What are your favourite headphones?

[liger05]

I had the Sennheiser CX 300's which were really good but lost them so got the Sennheiser CX 400's. I really like these. Have slightly more punch han the 300's. I have had the Creative Labs EP630 which are excellent for such a cheap price.

I'm tempted to get the Bose Triport Earphones but the cx400's do the job.

[anonimoose]

As a backup to the UE triple.fi 3's that I bought and use, I also purchased something that says "Sennheiser CX-500" on them. I got them on eBay for $7.50 plus postage from Hong Kong (about $12 more). Based on the price and source I'd guess they're fakes, but they and their packaging look like really good fakes. Had I not known what I paid for them and where I got them, I'd not have been able to tell they're not "real" (what's more the seller professed that they were "genuine"). But anyway, their efficiency was substantially less than the UE super.fi 3's (and the cables were very thin and bouncy making them ultra tangler's). But certainly worth the money spent easily.

Just a "different" sort of report.

[Raptr569]

i expect that people will disagree, but the headphones supplyed with my 605 are good. they are not the best but they are not the worst by a long way, i didnt use them at first but the nmy other pair broke, so i gave the archos ones a try and i do like them.

I liked those too, you are not alone.

Problem with mine is that the rubber covers came off and then eventually they just fell apart and because I was out when this happened and a bit skint so opted for a £10 of philips from argos. They are actually very nice sounding and have a volume control so I don't need to take out my 605 everytime I need to change the volume.

[mafaneh]

PS. Somebody mentioned the UE triple-fi... in my experience these earphones do offer excellent sound quality on Archos units. But I can't get them to stay in my ears, whatever size sleeves I use. Instrusive earphones and canalphones are a very personal matter, and it's difficult to try before you buy

I had the exact same problem with the UE Super.fi Pro 5s. They sounded awesome with my 605, but I could never get them to stay in my ears! Of course I then returned them (I have the e2c's as backup, so I can still listen to music at somewhat good sound quality). Amazon is amazing on product return policy (pretty much within 30 days of purchase), however sometimes you do end up paying more than the same product on other sites like ebay, but I would rather pay extra for the quality customer service and convenience of being able to return with no hassles.

I then ordered the new Klipsch Custom 3 'phones, and they sounded even better than the UE's. They actually fit pretty well in my ears and stayed in firmly, but I had a problem with the bending wire at the end next to the right monitor (similar to the bending wire on the UE), so I returned those too. I then started looking and reading reviews about other earphones, and finally decided to order the Shure SE420 and give them a try (they cost about $266 from Amazon, which is $133 off the MSRP!! ). I should be getting them in the next couple of days, and hopefully they will be the earphones I decide to keep.

One other thing I learned from experiencing with these somewhat high quality headphones is that the bitrate of the music makes such a big difference, and makes you trash away your 128kbps files, and throw in new ones encoded at 192kbps and above (320 kbps for best results). With the Klipsch ones, I was able to easily tell that the bitrate was below 192kbps. Now that I bought the Web TV/Radio plug-in I am able to listen to many streams which have bitrates of 192kbps-320kbps, which is great.

I think I should stop writing now as this post is getting tooo long.. lol

[sharp910sh]

Worth buying the u.e pro 5 then?

[mafaneh]

Worth buying the u.e pro 5 then?

I would say it's worth it if you have the chance to be able to return in case you don't like it. I say that merely because of the fit and the fact that these 'phones stick out of your ear (much more than any others), and not because of sound quality (quality is amazing). Another thing to point out is that the cable (which is actually removable/replaceable) was too short for my use (even when sitting down at my desk and listening I found it a little too short).
Even the longest replacement cable on UE's website is as long as the one that comes with the earphones.

Other than that, I would highly recommend them.

[kooltilldend]

ue super.fi 3

work great, fit nicely, sound...well too good for words lol

really happy with the purchase and cldn't ask for more really

got them for 30-40 bucks...lifetime warranty, replaceable cord...what's not to like?

that is if u like in-ear headphones...if not then well its obv. not for u lol

oh and based on the sound lvl (the decibel thing)...they r a perfect fit for archos...i've nvr put my volume lvl more than half...even half is when i'm moving fast - so the voice of my movements becomes negligible - if i put the volume at full...i'll prolly go deaf lol

[zoot]

iGrado

[cosmicnut]

The ue super.fi 3's are great as long as you are ready for them.

The problem is that they are too good sometimes. If your equipement isn't driving them properly you loose a tonne of bass and end up with a trebbley mess.
The 605 can get some great performance out of them, just make sure your MP3's are high bit rate or you'll hear every byte of digital distortion.

I have a VERY old pair of IXOS "ministry of sound" over the ear headphones.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/IXOS-Ministry-S ... B000089RS6

Not the best quality but its really good at bass'ing things up! If your not an audiophile then these sort of headphones are great as they give you good sound no matter what the source, just not the spectacular sound you get with the UE's and a well encoded MP3

[cmf]

My Grado SR60's make me smile every time I use them

http://www.gradolabs.com

The only caveat is that they're not great if you like your movie/music loud and someone is trying to sleep/read next to you; they're open-air cans, so they leak sound.

[ccs_digital]

Another vote for the Creative EP-630's, which are essentially the same as Sennheiser CX300's but (usually) at a much lower price (mine were £7 from Amazon, though they have gone up again now).

Comfortable in-ear fit, good sound insulation and great sound both on music and dialogue. Generally don't need to turn the 605 volume up more than about half way.

[Paledo]

I'm using AKG K324p in ear headphones. The best in ear headphones I'va had so far and for a very reasonable price!

K324p

[DRINU]

Creative e-380 in ear headphone amazing!

[sharp910sh]

Ah i got the super fi 5 pro, and boy they are amzing! got them for £60 from ebay, very happy! worth every last penny.

[electronguy]

I always amp my 605 first, so my headphone suggestion is based on running through a suitable headphone amplifier.

For comfort and portability when listening to movies (not critical musical listening), I like the Bose Tri.Port OE (not the noise-cancelling ones, and not the big cans). They sound pretty bad on their own, so I warm them up with the HeadRoom Total AirHead amplifier (for ultra portable).

For audiophile listening, I use a HeadRoom Desktop Portable amplifier with DAC. I use the DVR station and connect the SPDIF output to the headphone amp so I have a digital stream. Sometimes I'll connect the Bose for movies, but mostly I prefer the Ultimate Ears Triple.fi 10 Pro ear canal 'phones. When I'm home, I'll pull out the Sennheiser HD650s for over-the-ear (these boys are BIG and don't lend themselves well for travel ).

I owned a pair of UE Super.fi 5 Pro before I got the Triple.fi 'phones, and they were better than anything else (sans the Sennheiser HD650s) at the time. Sibilance was still present and the Triple.fi 10's have a perfect response for me. However, the damn things are fussy as hell to fit and I will go through periods of pure comfort and joy (I'm not starting a line to a Christmas song...) so frustration as I constantly fiddle with them while I'm wearing them. Part of the problem is that the sound stage with the IEMs (ECMs) seems very unnatural, even when using a crossfeed circuit to help offset that "feature." Sometimes the music will seem to be coming from the left side of my head and the right side of my head, and the slightest adjustment of the IEMs causes the sound field to seem rather surreal and extreme.

Which ever way you choose, you'll likely do better by picking up higher quality devices (i.e., Super/Triple.fi, Shure, Etymotics, etc.) if you're not going to amplify the sound. The output is just too weak to suitably drive many less sensitive 'phones. However, like others have mentioned, the Super/Triple, etc., 'phones will definitely show the Archos' weakness in terms of its inherent sound quality (from the headphone output).

Good luck; write back with what you've settled on...

--Scott

[suraj]

I had the Sennheiser CX 300's which were really good but lost them so got the Sennheiser CX 400's. I really like these. Have slightly more punch han the 300's. I have had the Creative Labs EP630 which are excellent for such a cheap price.

I'm tempted to get the Bose Triport Earphones but the cx400's do the job.

hey hold on... what r u saying???does EP-630 sound excellent to u???
its not even close to good.i have had both EP-480 and also EP-630 and according to me EP-630 is really not worth buying. EP-480 is far better than that.and its really damm worth paying for that except that those are not completely noise canceling ear phones like EP-630 but i completely vote to EP480.

[Aquamonkey]

I've been using Shure e2c's for several years w/all my mp3 players. Nice fit & good sound.

I agree, I've used shure's for over two years and probably would have gone mental from 2 hours train travel per day if not for the noise blocking they provide!

[thepodcaster]

I've been using Shure e2c's for several years w/all my mp3 players. Nice fit & good sound.

Seconded ! Now into my 3rd year of using e2c 'phones and can't fault them.