New headphones?

Sandmaster500 · 1 Jun 2006 at 16:33

Hi, thinking of getting some new heaphones. Have about £20 to spend a need to get something that'll last and has pretty good sound quality.

Been looking at:
Creative Labs EP-630, are these any good?

What other options are there?

Thanks
Sandmaster500

Spamalot · 1 Jun 2006 at 19:14

There very good, for £20 there amazing. Better than the EX71's I had in every way. Firstly sound quality in better, there lighter, much better fit, look nicer, better built, wont break likt the sonys (fingers crossed

)....... all in all I think there wicked. I've not had the Shure e2c's but have used a mates pair for a while and there as good on sound I would say, and look much better. The Shures coat about £70 and the sony's about £30, madness. Best £20 you'll spend I recon.

fish99 · 1 Jun 2006 at 19:35

Have you considered something like Koss KSC-75? I know they're not earphones as such, but if you can get past the size of them (they're the clip behind your ear type), they do offer a superior sound to the EP630 IMO.

Kainz · 1 Jun 2006 at 20:59

Do a search on these forums for those creatives. They're useless on the move. I'm using them right now as I'm watching a film on my laptop. The sonics are very good, but you get a lot of microphonics from these.

Sandmaster500 · 1 Jun 2006 at 21:20

Kainz said:
Do a search on these forums for those creatives. They're useless on the move. I'm using them right now as I'm watching a film on my laptop. The sonics are very good, but you get a lot of microphonics from these.

They are still top of my list. If cant stand it then can always send them back. The Koss ones do look good but are a bit too big for out and about use and don't fit in a pocket so easily.

Sorry but i don't know wha you mean by sonics and microphonics?

Thanks for the help so far

Spamalot · 1 Jun 2006 at 21:44

Sandmaster500 said:
Sorry but i don't know wha you mean by sonics and microphonics?

Thanks for the help so far

No nor do I. :confused:

When your eating they make a fuuny noise, thats the only thing I have found. Tbh, there so good you cant here any thing apart from the music, be evry carefull when crossing roads!

fish99 · 1 Jun 2006 at 23:17

The problem with stuff like the EP630 and the identical Sennheiser CX300, and indeed the Sony EX71 is you can hear your footsteps when walking, and you can hear anytime something brushes against the wire (your face or clothes), which happens all the time when you're out walking. The sound is somehow amplified because the phones are tight in your ear canal. It forms a sort of low rumbly accompaniment as you walk round. Some people might not be bothered by it, but it annoyed me. I don't use my CX300 anymore because of it.

Also in a quiet room with quiet music you can hear your breathing and even your heartbeat sometimes, and as Spamalot says, you can hear yourself eating.

Maybe if you use the phones at louder volume than me, you wouldn't notice it as much - I don't use headphones at particularly loud volumes I think.

Spamalot · 1 Jun 2006 at 23:27

fish99 said:
The problem with stuff like the EP630 and the identical Sennheiser CX300, and indeed the Sony EX71 is you can hear your footsteps when walking, and you can hear anytime something brushes against the wire (your face or clothes), which happens all the time when you're out walking. The sound is somehow amplified because the phones are tight in your ear canal. It forms a sort of low rumbly accompaniment as you walk round. Some people might not be bothered by it, but it annoyed me. I don't use my CX300 anymore because of it.

Also in a quiet room with quiet music you can hear your breathing and even your heartbeat sometimes, and as Spamalot says, you can hear yourself eating.

Maybe if you use the phones at louder volume than me, you wouldn't notice it as much - I don't use headphones at particularly loud volumes I think.

Any thing lower than about a 3rd of the way down the volume thing on my ipod and I know what you meen. Any where above that its fine. There a lot better than the EX71's. I dont notice it that much, I think you just get used to it. Its far better than the back ground noise you get with std in-ears.

TooNice · 1 Jun 2006 at 23:36

Spamalot said:
Tbh, there so good you cant here any thing apart from the music

That has nothing to do with ear/headphones being "good"

They are isolating (closed) earphones so they are meant to isolate you from the ambient sound. Though it has it's benefits, I generally find isolating earphones sacrifice sound quality and/or cost for the benefit the isolation. Of course, they tend to be a better choice in a noisy environment, there is no point in having a super airy and detailed open phone in an environment that is noisy...

From a sound quality perspective, I'd say that the KSC-75 is hard to beat in the £20 range. Those entry Koss remain competitive with open headphones up £50, even a little higher (though the PX100 is equally regarded in the £30 range). Compared to IEMs (isolating earbuds), they are good against some hitting the 3 digits (I am not the only one who share this opinion.. *refers to head-fi*). Still.. if you absolutely need the isolation, or really care about the aesthetic/size differences, then I guess the point is moot

And of course, if all you are looking to beat is an EX-71, or stock earbuds, then the point is equally moot. But the better you hear, the harder it is to go back, and the Koss is impressive in the sense that I still enjoy it even having heard higher end cans.

Spamalot · 1 Jun 2006 at 23:46

TooNice said:
That has nothing to do with ear/headphones being "good"

Of course it does is the sence that all I can here is the music. :confused:

TooNice · 2 Jun 2006 at 01:17

That's your requirement. To me, a good ear/headphone is primarily defined on sound quality. Confort, cost, isolation, portability, build are all variables I will take into account, but they are secondary.

On a plane/train/bus ride isolation may play a more important role for practical reasons, but otherwise, I would pick the airy sound of a good headphones more often than not. Yes there are good closed headphones. But between, say, the Beyerdynamic DT770 (closed) and the DT990 (open), I definitely prefer the later. The two are as similar in design as two cans get, with the exception of one being open and the other being closed.

Spamalot · 2 Jun 2006 at 01:22

TooNice said:
That's your requirement. To me, a good ear/headphone is primarily defined on sound quality. Confort, cost, isolation, portability, build are all variables I will take into account, but they are secondary.

On a plane/train/bus ride isolation may play a more important role for practical reasons, but otherwise, I would pick the airy sound of a good headphones more often than not. Yes there are good closed headphones. But between, say, the Beyerdynamic DT770 (closed) and the DT990 (open), I definitely prefer the later. The two are as similar in design as two cans get, with the exception of one being open and the other being closed.

No all I said was there good at stoping back ground noise which has always been a problem before, that was not my deinition of good.

Kainz · 2 Jun 2006 at 04:47

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microphonics

The 630's sound superb, but get ruined by that insane feedback. My MX450's broke last week, so while I wait for some MX500's to arrive I've had to use the 630's while travelling to work. It's been the most uncomfortable week ever.

Seriously they're just a pain in the neck. Every so often I have to push the buggers into my ear to get a solid seal again, and the feedback as they rub against my shirt is just insane. They do isolate background noise, but at the same time they introduce that feedback/microphonics - so it's a no win situation for me.

I've been reading the forums at http://www6.head-fi.org - seems almost all earphones of this type suffer from this in some way or another so it's not the 630's fault.

fish99 · 2 Jun 2006 at 11:54

I think it's partly due to the sticky rubber on the wire.

Sandmaster500 · 2 Jun 2006 at 13:44

Thanks very much for all the help. Going to get the creative ones even though they have the problem when walking. I've used most of the high end sony ones and have never had the problems when walking.

On another note i'm thinking of getting a low end mic and headset (for using on BF2/teamspeak). Whats a good option (about £10). Or is it worth using my PC speakers (through HI-FI) and a separate mic?

cheers

TooNice · 3 Jun 2006 at 03:02

... or your IEMs through a desk mic. Either way is fine, in theory, it might be better to use earphone since there will be less chance for the game sound to be picked up by the mic. But then again, I am pretty sure that those mic are pretty directional, so it may not be that bad.

Sandmaster500 · 3 Jun 2006 at 11:11

Good stuff. Do any of the more popular manufacturers make table mics? All i've really seen are trust, Hama and the like. Which are about £3 or so. Will these be fine for online gaming? Any annoyances with using a table mic rather than one attached to a headset?

Thanks

TooNice · 3 Jun 2006 at 11:53

Well, table mic are -more likely- to pick up other sound in the room.. But really, since you are not dealing with some super sensitve mic, it should be fine. The only real disadvantage I can think of is that there is one more item on the table and you may want to experience a little to see how/where you want to place it so that it is both convenient for you, and the voice pick up is good enough. But it's not that bad, and you get the benefit of being able to upgrade headphones/mic separately, if needed. I don't think there is much difference between the budget table mics.