Good headphones (earphones)

[PoloPony]

I am in critical need of good earphones!
For about 15 years I have been using the same model of earphones, Sony MDR-E931 . Absolutely love them, very comfortable in the ear, have soft spungy adapters that you can put on, gold jack, cable that goes behind your neck, no useless remote on the cable, good performance and very good sound quality, from the comparisons I did over the years.
However it's quite some time that Sony doesn't produce them anymore and I have run out of my stock (had bought several pairs).
Help! Most earphones that are on the market today are those that you really stick in your ears (this kind ) which yes, give you quite some more bass, eliminate outside noise, but, they instantly feel like they are damaging your hearing because of how more bass you hear, how much LESS you can raise the volume (so basically they sound bass-er but the actual volume doesn't go up much), they are really uncomfortable in that they are hermetically sealing your ears (kinda making them sweat too), and also very big con, you hear all the thumps that your body gets by walking (forget running on the treadmill) or even your hearbeat. In short, in my opinion, this kind of earphones suck.

I have looked around quite a bit here and while I saw that Panasonic and Philips still manufacture a couple of models of the kind I like, they might not have the gold jack, the cable behind the ears, inferior performance, and they just are not what I have been used to for all of my life.

So, I hope that you guys can either:

1) have some advice on some online retailer that might still carry the Sony MDR-E931 or
2) advise me on a good pair of earphones, preferrably not the rubber-stick-in-your-ears described above

I cannot use the old-style big headphones because they are just too big and unpractical for my use (not to mention I also wear them while driving - yes I know it's kinda forbidden, that's why the ones that eliminate the outside noise are also bad), even though they are probably a good solution.

Someone has suggested Monster's Miles Davis () but, they are the kind I don't like, although it seems the earbuds are solid and might not be so much like the kind I hate, they are very expensive and I can't seem to find an "official retailer" other than third-party vendors whose prices vary quite a lot.

[james23_uk]

First link that comes up when you search in google ;o)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listin ... dition=new

[PoloPony]

Hehe, thanks, I went there first myself, but these were originally released with the silly plastic holder where you could reel in the cable. In this link and in a couple of sellers on ebay, someone is selling refurbished pairs, whatever that means, sounds like used, broken but repaired, and I think, I would draw the line there. Also this amazon seller has a rating of 75%, I've never purchased anything from anyone below 95%.
Last night I went as far as ten pages of google results, something I've never done before, and found some weird site selling these, without the box, but in big quantities. I went out on a limb and bought two, hopefully they are the real deal and I'll place a ridiculously large order when they come in and I'm confident they are ok

I also saw in a store the Dr Dre Beatport earbuds, sellers there were hugely recommending them (a bit too much), pointing me to some review/test site that gave them glowing reviews, but I insisted on letting me see amazon reviews where half of them gave one star! They do look very cool, but I wonder if there is any quality to them: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beats-Dr-Dre-ur ... +earphones, but the reviews I saw were here, not sure if it's the same model and the quality is similar: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beats-Dr-Dre-3- ... m_sbs_ce_2

[redsock]

All of the BEATS headphones are overrated and grossly over priced for what they are. They are poorly made and sound very average. You only have to look at their dynamic range to see they are awful. You can get much better than them at a lot less.

Take a look at Beyer-Dynamic and similar, studio grade equipment with a proper pedigree and support.

[PoloPony]

Thanks red, I believe you. I have read more reviews and they are either raves (probably people who grew up listening to music at the pc from low bitrate files illegally downloaded or hiphop fans). One review did it for me, when they wrote that the high frequencies and vocals are buried and make it sound like you need to remove plugs from your ears.
They do look soooooo good, it's hard to believe they are so crappy.
Between the last days I bought a Philips "old-style" earphones and the sound was very average, returned it and exhanged it for a Pioneer earbud type, they cost more than the Philips ones and my fab Sony ones, and they sound just a tiny better than the Philips ones. But nowhere near my cherished MDR-E931, and not even the Sony earbud model I had bought years ago when I thought I would not find any more MDR-E931: MDR-EX50. I don't think I paid a lot for them, they are the only model of earbuds I own(ed) and used the last days, and even against them, the Philips and Pioneer sounded very very average. Unbelievable!
These MDR-EX50 are actually pretty good, good bass and great quality of all frequencies as far as I can tell: I am using The (70s) Supremes' "He's My Man" to caliber the sound and compare them, and they sound great. If only I didn't hate them for the reasons explained in my first post AND the fact that most earbud models seem to have in common: you can't really raise the volume much. I would say that raising to the max doesn't even reach 75% capacity of my older MDR-E931 model.
Hopefully I can return the Pioneer ones, resist the temptation of the cool urbeats and look into these Beyer.

Red, can I ask you how you see this dnymic range? Of the things I described, good high frequencies to hear clear vocals and real instruments while keeping good bass response, how does that calculate into the specifics you can read on the descriptions of the earphones?

I've tried to google the specs of the models I mentioned:

Sony MDR-EX50:
Capacity (mW): 100
Frequency (Hz): 5-23,000
Sensitivity (dB/mW): 100
Impedance (Ohm): 16
Gold-plated plug

Sony MDR-E931:
Frequency: 10 -23.000 Hz
Neodymium-Magnet (300kj/m3) (whatever this is)
Sensitivity: 108 dB
Impedance: 16 Ohm

urbeats:
hard to find genuine specs, own website doesn't mention any real data!
Frequency: 20 - 20.000 Hz

Pioneer SE-CL522-K:
Sensitivity: 104dB
Frequency: 10 - 22.000 Hz

So with this in mind, what makes the Sony MDR-EX50 so much better than the Pioneer (which I have tested)? What frequencies are found between 5 and 10 Hz? Is there then a way to, by reading the specs, judging if earphones are going to sound good?

[PoloPony]

I have looked at Beyerdynamic, I would maybe go for http://europe.beyerdynamic.com/shop/hah ... 71-ie.html

Frequency: 20 - 22,000 Hz
12 ohms
104 dB

What are the chances I'll be satisfied?

[Deschanel]

I wish I could give better advice PoloPony, just wanna say I've always found Sony headphones to be superb. The Pro grade ones, even though the pleather will flake off after a decade or so. You're talking about earphones though, I see. I hate sticking anything in my ears, I find it gross and unsanitary. Get some good big-ass over-the-ear proper headphones, if people on the street look askance, eff them. I just don't care for devices you stick in an orifice or two. (Yes, ears are orifices.)

[PoloPony]

Thanks , but hopefully someone can explain to me how those specs equate to a better sound

[RMC]

Cant help with specs but I have the following.

In ear - Soundmagic E10 around £35. Sound great and very well made

Over ear - Marshall Major Black around £65. Sound great but leak sound so best for lone use.

[PoloPony]

Thanks RMC, will have a look. Actually you reminded me one other pro about my dear Sony's: they do not leak much sound, as opposed to the earbuds. I find it so annoying when people listen to music so loudly in public places.

[le petit corbusier]

I mainly use Sennheisser. Very good price/quality.

[redsock]

Red, can I ask you how you see this dnymic range? Of the things I described, good high frequencies to hear clear vocals and real instruments while keeping good bass response, how does that calculate into the specifics you can read on the descriptions of the earphones?

I've tried to google the specs of the models I mentioned:

Sony MDR-EX50:
Capacity (mW): 100
Frequency (Hz): 5-23,000
Sensitivity (dB/mW): 100
Impedance (Ohm): 16
Gold-plated plug

Sony MDR-E931:
Frequency: 10 -23.000 Hz
Neodymium-Magnet (300kj/m3) (whatever this is)
Sensitivity: 108 dB
Impedance: 16 Ohm

urbeats:
hard to find genuine specs, own website doesn't mention any real data!
Frequency: 20 - 20.000 Hz

Pioneer SE-CL522-K:
Sensitivity: 104dB
Frequency: 10 - 22.000 Hz

So with this in mind, what makes the Sony MDR-EX50 so much better than the Pioneer (which I have tested)? What frequencies are found between 5 and 10 Hz? Is there then a way to, by reading the specs, judging if earphones are going to sound good?

The fact that the BEATS headphones only state the standard Frequency: 20 - 20.000 Hz and nothing else speaks volumes about what they don't quote or rather won't, if you follow my drift ....

They're just standard headphones with the bass jacked up, glossy make up and marketed at a price to make people think they're premium.

I couldn't specifically tell you what is in the 5-20 Hz range and the range above 20,000Hz (many professional headphones go up to 30,000Hz and beyond) , and if indeed you can actually hear it, but you'll know if it's not there if you hear music without it. Similar to "feeling" something on a top piece of vinyl.

[PoloPony]

Thanks, I was hoping that I wouldn't have to buy a dozen models until I find out which ones I like, hoping that the specs would somehow help, but I guess you would have told me if they would.
I'll wait until the Chinese newyear to see if the pairs I ordered are genuine Sony or counterfeit, and if they are as good as the ones I have been using all along. If they are, I am going to stock up like crazy.

[gregf]

I buy a lot of headphones.

I especially like good wireless headphones for tv in apartments.
If the neighbours dont hear your TV, they are less likely to make noise themselves.

I suggest, brand depends on if there are good nearby retailers.

I live near my town's best HiFi retailer and they specialise in Sennheiser.

My last set for outside use were an MM-xxx model set.
They give good sound with some noise cancelling, have a mic for telephone calls,
and are bluetooth. Only problem is they are a bit slow to boot and shut down,
(turn on and off).

I am not happy with the comfort of any ear bud types, and the MM are over the ear types.
No point giving my model as I think it is superceeded now.