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

slightly over your price range, but these are most excellent:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/audio-technica-ath-m40x-closed-back-professional-studio-monitor-headphones?rNtt=ath-m&index=2

they come with a detachable straight cable and a coiled cable.

if by "cupped ear pads" you mean circumaural, these are great. they are comfortable and have a pretty good flat freq response.

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.

I've always enjoyed the various Sony MDR headphones too. There's a few price range varieties on Amazon.

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

Don,

I use ATH-M40fs by Audio Technica with the straight cord.

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

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.

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.

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

Check these, Don.


http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/musicians-gear-mg900-studio-headphones



9.5' cord

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).

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

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.

A 1/4" TRS female phone to 1/8" TRS male mini phone adapter is a few bucks at Radio Shack and elsewhere.

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.

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

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.

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

Now that you pointed that out... Yup, that would present a few minor challenges.

I knew a few things about you but not that. I'm sorry to hear that about anyone but most especially my internet musician friends.

I thought that avatar of yours, the dancing chicken, was in fact, you in disguise.

No serious harm done. I still find great joy in living. It certainly beats the alternative.

Peter Gannon gave me back my music that I thought lost forever. That keeps me active in heart and mind. Add to that the wonderful, loving friends who travel, at great expense, to visit me and entertain at my nursing home FREE. They make facing the unknown each day full of joy and wide-eyed wonder. "My cup runeth over!"

Dr. Gannon keeps me involved "back stage" likely more for my benefit than his. It adds purpose to my life that every living organism needs to sustain life.

Donny

Hope this is not high jacking the thread but I need some advice about the importance of impedance with headphones. I have used Grado 60's for 10+ years. They are great but are an open design and I am looking for something as good but more enclosed to keep out background noise. The Grados have an impedance of 32 ohms. I once bought some Sennheiser phones (cannot remember which ones) with a higher impedance and couldn't get anything like the same volume from my Yamaha piano so I took them back. Also I don't really want noise cancellation phones that take batteries.

Any comments on impedance and choice of phones, up to say $200?

Thanks
Tony

Impedance is also dependent on your source source. What is the output impedance of your piano?

Here is a set of phones that were made for digital pianos (32 ohms), and man, are they cheap!


http://www.amazon.com/Samson-Technologies-HP10-Stereo-Headphones/dp/B003MV0U5E



My personal preference are these:


http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/HD280Pro




Regards,

Bob

Don, don't worry about extension cables. I have using this technique for years now:

1-loosely put a zip tie (#1) around the headphone cable
2-loosely put a zip tie (#2) around the extension cable
3-loosely put a zip tie (#3) into the zip ties #1 & #2 loops
4-securly tighten zip ties #1 & #2 onto the cables
5- tighten zip tie #3

I know that you will have to have someone do this for you but your cables will not come unplugged if someone trips on them.

I hope this helps good buddy.

Dear friend, Mario,

The flip side - if made too trip-proof, they topple, speakers, big-screen/monitor, desk, everything (twice). If it don't breakaway, I'll be in expensive and deep doo-doo!

It looks like the J-Buds are going to be a reasonable temporary solution. Don't know if I'll ever get accustomed to something inside my ears and very little low-end. Night/Day difference from the beautiful "thud" of my Berrys. That may actually be my Pacemaker and coaxing me wee Oyrish 'art into just one more beat.

I always respect your input, my friend.

Donny

I use these in my studio. I have about a dozen of them, some for several years and they're still going strong. They have cupped ear, open back, come with a 9' 8" straight cord and a plug and play adapter -mini to standard- "These will not slip off your ears and they've never made me sweat". I hope this helps.

Here's the pertinent info and here's the link where you can buy them: http://www.amazon.com/JVC-HAG101-Headphones-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B00008DHSN/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1455762284&sr=8-2&keywords=jvc+ha-g101+headphones

JVC HA-G101

Specifications:
Driver Unit 1.57" (40mm)
Frequency Response 16-22,000Hz
Nominal Impedance 32ohms
Sensitivity 98dB/1mW
Max. Input Capability 50mW
Cord Length 9.84ft (3m)
Weight (without cord) 5.99oz (170g)
Plug Nickel Plated
Accessory Plug Adapter

Features:
super bass sound system
Nominal impedance: 32 ohms
Sensitivity:103 dB/mW
Frequency response,8-20,000Hz
40 mm diameter diaphragm
Cord length:3.0m (9.8ft)
plug & plug adapter mini to standard
Maximum input capability: 50mW

Thanks, KJ. The response looks great!

The leatherette cushion pads are not ideal for me. They eventually slide down around my neck and Aide must re-position them often.

Thanks though.

Don

I was really looking to understand what single phone impedance I should consider for all possible uses - keyboard, mixer, computer, iPhone etc. I assume that lower is better than higher so perhaps 32 ohm is the best choice?

I was actually also considering the HD280 Pro and based on your additional recommendation I went out and bought a pair. I tried them on my piano and knew immediately they were not what I want. I am very picky about my piano sound and they are very "boomy" By comparison my Grado 60's are clear and crisp and reproduce the stereo piano sound superbly. I assume this is the difference between closed and open designs. I think I will stick with Grado and forget about closed design phones.

Thanks
Tony