Places to try headphones in Melbourne, Australia???

[Kim Lajoie]

I'm in Melbourne, Australia.

I'd like to buy a set of headphones for casual listening, as the stock iPod earbuds are sort of tinny and not too great. What I'm looking for:

1) Closed design that goes around my ear, so it dampens outside noise.
2) Light and comfortable (I'll be wearing these a LOT)
3) Decent sound, at least not harsh or tiring (see #2)
4) Probably around AU$100 - AU$150.

Now, I know choosing headphones can be a pretty personal thing, what with unique ear shapes, taste, etc. So ideally I'd like to buy from a shop that has a large range and lets me try some models so I can choose the one I like best.

Unfortunately, this is Australia. I haven't found any shops yet that have a large enough range to even offer several alternatives in my price/feature range, and most don't even allow trying them before buying.

Is there anyone who can either make a decisive recommendation (eg, if one make+model is far better than any others for my requirements), or point me to a shop that will allow me to try a few from a large range?

I'm in Melbourne, Australia.

Forever,




Kim.

[VitaminD]

from my painful experiences (with the DJ1005 model).. if you see "ministry of sound" on the headphones then its probably best to just avoid them like the plague.

ixos manufacturers them.. they were terribly painful to wear.. the pain would kick in only after 5 or 10 minutes. My ears would turn dark red/purple and would be sore to the touch for any prolonged (20 or more mins) usage..

the problem was the padding that was supposed to fit around the ear and the driver were practically flush.. so my ear would be pressed hard against plastic ring that the driver is located. ouch. I have no idea if the same issue occurs on the other MOS models..

that and they (the dj1005 at least) have nearly no bass response.. treble clarity though is nice though when pushed they get harsh..

but actually I should have known better.. it had the letters "DJ" in the model number afterall..

[CypherOne]

yeah, I've got two pairs of those. They are indeed shite. Fine for DJ'ing (funnily enough), but crap for replicating the sound of my monitors.

I might need to look for some decent headphones since my daughter was born I'm working increasingly with headphones and it can be quite shocking when I do finally get to hear a work in progress thru my monitors...

[VitaminD]

do you have the 1005 model too?


I got them on a whim through bestbuy.com in 2003.. they looked nice and the specs were decent.. boy was I wrong..

I bet'd they'd be a lot nicer though if I could find a way to move the driver back about an inch.. at least then it wouldnt be jammed onto my ear..

and I'm also guessing that a headphone amp might be necessary to really drive these things..

[VitaminD]

hey, Jeez, what did you end up with?.. if you dont mind me asking.

[Kim Lajoie]

hey, Jeez, what did you end up with?.. if you dont mind me asking.

Well, I didn't find ANY shops that allowed me test headphones before buying. One shop even said that it was due to health safety regulations or something, which would explain it... The best offer I had was to buy the headphones and return them if they sucked.

Anyway, because of that I had to change my approach. Rather than try a bunch and spend AU$100 - AU$150 on a pair, I sort of took a punt on an AU$45 pair of Sony MDR-P180s.

They're actually pretty good. They're really light, which kicks arse because I'm going to be wearing them heaps. They're closed as well, but they've got odd sound-blocking characteristics - Everything above 1-2kHz is down by about 9-12dB's, but everything below is almost untouched. So they sort of dull any outside sound, but don't block it completely. They're also really comfortable. Not soft/lush/ear-hugging, but they're the right shape for my ears and they're so light that I hardly notice I'm wearing them (apart from outside noises sounding duller, and my own voice having a strange resonance. ).

As for the sound, they're REALLY scooped. Decent bass, clear (but not tiring) highs. Mids (about 500 to 6k) are down at least 12-18dbs. It actually sounds quite smooth and pleasant for casual listening, and doesn't get harsh (even when cracked). This is good, because I bought them for causal listening (stock iPod earbuds suck). Fortunately, I'm not going to be mixing on these. You'd have to put me to gunpoint to mix on them.

Also, they don't fold up DJ-style, which is a slight disappointment, but it's not very important. It'd be cool for travelling though. Oh well.

I think I got a good deal.

Forever,




Kim.

[clueless]

Well, I didn't find ANY shops that allowed me test headphones before buying. One shop even said that it was due to health safety regulations or something, which would explain it...

ffs!

wonder how that would apply to car sales...

Presumably they'd let you use headphones if you were there under the pretext of trying out a synth?

did you try melmusic? think they only stock about 3 different headphone models though.

[Kim Lajoie]

Well, I didn't find ANY shops that allowed me test headphones before buying. One shop even said that it was due to health safety regulations or something, which would explain it...

ffs!

wonder how that would apply to car sales...

Indeed. Truly stupid. Obviously whoever made those regulations aren't music lovers.

Presumably they'd let you use headphones if you were there under the pretext of trying out a synth?

Nope. They'd probably tell me to use my own, or maybe they'd grab some crappy pair laying about in the back room.

did you try melmusic? think they only stock about 3 different headphone models though.

That's the other problem. Most shops hardly have any range.

Forever,





Kim.

[hoffy]

oh well, i hope they're nice earphones. I was going to suggest going to Allens on Burke St, right near Parliment Station. I was allowed to try out my cans there. Can't for the life of me remember what there range was like tho, i think it was ok. There's heaps of headphones at AV as well, and they can order a specific pair in for you if you need it- which quite clearly you dont, anymore.

[Kim Lajoie]

Allens eh? I never even bother checking them anymore - their prices are way too high.

Forever,




Kim.

[Spratman]

Well if you're looking for a reasonable headset that you can *buy* at around $100 on the highstreet you probably can't go past the Sony MDR-CD280's or the next few models up (last year I saw these going for under $60 new, should be ~$79 normally I think, Sony Australia has a habit of listing higher rrp).

Those were the best I could actually buy [albeit blind] at one stage. They certainly outclass old sony earbuds that I have bought with various walkman's (I must say that the Sony earbuds in the past have been pretty decent compared to teac and other junk my friends have bought). Shops like JB Hifi seem to suggest they're on the upper end of the prosumer equipment they sell (The CDR series of headphones). For me I haven't have any noise problems with them, the cord is really long on my pair, and I can do pretty good DNR on acoustic sources using them.

Some shops are selling these at much less than the RRP (CDR280 --> higher models), likely to be better than anything you'll find at Allan's music. I was surprised when I went to buy a headset that they were basically selling the sort of thing you'd expect to plug into a tv or vcr or ye olde tape machine (watch the ohm ratings and the freq's)... Not much use for audio production of anykind obviously.

If you're lucky somewhere *might* sell Sennheiser ones, but be prepared to pay ~$200 as they're the cheapest set of those I've ever seen in person and I don't think they were noise cancelling either.

People will probably rip me to bits because it says "Hifi" on the packet for the CD280's and some of the others in the family, but the specs do rate it 16 - 22,000Hz freq range (although I think more realistic is somewhere around 19 something khz, might vary between headsets), and it seems very hard to get anything close to that in other makes in a store in Australia (unless you have some urge to spend more than $200 on a set).

Spratman
BTW, this is just more information for other crazy Australians

[Kim Lajoie]

Yeah, the problem is that the CD series has a open back, which I particularly wanted to avoid.

Thanks for the advice though.

Forever,




Kim.

[relayer2001]

For what it's worth, I picked up a pair of Panasonic RP-HJE50 in-ear type headphones for my iRiver for $59 Singapore dollars while on holidays over Christmas.

I am very happy with them. The specs rate them as 6 - 25,000Hz and they block out a lot of noise (I use them on the bus to and from work).

I think you can only get them in this country from Minidisc Australia for $85. Unfortunately they are out of stock.

[zeoy]

I am expecting my new Beyer DT 770 - pro this evening and I 've heard nothing but good comments about them (except from somehow exagerated bass). They are 250 Ohm (need amp) but there are also in 80 Ohm version (suitable for your iPod I think). But then againg maybe it's a bit overkill.

Cheers

[egbert]

Jeez - what exactly is the relevance of the iPod buds? Are you monitoring a DAW from a stereo mini jack on a sound card?

Eg