bone conduction headphones

[derdankhund]

does anyone on here own a pair of headphones utilising this technology? or have even tried a pair?

I'm curious about the sound quality? Does it sound like regular headphones at all? Is it even comparable? Is it worth springing for a pair of these over a pair of shure e5c?

[kyu]

http://www.ultimateears.com/

[swooc]

Are bone conducting headphones out? Last time i read about it, they were still in the development stage and one of the major disadvantage was the limited frequency range.

As for the Shures, have you tried using IEM's? Alot of people actually find them quite uncomfortable and a hassle to take them out and put them back in. But in terms of sound quality, the Shures are top notch.

[minya]

they won't sound better than quality canalphones, that's for sure.

[Dick Danger]

I've tried UE and never really like them. Sensaphonics uses a soft material that is uber comfortable.

[mwrenchd]

re: the Shure's. You could very well have better hearing than me, but I couldn't tell enough of a difference between the e3c's and e5c's to justify the significant mark-up.

[Arethusa]

If you were using them with an iPod, the e3 is probably at the limit of the iPod and the mp3 file format.

And, yes, I find IEMs to be extremely uncomfortable. I have a pair of e2gs and I use a shitty, six year old pair of $30 Sonys far more often. Next phones I get are going to be big, isolating cans.

[minya]

Next phones I get are going to be big, isolating cans.

If you want portable headphones that aren't canalphones and isolate pretty well, try the Sennheiser HD-25-1. Great, neutral sound and they're relatively small so you don't have to carry around a huge bulky pair of supraaural phones.

[Arethusa]

Way the fuck out of my price range, unfortunately. I can't go above $100 on this, as nice as those look.

[edit]

Hm. First couple of sites I saw had them listed at 350-450. Seems they're actually closer to 150-180, which is not nearly so bad, though still about a hundred over what I can afford.

[Dick Danger]

dood

If you really want to get the most out of your mobile music you need to do a few things.

1. Find a used 4G iPod.

2. iMod said iPod.

3. Get a headphone amp.

4. Then you'll a cable

5. Finally you'll need phones.

6. Of course none of this helps if you don't rip in apple lossless.

[minya]

dood

If you really want to get the most out of your mobile music you need to do a few things.

1. Find a used 4G iPod.

2. iMod said iPod.

3. Get a headphone amp.

4. Then you'll a cable

5. Finally you'll need phones.

6. Of course none of this helps if you don't rip in apple lossless.

Headphone amps are a complete waste of time unless you're traveling on an airplane. The space they take up -- not to mention the goddamn hassle of batteries -- are not worth the sound boost you get. Not to mention that the improved fidelity from a portable amp is pretty much rendered null and void whenever you're traveling anywhere by any means other than air travel.

Portable lossless is also pretty stupid for a handful of reasons: seriously decreased battery life; marginal improvements over properly encoded MP3s; hugely increased chance of skipping due to much greater hard drive access.

[BOORADLEY]

owned 2354345356

[xcoldricex]

If you want portable headphones that aren't canalphones and isolate pretty well, try the Sennheiser HD-25-1. Great, neutral sound and they're relatively small so you don't have to carry around a huge bulky pair of supraaural phones.

cosign! i need to fix mine.

[Dick Danger]

Headphone amps are a complete waste of time unless you're traveling on an airplane. The space they take up -- not to mention the goddamn hassle of batteries -- are not worth the sound boost you get. Not to mention that the improved fidelity from a portable amp is pretty much rendered null and void whenever you're traveling anywhere by any means other than air travel.

Portable lossless is also pretty stupid for a handful of reasons: seriously decreased battery life; marginal improvements over properly encoded MP3s; hugely increased chance of skipping due to much greater hard drive access.

I guess it depends on what's important to you. The Xin amp is tiny, and required once you iMod. If you can't hear the difference in an 320kbps mp3 and a lossless format, the problem could be your ears. It does hit the hard drive more often but I've never had a song skip.

[Arethusa]

Or the problem could be that you're smart enough to use an iPod as an actual portable device. Lossless is stupid except for archival and (only somewhat recently) desktop use.

[minya]

Well, yes, it does depend on what's important to you. If you absolutely must have the zenith of sound quality at all times, then portable amps are a part of that. However, like I said -- if you're walking around or riding the bus, I think you're going to be glossing over a good portion of those intricate details and soundstaging that separates the highest tier of audio equipment from those below it.

320Kbps mp3s are really stupid. Plain and simple. They're absolutely unnecessary in every respect. Now that we have that out of the way... I can hear differences between MP3s and lossless files, but not with all albums -- and only when I'm listening on my $6000 headphone rig at home (that's the retail cost, but I definitely didn't pay that much).

But of course, if it works for you then it works for you.

[ayn]

I have the Sensaphonics ProPhonic 2X-S, they're great.

and I listen to lossless only on my iPod...

[onemancult]

I couldn't possibly agree with minya much more on these issues- portable audio and perfect aural fidelity have never gone hand in hand, and probably shouldn't.

[swooc]

and only when I'm listening on my $6000 headphone rig at home (that's the retail cost, but I definitely didn't pay that much).

Care to share the details of that rig ?

[red]

Care to share the details of that rig ?

he has a stax omega II rig i believe.

and headphone questions should be taken here:

www.headfi.com

unless minya is gracious enough to start a huge headphone thread in superfuture.

[derdankhund]

not really taking sides, but i can definitely hear the difference between an mp3 at 320 and stuff in lossless...

that being said, do I consider the difference worth taking the steps Danger is recommending for portable lossless enjoyment? Given that I haven't done so, I obviously don't. However, on the computer itself, I certainly rip whatever I can in lossless format.

i spend way too much time listening to/tinkering with music, and so a large portion of the day is spent with headphones on. I'm concerned about my ears and was more thinking of bone conduction as a way to avoid such repetitive auditory abuse, rather than a step up in quality...

[swooc]

he has a stax omega II rig i believe.

and headphone questions should be taken here:

www.headfi.com

unless minya is gracious enough to start a huge headphone thread in superfuture.

woah....didn't know there were so many head-fi members in here. Where were you guys when i was defending the expensive jeans thread in head-fi .

'm concerned about my ears and was more thinking of bone conduction as a way to avoid such repetitive auditory abuse, rather than a step up in quality...

It shouldn't affect your hearing too much provided that you don't listen at crazy volumes. Though IEMs would probably affect your hearing a bit since they are so close to your eardrums and all. I think someone here already suggested but a pair of good closed headphones would give you good isolation to outside noises.

[red]

peep the sig. head-fi steez.

[minya]

I left Head-Fi after it became a haven for anime fans and Asian teenage nerds (these two factions often overlapped).

Buying a Stax rig and not ever needing to buy another pair of headphones contributed to that decision.

[poly800rock]

I left Head-Fi after it became a haven for anime fans and Asian teenage nerds (these two factions often overlapped).

Buying a Stax rig and not ever needing to buy another pair of headphones contributed to that decision.

i'd say the asian nerds are the shoe heads that match their fits and the anime fans are all white dudes with asian fetishes. just my opinion though..

[Servo2000]

i'd say the asian nerds are the shoe heads that match their fits and the anime fans are all white dudes with asian fetishes. just my opinion though..

I can't say one way or the other, but I can say the second is most definitely fact. I know all of one asian person I know who likes anime, and about thirty sweaty, white, nerds, who do, and, surprise surprise! have asian fetishes.

[poly800rock]

I can't say one way or the other, but I can say the second is most definitely fact. I know all of one asian person I know who likes anime, and about thirty sweaty, white, nerds, who do, and, surprise surprise! have asian fetishes.

talk to any white person in japan....

[red]

actually, anime is huge over here. i visited a japanese high school and during lunch time EVERYONE, and im not exaggerating, EVERYONE pulled out an anime booklet. and they have bookshelves of anime at restaraunts.

and i left headfi after getting addicted to sf. i only check now for xin updates. ordered mine june, and still havent gotten it.

[Servo2000]

and they have bookshelves of anime at restaraunts.

Actually, there's a couple of restaurants here in southern california that cater, primarily, to native chinese / japanese speakers who have bookshelves full of japanese anime books when you enter the restaurant.

Damn good food, though.