I need some headphone advice.

[buddee1]

Christmas season is here and I was thinking of some presents to give. Since every one in my family is an audio file I figured I would give out some nice stereo headphones and everyone in my family loves skullcandy so I wanted to stay to that brand. Only one problem, there are a ton of skull candy headphones, a simple amazon search shows at least four different models of headphone. So to anybody reading this: Do you have a recommendation for a nice pair of stereo headphones?
PS- spending limit for one pair is about $100.

 

[seekeroftruth86]

Bose has some nice earbuds for about $80. Their headphones are usually over $100 though. You can't go wrong with Sony, and they have many different models from about $12-$50.

Hope this helps.

 

[buddee1]

Bose has some nice earbuds for about $80. Their headphones are usually over $100 though. You can't go wrong with Sony, and they have many different models from about $12-$50.

Hope this helps.

I personally like Sony's noise canceling headphones but my family does not.

 

[zidine100]

im no audiophile but sennheiser sounds good to me (sibilance though on this one), and im using the £10 model, go for a more expensive model from them and you should be fine.

 

[Jonluw]

I don't know much about skullcandy or earphones, but I will take this opportunity to warn you about the ifrogz earpollution earbuds. If you value the ability to hear the bass in your songs, do not buy these.

 

[Levi93]

Yeah im gonna have to agree with sticking to skull candy ( getting a pair myself for christmas) but as for which model to pick see which similar type of headphone model the person your buying for perfers wearing (see what head phones they wear and how long they will wear them in a single music session) and use this information to make a decision.

Personal opinion now, if the person wears the ehadphones for a short amount of time get the types that cover your ears, they have a great sound (and excelent bass capabilities) but become uncomfortable after a while.

If they wear headphones for long periods of time like for jouneys then consider a pair of in ear headphones with the noise reduction earplugs very comfortable and great for long journeys.

Oh and i hear you can get skull candies insured so if they break you can get a replacment pair.

Hope i helped.

 

[Kwaren]

I love my Plantronics headphones w/ mic. They have great sound quality and a good mic. I got them for $60

 

[GWarface]

Im happy that i bought a Sound Blaster Arena headset, it fit all my needs so i can only recommend it... They arent that expensive either...

 

[4484448444844484]

Sennheiser makes excellent headphones; any pair will do.

 

[IrradiatedFish]

Try going to a high end audio store. I don't know where you live, but if you're anywhere near Toronto in Canada, I suggest going to Bay Bloor Radio. They have a huge selection of real high quality headphones (in-ear, on-ear, and over-ear) that you can actually try out. But I'm sure you can find another place, regardless of where you live.
I'm going to highlight this though - It's always best to try stuff out before you commit if you want the most bang for your buck. The reason for this is, you could buy a bunch of headphones, all for say 300$ each, they will all be very high quality, but they can sound surprisingly different. Depends on a bunch of things, such as open or closed concept headphones, how they're equalized (personally I prefer balanced headphones as opposed to all the headphones that are engineered for high treble and bass, and forget about the midrange), and what kind of sound you prefer.
I don't really know much about Skullcandy to be honest. But personally I'd recommend Sennheisers for really high quality headphones.
For 100$ though... I can't really help you. I like the REALLY good stuff that'll cost you like 250$ +. Not that you can't get something good for 100$, I'm just a huge headphone freak, and I'm not too familiar with sub 100$ models.

I wish you luck in your headphone hunt!

 

[seekeroftruth86]

Bose has some nice earbuds for about $80. Their headphones are usually over $100 though. You can't go wrong with Sony, and they have many different models from about $12-$50.

Hope this helps.

I personally like Sony's noise canceling headphones but my family does not.

Those noise canceling ones may be too expensive anyway.

Definitely go with what your family likes. I should have mentioned that before.

You said they're all audiophiles right? They should know what's good and what's bad, and what they want besides. Get their input, then get some advice from the store clerks. If you go to a decent electronics store, they'll sort you out. Heck, even Guitar Center might have what you're looking for.

 

[buddee1]

Yeah im gonna have to agree with sticking to skull candy ( getting a pair myself for Christmas) but as for which model to pick see which similar type of headphone model the person your buying for prefers wearing (see what head phones they wear and how long they will wear them in a single music session) and use this information to make a decision.

Personal opinion now, if the person wears the headphones for a short amount of time get the types that cover your ears, they have a great sound (and excellent bass capabilities) but become uncomfortable after a while.

If they wear headphones for long periods of time like for jouneys then consider a pair of in ear headphones with the noise reduction earplugs very comfortable and great for long journeys.

Oh and i hear you can get skull candies insured so if they break you can get a replacement pair.

Hope i helped.

well here is the problem, skullcandy head phones usually have A LOT of trouble with bass so a brand that they have, called "skullcrusher", has a sub-woofer built in but i hear that it blows out after only a few months.

 

[Subzerowings]

I would be nice if you could give us some more information like:
-What is the headphone going to be used for (gaming, movies, music, all of the previous,...)?
-What kind of music do they like to listen to (classical, music with a lot of bass,...)?
-Where do you live, what kind of services (stores) are available to you?

I've never tried skullcandy, so I can't say if they're good or not.
I don't really expect them to be of great quality since their ads always seem to focus on "style" instead of features.

A great brand for audiophile-headphones is Sennheiser: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=sennheiser+headphones&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Asennheiser+headphones&ajr=3
An even better choice would be Beyerdynamic, but I don't think they're in you price range.

 

[buddee1]

Bose has some nice earbuds for about $80. Their headphones are usually over $100 though. You can't go wrong with Sony, and they have many different models from about $12-$50.

Hope this helps.

I personally like Sony's noise canceling headphones but my family does not.

Those noise canceling ones may be too expensive anyway.

Definitely go with what your family likes. I should have mentioned that before.

You said they're all audiophiles right? They should know what's good and what's bad, and what they want besides. Get their input, then get some advice from the store clerks. If you go to a decent electronics store, they'll sort you out. Heck, even Guitar Center might have what you're looking for.

hey thanks, I think i will go ask some experts about this.
BTW those sony headphones were only $20, if you have a sams club by you they tend to lower prices ridiculously for the holidays

 

[IrradiatedFish]

I've never tried skullcandy, so I can't say if they're good or not.
I don't really expect them to be of great quality since their ads always seem to focus on "style" instead of features.

A great brand for audiophile-headphones is Sennheiser

I agree with both these comments.

Also I didn't really want to say anything negative about skullcandy, especially since I've never tried them, but they don't have the reputation of being audiophile headphones anyway. In fact, the last high end audio shop I went to didn't even stock them. But then again, for sub 100$, and the fact that I personally didn't even try them, I really can't say.

But yeah, I'm totally pro Sennheiser too, so, maybe I'm biased.

 

[Levi93]

Yeah im gonna have to agree with sticking to skull candy ( getting a pair myself for Christmas) but as for which model to pick see which similar type of headphone model the person your buying for prefers wearing (see what head phones they wear and how long they will wear them in a single music session) and use this information to make a decision.

Personal opinion now, if the person wears the headphones for a short amount of time get the types that cover your ears, they have a great sound (and excellent bass capabilities) but become uncomfortable after a while.

If they wear headphones for long periods of time like for jouneys then consider a pair of in ear headphones with the noise reduction earplugs very comfortable and great for long journeys.

Oh and i hear you can get skull candies insured so if they break you can get a replacement pair.

Hope i helped.

well here is the problem, skullcandy head phones usually have A LOT of trouble with bass so a brand that they have, called "skullcrusher", has a sub-woofer built in but i hear that it blows out after only a few months.

wow ok that sucks, i was using a model (not sure of the name of the model) in an apple store and i could hear the bass fine so it was probably the same model, but if the woofer breaks after a few months the i recommend you get them insured.(if thats your model choice anyways.)

 

[buddee1]

I would be nice if you could give us some more information like:
-What is the headphone going to be used for (gaming, movies, music, all of the previous,...)?
-What kind of music do they like to listen to (classical, music with a lot of bass,...)?
-Where do you live, what kind of services (stores) are available to you?

I've never tried skullcandy, so I can't say if they're good or not.
I don't really expect them to be of great quality since their ads always seem to focus on "style" instead of features.

A great brand for audiophile-headphones is Sennheiser: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=sennheiser+headphones&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Asennheiser+headphones&ajr=3
An even better choice would be Beyerdynamic, but I don't think they're in you price range.

-What is the headphone going to be used for (gaming, movies, music, all of the previous,...)?
- Mostly music, maybe some movies.
-What kind of music do they like to listen to (classical, music with a lot of bass,...)?
- Everything. I'm buying for 4 people so their taste basically covers everything.
-Where do you live, what kind of services (stores) are available to you?
- United States, Chicago. and the only music store that is any good around here is guitar center.

 

[BlueberryMUNCH]

From the earbuds I had from Skullcandy, I found they were more fashion accessories than good audio devices, but if you know better than goodgood.

If I had to recommend, I'd say so with Sennheiser, especially if you want headphones.

If your looking for earbuds, check a company called...AKG. I got a pair a few months back and they. are. awesomeeeee. They might do headphones too, but I'm not sure.

 

[nofear220]

Bose has some nice earbuds for about $80. Their headphones are usually over $100 though. You can't go wrong with Sony, and they have many different models from about $12-$50.

Hope this helps.

I personally like Sony's noise canceling headphones but my family does not.

Do not listen to this guy, Bose and Sony do not make very good headphones compared to companies like Sennheiser or Denon which have much better sound quality then you would ever imagine.

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD555-Professional-Headphones-Channeling/dp/B0001FTVDQ

http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AHD1001K-On-Ear-Headphones-Black/dp/B000UPBQQC/ref=sr_1_20?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1290282600&sr=1-20

I personally own Sennheiser HD555s and they are great, especially when you do the mod which will turn them into their big brother (HD595s) free of charge. Although, if you like to listen to music with a lot of Bass, go for the Denons.

The only downside of Audiophile headphones such as these is that unless you have high quality recordings for all your music, it will make the bad recordings sound as bad as they truly are.

 

[IrradiatedFish]

From the earbuds I had from Skullcandy, I found they were more fashion accessories than good audio devices, but if you know better than goodgood.

If I had to recommend, I'd say so with Sennheiser, especially if you want headphones.

If your looking for earbuds, check a company called...AKG. I got a pair a few months back and they. are. awesomeeeee. They might[/i] do headphones too, but I'm not sure.

Yeah, AKG makes some pretty good on-ear and over-ear headphones. I don't like the style of their over the ear headphones, but I think their 180$ model on-ear headphone is quite nice.