Noise canceling headphones

[Armind]

Well i currently have the tour one's. The bass is nice but sometimes the mid's just aren't there.

[Groot]

its 400 for the pro's because its lifetime warranty

[ilvtofu]

Originally Posted by Armind

So ummm my uncle has Dre's beats Studio and Pro and he's willing to give one to me. Which is better? I mainly listen to trance.

I have the studios myself and they have very poor bass response so I wouldn't recommend them. I got turbine coppers for christmas and I'm very happy with them, no complaints whatsoever. Gonna get rid of my klipsch image s4 and etymotic mc3 now.

[Armind]

So i tried out the Studio's, sounds nice and all but fuck the sound leakage just ruins everything.

[Psykopathik]

if youre a cheapass like me, give Meelectronics IEMS a shot. most notably the M6, M9 and M11+.

i own all three from their xmas sale.

Easily on par with Sennheiser CX 300/Creative EP630's ( i also have both )

a good long burn in is critical for any headphones, and yes, there's an App for that.

[LookHere_Sucka]

Originally Posted by Armind

Well i currently have the tour one's. The bass is nice but sometimes the mid's just aren't there.

Are the tours durable, I heard the actual driver housing is plastic and not very hard. Cable is nice though.

[woob]

133 IEMs reviewed (gets updated every now and then): http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/...0x-added-01-14

The tours are listed there. Granted, it's just one person's opinion, but that thread works well as a quick reference and I use it to see which IEMs I should research.

Reviewed Dec 2010

Details: In-ear model from Monster’s Beats by Dr. Dre line
Current Price: $150 from amazon.com (MSRP: $179.95); $170 for ControlTalk version w/mic
Specs: Driver: Dynamic | Imp: N/A | Sens: N/A | Freq: N/A | Cable: 4’ I-plug
Nozzle Size: 4.5mm | Preferred tips: Sony Hybrids
Wear Style: Over-the-ear or straight down

Accessories (3.5/5) – Single-flange (3 sizes) and triple-flange (2 sizes) silicone tips and hard clamshell carrying case
Build Quality (3.5/5) – The housing construction is a combination of different materials, with the driver chamber made of aluminum and attached to a plastic nozzle and stem. The flat cable seems reasonably sturdy and remains tangle-free but unfortunately has no strain relief to protect it from the edges of the stems, y-split, or 3.5mm plug casing
Isolation (3.5/5) – The long, angled nozzles allow for deep insertion of the Tours. Isolation is very reasonable with correct fitment
Microphonics (4/5) – The flat cable carries less noise than the majority of conventional cords but the Tours are difficult to wear over-the-ear to eliminate microphonics completely
Comfort (3.5/5) – The tours are ergonomically-designed but rather large and limited in versatility by the long and wide stems. In addition, they sound very poor with a shallow fit so deep insertion is pretty much required with the earphones.

Sound (6.75/10) – Being familiar with Monster’s Turbine line as well as the Jamz & Lil’ Jamz, I was hoping that the Beats Tour would stick closer to the original Turbines in signature, especially since the two earphones share a price point. Unfortunately, the Tours, with their highly colored, aggressive signature, are far more similar to the Lil’ Jamz than any of the other Monster earphones. Also like the Lil Jamz, the Beats are less forgiving of a poor seal or shallow insertion than the Turbines or regular Jamz and do not sound their best with the narrow-channel silicone tips that Monster includes – aftermarket silicones such as Sony Hybrids are better. With good tips and a proper fit, the beats are still brighter and more colored-sounding than the Turbines but at the very least show improvement over the signature of the Lil’ Jamz.

The low end of the Beats is extremely strong, putting out more mid-bass than the Turbine but with a touch less impact than the Eterna. The Turbine is slightly more controlled and textured as well but the difference isn’t great. Sub-bass extension is there but the sheer amount of mid-bass often overshadows the low rumble that earphones such as the Hippo VB portray accurately. Detail is closer to other mainstream bass-heavy earphones, such as the Thinksound TS02, but lags behind the Eterna and VB. Ironically, though the Beats are marketed as ‘High Resolution’ earphones, resolution is one of the many things they could use more of.

There’s a small amount of bass bleed distinguishable in the lower midrange but on the whole the mids are crisp and clear. Clarity is slightly better than that of the Turbine and Thinksound TS02 – two earphones that are also significantly warmer than the Beats. Detail is lacking slightly in comparison to the Turbine but the Beats are fairly aggressive and push the detail they do have on the listener, appearing more revealing than they actually are. There is unevenness in the upper midrange and lower treble, resulting in a lot of treble sparkle but also quite a bit of harshness and occasional bouts of sibilance. The Turbine actually has slightly more emphasis on the upper midrange but maintains its composure better and sounds far smoother than the Beats on the whole. Expectedly, the Beats can be fatiguing at times, especially for those with a low treble tolerance. Upper midrange peaks aside, the Beats have surprisingly competent treble – not particularly detailed or textured but with good presence across the range and surprising clarity.

Presentation, however, is where the Beats fall quite flat for me. Despite the plentiful treble sparkle, there’s a slight lack of air, making the Beats sound stuffier than the Thinksound TS02 or Phiaton PS 20. Soundstage width is average but the Turbine still sounds a bit less closed-in. Of course next to an earphone with a truly out-of-the-head soundstage, such as the Eterna or PS 20, the Beats sound quite narrow, but that’s expected. Soundstage depth is average for an earphone in the Beats’ price bracket as well but the separation leaves a lot to desired – layering is quite poor and the presentation of the Beats is somewhat similar to the ‘wall of sound’ that I ran into recently with the Skullcandy FMJ, albeit not as forward and far less offensive on the whole. As a result, the Beats are not ideal for busier, denser tracks – classical, big-band jazz, and heavy metal are clearly not genres Monster had in mind when tuning the earphones. In addition, the heavy coloration of the earphones throws off the timbre – the Thinksound TS02, Turbine, and Eterna all make instruments sound more natural. Lastly, it should be noted that the Beats Tour are more sensitive than either the Jamz or the Turbines and exhibit hiss with some of my more poorly-matched sources, which came as a bit of a surprise as even the top-of-the-range Turbine Coppers do a good job of suppressing hiss.

Value (6/10) – The Beats Tour by Dr. Dre were one of the first in-ears released under the Monster brand and remain a practical set for day-to-day use two years later. With a proper fit, which can be more difficult to achieve than with the Turbine and Jamz models, the Beats are fairly comfortable, have decent isolation, and carry little cable noise. Sonically, the Beats Tour are ‘shouty’ earphones, lacking the dynamic range and separation needed for the proper portrayal of musical nuances, but have lots of clarity, bass impact, and treble sparkle. There are genres that they perform relatively well with but even then the signature and presentation of the Beats fatigue me fairly quickly. Those looking for a colored, bass-heavy sound may be better off with cheaper models such as the Thinksound TS02 or Fischer Audio Eterna, or the Turbines for the same money. Additionally, if a deal on the Beats Tour seems too good to be true, it probably is – eBay and most Chinese deal sites are completely flooded with fakes, though I cannot be sure that the real thing sounds significantly better than the counterfeits.

Pros: User-friendly cable, 3-year warranty, impressive clarity, heavy but not offensively bloated bass
Cons: Heavily colored sound; can be harsh & fatiguing; poor separation & layering

[LookHere_Sucka]

Nvm, just bought new Tours today! They're great for Hip-hop, rap etc after a good burn in although you can get the turbines for around the same price.

Edit: Returned them, the sound isolation was absolute shit on the skytrain.

[Okami]

tried the tours and coppers..

the bass is to my liking but the clarity and and mids just arent there

the tours only sound good with like slow r&B and some pop..
any rock or classical with like instruments it sounds really harsh

the coppers sound like a better version of the tours, more clarity but it also has the problem with being harsh and my biggest beef is the vocals are kinda laid back..

[ForbiddenX]

What are you guys doing to burn in your IEMs?

I just got my replacement pair of TripleFi10Vi after my non Vis were DOA.

[metal]

Not noise cancelling, but I just picked up a set of these yesterday and after some EQ tinkering, they sound great

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Product....aspx?curtab=0
Price matched to Future Shops $70 and got them for $65. Anyone have any experience with these?

I guess to fit into the theme of this thread, I've got a set of AMAZING active noise reduction "headphones"....but they're almost a grand and not really practical for solely listening to music

[woob]

lol aviation headset.... I've always wondered how its sound would compare against a $200-300 "hi-fi" headphone.

[LookHere_Sucka]

^By aviation, do you mean airplanes? You gotta have some pree good noise canceling headphones if they cancel out sounds on a plane LOL

[woob]

lol yeah man. Hence the $1000 price tag. I'm just wondering about straight sound quality.

[woob]

Kay so I just took delivery of the Meelectronics M6 today ($20 on Amazon last week, how could I resist buying it?). Anyone else have a royal pain in the ass fitting these things? I'm cycling through all the tips (amazing accessory package, btw - 3 sets of single flange, 1 set of bi-flange and 2 sets of tri-flange tips) trying to find the right fit, and most sound either tinny or muffled. The memory wire is a little annoying too.

I think I've settled on Sony Hybrid red tips or the ME stock small single flanges, with the small tri-flanges in second place.

First impressions to come after a few hours of listening.

EDIT: I've spent a lot of time with these IEMs now, and I fucking hate them. Bass impact is decent, mids are audible, treble sucks major balls. The treble doesn't sparkle, it crunches. Listening to anything cymbal/high-hat heavy is a chore to listen to and I have to change the track or just stop listening altogether.

If anyone has a recommendation for a good portable HP (or IEM), please tell me. My budget is loosely $100.

[jeff19]

Anyone on here have the bose qc15s? I just returned the beats studios cuz they werent comfortable at all imo and my head hurt from the pressure after 30 min of listening to music. I need some advice on the difference in sound quality between the qc15s and the studios. I know the qc15s wont have the same thumping bass as the studios, but im willing to sacrifice some of that bass for the comfort (& clearer mids/highs?). I listen to all tyoes of music, but more so a lot of electronic music and the bass was really good on the studios, but a bit overwhelming at times. My question is, Will the qc15 have satisfactory enuff bass for someone like me (not an audiophile)? I dont necissarily need the bass of the studios but i dont want it to be underwhelming as well. To add, I just got my gf the klipsch s4s as well and i found the bass to be JUST the right amount. How do the qc 15s compare! Need some advice. Thx!!!
Posted via RS Mobile

[Expresso]

Originally Posted by woob

Kay so I just took delivery of the Meelectronics M6 today ($20 on Amazon last week, how could I resist buying it?). Anyone else have a royal pain in the ass fitting these things? I'm cycling through all the tips (amazing accessory package, btw - 3 sets of single flange, 1 set of bi-flange and 2 sets of tri-flange tips) trying to find the right fit, and most sound either tinny or muffled. The memory wire is a little annoying too.

I think I've settled on Sony Hybrid red tips or the ME stock small single flanges, with the small tri-flanges in second place.

First impressions to come after a few hours of listening.

EDIT: I've spent a lot of time with these IEMs now, and I fucking hate them. Bass impact is decent, mids are audible, treble sucks major balls. The treble doesn't sparkle, it crunches. Listening to anything cymbal/high-hat heavy is a chore to listen to and I have to change the track or just stop listening altogether.

If anyone has a recommendation for a good portable HP (or IEM), please tell me. My budget is loosely $100.

End the end is going to come to individual preference. But a lot of people like RE0. Head over to http://www.head-fi.org/ and read up on what would suit you.

I'm using Panasonic HJE900s right now.

[YiNG_YaNG_6o4]

Originally Posted by jeff19

Anyone on here have the bose qc15s? I just returned the beats studios cuz they werent comfortable at all imo and my head hurt from the pressure after 30 min of listening to music. I need some advice on the difference in sound quality between the qc15s and the studios. I know the qc15s wont have the same thumping bass as the studios, but im willing to sacrifice some of that bass for the comfort (& clearer mids/highs?). I listen to all tyoes of music, but more so a lot of electronic music and the bass was really good on the studios, but a bit overwhelming at times. My question is, Will the qc15 have satisfactory enuff bass for someone like me (not an audiophile)? I dont necissarily need the bass of the studios but i dont want it to be underwhelming as well. To add, I just got my gf the klipsch s4s as well and i found the bass to be JUST the right amount. How do the qc 15s compare! Need some advice. Thx!!!
Posted via RS Mobile

I've got the QC15 and you're right, the bass on the Dre's are better, but you won't be disappointed with the QC15 either. For someone like you who is not an audiophile, you'll be very satisfied with the bass quality. The noise cancellation on the QC15's are incredible. But i don't think you can really compare the Bose and Dre's in that area cuz i think the Dre's are noise isolation (someone correct me if I'm wrong). But yea... I use my QC15 for gaming and even after long hours of use I don't find them uncomfortable at all. You barely notice they're on... well... at least for me. Hope that helps you out a bit. A lot of ppl will say don't get Bose cuz you're just paying for the name and all this other stuff but I think for the quality and comfort it's worth the price. I jjust wouldn't get them from places like Futureshop cuz they're way over priced there. Not sure where would be a good place in van to get them.... I picked mine up in Portland, at the outlet mall, so they were cheap and tax free. The only reason i got them... or else i probably wouldn't get a pair, not in van at least.

[woob]

Originally Posted by YiNG_YaNG_6o4

The noise cancellation on the QC15's are incredible. But i don't think you can really compare the Bose and Dre's in that area cuz i think the Dre's are noise isolation (someone correct me if I'm wrong).

From the Beats' product page http://www.monstercable.com/productdisplay.asp?pin=3808

• Powered Isolation™ technology actively cuts external noise

Corrected. A friend who has listened to both the QC15 and Studio has told me that the ANR on the beats just suck.

[striderblade]

I have the tour and the noise cancelling work really good. I work in a very noisy environment. I'm talking heavy machinery in the saw mill. even thought I'm not suppose to have these kind of headset or even listening to music. but the shift I work on is pretty lay back but still very noisy. you just have to break in the headset and with the right ears bud and your good. it was crap when I first got it but now I'm loving it.
Posted via RS Mobile

[VK79]

Originally Posted by jeff19

Anyone on here have the bose qc15s? I just returned the beats studios cuz they werent comfortable at all imo and my head hurt from the pressure after 30 min of listening to music. I need some advice on the difference in sound quality between the qc15s and the studios. I know the qc15s wont have the same thumping bass as the studios, but im willing to sacrifice some of that bass for the comfort (& clearer mids/highs?). I listen to all tyoes of music, but more so a lot of electronic music and the bass was really good on the studios, but a bit overwhelming at times. My question is, Will the qc15 have satisfactory enuff bass for someone like me (not an audiophile)? I dont necissarily need the bass of the studios but i dont want it to be underwhelming as well. To add, I just got my gf the klipsch s4s as well and i found the bass to be JUST the right amount. How do the qc 15s compare! Need some advice. Thx!!!
Posted via RS Mobile

Dad has a pair of QC's and I borrowed them for a weekend sometime back. The noise cancellation is amazing, tv/hi-fi turned on next to me, and it was complete silence even without any music playing. The bass quality is decent but lacks the tight, rib shaking punch at high volumes that I love. However, if you feel that the S4is are adequate then the QCs should be ok.

As for deep in-ear headsets, most would isolate sound pretty well. If you can get a tight seal and again, if you feel the bass from the s4i is sufficient, then even a pair of rocketfish $29 IEM would be good enough. For good quality mids and highs with decent bass, I would highly recommend x10i, its pricey but if you are in the market for a QC15 then it should not be a problem. As for comfort, their oval gel tips are good but for the ultimate comfort/seal, buy a pair of comply foam tips, they are extremely comfy and block out sound very, very well.

[ImportXxX]

i'm in a process of looking for a pair, just a decent pair nothing too crazy..and there's so many different brands to choose from so here's a thing. How can you possibly tell what's good and what's not by not even trying them on? Then again i don't think there's any stores out there that would let you try them out? is there?? that would be pretty gross..

So do you guys just go by what people rate them as online? and buy from that? i mean everyone has there own opionions on things so it's kinda tough to decide without even knowing how they sound like to me. Plus, it's also depend on the song quality you get too isnt it..

[jpoon]

Get the shure noise cancelling headphones...I have a pair and I think they're great! Sound is crisp too =)

[jeff19]

^ yeah it's really tough knowing which headphones are good when most stores only carry the same kinds of demoes. And everyone has their own personal preferences too, some headphones that ppl love may not be your liking, and vice versa. Your best bet is to buy them from a store that has a a cash-return policy (like FS/BB's 14 day return policy). If you dont like it just return it.

[jpoon]

That's true..and better yet it's better to read up on reviews AND to try them in store if they have any up as demos.