Headphone and MP3 player buying advice

[Squeak]

I'm thinking about getting a decent flash MP3 and pair of good midrange headphones suited for both portable and other use.
The headphones I'm looking at are Sennheiser HD 497, Grado SR 60 and Sennheiser HD 500.
The HD 497s sound very good to me, and the build quality also seems good enough for portable use. I was about to buy them until I heard about the SR 60s. I haven’t had a chance to try them out (my local HiFi shop will take a week to get them), but the reviews are glowing and I also like the fact that it has a metal headband instead of plastic like the HD 497. But I've also heard some say that Grado headphones was pretty uncomfortable after some time.
The HD 500 seem very comfortable with their circumaural design (they press around you ear instead of on it) but I also understand from reviews that that kind of design usually has slightly poorer sound quality than "on ear" headphone. The reviews I've been able to find on it, while not terrible, also aren't the best.
Although comfort is important, for me the most important thing about a headphone is its sound quality. So which is best?

The MP3 player I've narrowed down to two brands, whose players have all the features, price and quality I need; iRiver and Creative.
The main thing differentiating those two though are the battery. Creative has a build in rechargeable, like a cell phone and iRiver uses AA batteries.
I'm unsure about what's best. On one hand with the Creative player you don't have to worry about the battery for some time, but a rechargeable will gradually get worn down and need replacement after some time. On the other hand with the iRiver player you have to buy a recharge station and some batteries, but you don't have to wait for the batteries to charge and you can get AA batteries everywhere if you are running low.
So can anyone tell me what's best and also what brand has the best sound quality?

 

[mcsven]

If you are willing to go for in-ear headphones, then I can recommend the Shure E series. They're noise isolating as well.

I recently bought a pair of E5cs and am currently breaking them in. They are remarkable (but given the price, I would have been sorely disappointed had they not been).

 

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

I vote for IRiver because of their OGG-Vorbis support. Smaller files (so more tracks on your player), better sound quality, and it's free. I don't know why more players don't support it.

 

[Squeak]

I vote for IRiver because of their OGG-Vorbis support. Smaller files (so more tracks on your player), better sound quality, and it's free. I don't know why more players don't support it.

Good point, I thought of that but somehow forgot about it. Any other flash players worth mentioning that support OGG, now we're at it

 

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

Good point, I thought of that but somehow forgot about it. Any other flash players worth mentioning that support OGG, now we're at it

I've been keeping an eye out on and off for a while, but iRiver seems to tbe the only people providing Ogg-Vorbis support AFAIK, unless anyone knows better.

 

[arjan de lumens]

For a list of players that support Ogg Vorbis: http://wiki.xiph.org/index.php/PortablePlayers

 

[PC-Engine]

I'd wait for the iAudio 5 which should be out in a few weeks. It's based on the awesome iAudio 4 which also supports OGG but with other slight improvements like 1000 LED backlight colors compared to 124, jog dial instead of buttons, and a new case design. It uses one AAA battery and gets around 20 hours of playback on alkaline. For headphones I agree that ear canalphones like the Shure E series are very good both in sound quality and size. If you want a cheaper alternative to the Shures then the Panasonic RP-HJE50 canaphones are a good choice. I've read very good reviews of them and you can get them for around $20. They come in silver, black, or blue.

Here's a link to the iAudio 5.

http://mp3.iaudio.com/micro/iAUDIO5/intro.htm

iA5 is already available in Korea.

http://eng.cowon.com/hboard/view.php?boardID=E03&number=46

http://www.mpnavi.com/bemarket/shop/index.php?pageurl=page_goodsdetail&uid=1720

iAUDIO 5 Features

MP3, MP2, WMA, ASF, WAV (48khz, Stereo) and OGG (up to Q9) Playback, Voice Recording, FM Radio Receiver and Recording, Direct MP3 Encoding, Removable Disk
Basic Flash Memory Embedded (256MB/512MB/1GB/2GB)
4 Line Wide Graphic LCD
1,000 Color LED Backlight
USB 2.0 Interface
Long Playback Time: Up to 20 hours of playback time with one AAA battery (Based on Cowon¡¯s standardized testing)
(Playtimes may be reduced when visualizations are used.)
Multi language support (Embedded common fonts that can display 40,000 characters from various languages)
Enhanced Integrated Navigator
Play/Pause/Intro Play, Stop/Power OFF, Recording
Next Track/Previous Track, Fast Forward/Fast Rewind
Infinite Loop
Search Speed and Skip Speed Settings
40 Digital Volume Levels
Various EQ and Sound Field Effects
- User-Adjustable 5-Band EQ
- Normal, Rock, Pop, Jazz, Classic, Vocal, User
- Supports BBE, Mach3Bass, MP Enhance, and 3D Surround
Resume Feature, Auto Power OFF
Hold Feature, Backlight ON Dim Control, Scroll Speed and Backlight Color Adjustment
Firmware and logo download
Supports ID3V2, ID3V1, and Filename
Device Information (firmware version, memory usage)
Software
- JetShell (File Transfer, MP3/WMA/WAV/AUDIO CD PLAY, MP3 ENCODING)
- JetAudio (Integrated multimedia player software)

iAUDIO 5 Specifications

Supported Files
All ranges of MPEG 1/2/2.5 layer 3 (8kbps ~ 320kbps) (8KHz~48KHz) and VBR
All ranges of WMA7 WMA (20kbps~ 192kbps) (8KHz~48KHz)
WMA9 CBR (5Kbps Mono ~ 320kbps Stereo) VBR (Average 48kbps to 256kbps)
OGG (up to Q9)
WAV (Up to 48KHz Stereo)

Memory 256MB/512MB/1GB/2GB
PC Interface: USB 2.0
File Transfer Speed Max. 20Mbps
Battery 1 x AAA (Up to 20 hours of playback time based on Cowon standardized testing)
Buttons 2 jog buttons (PLAY, FF, REW, VOL UP/DOWN, MENU), MODE button, REC button
Switch 1 Switch (Hold)
Display 128 x 64 full graphic LCD + Segment LCD
SNR 95 dB
Output 13mW+13mW(16 Ohm Earphone)
Frequency Range 20Hz ~ 20KHz
Size 76.8 x 35 x 18 mm (Height x Width x Depth)
Weight 28 g (Excluding Battery)

* WMA9 Professional, Lossless Codec, and Voice Codec are not supported
* JetEffect is partially applied to Q9 when OGG is played

 

[Ty]

Not sure how hardcore you want to be when it comes to headphones.

I've got a cheap pair of Sony ear canal phones. Types like these (and the panasonic & shure that others mentioned) do a damn fine job of sealing out external noise. Which is good for music and bad if you're walking out in traffic. Another high-end brand is etymotic but again, not sure how much you're willing to spend.

Here's a link by one of the most respected voices (imo) in the audio world that actually compared the Sony, the Shure (EC2 but they're up to 4 now), and the Etymotic.

http://www.linkwitzlab.com/reference_earphones.htm

 

[Diplo]

I don't think you can go wrong with Sennheiser.

 

[Sage]

I would, of course, put in my 200 votes for the Apple iPod of your choice. I absolutely LOVE them. Go to a store like CompUSA where you can actually try one out.




of course, my preference may have something to do with me having a significant ammount of money invested in apple...

 

[Citrous]

I have a lot of headphones laying around. I frequently use Grado's and Ety's on a regular basis, and I have a few sets of Senn cans laying around I use less frequently. The only senns I use are the 590s and they are pretty awesome, slightly better highs then most of the grados, but lacking in depth.

Grado: I also have SR-60's SR80s and SR320s. The 60s and 80s are pretty much the same thing, but they come with different earpads stock. I prefer the style of the 60s pad, the 'comfy' version. you can get that kind of pad and stick it on any of the grado line. The grados have a few annoying issues though, the foremost being the 'grado grattle' that will develop given a few years of ownership. A small crase, or two, will form in the diaphragm material of the grados and you will hear a slight buzz, it's easy to fix if you open them up, and only happens every few years, so I wouldn't let it put you off grado. As far as portability, grado is pretty much piss poor. They are non-sealed, so sound leaks out of them like nothing else. If you are in a room or something they are wonderful, but as soon as you enter the world they kind of lose their oomph. The SR320s would last a long time at least, due to their aluminum personality.

Senns: The only headphones I use are the 590's, they are actually almost exactly like the grados in every regard, including sound leak, but they are a lot more comfortable then even comfy padded grados.

Etys: I own the ER-6i and the ER-4p. I use the 4p as my primary headphone for evferything I do. The Ety's bring the sound into your head and in perfect form. I got a pair of ER-6i's for my mother for xmas, and she just recently came back glowing about how she went jogging and gardening and couldn't hear anything at all. I think half the reason the Ety's sound so good is because of the isolation, but they definitely are my personal faves. I had read about the Shure E series, but basically most people summed it up as Y ou dont want anything under the E5 or 7, the $800 one or something. I'm just gonna stick to E4-p's and a custom canal mold, prolly about $300-350 out the door.

headphone.com and headwize.com can provide a good amount of info, headphone.com even has a 30 day auditioning period where you can try the headphones outand send them back if they suck. Shame they dont audition Orpheus's .

 

[Guden Oden]

I've got a cheap pair of Sony ear canal phones.

I have these too, probably the exact same model. Excellent for portable use, perhaps not the greatest sound quality, but when one's out in public there's no way one could hear the difference anyway. Buying a really good but expensive set would be a waste of money, especially if the cord gets stuck in something and damaged or someone steals 'em...

 

[Squeak]

Just to round this old thread off.
I got Alessandro M-1 headphones (tweaked Grado SR-125s for 99$!) and an iAudio 5 player.
Simply the best portable sound I've ever heard! And all for under 200£.

 

[PC-Engine]

Hehe cool. I should get my IA5 and a pair of Shure E3Cs in a few weeks too.

 

[Mariner]

I have a Creative MuVo Micro N200 which is very good. Good battery life, decent price, tiny, good sound quality and the ability to encode direct to MP3 from the built-in radio or through a line-in socket.

I've got the 512MB version which holds about 7 albums of good-quality MP3 files. It uses a AAA battery so it's easy to buy some high capacity NiMH batteries and a recharger. I'd probably have bought the 1GB version but this wasn't available when I purchased late last year. No real complaints about it but I suppose it can be a little bit fiddly to use because it's so small. Otherwise the controls seem to work fine.

The earphones which come with it aren't great, so I'll have to scan through this thread to see about getting some better ones.

 

[rashly]

iRiver is definitely the better player, but it's also a lot more expensive.

The creative zen touch is a good choice though. The 24 hour battery life is the biggest plus for me. Add that to the cheaper cost, and I'll be getting it in a month or two.

 

[jvd]

I recomend an ipod . Mine gets 14 hours of battery life , my older sisters new one gets 18 . Sound quality is great , its sleak and there are alot of high quality add ons for it