Some headphones "healthier" than others?

Metrion Cascade · Post by **Metrion Cascade** » 2003-10-09 10:18pm

phongn wrote:
Xenophobe3691 wrote:Not really, they're actually pretty well made for earbuds, I could actually hear bass on these, as opposed to the other crappy earbuds that have jack shit at the lower end and some shrill, ear-bleeding treble...
I should have noted that compared to higher-end headphones (which Apple is trying to compare these to) they're nothing special, but for earbuds they are indeed pretty good.

I've got an IPod, and Sony's Nude EX earbuds (the little $80 silver ones with the soft rubber seal around them). I think they use neodymium-iron-boron magnets, which I've found can be VERY strong. But even if the IPod earbuds are better than average, their size makes it impossible to get them in one's ears comfortably. That and they don't block any ambient sound.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-10-09 10:28pm

Embracer Of Darkness wrote:Bah, you people with your "hearing damage" and "hearing tests". No problems I tells ya'! Besides, I never said it didn't hurt.

EoD, we're quite serious: you are fucking up your hearing by listening to loud music. You might not notice it now, but you will later on.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-10-09 10:29pm

StormTrooperTR889 wrote:tyty. Anyone know where I could get a 30gb iPob for less than $400US (average going price on ebay).

You won't find any that cheap. The 20GB model retails for $400.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-10-09 10:30pm

Metrion Cascade wrote:I've got an IPod, and Sony's Nude EX earbuds (the little $80 silver ones with the soft rubber seal around them). I think they use neodymium-iron-boron magnets, which I've found can be VERY strong. But even if the IPod earbuds are better than average, their size makes it impossible to get them in one's ears comfortably. That and they don't block any ambient sound.

You spent $80 on earbuds??

Xenophobe3691 · Post by **Xenophobe3691** » 2003-10-09 10:34pm

Metrion Cascade wrote: I've got an IPod, and Sony's Nude EX earbuds (the little $80 silver ones with the soft rubber seal around them). I think they use neodymium-iron-boron magnets, which I've found can be VERY strong. But even if the IPod earbuds are better than average, their size makes it impossible to get them in one's ears comfortably. That and they don't block any ambient sound.

Yeah, that's why I hate using earbuds. They don't block out Ambient noise, so I have to turn em up to drown out sounds...

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2003-10-09 10:37pm

Embracer Of Darkness wrote:Bah, you people with your "hearing damage" and "hearing tests". No problems I tells ya'! Besides, I never said it didn't hurt.

Well, if it hurts and you're doing it, can you say "masochist"? I knew you could!

And if it doesn't hurt than what I said previously applies. I'm not kidding about this, if someone across the room can hear your earbuds, they are way too loud and you will go deaf. Same thing with headphones. With my open 'phones it's OK if I can sort of hear them from about 10' away in a quiet room, quiet as in middle of night when everyone's asleep and nothing in the house is running.

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2003-10-09 11:20pm

phongn wrote:
Metrion Cascade wrote:I've got an IPod, and Sony's Nude EX earbuds (the little $80 silver ones with the soft rubber seal around them). I think they use neodymium-iron-boron magnets, which I've found can be VERY strong. But even if the IPod earbuds are better than average, their size makes it impossible to get them in one's ears comfortably. That and they don't block any ambient sound.
You spent $80 on earbuds??

I think it's time to introduce her to Head-Fi and the joys of Ety canal phones...

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-10-10 11:39am

At the very least some decent headphones. They make you look like a dork, but they sound better

BoredShirtless · Post by **BoredShirtless** » 2003-10-10 11:41am

Any of you guys ever tried a headphone amp?

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-10-10 11:53am

Aerius built his own Gilmore headphone amp, which couldn't have been cheap.

I don't have one, but I might get one of Fixup's little portable ones or one of the META42 varients off HeadSave

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2003-10-10 09:29pm

BoredShirtless wrote:Any of you guys ever tried a headphone amp?

Yup, they work and they're well worth it providing you have good headphones and a good source. With $10 headphones or a cheap portable CD player, headphone amps do nothing, but when everything else is up to snuff the sound quality improvement is pretty dramatic.

I have 2 Gilmore amps and a DIY Tube amp which I modified to improve the sound and drive headphones. Both of them sound wonderful with my HD-580 headphones. BTW, fiddling with high-voltage tubes & capacitors is not a healthy thing to do....

IndustrialNoise · Post by **IndustrialNoise** » 2003-10-10 09:33pm

Hmm...i guess im being stupid.

I have the sony headphones that are small and go in your ear. I think you guys are referring to them as earbuds. Anyways, i always listen to them with the volume all the way up, or i don't enjoy it much. It doesnt harm my hearing right now, not that i can tell at least. My ears don't ring afterwards, or hurt.

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2003-10-10 09:34pm

Are there such things as cordless headphones? Are they good?

Audrie_Dawn · Post by **Audrie_Dawn** » 2003-10-10 09:38pm

phongn wrote:
StormTrooperTR889 wrote:tyty. Anyone know where I could get a 30gb iPob for less than $400US (average going price on ebay).
You won't find any that cheap. The 20GB model retails for $400.

I got mine for $200, but that was a special sale at the college store.

IndustrialNoise · Post by **IndustrialNoise** » 2003-10-10 09:43pm

Shinova wrote:Are there such things as cordless headphones? Are they good?

http://www.arkon.com/SC2600.htm

I found some, but im not sure how good they are. It says they work with pretty much any audio source.

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2003-10-10 09:53pm

Fighter of Foo wrote:I have the sony headphones that are small and go in your ear. I think you guys are referring to them as earbuds. Anyways, i always listen to them with the volume all the way up, or i don't enjoy it much. It doesnt harm my hearing right now, not that i can tell at least. My ears don't ring afterwards, or hurt.

Time to consider getting new earbuds or headphones. A good set of either will sound good at low volume, which is much healthier for your ears. Make sure that you try them out before you buy them.

Shinova wrote:Are there such things as cordless headphones? Are they good?

Yup, though they're generally for in-home use. You plug the transmitter into your source and you can walk around anywhere in your house with the headphones and get music. Sound quality isn't quite as good as a corded headphone, but most people would be hard-pressed to tell the difference. It all depends on how critical of a listener you are. If you can't tell or don't mind the difference between CD quality sound and high quality MP3, chances are you can get yourself a cordless headphone and enjoy it. If you're like me and MP3's bug the hell out of you, stick to corded headphones.

http://www.headphone.com/ has further info and products, and when you're done there you can head over to the Head-Fi Forums and let them suck your wallet dry. Their unofficial greating is "Welcome to Head-fi, sorry about your wallet".

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-10-10 11:04pm

Audrie_Dawn wrote:I got mine for $200, but that was a special sale at the college store.

Presumably you got some $$ off with your G5, yes?

Soontir C'boath · Post by **Soontir C'boath** » 2003-10-11 10:16am

Darth Wong wrote:Bigger fully enclosed headphones block out external sounds much more effectively than earbuds, so people tend to turn up the volume louder on earbuds in order to overwhelm external noises. This is why earbuds are generally considered to be bad for your hearing.

Which companies makes them and where can I buy a pair? I hate turning up the volume just to drown the train's or airplane's passing

~Jason

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-10-11 11:01am

Soontir C'boath wrote:
Darth Wong wrote:Bigger fully enclosed headphones block out external sounds much more effectively than earbuds, so people tend to turn up the volume louder on earbuds in order to overwhelm external noises. This is why earbuds are generally considered to be bad for your hearing.
Which companies makes them and where can I buy a pair? I hate turning up the volume just to drown the train's or airplane's passing ~Jason

Headroom sells a bunch of sealed/closed headphones. Their least expensive is the Koss UR20 - which is $20.

For full-sized sealed headphones.
For medium-sized sealed and open headphones.
Medium "earpad" sealed and open headphones.

Mind you, they may not completely block out the sound of, say, an airplane or a train. You might want to look at the Etymonic in-ear canalphones.

Soontir C'boath · Post by **Soontir C'boath** » 2003-10-11 08:25pm

Ha heh, I am on a very low budget can't exactly shell 100+ in one shot atm.
That Koss one is just fine and hopefully it'll block a little outside sound heh.
Thanks. I'll show it to my mom in the morning.~Jason

The Cleric · Post by **The Cleric** » 2003-10-11 11:13pm

I just got a Nomad Zen 30gig for $350 all told (tax and 2 year warranty). And the earbud headphones are DOPE!!!! You can hear bass and they block other sounds. I can get a song in 2-3 sec with USB 1.1 (it's 1sec=1song with USB 2.0). This thing is soooooo nice, I don't know how I managed without it.

IndustrialNoise · Post by **IndustrialNoise** » 2003-10-11 11:22pm

aerius wrote:
Fighter of Foo wrote:I have the sony headphones that are small and go in your ear. I think you guys are referring to them as earbuds. Anyways, i always listen to them with the volume all the way up, or i don't enjoy it much. It doesnt harm my hearing right now, not that i can tell at least. My ears don't ring afterwards, or hurt.
Time to consider getting new earbuds or headphones. A good set of either will sound good at low volume, which is much healthier for your ears. Make sure that you try them out before you buy them.

It's not that it doesnt sound good, i just like it loud. Really loud.

Soontir C'boath · Post by **Soontir C'boath** » 2003-10-11 11:27pm

StormTrooperTR889 wrote:I just got a Nomad Zen 30gig for $350 all told (tax and 2 year warranty). And the earbud headphones are DOPE!!!!

ROFL, if it wasn't your later sentence I would have thought you meant they sucked. Unless it replaced phat.

~Jason

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-10-11 11:32pm

StormTrooperTR889 wrote:I just got a Nomad Zen 30gig for $350 all told (tax and 2 year warranty). And the earbud headphones are DOPE!!!! You can hear base and they block other sounds. I can get a song in 2-3 sec with USB 1.1 (it's 1sec=1song with USB 2.0). This thing is soooooo nice, I don't know how I managed without it.

Psst! It's spelled "bass," not "base."

The Cleric · Post by **The Cleric** » 2003-10-11 11:37pm

phongn wrote:Psst! It's spelled "bass," not "base."

I have no idea what you are talking about

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