So I've been wondering about your guys' suggestions on the best set of headphones that go with an Ipod, with the best overall quality sound and bass at the most affordable cost. I would rather not buy a pair of $100 Bose in-ear headphones, so I was wondering what you guys have owned and what kinds/brands you would recommend most.

I prefer the in-ear noise canceling headphone design, as I usually take them on my walks, so let's try and stick with those. What are some pros and cons of any you remember.

Right now I have a pair of in-ear Sony headphones with a volume adjust, but still feel I'm not getting the best overall quality. When I listen to the songs on my Ipod as compared to my Itunes, the Itunes on my PC gets a lot of highs and lows that I simply completely miss when I listen to my Ipod... the sound quality of the Ipod itself may be to blame, but there may be headphones out there that could still get as much range as possible.
I used to own a pair of in-ear Philips headphones which were better sounding but after a while one of them didn't work so I needed new ones.
This was them:

http://www.amazon.com/PHILIPS-SHE9500-27-In-Ear-Headphones/dp/B001GGWHTY/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1273446542&sr=1-14

They were good but the wire felt like a piece of jelly, didn't like that aspect.
I also once owned another pair that I returned on the same day b/c the sound was so distant and horrid, with NO bass at all, if you ever see them, run away fast! :

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-SHE5920-Virtual-Surround-Headphones/dp/B000QS0ZH4/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1273446542&sr=1-8

I saw these on amazon (obviously) and they've got a gorgeous design but I'm wondering how good they are, plus they're crazy expensive:

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-SHE9850-Headphones-Advanced-Acoustics/dp/B00176TEGM/ref=sr_1_17?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1273446542&sr=1-17

From what I've researched, the headphone specs usually listed on the back covers of the packages (listing frequency bandwidth, impedance, sensitivity, etc) usually tell you nothing in terms of how they will actually sound.

Any recommendations?

All I can say.....DO NOT GET SKULLCANDY.

$60 is NOT crazy expensive, grinch. You can go upwards of $300 or $400 for a really good pair. Most of your high-end ones that are *actually* affordable are in the $100 to $150 range. I'm looking right around that price range for a pair of nice ones. A guy I work w/ has 2 sets: 1 w/ REAL good bass response, but perhaps too much. They're great for pop, hip-hop, dance, electronic, etc. but not great for metal unless you want to hear nothing but bass or booming breakdowns. He has another one (wish I could remember the name/brand) that has very good midrange response, decent bass, and overall really good sound. Those were around $150 at the time he bought them. I myself just have a cheapo pair of JVC earphones that are decent, and sound okay (in-ear) but don't stay in place very well and pale in comparison to the mid-high end market stuff. Even a $100 pair of Sony's sound markedly better than the ones I have.

mazzie wrote:

All I can say.....DO NOT GET SKULLCANDY.

Why's that?

olias wrote:

mazzie wrote:

All I can say.....DO NOT GET SKULLCANDY.

Why's that?

I went through 3 of them in two years. A lot of people I know said similar things as well. I think one other guy on this board agreed...I think Tallerthanatree.


It has great audio quality but it burnt out really easily.

yea. our studio guy of Battlefrost productions has a bunch of 200 dollar headphones.. of some German make. They are amazing though.. for durability and quality of a wide range o sound and panning, etc.

I think the brand is sternhausser or something like that..

mazzie wrote:

olias wrote:

mazzie wrote:

All I can say.....DO NOT GET SKULLCANDY.

Why's that?

I went through 3 of them in two years. A lot of people I know said similar things as well. I think one other guy on this board agreed...I think Tallerthanatree.


It has great audio quality but it burnt out really easily.

Yeah,
They do lol.
Im runnin those 60 dollar Roxy headphones from target right now.
I love em.
Got em for 18.
CLEARANCE BABY!!!

mazzie wrote:

olias wrote:

mazzie wrote:

All I can say.....DO NOT GET SKULLCANDY.

Why's that?

I went through 3 of them in two years. A lot of people I know said similar things as well. I think one other guy on this board agreed...I think Tallerthanatree.


It has great audio quality but it burnt out really easily.

Indeed.

Kamerad Ash wrote:

I think the brand is sternhausser or something like that..

If you look for popular german high quality brands it should be either Sennheiser or Beyerdynamic.

that's it, thanks... Sennheiser.

mazzie wrote:

All I can say.....DO NOT GET SKULLCANDY.

Yea, I hear they've got substandard sound too, like no bass. The packaging looks really nice though

MetalFRO wrote:

$60 is NOT crazy expensive, grinch. You can go upwards of $300 or $400 for a really good pair. Most of your high-end ones that are *actually* affordable are in the $100 to $150 range. I'm looking right around that price range for a pair of nice ones. A guy I work w/ has 2 sets: 1 w/ REAL good bass response, but perhaps too much. They're great for pop, hip-hop, dance, electronic, etc. but not great for metal unless you want to hear nothing but bass or booming breakdowns. He has another one (wish I could remember the name/brand) that has very good midrange response, decent bass, and overall really good sound. Those were around $150 at the time he bought them. I myself just have a cheapo pair of JVC earphones that are decent, and sound okay (in-ear) but don't stay in place very well and pale in comparison to the mid-high end market stuff. Even a $100 pair of Sony's sound markedly better than the ones I have.

Thanks for the info... that kinda sucks, I really can't afford to spend that much money on a set of in-ear headphones. For that money I'd rather put it towards an Ipod or something. Plus given the amount of brands and stuff out there, it's tough to find out which are reliable and which ones won't break on you in a few months. Plus I'd just feel guilty paying that much for something so small. Maybe one day...

metalgrinch wrote:

mazzie wrote:

All I can say.....DO NOT GET SKULLCANDY.

Yea, I hear they've got substandard sound too, like no bass.

Uh. I thought Skullcandy is known for their bass? Too much bass in fact.

I have some $30 Sony High Performance earbuds, and they sound great. ....my only beef with them is that they're not loud enough.

....so I bought a headphone amplifier. Now they're the perfect earbuds for me.

I have some SkullCandy's that were given to me used. I've had them for a couple years and they still work fine.

Skull Candy vs. Sony High Performance sound quality is like comparing Exhumed recordings to Nile recordings. SkullCandy are loud, and have good bass and highs, but its too much gain. ....it can actually distort the music even more. (in a bad way where I can't even hear drum cymbals at all)

Unintentional Theologian wrote:

metalgrinch wrote:

mazzie wrote:

All I can say.....DO NOT GET SKULLCANDY.

Yea, I hear they've got substandard sound too, like no bass.

Uh. I thought Skullcandy is known for their bass? Too much bass in fact.

Bass can be heavy. But you can never have to much cowbell.

olias wrote:

Unintentional Theologian wrote:

metalgrinch wrote:

mazzie wrote:

All I can say.....DO NOT GET SKULLCANDY.

Yea, I hear they've got substandard sound too, like no bass.

Uh. I thought Skullcandy is known for their bass? Too much bass in fact.

Bass can be heavy. But you can never have to much cowbell.

Unless youre in Eternal Mystery.

BOSE=BAD COMPANY PRETENDING TO BE GOOD NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BOSE!!!!!!!!!!!

Koss is probably the best thing i have heard, JVC makes some damn good earbuds. if i was to tell you which company to go with, go with koss, their prices are great, and their headphones sound the most natural ive ever heard, i had a pair of full suize headphones from them once, cost me 20 bucks, had a frequency response all the way down to 20hz and sounded almost as good as my full blown music system (aside from the fact you cant "feel" bass with headphones)

oh and as far as you saying itunes sounds better then your ipod, its probably the headphones, ipods have very good DACs in them which is why i use one with my system. do not get heaphones with a volume control, this adds harmonic distortion that is unnecessary.


bose adds an altered and boosted mid-bass to all their crap which would fool any audiophool into thinking it has deep bass, its all psycoacoustics its not clear, un-altered sound correctly reproduced.

"rom what I've researched, the headphone specs usually listed on the back covers of the packages (listing frequency bandwidth, impedance, sensitivity, etc) usually tell you nothing in terms of how they will actually sound."

this is not always true because i have seen earbuds that claim 20hz-20khz that couldnt even hit 70hz properly. namely stay away from maxell, they make the worst heaphones ever.

dont worry about impedance, worry about sensitivity, the higher the sensitivity rating the louder they will go.

metalgrinch wrote:

mazzie wrote:

All I can say.....DO NOT GET SKULLCANDY.

Yea, I hear they've got substandard sound too, like no bass. The packaging looks really nice though

they sound like the drivers are made out of wonka taffy