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I have excellent headphones Sennheiser 417 (since discontinued) but they are heavy and the ear pads are not cupped so they slide off frequently requiring help from my busy aide to readjust them.
Here are my design considerations:
Fairly flat response between 20Hz - 20kHz
Lightweight
Cupped ear pads
9' (3m) straight cord (not coiled) Could be longer. Don't prefer to add extension. 1/8" mini stereo plug (straight, not right angle)
Price range: =/~ $50-75
I realize I could go to Amazon and be overwhelmed with options that's why I seek your opinions.
Thanks,
Don
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look at the Ultrasone HFI-450. Street price around $100. They are very good with a very long straight cable. Harvey Gerst sells the Mo Me headphones at around 30-40 dollars. The cable is short tho.
Last edited by Dave Chambliss; 02/16/16 05:23 AM.
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I've always enjoyed the various Sony MDR headphones too. There's a few price range varieties on Amazon.
 Steve BIAB/RB 2022, Pro Tools 2020, Korg N5, JBL LSR 4328 Powered Monitors, AKG/Shure Mics.
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Beagle,
Interesting design concept.
Dave,
Another interesting option. Thanks.
By "cupped" I meant recessed to where the ears have some lip to prevent them from sliding off when perspiration develops after a long listening session.
I mix with Berry MS-40 Near-Field Monitor speakers (I like to "feel" the bass) set to "paint pealing level" but my neighbors complain, thus the need for cans.
Steve, I had owned some mid priced Sony MDR Series and loved them. I think I stepped on them in my gig bag once too often. I broke the yoke piece eventually. Great sound and lightweight though.
You guys have given me great options to explore. Thanks.
Don
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Don,
I use ATH-M40fs by Audio Technica with the straight cord.
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These are on sale today. Free shipping AKG K 44 Headphones ($19.99) http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/akg-k-44-headphones/620620?cntry=us&source=3WWRWXGP&gclid=CNLHtLHU_MoCFYqQHwod2_4KWQ&kwid=productads-plaid^137772952122-sku^620620000000000@ADL4MF-adType^PLA-device^c-adid^92768982627 Link
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Don,
I use ATH-M40fs by Audio Technica with the straight cord.
Josie, It says 11' cord. Is that straight or coiled. Coiled is misery for a paralyzed Irishman. Also, I know pretty ladies don't sweat, but I've had little joy with those leatherette cushions. I notice they sell replacement pads so others have my problem. I sweat profusely after 10 minutes.
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These are on sale today. Free shipping AKG K 44 Headphones ($19.99) http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/akg-k-44-headphones/620620?cntry=us&source=3WWRWXGP&gclid=CNLHtLHU_MoCFYqQHwod2_4KWQ&kwid=productads-plaid^137772952122-sku^620620000000000@ADL4MF-adType^PLA-device^c-adid^92768982627 Link Floyd, Nice frequency response, if relatively flat (+/- 10%) however, my room configuration demands 9' cable, absolute minimum. I don't like extension cables. They tend to pull apart or add more problems, in my experience. K.I.S.S.. You'd wonder how I accomplish anything under these space constraints. lol Thanks for jumping in though. Don PS: Those that don't give a freq response, I dismiss out of hand.
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Don,
I have the same model as Josie, and it has a 10-foot straight cable. I'm not sure that exact piece is still made, but anything in the M40/50 range is as good as or better than the 40fs. I paid $50 through Amazon a few years ago.
Richard
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I also have a pair of ATH-m20, an older version of these headphones and a lower cost. they do not have the detachable cable, but the reason I'm sticking my head in here again is because of the sweat issue. I sweat a lot! My sweat destroyed the ear pads on the ATH-m20's and I ordered some replacements for $5 on amazon.
voila'! refurbished headphones! and IIRC, the ear pads are the same on the 40's and the 50's as they are on the 20's (and maybe the 70's and above, too, I'm not sure).
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Floyd, I like these but the artificial, imitation, faux, leatherette-esque, pads tend to slide down and off my ears. My Sennheisers have cloth or covered sponge to address the sweat issue. They were quite heavy, probably why DCd. The best cans I've ever owned/heard were Koss (forgot model). Seafoam Green. lol They had a transformer in the can that usually came loose in that particular model and bounced around. Don
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I believe the M40fs models mentioned here are 1/4" jack (no adapter on end), and Don is looking for 1/8".
FWIW I have no issue with a good extension cable, and use some that adapt the 1/4" down to 1/8" (solves problems sometimes).
Anywhere from 3' to 25' is used here depending on the need (sometimes even doubled for longer runs), and I don't recall ever having them come apart during use.
Even 9' seems like it would be restricting to me.
If you have a drummer. bassist, guitarist, keyboard player and vocalist all running off one headphone amp, you need good extension cables. That's why they exist.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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A 1/4" TRS female phone to 1/8" TRS male mini phone adapter is a few bucks at Radio Shack and elsewhere.
"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."
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Rharv,
Being paralyzed, my setup is very unique. I'm a little embarrassed to even describe it.
I was hoping to eliminate the extensions ( have 2 different lengths) because my hospital bed gets moved out to the center of the room several times daily for my personal care and general housekeeping.
The aides and housekeeper lack common sense so become entangled in longer cables or, worse yet, get the bed castors entangled and pull my big-screen/monitor over (twice).
My requirements are quite accurate. They even stumble over the shorter cable and knock my speakers to the floor. It's pathetic.
Don
Richard,
I have such adapter but I believe in eliminating as much hardware as possible.
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Don, have you considered wireless? Many options. Bluetooth, Wifi, infra-red, and RF. Some come with receivers so you also have the choice to use any headphones but cut the cord.
For extra low cost, those little stereo FM transmitters that broadcast on the FM band and are built to plug into the 12v socket of a car are cheap and easily adaptable to run off a small wall wart charger and you can get the signal to your headphones from any small transistor radio in a 25-50 foot range.
BIAB 2026:RB 2026, Latest builds: Dell Optiplex 7040 Desktop; Windows-10-64 bit, Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz CPU and 16 GB Ram Memory.
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Don, have you considered wireless? Many options. Bluetooth, Wifi, infra-red, and RF. Some come with receivers so you also have the choice to use any headphones but cut the cord.
For extra low cost, those little stereo FM transmitters that broadcast on the FM band and are built to plug into the 12v socket of a car are cheap and easily adaptable to run off a small wall wart charger and you can get the signal to your headphones from any small transistor radio in a 25-50 foot range. Charlie, The company I worked for in Seattle sold the IR headphones. I wasn't impressed unless they've improved a lot. They were short-ranged and terribly directional. The FM ones were equally bad. Of course, that was long ago. You folks have me considering cheap-ish in ear monitors. Knockoffs are down to under $100. A little over my price range but I'm considering, nonetheless. I haven't yet seen them with long cables so I'd need a shop to change the cables. That generally puts the brakes on my ideas. I have the JVC J-Buds, I will give them a test-drive tomorrow. Thanks guys and Josie B. Don
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When I'm looking for some new cans, I go to the music stores to see what they have and try them out. "Looking around to see what's out there" is what I tell the sales guys. That way I can compare them side by side with the same general source material.
I bought my studio monitors the same way.
The set I have now, that I use here in the studio, I happened to see in a 50% off bargain bin in Guitar Center some time back. For $30 I figured I couldn't go too far wrong. Turned out to be some nice sounding cans for the money.
Yamaha RH 5Ma is the model number.
I even used them to mix a few tunes. They are on the bright side but also support a nice full bass. The ear cups are thin and the cans are light weight. 10' cord makes it easy working in the studio and moving around.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Herb,
You missed something of value: I am both mute and paralyzed! Oh what I've give to have the liberties you take for granted!
My only open option is to trust the ears of those I love, admire, and respect. That's why I came here!
Donny
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