it if you love music. Regardless of how their noise canceling works Bose is the biggest pile of crap. They make horrible products and charge 10x what they are worth.

People never sit down and actually listen to one piece of music over and over again on different headphones or speakers and actually compare the sound. They just read about how awesome Bose are or any other brand and then assume that it is correct.

[Myst]

have you personally tried QC2's? i love how all of you are talking on behalf of their reputation in regards to a specific product. the fact of the matter is it's a solid piece of equipment, and while pricier, the quality is actually there.

[Norellicus]

if you're getting 120db because of the combine total signal going into your ears from the noise canceling process, you're a fucking idiot. noise canceling works by equalizing the wave to zero, or as close to it as possible. you're actually keeping your ears healthier by using this because you dont have to turn up your mp3 player to compensate for ambient sounds already taken out by noise canceling.

this reminds me of the plane on a treadmill question. idiot.

source: HowStuffWorks "How Noise-canceling Headphones Work"

page 4 specifically.

Your own link shows the waves still exist, but they simply generate no audible signal. Sound pressure (measured in dB) is generated by the presence of the waves as they move through the air, and the effect they have on the cochlea is additive; it's not like the 'strongest' wave prevails and all others are irrelevant.

[Korremar]

Why's everyone shitting on Skullcandy so hard? A friend of mine had a set of the Hesh phones from them and they sounded great. Very clear and crisp.

[Myst]

the waves seize to exist due to the counter effect of the waves produced by the noise canceling. you're treating the pressure that hurts your ears like it's air. it's not, it's waves.

[Katlan]

Nothing Bose is worth it if you love music. Regardless of how their noise canceling works Bose is the biggest pile of crap. They make horrible products and charge 10x what they are worth.

I thought this was common knowledge? lol Doesn't take much research to discover Bose Speakers are crap and overpriced, but I did like the comfort factor of the Bose ear-piece headphones until they broke down

[Vandole]

I use these and I love them.

Sennheiser PC350

i got them from kazen's reccomendation

Fucking amazing headset.

[zoobernut]

I thought this was common knowledge? lol Doesn't take much research to discover Bose Speakers are crap and overpriced, but I did like the comfort factor of the Bose ear-piece headphones until they broke down

Apparently its not. Myst shows that people think that Bose can make one quality product in an entire sea of shit. Sorry Myst but their products are crap because they use crap components to start with. If you use horrible drivers in your speakers you make a horrible speaker.

And speaking from experience I have not seen any Bose product that started with a good foundation of good drivers.

[Norellicus]

the waves seize to exist due to the counter effect of the waves produced by the noise canceling. you're treating the pressure that hurts your ears like it's air. it's not, it's waves.

No, they most certainly do not cease to exist. The effect is like that, but both waves are still present. Do you understand how sound travels? The wave is vibrating air molecules which is where the sound you hear is actually produced. When you apply an inverse wave to those same vibrating air molecules, they stop vibrating, which, in essence, is silence; but there are still two identical-but-opposite sound waves traveling through that space, into your ear, and slamming against your ear drum.

[Amastacia]

I generally look in the ~$100 range and have a few requirements:

-Passive noise canceling
-Good sound quality (flat or mostly flat frequency response + good quality drivers)
-Comfortable to wear for long stretches
-Doesn't blast your music to everyone around you
-Not earbuds (not comfortable for me, damage hearing too much, too easy to pop out)

That pretty much leaves me with closed over-ear cans. I've found two pairs I like a lot - Sennheiser HD 280 Pros and Sony MDR-7506s.

Both suffer from the cardinal shortcoming of closed-ear designs - narrow soundstage, but aside from that, they're fantastic. The Sony cans are comfy, not too bulky, and have nice flat response. The Sennheisers are fantastic for noise cancelling, comfy to wear for long stretches, and also have great sound once broken in.

If I have any complaints, I don't like how bulky the Sennheisers are, or how much plastic is used in their construction (more pieces that can easily stress fracture and require shoddy repairs). I don't like how poor the Sonys are in comparison to the Sennheisers for blocking noise on long trips, especially on airplanes.

That said, you'd have a hard time going wrong with either. If you don't want closed-ear cans, the Sennheiser HD 555s are also great for the money. They have a brighter tone than the HD 280s and are nowhere near as competent at noise cancelling, but have a much wider soundstage so they're great for listening to music in quiet places.

Edit: Haven't used Grados much, but I've heard good things. Same for AKGs.