The DIY / custom options are a great deal, if you wanna customize your terminations (XLR (balanced) / 1/4" / 3.5mm / 1.8mm - i am a particular fan of Viablue terminations), but most importantly, it can help adjust your sound signature the way you like it (silver for mids and highs, copper for warmth, etc)
I hate that no matter what we choose, once we get a clear sheath for it, the wire oxidization will make it look ugly. I mean, i love clear cable sheaths!
Yea, I'm gonna have to solder the new cord on, I'm hoping to find some nice thick cable similar to the stock grado stuff. It doesn't really get tangled, its nice
I have some earbuds Sennheiser CX-300 I think. I bought them at an Apple store in either Ginza or Akihabara back in 2005. They live in my back pack, are a bit grubby, but still going strong!
I use Sony Walkman NWZ-W273 for about 4 years now. Built for swimming as long as the buds fit perfectly, I originally bought them to play basketball with. This version from 2013 is a built in mp3 player with storage. My version has no bluetooth or nfc, although newer versions do have this capability. I like the idea of loading music directly on the headphones as opposed to wireless signals being transmitted near my brain. 4GB of music is plenty for a sesh, and it only takes 30 minutes to fully charge (in your computer through the dock which is included) for 6 hours of play. No wires, no tangles.
I use my stock samsung earphones. They're cost-effective, durable, and have decent sound quality. For home use, I have a pair of Sony Bluetooth headphones with Noise Cancellation.
I use SOL Republic headphones almost always because there waterproof which me my sweat won't hurt them plus the sounds freaking amazing. A really close second is my Marley ear buds, they sound so good. Ive been using them every day at work for the last 6 years and they still are going strong and I do not take care of them at all. If I'm just listening to music I have a pair of skullcandy crushers which are awesome too
Just out of curiosity, why use the noise cancelling pair at home? Noice cancellation actually actively 'degrades' audio quality, its a great tech when you're somewhere noisy, but at home I would assume it isn't fully necessary
I used to bring it out with me, but years of wear and tear have gotten the better of them. I've semi-retired them for home use as a result.
I use House of Marley in ears. Cable behind my tshirt and no worries about the cable getting caught. Also they only cost about 25€ and sound better than Beats in ears
Beats sound great for the kind of music Dr. Dre makes, but if it’s anything else, there are a plethora of better, and cheaper options. TBH, they’re pretty much running on hype, like @htimSxelA says.
I work at a desk all day and have my audio-technica ATH-MSR7s on pretty much the whole time. Not the trendiest looking phones but they sound amazing and are comfy enough that I can wear them for 9 hours. I wanted a pair of Grados real bad but an open backed headphone would make the folks who sit near me unhappy haha. Semi related, has there ever been a "What are you listening to" type thread on here? I always love those.
I feel you there, but it probably isn't as bad as you think, unless you like to listen to your music cranked real loud. If anything, I think it helps you not crank the volume way up, which is probably a good thing. I used mine as everyday headphones for years, and never had a complaint, for what thats worth.. Kinda related: Grados have full spectrum response at all volume levels. With most headphones you lose the lowend when you turn them down. You can listen to Grados quietly, and they still sound great! In quiet rooms, they can basically be small speakers for you. I dont think there is a thread like that exactly. Maybe some 'what do you jam to' or similar, but not quite the same
I had the chance to audition the AKG K551 some years back, at my local audiophile store. Despite it being a closed back headphone, the airiness and room this gave made me take off the cans and foolishly inspected the back to see if there were holes behind hahahhaah! Superbly wide soundstage, regretted not buying it there and then. (Malaysian currency was stronger back then).
In-ear I like my older Klipsch Image S4. Briefly tried Etymotic ER4 but wasn't snapped over them. Over the ear: Audio-Technica ATH-M50 and super budget but decent sounding Monoprice 8323 (edit: just checked and these are down to $16 ).
I've owned the Klipsch Reference S4i, that is, until the cables gave way, but those are some fantastic neutral earpieces. Etys are somewhat too neutral, perhaps even clinical to a point. Never was a fan either.
Thankfully I picked up an extra set of the S4s as back up. The Etymotics were always pumped as "studio monitors" but they were soulless IMO. On the other hand I really like their earplugs.