Shure vs. grado vs. senn vs. bose ---help me

[notsoshure]

Hey Guys,

ive only had 2 set of headphones in my day other than the stock ipods...the Sennheiser px100 for like 4 years (i loved these to death before the foam broke on me), and a pair of Sennheisers earbuds for the gym; i dont remember the name but they are good, but id like to keep them just for the gym and get some better sounding ones for movies and relaxing.

Ive done some research and have come up with these options:

Grado SR60,80,125
Sennheiser HD650
Shure 530
Bose QC15

From the information below, can someone who has used 1 or all of these please tell me which one would suite my needs the best.

i want something for taking my ipod on the bus and school (so durable, and possibly noise cancelation, but if it is going to hurt the sound quality to a decent degree than i could live without it), playing games and watching movies on my laptop. I might get a portable amp in the future but for this discussion assume its just the ipod and lossless files.


i like mostly rock music like finger eleven, kings of leon, oasis, queen, rush, coldplay, beatles, creed, gunsnroses, elvis...but i also listen to some softer stuff like norah jones, joss stone, maybe a lil beyonce or alicia keys here and there...no rap or hiphop.

also could you tell me whether you think the sound will leak out from the open ones like the grados to the point where people beside me on the bus can hear what im listening to...

THANK YOU for the help...i really need new headphones

ps: can you mention if hte product is a bit weak or flimsy...i really like the durability of the 2 senns i have had so far...ive stepped on them, dropped them, leave them in my backpack with my books etc...

 

[interloper]

I know this - you'll be pushed to find anything under £100 that sound better than the Grado SR60i. They just sound wonderful.

Leak sound like a sieve though. May as well pass the sleeve notes to the person sitting next to you so they can sing along.

 

[vkvedam]

For Sound Quality ----> SE530s [Good Noise Attenuation]

For Noise Cancellation ----> QC15

Rest of them are open headphones. Not at all feasible for travel.

HD 650s require high quality amplification.

 

[Hillskill]

I appreciate you might have budget restrictions but I would strongly reccomend having one pair for use at home and one for using out and about. I am big fan of Sennheiser 595s for home use. They are open backed, extremely comfortable to wear and a good all rounder for movies, games and music IMO.
An out and about pair is what I am trying to find at the minute. I have called time on IEMs, I really don't enjoy wearing them for long periods and the quality is not as good as a decent pair of earcups. I have been lurking on iHeadphones looking at the same pairs of Audio Technicas and Sennheisers but not any closer to making a decision. I was holding out for the B&W P5 Mobile headphones but having just discovered they are going to sell at 250quid I am out !

So to summarise. Go with a Mobile pair to start with. You can use these for either listening enviroment for now. Save the sheckles and sell some old gear and get a decent pair of open backed for home.

 

[notsoshure]

thanks for hte input guys.

I guess i will go with the grado sr60 for home use and the shure 530 for out of home...i cant really afford the senns for home and the shures for away...

can anyone tell me if the shures have good durability and are comfortable? as well how do they handle rock and the occasional soft stuff. how would you compare the sound with the bose qc15? like i said i can just keep using the in ear senns i have for the gym, so another in ear is not a must, but the 530's seem to outmatch a lot of cup ones, and u guys say the grados will leak sound so for portability its just come down to them and the qc15.

i know the grados sound in your face like you in the front row, and i guess that will be good for movies and games, and since i mostly listen to rock anyways i think that will suite me fine.

thanks again.

 

[vkvedam]

With regards to SQ, 530s can have QC15s for breakfast.

 

[[email protected]]

Not only will the Grados be heard by people seated nearby, but the noise of the bus will ruin SQ.

For portability you'll need closed, noise cancelling or in ear phones. From your list the Shures will be best option.

If you like your Senns, also consider IE8 for soundstage like open headphones (not like Grados tho) with some noise isolation. They work excellent with your type of music.

 

[Steven]

After deducting rent, text books and pound coins for the pool table, how much do you have left? I'd suggest two headphones; one for the road and one for home

I only say that because for example the HD650 is going to have a hard time being driven by a DAP. And I am now in the camp of thinking a portable amp is a waste of money

Grado SR60,80,125
Sennheiser HD650

I'd probably plump for the SR80 as a decent representation of the high end Grados. I say that because the sound signature of Grado is not for everyone. I do not care for the smoothness of the top end. All very out of place for me (notwithstanding I did like the £1000 top end ones but that is no consolation). I do not have fit problems with Grado but some people comment on it

HD650 has a darker sound than balanced HD600. Depends what you prefer and what you are pairing up with. If you have something clinical and sterile (imo) like Graham Slee line then a bit of colour from say Audio-Technica might be an idea

 

[Young Spade]

I would say to get the Shure 530s; the sound produced from them is going to be greater than everything else you posted. The Grado line is amazing for rock/metal/hardcore etc., but they have no isolation and leak.

 

[bluedroog]

Grado's sound great but frankly the sound they leak is so bad they may as well stick satellite speakers on a hair band, they are that bad. I get annoyed with other people who listen to loud music on public transport so wouldn't do it myself. On account of this I bought some Shure in ear ones instead. They don't sound as good but at least I keep it to myself. I love the Grado's but rarely use them.

 

[Steven]

Closed full sized is also a consideration. Senn HD25 for example

 

[Drubbing]

Grado's sound great but frankly the sound they leak is so bad they may as well stick satellite speakers on a hair band, they are that bad. I get annoyed with other people who listen to loud music on public transport so wouldn't do it myself.

You make it sound like a fault; this is simply a feature of any open backed phones, and they'll all leak about the same amount.

 

[bluedroog]

Not at all, it just depends what you want them for.
I made my original purchase with out wanting to compromise on sound so went for the Grado's. I wanted mainly to use on the train and after a while I realised for my use that although lovely sounding not practical at all.
I still love them but they are now limited to being used at home in the evening if the GF is trying to sleep or if we are doing separate things.

 

[antwil]

... surely can't still be the shure se530's as they've been around for nearly 3 years now with no real price drop - has nothing more recently which matches or supersedes been released by shure or another manufacturer?

also, do shure have any new models due out soon?

 

[Drubbing]

... surely can't still be the shure se530's as they've been around for nearly 3 years now with no real price drop - has nothing more recently which matches or supersedes been released by shure or another manufacturer?

also, do shure have any new models due out soon?

This is audio - Moore's law doesn't apply. There's no new technology advances every year. There's really only new models, but that doesn't mean newer will be better.

 

[jamesy999]

I've just ordered a set of Shure srh 440. They're a full sized closed back cup. £80 on Hard to find Records. They have a big brother the srh 840. They're £170. I'll let you know what the 440's are like, apparently the 840's are very similar.

Edit - heres some interesting reviews on the SE530 from people who know.

http://www.headphonereviews.org/headphone/Shure/SE530+or+E500+PTH

Seems if you want an IEM monitor they are almost unbeatable.

 

[antwil]

Thanks for your replies, cleared that up and am getting closer to buying the SE530s, definately after a pair of in-ears.

Will be using (please don't shout) an ipod touch - any views on the audio quality/hiss from this type of player when in use with the SE530s?

 

[jamesy999]

You should be ok as long as your music files are a good quality. I rip with WMA vbr 240-355kps

 

[antwil]

thanks for comments,

last thing to check now is...

are the shure SE530s THAT much better to be worth the money over the new Shure SE115? - ie. 4 times better? (4 times the cost)

 

[jamesy999]

The SE115's get pretty poor reviews to be honset. If you want to cut costs you could go for Q Jays, about £120 on Amazon and i've never seen abad review on them. I would hazard a guess that the Se530s are slightly better (i've never seen a like for like comparison) byt the Q Jays are half the price.

Go to the Head fi website and search for 'Q Jay reviews'.

 

[Drubbing]

thanks for comments,

last thing to check now is...

are the shure SE530s THAT much better to be worth the money over the new Shure SE115? - ie. 4 times better? (4 times the cost)

It doesn't work that way with audio. 4X the cost - when you are already at a good quality price point - doesn't = 4X the sound. Diminishing returns kick in at a certain point. For me, it's around $250 with headphones. From there, a $500 pair isn't necessarily going to be twice as good.

 

[jamesy999]

Totally agree. I think once you go beyond a certain point your you're paying large amounts for miniscule improvements or maybe just a different sound signature that may or may not be to your likeing.