What headphones/earphones do you own?

[Dudeman313]

Expensive! Wow. Yeah I wouldn't go for something so pricey, either.

[Flippanteer]

Seems like I'll be the minority and definitely go for expensive headphones 
Currently own a Fostex T50rp MkIII, and Fidelio X2.

Guess it comes with being an audiophile. Once you hear ridiculously good headphones, you don't go back.

Currently looking at the beautiful Fostex TH-X00 on Massdrop!

[Araidia]

Seems like I'll be the minority and definitely go for expensive headphones 
Currently own a Fostex T50rp MkIII, and Fidelio X2.

Guess it comes with being an audiophile. Once you hear ridiculously good headphones, you don't go back.

Currently looking at the beautiful Fostex TH-X00 on Massdrop!

Nice!
I've actually heard of Massdrop before, but I've been never gone around to signing up for it yet 
EDIT: It only took me less than a minute to sign up for Massdrop! So many deals!!!

[Flippanteer]

Nice!
I've actually heard of Massdrop before, but I've been never gone around to signing up for it yet 

Massdrop is a great site! What it does is finds what users want to see, contacts the companies and asks them for a "drop."
If the company agrees, then they give out a limited number of some type of their product at a discounted price on Massdrop.
Then, the more the people buy said product on the "drop" on the Massdrop site, the lower the price goes until it hits some limit provided.

Some products get discounts over 50%, some only go down maybe 20%, but overall it's a great place to find discounts on popular items. Of course, not every company agrees, so not everything people vote on will show up.

Edit: I recommend anyone who is looking for good at-home headphones to look at the currently dropping HifiMAN HE-350s. They are essentially a collaboration product by Massdrop and HifiMAN (very well-known audiophile brand) that is based off of the $300 HE-300s, but for a third of the price. These will be HUGE in value, and a great entry into the audiophile world :3

[Dream of Omnimaga]

Seems like I'll be the minority and definitely go for expensive headphones 
Currently own a Fostex T50rp MkIII, and Fidelio X2.

Guess it comes with being an audiophile. Once you hear ridiculously good headphones, you don't go back.

Currently looking at the beautiful Fostex TH-X00 on Massdrop!

Personally, the only reason why I avoid expensive headphones is because I am afraid of ending up with a lemon/dud and that one of the ear will stop working after only 4-5 months. Of course I would still not pay more than $150 for headphones, but if I knew that headphones I buy would last a few years, then I would easily get a $100-150 pair (including taxes, of course). And extended warranties are not an option. I don't want to spend an extra $120 on a warranty extension that will double the price of the item. I might as well buy a replacement once the warranty is over in such case. Also, I am not familiar with which brand is the best quality so it would suck if I paid $150, only to find out I paid for the name rather than the quality, which happens with some brands such as Beats.

@Flippanteer I'll take a look at the HifiMAN HE-350s when I have a chance.


Also I bet many of my music creations will not have much better quality with expensive headphones and that only other music will increase in quality. I mean, my songs mostly used 44 KHz samples and the like and mixing quality was questionable .

[allynfolksjr]

Sony MDR-7506 is still my preferred set of cans for basically everything. They have impeccable balance and are extremely easy to maintain and repair. ATH-M50 is good for when I want a more isolated experience, but they definitely don't have the same overall audio quality as the Sony pair.

When I'm at home and using open air, the Grado SR-80 is a great set. Their soundscape is amazingly well done.

[Flippanteer]

Personally, the only reason why I avoid expensive headphones is because I am afraid of ending up with a lemon/dud and that one of the ear will stop working after only 4-5 months. Of course I would still not pay more than $150 for headphones, but if I knew that headphones I buy would last a few years, then I would easily get a $100-150 pair (including taxes, of course). And extended warranties are not an option. I don't want to spend an extra $120 on a warranty extension that will double the price of the item. I might as well buy a replacement once the warranty is over in such case. Also, I am not familiar with which brand is the best quality so it would suck if I paid $150, only to find out I paid for the name rather than the quality, which happens with some brands such as Beats.

@Flippanteer I'll take a look at the HifiMAN HE-350s when I have a chance.


Also I bet many of my music creations will not have much better quality with expensive headphones and that only other music will increase in quality. I mean, my songs mostly used 44 KHz samples and the like and mixing quality was questionable .

Chances are, if you do a little bit of research to see some common audiophile grade headphones, there are very few chances of duds or drivers failing within a few months. Especially since many of these have warranties.
As for the quality of samples, this is a very common misconception. Better headphones will increase the detail of most songs, even those with mediocre recordings. There are those that become worse from some headphones that give so much detail that even the muddy recording bits are heard, but this is completely offset by the benefit of such headphones. Soundstage and detail, as well as the accuracy of frequency ranges, or the shape of the frequency graphs that can make songs sound more "fun" or "bright" or conversely "warm," is very much what makes these headphones amazing.

Other good starter headphones that can be found for less than $100, are Sennheiser HD598, Superlux HD 681, Takstar pro-80, ATH-M50x (reluctantly), now the HifiMAN HE-350s, Koss portapros, Koss KSC75s, Phillips SPH9500, ATH-A700x, ATH-AD700x (open back variant), Creative Aurvana Live. The KSC75s and portapros are much more likely to die, only because they're like less than $20, but generally regarded as absolutely phenomenal for the price.

The headphones I have mentioned are largely over-ear (few on-ear) headphones. There are also some amazing IEMs (in-ear monitors, or earbuds), but I'm much more a fan of headphones due to the likelihood of soundstage, comfort, and larger driver sizes.

[Dream of Omnimaga]

By dud, I mean like when you buy a brand new car and end up with a car that fails more often than other cars of the same brand due to production mistakes (eg if one of the worker came to work on Friday still recovering from an hangover). This happened to Juju's iMac. It keeps failing every year even though other iMacs are much more durable. In the case of headphones, warranties are helpless if the store warranty only lasts 1-3 months (which is very common nowadays) and the headphone company warranty is also helpless if you have to ship them the headphones and pay for shipping.

And yeah I don't know much about sound samples. But the thing is that for my music I am using MTV Music Generator, which is a music software made in 1999 for the Playstation 1. But I guess if expensive headphones makes the weird recording quirks come out more then this could give some extra old-schoolness to my music.

Thanks for the suggestions guys, by the way . On a side note, I really want to listen to vinyl records with quality headphones.

[Flippanteer]

Hm, that old sound system may be a little difficult with good headphones.

In regards to quality control, I hear very few stories of bad quality. There are some companies that have slight reputations for this, but the number is severely limited. Luckily, in the higher-end quality level of headphones, companies/Amazon are VERY willing to send you a new product if the previous one was not up to par in build quality or durability, free of charge. Amazon has a great return policy, and more often than not headphone companies like to keep up appearances with their headphones, as they aren't nearly as huge a marketer as Apple or any PC provider is.
I'd say that the chance of this is so minimal that it's practically not a worry at all Headphone drivers last LONG, IEMs maybe not as much. If its like you're violent with your headphones, then be more careful I guess XD?
Headphones from companies like Sennheiser typically have warranties higher than months as well, extending to half-years to years!

[Dream of Omnimaga]

Ah ok. I didn't know that Amazon could do that. And usually the main problem I have with headphones is the cord. I would really need to ensure I get headphones with which the wire doesn't keep getting stuck everywhere (for some reasons, it isn't as bad with some, no matter the cord lenght). I am usually careful but sometimes we never know.

[Flippanteer]

Now that's a great question!

Cords vary with each headphone brand, and even between headphone types per brand. Some are the typical rubber sleeves, some are woven fabric cords, others are cheap wires that literally kink if you twist it wrong or fray if you bend it too much, and some are literally the highest grade of woven fabric you'll ever feel. This largely depends from product to product. Even a few very high-end products have horrible wires. Luckily, you can buy replacement wires for the vast majority of headphones, and many headphones share the same jacks and thus wires are interchangeable.
Some people make custom wires, tailored to your headphone or to your preference of colors, or angled connectors, etc.
Wire lengths also differ. Some headphones come with multiple lengths, or coiled wires, some don't and you have to find some yourself.
Some headphones have jacks with locking mechanisms so the jack doesn't pop out easily, others don't. Many of those with locking mechanisms can sometimes be overcome, as some people like for the wire to pop out instantly if it gets caught, so the jack doesn't get broken on accident.

I tend to just tie up my cords, or triple-braid them if theyre too long and getting in the way. A clean deskspace is essential

Or you can go bluetooth, but bluetooth headphones are generally regarded as having lesser sound quality due to the difference in potential with wires and with signals. Doesn't mean that there are only bad bluetooth headphones out there though!

[Unicorn]

I absolutely loooove my apple earpods though They fit perfectly, and teachers dont mind if you have one in during school... (at least for me) but the cords are a pain, always getting twisted.

[Dream of Omnimaga]

@Flippanteer I didn't know some headphones allowed you to remove the cord. That's nice actually. The cord is usually what breaks the fastest on headphones. And yeah my Sony headphones got a rubber cord.

[Yuki]

A lot of high-end headphones are considerate enough to do that, that's what I would look for, that or Bluetooth. My current one is wireless and works pretty well when Bluetooth isn't a bitch to configure.

[Dream of Omnimaga]

I'm worried that bluetooth will have poorer quality when the signal drops, though. I would prefer wired.