need info on headsets

Assassin_012 · 28 Dec 2010 at 11:53

hi

i just wanna know which headsets are decent in audio (gonna be using mainly for listing to music)

can you just gimme a list of them (in order in your opinion of which is the best)

because i cant decide since there are so many =/

my budget will be like around £60 ish...
do not have soundcard (dont think i have space for it since i have 'Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R Intel X58 (Socket 1366) DDR3 Motherboard' which has 1 PCI slot that i use for 'wireless card' =(..)

Marsman · 28 Dec 2010 at 12:58

Headphones. Don't bother with a headset if the main use will be music. Headsets are fine if you are only going to game with them, but if the main use is music, there aren't many that will come close to decent headphones. Razer Carcharias is one headset thing springs to mind. It's a decent headset for gaming and music, if gaming is a priority, but they wont touch a pair of Goldring's, which can be had for £50.

Assassin_012 · 28 Dec 2010 at 14:16

Marsman said:
Headphones. Don't bother with a headset if the main use will be music. Headsets are fine if you are only going to game with them, but if the main use is music, there aren't many that will come close to decent headphones. Razer Carcharias is one headset thing springs to mind. It's a decent headset for gaming and music, if gaming is a priority, but they wont touch a pair of Goldring's, which can be had for £50.

yh sry...i ment headphones then.

yh..didnt quite understand what you said ...

but i dont need a mic on the headphones (did some research =/ and turns out mic+headphones have crap audio quality for music)

so which headphones were u suggesting?

Marsman · 28 Dec 2010 at 14:59

I have some Goldring DR150's, and they are superb. I have seen them for about a shade under £50. Goldring NS1000's are also very popular, slightly better, and a bargain really for £50.

Assassin_012 · 28 Dec 2010 at 16:49

Marsman said:
I have some Goldring DR150's, and they are superb. I have seen them for about a shade under £50. Goldring NS1000's are also very popular, slightly better, and a bargain really for £50.

i c...

so i probably will go for the ns1000...

i looked at other threads..
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18221924

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?p=16121383

they say that its better to use an amp for ns1000's because....well i dno (something about crap bass and treble?)...first time buying headphones like these..lol..so..

Fiio E5 amp + NS1000 = good sound quality?

or do i require a soundcard aswell?

FooAtari · 28 Dec 2010 at 18:27

You don't NEED an amp. The NS1000's can be powered by battery also which gives a similar effect. I went with an E5 so wouldn't be constantly changing batteries, and I believe it gives better performance. I've never tried using the headphones with battery power.

As for sound card, again not essential. But should further improve the quality of audio.

The NS1000's and a decent supply of batteries will give you a pretty good sound I think. Or the DR150's are also very good and don't need as much power to drive them (i.e no amp or batteries as far as I know) but they have a lot of sound leakage, to such an extent that some people say they double as mini speakers

Assassin_012 · 28 Dec 2010 at 21:05

FooAtari said:
You don't NEED an amp. The NS1000's can be powered by battery also which gives a similar effect. I went with an E5 so wouldn't be constantly changing batteries, and I believe it gives better performance. I've never tried using the headphones with battery power.

As for sound card, again not essential. But should further improve the quality of audio.

The NS1000's and a decent supply of batteries will give you a pretty good sound I think. Or the DR150's are also very good and don't need as much power to drive them (i.e no amp or batteries as far as I know) but they have a lot of sound leakage, to such an extent that some people say they double as mini speakers

i c,...

BUT?!?!...NS1000 uses batteries? 0.0?

i just want it to be normal headphones...i only use it on the computer..i dont/will not travel with it..

plus...i hate using batteries...

what should i do?

i like the headphones design too...what was your way? u said buying an amp will allow the headphones to be usable without batteries? how? what does the amp do?

Uriel · 28 Dec 2010 at 21:16

The NS1000 are active noise cancellation headphones. The active noise cancellation requires a battery but you can run them with it off. The active noise cancellation mode sounds good out of most sources but improves with an amp.

When running in passive mode (without batteries), they are very demanding amplification wise. Unless you have a suitable amp they sound muddy. With a suitable amp they sound great. Plenty of amps that don't do well with them though so I would recommend going with recommendations from people that own them and have used them with an amp.

Marsman · 28 Dec 2010 at 21:27

If you don't want to mess about with batteries, or want a separate headphone amp, DR150's are a great alternative. NS1000's are said to be better than the DR150's. They are for most people, although some do prefer the DR150's.

It still amazes me how good these Goldring headphones sound for what they cost.

Assassin_012 · 28 Dec 2010 at 21:55

ok...
so who exactly has these headphones?

what amps? and are they suitable with the NS1000?

mm...

since the NS1000 is better than the DR150..then theres no point in getting the DR150 =/

unless..if theres an alternative besides the NR1000 and DR150...

because isnt the NS1000 a bit...messy? i mean...the headphones sound muddy and requires a suitable amp in passive mode...or..change to noise cancelling mode but requires batteries.
why does it have to be so bothersome just for decent audio headphones?

FooAtari · 28 Dec 2010 at 21:58

Marsman said:
It still amazes me how good these Goldring headphones sound for what they cost.

+1

As said above, get the NS1000 + Fiio E5 amp (it's very small, costs around £15 if I remember correctly). It's rechargeable via USB. Or get the DR150 if you don't want to have to use an amp. You can't really go wrong either way. The only thing you really need to consider is if you listen to music loudly will it annoy anyone around you? The DR150's do leak quite a lot of sound.

Assassin_012 · 28 Dec 2010 at 22:39

FooAtari said:
+1

As said above, get the NS1000 + Fiio E5 amp (it's very small, costs around £15 if I remember correctly). It's rechargeable via USB. Or get the DR150 if you don't want to have to use an amp. You can't really go wrong either way. The only thing you really need to consider is if you listen to music loudly will it annoy anyone around you? The DR150's do leak quite a lot of sound.

ok...

so i would probably go for the NS1000 + Fiio E5 amp ..and when u say amp is rechargable..do u mean the amp charges the NS1000 so that noise cancellation mode can be used? or somthing else?

"The only thing you really need to consider is if you listen to music loudly will it annoy anyone around you"

okay i dont understand somthing...whats noise cancellation? is it cancelling noise outside or inside? i thought it means cancelling noise outside so you can listen more clearly.

Uriel · 28 Dec 2010 at 22:59

I have both NS1000 and DR150. NS1000s are better but they're close enough that personal preference will come down to it - at least for sound quality. For build quality and materials the NS1000s are a class apart.

DR150s are very good for the money but to say you're only paying about £50, the NS1000s are astonishing. I often use mine in preference to my other headphones in the £100 - £200 range. Have previously bought several other more expensive pairs of headphones with the intention of upgrading from the NS1000s but every time their 'replacement' has been moved on.

Assassin_012 · 28 Dec 2010 at 23:39

Uriel said:
I have both NS1000 and DR150. NS1000s are better but they're close enough that personal preference will come down to it - at least for sound quality. For build quality and materials the NS1000s are a class apart.

DR150s are very good for the money but to say you're only paying about £50, the NS1000s are astonishing. I often use mine in preference to my other headphones in the £100 - £200 range. Have previously bought several other more expensive pairs of headphones with the intention of upgrading from the NS1000s but every time their 'replacement' has been moved on.

so your saying...

DR150 - better material/build quality
NS1000 - better sound quality

so how much is the NS1000.. ive checked on ebay. highest is £140...lowest is £50

since i know people sell fake headphones....
how much is the average price for NS1000 and DR150?

Marsman · 28 Dec 2010 at 23:49

Nope, NS1000 are better full stop.

Forget the famous auction site, people buy the NS1000's just to sell on there to make some profit. Jersey based site has them for £50.

DR150's are £50 also.

Uriel · 28 Dec 2010 at 23:55

Marsman said:
Nope, NS1000 are better full stop.

This.

Assassin_012 · 29 Dec 2010 at 00:19

Marsman said:
Nope, NS1000 are better full stop.

Forget the famous auction site, people buy the NS1000's just to sell on there to make some profit. Jersey based site has them for £50.

DR150's are £50 also.

so...whats the site called?

so basically il be spending £65 overall (NS1000 - £50 + Fiio E5 amp - £15)

tbh...i dunno why you even like this headphone. ive seen 'NONE' reviews on youtube...so i dont even know if its good or not.

what made you think that was worth buying other than every other headphones?

Marsman · 29 Dec 2010 at 01:28

Words almost fail me, after reading that post. But not quite.

You are right. If there are no video reviews on Youtube, clearly they are not as good as we thought. Maybe some Skullcandy's would be a better choice.

Assassin_012 · 29 Dec 2010 at 01:49

Marsman said:
Words almost fail me, after reading that post. But not quite.

You are right. If there are no video reviews on Youtube, clearly they are not as good as we thought. Maybe some Skullcandy's would be a better choice.

lol...are you serious? or just jking around?

i heard that skullcandy are a popular brand...but reviews on youtube state that they arent that great...like comfort etc =/

i do seriously want decent audio headphones...but theres just too many.... and i cant really tell or decide which to get...

FooAtari · 29 Dec 2010 at 05:37

Assassin_012 said:
ok...

so i would probably go for the NS1000 + Fiio E5 amp ..and when u say amp is rechargable..do u mean the amp charges the NS1000 so that noise cancellation mode can be used? or somthing else?

No the amp is rechargeable. If you have the amp, there is no need to have batteries in the headphones. You need one or the other for best sound quality, not both.

okay i dont understand somthing...whats noise cancellation? is it cancelling noise outside or inside? i thought it means cancelling noise outside so you can listen more clearly.

Pretty much (if my understanding is correct).

You can get the NS1000's for £49.99 from Play.com (safe to mention Play here). Can get the Fiio E5 there also.