IC Forum Archive

deepblue · Posts: 358

Yeah!

Why doesn't everyone own a pair of these lordly $30 headphones?

I'm listening to Xenogears: Creid for about the zillionth time right now, and hearing things for the first time. Pretty rad.

So...I guess this thread can be "What is your videogame listening method of choice?"

I guess this is mine, from now on!

Mr. Business · Posts: 1530

I myself am using a 500watt Optimus audio reciever that used to be in the downstairs TV room of my house. It never really worked very well, so I ended up removing it and the speakers from the TV cabinet once my mother bought an HDTV for that room. It languished in the living room of our house for a month before I got the ingenious idea of hooking a few y-cables to it and turning it into my PC audio system. It looks pretty hilarious though, because the audio system is almost as big as the tower.

All in all, it's a pretty nice system. I can also activate and deactivate different pairs of speakers, though doing so causes strange shifts in speaker volume.

deepblue · Posts: 358

Mr. Business wrote:

I myself am using a 500watt Optimus audio reciever that used to be in the downstairs TV room of my house. It never really worked very well, so I ended up removing it and the speakers from the TV cabinet once my mother bought an HDTV for that room. It languished in the living room of our house for a month before I got the ingenius idea of hooking a few y-cables to it and turning it into my PC audio system. It looks pretty hilarious though, because the audio system is almost as big as the tower.

All in all, it's a pretty nice system. I can also activate and deactivate different pairs of speakers, though doing so causes strange shifts in speaker volume.

That's awesome! Ingenuity is always applauded. Man, I had such an improvised rig back in high school...nothing that nice, though.

We've actually got a really nice Onkyo 600W 5.1 system in the living room, though we hardly ever get to use it properly because we can't turn it up when our daughter is asleep.

Diplocephalus · Posts: 863

Koss UR-19 model, baby!

I dunno. I just picked them up from Best Buy in 2004, and they've held up remarkably well. Very comfortable, and distinct sound.

Speaking of Sennheiser HD 457s: my friend's pretty much failed after a year because he used them so often.

the vinculum gate · Posts: 2868

pc and consoles :)

chameleoneel · Posts: 1238

Koss KSC75 for when I actually use headphones.

for my speakers, I've got the Altec lansing 621 speakers. IGN's review here is short, but actually pretty good. hereis a very detailed review. I got them for waaaay cheaper back then than the price they talk about though. they were only like $120 on newegg. they rock. the sound is excellent. it has two inputs, so they are connected directly to my PS2, and to my PC. the PS2 makes a pretty excellent CD player with these speakers.

for my PC sound card I have one of these it has the VIA Envy24 HT-S chipset. its the bang for the buck leader right now, for a long time actually. 105dB SNR on the Wolfson 8728 DAC - Envy24 HT-S is capable of 192kbps digital AND analog output over 2 of the outputs - Can do bit-perfect ASIO in Win 2k/XP

klikbeep · Posts: 485

deepblue wrote:

So...I guess this thread can be "What is your videogame listening method of choice?"

In general I use a pair of Senns myself -- good for GarageBand wanking as well.

thatbox · Posts: 816

Grado SR-60s (headphones!), Kenwood XD-A5 (oldish-recent shelf system!).

Sawtooth · Posts: 2350

Thanks to IC, I'm the proud owner of a pair of Sennheiser PX 100's. I have never heard better sound in my life. Foldable too! They're perfect, and I got a 20 dollar discount on them too.

Psiga · Posts: 3990

chameleoneel wrote:

Koss KSC75 for when I actually use headphones.
...
for my PC sound card I have one of these it has the VIA Envy24 HT-S chipset. its the bang for the buck leader right now, for a long time actually.

Jesus, dude, you've got the same gear that I have.

Though my KSC75s recently broke and I can't decide if I should replace them or send them in under warranty. I've had to go back to my old cans, and I miss the lightweight, easy breathing, nearly transparent sound.

The Envy24 audio has been awesome to me since I got it. The price is insane for that quality. Heh, one time I set up Winamp to upsample all of the audio to 192kHz. While I don't think I'd want or need to do that all the time, it was a cute experiment.

Hot Stott Bot · Posts: 2097

Grado SR-60s when I'm listening to something very carefully, very music-intensive, like music games, because they make everything sound nicer.

However, they hurt my ears after too many hours, and I wear headphones a lot so for general purpose listening I like Sony MDR-D66SLs, which have good sound but have the huge benefit of being barely noticable, like air on your ears.

I also can't stand earbuds/monitors because they tend to irritate the inside of my ear. Clipons usually end up hurting my ear lobes.

I am a sensitive and delicate boy, ok? Sony MDR-D66SLs are the only headphones which I have found to be acceptably comfortable for wearing 12+ hours.

chameleoneel · Posts: 1238

Psiga wrote:

chameleoneel wrote:

Koss KSC75 for when I actually use headphones.
...
for my PC sound card I have one of these it has the VIA Envy24 HT-S chipset. its the bang for the buck leader right now, for a long time actually.

Jesus, dude, you've got the same gear that I have.

Though my KSC75s recently broke and I can't decide if I should replace them or send them in under warranty. I've had to go back to my old cans, and I miss the lightweight, easy breathing, nearly transparent sound.

The Envy24 audio has been awesome to me since I got it. The price is insane for that quality. Heh, one time I set up Winamp to upsample all of the audio to 192kHz. While I don't think I'd want or need to do that all the time, it was a cute experiment.

is that just a plugin?

and yeah, I love my KSC75s. they have really good dynamics and seperation. and they are cheeeaaaaap. but sound like they should cost $30 or more. I broke on pair from sitting on them repeatedly. now I make a point to set them out of the way.

and a similar description could be used for that Envy24 based chaintech card, cheap, but don't be fooled by that price!

schmeetz · Posts: 353

I just use my Space Channel Five 2 headphones, they sound nice and they look nice. As for the living room, a QS Sony amp with the SSLA surround speakers (the eggos). Not horribly powerful, but it suits me fine as I never get to crank it up anyways. Damn appartments.

Psiga · Posts: 3990

chameleoneel wrote:

Psiga wrote:

Heh, one time I set up Winamp to upsample all of the audio to 192kHz. While I don't think I'd want or need to do that all the time, it was a cute experiment.

is that just a plugin?

Here's a screenshot of my desktop as I was chewing up about 60% of the CPU on audio bullshit.

First I'd recommend getting a 24bit MP3 decoder like Shibatch or MAD, if you haven't already. Then you get this AudioBurst FX output plugin: http://qolabs.com/audioburst/

It has some sound enhancement and upsampling tricks. I can't tell if I really like the sound enhancement, even though it does work in some way. And the upsampling? Can hardly tell, if I can tell at all.

The thing I can't really do without is that big DirectX mastering plugin. Night and day difference, always.

Toto · Posts: 498

I'm going to buy a surround sound system soon.
I really think it will be nice. I also need a good pair of headphones. I'll have a look at that thread that was before, and maybe get pair of Sennheisers ala Sawtooth. My friend has a pair, they're pretty cool.

Napoli · Posts: 236

I sometimes use the KOSS PRO4AAT which sound great, but they are a little uncomfortable and give me a headache after an hour. I think they are maybe too heavy or too tight. My friend has an older pair and he has the same issue with them.

I have three Onkyo stereos in the house, a TX-NR901 which is amazing and can stream mp3s from my server, an NC-500 which I love for my bedroom (streams mp3s too), and the HT-S780. I currently have the Xbox 360 hooked up to the S780 and it is hands down one of the best of its class. A lot of these can be found refurbished on shoponkyo.com at a pretty good discount. I have never had a problem with anything that I've bought refurbished and the receivers have always looked brand new, no scratches or anything. If anyone is in the market for a new receiver or a surround sound system, I highly recommended shoponkyo.com

deepblue · Posts: 358

Napoli wrote:

I sometimes use the KOSS PRO4AAT which sound great, but they are a little uncomfortable and give me a headache after an hour. I think they are maybe too heavy or too tight. My friend has an older pair and he has the same issue with them.

I have three Onkyo stereos in the house, a TX-NR901 which is amazing and can stream mp3s from my server, an NC-500 which I love for my bedroom (streams mp3s too), and the HT-S780. I currently have the Xbox 360 hooked up to the S780 and it is hands down one of the best of its class. A lot of these can be found refurbished on shoponkyo.com at a pretty good discount. I have never had a problem with anything that I've bought refurbished and the receivers have always looked brand new, no scratches or anything. If anyone is in the market for a new receiver or a surround sound system, I highly recommended shoponkyo.com

Seconded, if you have room in your house for their typically GIANT equipment.

jonas · Posts: 47

I use a pair of sennheiser hd280 pro's.. got it for i think $70 a few years ago on Amazon during christmas. I use them for about 4 or 5 hours a day, for the past 3 years, and they're still in pretty good shape.

They're seriously one of the best purchases I have ever made. At the time I considered it a splurge purchase, but to get something of this quality for that ammount... Electronics don't often exceed my expectations in functionality or build quality.

Every time I think about getting some good open element headphones I realize that I can't use them at work and then I decide to just stick to the 280's.

Takashi · Posts: 820

I've got a pair of Pioneer SE-E03II that are pretty much the best open air phones I ever had. Not to say they're good primary earphones, but they do the job and I can take them anywhere. My 2.1 sound is brought by a NGS Supra 2.1 that perform the requesite "boom and baam" for those modern games and movies, but do little in the way of fidelity.

Karoshi · Posts: 968

I actually have my "entertainment center" (an old ass Dell monitor with my Dreamcast or Gamecube hooked up via a VGA box) hooked into an Allen and Heath Xone:62 DJ mixer to Alesis Mark 1 Active MK2 studio monitors. I like plugging my DS into an extra line channel from time to time. Electroplankton doesn't have enough low-end to it. Sometimes when I feel like an asshole I'll turn on my Gemini XTR 400 PA until the adjacent apartment starts banging the walls.

Those headphones are nice, by the way.

dhex · Posts: 2963

delta 1010 --> tascam 32 channel mixer --> event tr8 monitors.

consoles get played through this receiver/jbl bookshelf speaker set that i picked up from some dude who lived above me a few years back. he had cashflow issues and i had cash, etc.[/img]

SJ · Posts: 414

For my PC and music listening, I use these with alternate earpads. I love 'em.

For my consoles, I have a Sony receiver and speaker set that I got discounted from a Sony employee a few years back. It does the job, but it is nothing special.

sethsez · Posts: 1977

Koss KSC75s are pretty much the best value there is in headphones. Radioshack is selling 'em for $10 now and they're easily worth that price.

My main phones are Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pros though. Really, really good in-ear phones.

chameleoneel · Posts: 1238

sethsez wrote:

Koss KSC75s are pretty much the best value there is in headphones. Radioshack is selling 'em for $10 now and they're easily worth that price.

totally.

everyone should have a set of these. out of the box, they seem a little flat, but give a couple of days of consistant listening to break them in. I suppose you could say that about any speaker though.

sethsez · Posts: 1977

It also helps to make sure they clip on your ears rather than just hang there. It really helps the bass.

Still, I don't see myself replacing the Super.fi any time soon (unless the new Ultimate Ears XXX are as huge a step up as promised).

nocturnedelight · Posts: 430

jonas wrote:

I use a pair of sennheiser hd280 pro's.. got it for i think $70 a few years ago on Amazon during christmas. I use them for about 4 or 5 hours a day, for the past 3 years, and they're still in pretty good shape.

They're seriously one of the best purchases I have ever made. At the time I considered it a splurge purchase, but to get something of this quality for that ammount... Electronics don't often exceed my expectations in functionality or build quality.

Every time I think about getting some good open element headphones I realize that I can't use them at work and then I decide to just stick to the 280's.

I got those as well during the Christmas time. First game I tried them out on was Rez. It's great. Now a days I mostly use it for listening to music and playing with my DS/PSP. I rarely use it for my TV.

Did you get the Silver ones or the Black ones? I'm assuming black since they were cheaper for me when I had the choice.

chameleoneel · Posts: 1238

sethsez wrote:

It also helps to make sure they clip on your ears rather than just hang there. It really helps the bass.

Still, I don't see myself replacing the Super.fi any time soon (unless the new Ultimate Ears XXX are as huge a step up as promised).

yeah, I always bend the little cross bar a bit so that they fit more tightly. to test them, if I can lay on my bed without them hanging away from my ears, then i'm good to go. of course, I only have to do this once.

Mr. Business · Posts: 1530

dhex wrote:

delta 1010 --> tascam 32 channel mixer --> event tr8 monitors.

consoles get played through this receiver/jbl bookshelf speaker set that i picked up from some dude who lived above me a few years back. he had cashflow issues and i had cash, etc.[/img]

Shit, man, your rig beats the hell out of mine!

That's some serious stuff.

Do you understand what all of those freaking sliders do?

Shapermc · Posts: 2450

I recently tried to go with a larger pair of headphones, but they sucked in complarison to my Senns. I was hoping that bigger = not hearing people in the hall way and other rooms so much. I was terribly wrong and the audio quality was no where near as good. I bought mine about 3 years ago (sometime in '03) and they still work perfectly. Senns have this weird trait about them where you need to give them about 3 hours of heavy bass to let them "open up." So when you get a new pair of Senns, I highly recommend that you pump some heavy bass into them for about three hours while they just sit.

dhex · Posts: 2963

Thunder Force 6 · Posts: 308

My poor Grado SR-60s have been to hell and back with me. They need new earpads, as excessive oranging has been progressive for a few years now.

dizzyjosh · Posts: 87

deepblue wrote:

Yeah!

Why doesn't everyone own a pair of these lordly $30 headphones?

it took me two days to realize those are the exact headphones i have on all the time at work (and that I am buying for my poor girlfriend, who is currently listening to golf talk and arab/mexican invasion/reconquista conspiracy theories at her new job).

they do in fact totally rock.

at home, though, i rock [a href="http://www.athenaspeakers.com/WS-15-specs.htm> two athena ws-15s and one fattie athena 400W sub that i cannot turn above a '2' on weekdays.

sethsez · Posts: 1977

dhex wrote:

and to my shame i have a pair of those sony dj7000 whatever phones. i like em and they're comfy, etc. not many others like em though.

Yeah, they're comfy but they sound like shit. Sony's MDR-V6 / 7506 (they're the same phone) are the Sonys you want for that price, though I'd strongly recommend a Sennheiser or Grado at that price, or if you must have sealed phones an AKG K 81 DJ.

the drunken samurai · Posts: 4645

hey guys im going to best buy today to buy some headphones.

is there anything good thats on sale?

Shapermc · Posts: 2450

Best buy is not the place to go for headphones.

Seriously.

sethsez · Posts: 1977

What's your budget? If you only want to spend $10, go to Radioshack and get the Koss KSC75 for exactly that price.

Also, what Shaper said.

Waffen · Posts: 1638

Headphone jacks on home consoles (Genesis, Neo Geo AES etc.) was one of the coolest features evAr and it needs to be revived. I guess you can always plug into your stereo receiver but still..

Myself? When I'm not listening to my handheld games through a pair of Sony headphones I play my console games on the same setup I've had since high school: Pioneer Stereo receiver and a pair of Definitive Audio tweeter/sub combo home speakers. Those speakers are FUCKING awesome and were a bday gift from my dad. they weren't cheap. and they sound amazing.

Eventually I need to upgrade to a 42" plasma/5.1 surround set up but... thats expensive.

the drunken samurai · Posts: 4645

Shapermc wrote:

Best buy is not the place to go for headphones.

Seriously.

sethsez wrote:

Also, what Shaper said.

fuck.

you guys should have told me that before i went,now ive got some $24 Sony headphones that wont fucking fit in the fucking hole and now i have to go to fucking radioshack for a fucking adapter

God i hate fucking electronics sometimes

the drunken samurai · Posts: 4645

acually,i take that back,they DO fit.theres was a tiny plug behind the fat one

WTF it never said that on the box

Psiga · Posts: 3990

Yeah, the double jack thing is normal. They should really stop bothering to include the larger jack, though. Those stereos are becoming a minority, and the people who bother to use headphones with them will either already have an adapter or be able to afford one for super-cheap.

Scratchmonkey · Posts: 2229

dhex wrote:

and to my shame i have a pair of those sony dj7000 whatever phones. i like em and they're comfy, etc. not many others like em though.

MDR-V700. And yeah, I carry shame for using them as well. My audiophile friends with their Senns and such make sure to sneer at me whenever they come over.

And I want a mixer, even though I'd never use it. They're such fun pieces of equipment. I got to use a horrendously expensive 72-track mixer with full automation and everything in school, which was fun, although I really love the basic 12-track Mackies just for being (relatively) cheap and good.

the drunken samurai · Posts: 4645

Psiga wrote:

Yeah, the double jack thing is normal. They should really stop bothering to include the larger jack, though. Those stereos are becoming a minority, and the people who bother to use headphones with them will either already have an adapter or be able to afford one for super-cheap.

yeah WTF? i hate that shit

also,these headphones have a lot of bass to them,i dont know why that is

sethsez · Posts: 1977

the drunken samurai wrote:

also,these headphones have a lot of bass to them,i dont know why that is

Shitty headphones use a lot of bass to cover up all their deficiencies.

Mister Toups · Posts: 4943

Brian Wilson was deaf in one ear, and I was born without any appreciation for fidelity. I do notice when something is on nice speakers, but I enjoy music and gaming on a shitty mono TV speaker as much as I do in surround

the drunken samurai · Posts: 4645

sethsez wrote:

the drunken samurai wrote:

also,these headphones have a lot of bass to them,i dont know why that is

Shitty headphones use a lot of bass to cover up all their deficiencies.

fuck,im gonna have to screw with my EQ settings now

great

jonas · Posts: 47

nocturnedelight wrote:

Did you get the Silver ones or the Black ones? I'm assuming black since they were cheaper for me when I had the choice.

I got the black ones. I have only ever seen black ones, actually... I recommend these headphones to a lot of people :)

Google · Posts: 220

Someone who's both handsome and clever tell me an online store, that is based, or will ship to Canada, that will provide a decent price on Sony Fontopia headphones!

I dont want to be paying $89.99 for a pair of headphones that are sold for $32.99 south of the border!

Waffen · Posts: 1638

Mister Toups wrote:

Brian Wilson was deaf in one ear, and I was born without any appreciation for fidelity. I do notice when something is on nice speakers, but I enjoy music and gaming on a shitty mono TV speaker as much as I do in surround

yur mono LOL