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geekhack Community => Other Geeky Stuff => Topic started by: wordfool on Sun, 22 November 2009, 20:31:25
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Been hanging out with the good folks at head-fi to try and figure out a good pair of headphones and wondered what everyone here uses.
I'm about to buy a pair of Alessandro MS-1i cans... anyone else use these or the Grado equivalents?
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audio-technica ath-m50s
yes, they are closed... i needed it that way
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Cyber Snipa Sonar 5.1 and Sennheiser HD515.
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audio-technica ath-m50s
I was considering those but figured if I am able to use open 'phones then I should. I am worried the MS-1's might have less bass oomph than I'd like.
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grado generally does
the m50 is a bit much bass, but yes, i like it even though i know its wrong. kind of like overcontrasted TVs...
if you can get open, get open. i got closed to try to stop some of the incessant noise from nearby hooligans.
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I am currently using a Razer headset, not exactly Grado since they are fairly hard to come by in Canada, but for having tried many Sennheiser headphones under 300$ I'd have to say they were comfortable but the sound wasn't amazing, I played acoustic and electric blues for 10-15 years, by ear, so my hearing must be still good, and I didn't keep any of the Sennheiser.
Now i'm more into computing and less into muisc, use a headset mostly for gaming and listen to shoutcasts in 128kbps. What i'm using now is the Razer (http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-audio/razer-piranha/) (~60-70$) with a x-fi platinum soundcard.
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I really prefered the Alessandro's MS1 to Grado's SR60/80.
Much more musical.
However, not sure about your taste of music but if I listen to a wide range composed of mainly 50% vocals and indie stuff 20% soundtrack and 10% metal 10% rock and etc.
The Beyerdynamic DT990 fits the bill for me as they sound like an all-round winner when paired with the correct amp.
And getting an amp is worth it, either through cheap proven designs on headwize/diy-audio or just getting a commercial one would do. Depends on your level of enthusiasm I guess to DIY stuff
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the amp thing is my next upgrade... perhaps next year. Ideally I'd like to get a DAC/amp combo to bypass my laptop's headphone plug, but that might be outta my price range.
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Bose TriPort over-the-ear. Love'em...
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Klipsch Image S4 Headphones. Not much used now, with bad eyesight, it seems dangerous for me to travel with these ear-plugs. Also since a few youngsters were laughing at this old Monkey (I just look plain silly).
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I see Audio Technica ATH-AD700 for about $90-$99 recently. They're pretty good, but I tend to alternate between my DT-990 and Grado 325is just because they fit my head better. Even the DT-990 feels a little small next to the ATH-AD700.
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Senheiser HD-202's are a great value headphone i keep at work. I think you could spend a good deal more than this and get much worse headphones.
http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-202-Headphones/dp/B000065BP9/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1259000770&sr=8-1
Earbuds I have Shure e2c I think they're amazing mids and highs but I wish had a little more oomph on the bottom end. They're about half the price they were a year ago.
http://www.amazon.com/Shure-E2c-Sound-Isolating-Earphones/dp/B0000CE1UO/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1259000878&sr=1-11
I have always wanted a set of Grados, their look to me is awesome. And of course the high end AT's and Senn's mentioned above are others I've really wanted. I've never had a set of real high end cans.
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Sennheiser HD202 bass is too muddy if you have ever owned a Logitech speaker set not named the Logitech Z-5500 or Z-680 you will know what I mean. Sennheiser HD201 are much better.
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Koss Pro4AA. Flattest response for over 30 years.
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gah, the peril of spending too much time on forums... now my shortlist is getting longer.
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I've already suffered from Forum-itis. You get used to it after a while.
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A whole bunch of varying vintage here.
HD580 on the comp...
SE420s for mobile use with the Clip...
HD590 for bedside-fi...
HD540 (600 ohm) on the CDP...
HD420SL as radio and general purpose cans.
(Plus a few more that don't see much use, including a HD650 I've wanted to sell for ages.)
A little Sennheiser-centric as you can see, save for the Shure IEMs.
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I would say so. I am not big on Sennheiser build quality.
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good headphones are important but I've never had the money for them. Too many other hobbies. I had a pair of Grados once, but they broke. Right now I use a cheapass pair of Sennheiser HD201.
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I have an old pair of headphones from the 1960's. You guys would laugh at them.
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I have an old pair of headphones from the 1960's. You guys would laugh at them.
You know the drill here. Vintage stuff are not to be laughed at.
The orthodynamics type headphones are considered to be a rarity among head-fiers and some say that their midrange cannot be compared against!
Well, just post some pics will ya
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I can't. The LCD on my phone's broke. That means no more pictures of the bomb shelter for a while too!
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I'll give you my brothers old phone, it has a good camera and it has a QWERTY keyboard. The battery doesn't last long though, but the replacement is only $13.
We must see more pictures!
And in response to the thread, I just use my crappy iPod headphones, they get the job done.
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I favor in-ear more than headphones =P I have a pair of Shure E2C but I want to save up for a better set.
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I find in-ear ones a bit harsh. I have a set for when Im traveling or commuting, but when I'm at home or staying somewhere, I have my Beyers
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I find in-ear ones a bit harsh. I have a set for when Im traveling or commuting, but when I'm at home or staying somewhere, I have my Beyers
Another reason why I don't like to wear headphones is because it messes up my hair lol
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The iPod headphones make your ears sore if you wear them for an extended period of time.
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Another reason why I don't like to wear headphones is because it messes up my hair lol
Ah, such are the advantages of having short hair, even though my female friends keep telling me to grow it long...
The iPod headphones make your ears sore if you wear them for an extended period of time.
iPod headphones are ****, and god bless the poor souls who go out and cough up €30 (at least around here) to buy a new Apple set when the old ones die.
I remember around the time iPods became popular, there were people who'd buy the Apple earphones to use with their CD/Radio player to look fashionable. Also around that time, police forces in several countries were warning the public that the white earphones would mark them out for theft or mugging. I am sure that somewhere at some point, some hapless fashion victim with his banged-up walkman was probably accosted by a drug addict because of earphones that were worth more than the player that they were connected to...
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iPod headphones are ****, and god bless the poor souls who go out and cough up €30 (at least around here) to buy a new Apple set when the old ones die.
I totally agree with that. Even here in the states I still see people wearing iPod headphones for some crappy MP3. I personally don't find it so fashionable.
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I am going to get some on-ear headphones.
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I wear my ancient old clunky headphones with my cassette Walkman.
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I bet they look as bad as your computer lab.
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I favor in-ear more than headphones =P I have a pair of Shure E2C but I want to save up for a better set.
I'm using one of these! Might as well save up and go full customs!
Just for the record, these are 'headphones' too, albeit miniaturized ones
From this:
(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_zTdH8P9Zdbs/SuW7rtrUWeI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/50MMZ7Sl-6w/s912/P1100329.JPG)
To this:
(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_zTdH8P9Zdbs/SwvywC3Q4cI/AAAAAAAAAiQ/5zeaNduxQfA/DSCN9326.jpeg)
(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_zTdH8P9Zdbs/Sw6UHngvAGI/AAAAAAAAAlc/hRwyI9I4mFk/s800/Image25.jpg)
On the plus side, they sound extremely detailed and cost me 2 HHKB Pro2s
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are those the ultimate ears? =D
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audio-technica ath-m50s
yes, they are closed... i needed it that way
I have the same ones. They are great to keep at work and take travelling.
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Sound magic pl-50. I had pl-30s before, the bass adjust knobs broke, but the pl-50s are very good. A cheap balanced armature iem.
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are those the ultimate ears? =D
Unique Melody Mage.
Nicest build quality so far on all customs in the world.
Sound magic pl-50. I had pl-30s before, the bass adjust knobs broke, but the pl-50s are very good. A cheap balanced armature iem.
I used these as my pair of daily drivers before I upgraded to full customs. Loved it for its clarity, relatively decent mids/highs and sufficient bass.
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Wow those customs look awesome. I've always wanted to try in-ear. Right now I'm using Beyerdynamics DT990s with an Audio-gd Compass DAC/amp. Lovin it. I also have some Goldring DR150s that I've been meaning to sell but am having trouble parting with. They're great cans for the money. I remember comparing them to some mid-range Senns a friend had (can't remember which number, but they were more expensive than the Goldring) and the DR blew them away (or the "Docs" as head-fiers call them).
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My kids' occupational therapist recommended a Sennheiser model headphone as the flattest response under $200 USD. She works with audio therapy on kids on the autism spectrum. The therapy is noticeably effective. I need to find out the exact Sennheiser model.
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Most people don't like flat response curves. It certainly exposes bad engineering (all other things being equal). The way I think about it is I am hearing the music the way the engineer (and artist, hopefully) intended, for better or worse. You certainly don't know what equipment the engineer was using to master the recordings with, but oh well.
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What drives me nuts is mixes that build in noise AND clipping. That usually drove me to recheck my equipment. Now I listen often with my PC and Creative Sound cards drive you nuts with their OWN built in pops and crackles.
Because of this, I only keep Hip Hop and some electronica in MP3 format since it doesn't really make a difference at that point.
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using stuff like WASAPI seems to help
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Has anyone tried the Atrio M5 by Futuresonics? Any opinions?
http://futuresonics.ypguides.net/store/item/1mu7p/Universal_Fit_Earphones/Atrio_model_m5_Black_Professional_Earphones.html (http://futuresonics.ypguides.net/store/item/1mu7p/Universal_Fit_Earphones/Atrio_model_m5_Black_Professional_Earphones.html)
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My studio engineer roommate would engineer on flat monitors then take the CD out to his car and play it on those and a cheap pair of Radio Shack speakers. So yeah, his goal was not flat reproduction but to sound good on lots of consumer equipment.
Smart man. When I was an audio engineer for some SF area bands, I'd sit by the studio engineer and listen, but as I told the musicians, the only meaningful test is to listen in a car with the engine on. That's the most common listening room in the world.
One of the things I hate is compression. One of the CDs I helped master has awesome dynamic range in the musical content, sounds fantastic on its own, but in a 5-cd changer it sounds like ass because its median volume level is about 9 db lower than the standard factory CD from Columbia/Sony/Warner Brothers.
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well, I ended up getting a pair of Shure SRH840 'phones. Am burning them in now (if you believe the burn-in malarky) and so far they sound great so any burn-in improvement is a bonus. Got them for a steal, too ($125). Now I'm wondering if I need an external DAC/amp to bypass my laptop's sound card... the slope just gets more and more slippery and my wallet more and more emptery.
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The DAC in your computer is probably as good as anything you'd get casually; go for a fiber optic digital out into a good pre-amp if you're looking to spend money. RCA digital out has measurable jitter compared to optical fiber. I've seen the o-scope, I don't do RCA digital.
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RCA digital out has measurable jitter compared to optical fiber. I've seen the o-scope, I don't do RCA digital.
Funny, other people say optical is inherently worse in terms of jitter. Implementation is king, it seems. BTW, if you want to see bad, try USB isochronous.
Notebooks' internal sound solutions tend to be quite bad, often plagued by interference of various kinds and rarely equipped with oversized output coupling capacitors (and the Shures with a nominal 44 ohms are rather in the low impedance camp). If the output seems clean at least, I'd recommend a little headphone amp.
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Digital is digital. The signal is there (and able to be decoded) or it isn't. I just use whatever is available. I have used both optical and coax with no problems. These days, I usually use optical, because it's more available (I don't have an HDMI-equipped receiver yet), but I actually prefer coax as the cable and interface are more robust, and coax is easier to make into custom lengths.
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what you are saying is generally true, i generally present it in the same way, but you have to think about "able to be decoded right now"
an example of this is digital TV
yes it is digital, and it is super clear, but when a bird passes over or there is a storm or something you get a whole block of the screen section missing, some missed frames, etc... as in, a really bad situation can cause what seems to be like a quality issue, even though it is a complete non-transmission of information.
i have heard about long, twisted opticals giving problems... i cant imagine why it would be true though
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The DAC in your computer is probably as good as anything you'd get casually; go for a fiber optic digital out into a good pre-amp if you're looking to spend money. RCA digital out has measurable jitter compared to optical fiber. I've seen the o-scope, I don't do RCA digital.
Optical or coax are not really options in my case... the only DACs I was looking at are USB and I'm still not convinced they'll be any better than my conextant soundcard (I got swept up in the DAC-bit debate for high-end CD players in the early 1990s... not going down that road again).
The USB DACs do, however, include a modest amp, which might make a difference in sound quality (assuming source material is decent). But is it worth spending $100+ chasing a tiny gain in SQ? Not sure yet.
Surprisingly for a laptop soundcard mine is pretty quiet with no audible interference.
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The Sennheiser HD 500A are the headphones recommended by my kids' occupational therapist for extended and flat frequency response. She has amazing CDs that "go to 11" (from 16 Hz pedal tones to circa 23KHz) that increase attention span and reduce irritability.
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The HD500A is a funny beast (http://www.vitalsounds.com/HD500AComp.aspx). I think it evolved from the HD575, a short-lived model that combined a HD500 housing with HD590 drivers and pads (rumor has it that this was sort of an experiment but it turned out that people liked it, so they made some).
Incidentally, the highest possible frequency for CDs is 22.05 kHz (44.1 kHz sample rate), and DACs' reconstruction filters typically cut off at 20 kHz. That's plenty high enough anyway.
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I use the sennheiser Pc350 (headphone with boom mic). Good sound (I'm not an audiophile but it sounds alright), good noise cancelling mic (I use it for dragon naturally speaking and it works great, as well as any other microphone I can find), good pick-up for screaming at others when playing l4d or tf2 or cs.
Oh and the boom mic is longer than the usual, such that it can end appropriately near the right spot of my face, not sit next to my cheek. Important for dictation reasons.
Pc350 is over the ear headset which is great for those of us who wear glasses. Of course nobody here on geekhack wears glasses right?
I for sure don't wear glasses, in fact here is my self portrait in case any of you female geekhackers want to drop me a line for a date.
(http://www.thesoapdispenser.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/dt_bb_act_large_llamas.jpg)
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Yeah, I had never heard of the HD500.
HD595 folks - if you ever find a friend with one try em!
note that the hd555 can be easily modified to hd595
i still have some 555 in the box
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Oh and the boom mic is longer than the usual, such that it can end appropriately near the right spot of my face, not sit next to my cheek. Important for dictation reasons.
Generally a sideways position seems to be better though, much less breathing noises.
Pc350 is over the ear headset which is great for those of us who wear glasses. Of course nobody here on geekhack wears glasses right?
No, certainly not. Wait, where did I mislay my...
I for sure don't wear glasses, in fact here is my self portrait in case any of you female geekhackers want to drop me a line for a date.
Dammit, where's that dictionary when you need it... :tongue:
note that the hd555 can be easily modified to hd595
*grows big ears* Mind sharing how?
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http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/hd555-internals-anyone-want-help-compare-hd595-future-mods-403497/
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and hey, theres still a lot of people that attest that even though the drivers look the same in every way, that for the 595 they are hand picked by sennheiser engineers in order to... PFPPPFFFTTTT YEAH RIGHT
but really
its not 100% confirmed
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the highest possible frequency for CDs is 22.05 kHz
D'oh! I knew that.
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http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/hd555-internals-anyone-want-help-compare-hd595-future-mods-403497/
So the '555s are artifically made worse by introducing this sound reflecting material. Makes sense from a production POV. I'd probably rip the stuff out and do one of the soundstage mods. This series was a definite step back from the previous one in that respect... a HD590 is wide open out of the box. I guess they had some structural integrity issues.
BTW, ripster, there's some ABS plastic for ya :D
(That seems to be different on the older series as well. I think I did see some markings at one point.)
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Seems like keyb_gr is not only a member of geekhack, but also head-fi, judging from his extensive use of related vocabulary. ;-)
I just ordered a 'Sony MDR XB 700' yesterday. Hoping to get it tomorrow. I've tried it at a local store and it's just ridiculously comfortable. Sounds excellent too.
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Seems like keyb_gr is not only a member of geekhack, but also head-fi, judging from his extensive use of related vocabulary. ;-)
Well spotted. ;) I used to be quite active there about 4 years ago, nowadays I just pop up in the Music forum once in a while. One of the few comfy spots left in what is a very large and quite commercial forum nowadays. You might stumble across me more often in the German Hifi-Forum though, I tend to check the repair section regularly. Not with my nick and avatar here, of course...
Hmm, user reviews of the XB700 don't seem to be that positive. Apparently it isolates well but is bass heavy and dark-sounding. I'd try to run it on sources with as low an output impedance as possible. Nominal impedance is just 24 ohms, and it doesn't take much of a variation and output impedance to color the frequency response. Should work well with portables though. I tend to be skeptical with Sony cans, as they tend to be hit and miss (a bit like Philips). Generally I'd rather stick with the big names in the headphone biz, like Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, AKG, A-T and (lately) Shure.
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Hmm, user reviews of the XB700 don't seem to be that positive. Apparently it isolates well but is bass heavy and dark-sounding.
I've read a couple of positive reviews confirming my inexperienced positive impression. But maybe I was just reading selectively to reassure myself. :)
I just skimmed the surface of audiophily science and I intend to leave it at that. So I'm not quite that demanding.
I've had some bad experience with expensive Sennheisers (HD280 Pro) and some good experience with cheap Philips. :)
So I'll just see how I like it.
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I need some new headphones, I like the ones where that little plastic thing goes behind your head instead of going over your head. I don't like really obnoxiously big headphones that look like they can pick up digital television without a converter box. They are just not the way for me to go, I don't want to end up with a serious neck injury because my headphones were too big...
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Where do you get all these pictures from?
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That's what they call a trade secret, I guess...
Anyway, choices in terms of behind-the-neck cans are quite limited, generally between junk and entry-level. Maybe that's because they tend to be used for sports and such. Sennheiser PMX100s should be OK, and Koss KSC-55s, while known to be rather uncomfortable, are quite decent-sounding as well.
BTW, most "big" cans are not nearly as heavy as you think. While oldschool closed ones back in the '70s could easily weigh more than a pound, modern open ones rarely exceed 300 g sans cable (their closed cousins are a bit heavier but not that much). Occasionally they even approach 200 g, like my trusty old HD590 (still one of the most comfortable headphones ever, provided you don't run out of headband adjustment that is). The comfier ones can usually be worn for hours on end with no problems.
Anyway, it is always a good idea to state desired uses and price range.
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Or maybe it is this amazing thing called the internet...
I will look around for some good headphones.