Audiophile-grade Stereo Headsets (non bluetooth)

[schizo]

Hiyas all,

Just wondering if anyone of you has tried some high-end stereo headsets (non-bluetooth) from audiophile-grade headphone manufacturers such as Etymotic, Shure or Sennheiser, to replace your ordinary-crappy-plasticky headsets given by Dopod, O2, HTC or whatever.

Would be nice as alternetives to A2DP Bluetooth headsets for those looking for compatibility, wants their PDA battery last longer, and feel reluctant to add one more thing to charge daily (the bluetoooth headset).

There are 2 types i found as far as I researched:
1. Shure i2c, i3c, i4c (starting US$79)
http://www.shure.com/PersonalAudio/Products/Headsets/ISeries/us_pa_i4c_headset_content
2. Sennheiser MM50 (US$60)
http://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite/productdetail.asp?transid=500745
3,4. Anyone to add?

Anyone has recommendation/experience?

Or better, has anyone compared one to another?

[schizo]

3. V-Moda Vibe Duo (US$100)
http://www.v-moda.com/collection/modaphones/vibe%20duo.aspx

Anyone?

[capeli]

Koss KSC75... Google reviews on em, you won't find a bad review.

Simply the best quality for cheap (AUS$20).

I've heard, yet to verify, that you'd probably have to pick up headsets upwards of $400 to hear a discernable difference in the audio quality. For the price, you can't lose. Try em

I got a pair, the sound quality is well good.

[schizo]

thx monsieur capeli... nice reference

however, i hope you don't get me wrong but what I'm looking for are audiophile-grade headsets with built in mic, not just headphones.

for headphones, yes there are so many products

but headsets, I can say that they are quite rare.

actually, there are plenty i can buy at just a mere US$2 per piece, but they are by no means audiophile-grade...

[capeli]

My bad...misunderstood what you were saying.

You can try looking on Expansys (in whatever country you're in) for the
HTC W100 Wired Remote Control (assuming your using a compatible Dopod/HTC)

It includes a mic, buttons for controlling music and a 3.5mm plug. That way you can plug in your own audiophile grade headphones and still have a mic for hands free.

Another great pair of headphones (IEM-canal phones) on the cheap:
Crossroads MylarOne X3 from www.jaben.com. I've heard rave reviews and they're only $US57.

If want better isolation try them with the Ultimate Ears bi-flange tips, that can be found on idealsound on ebay (free shipping worldwide.)

Hope that helps.

[capeli]

Sorry the webiste for the MylarOne X3 is http://www.jaben.net/shopping.html

[sambartle]

I have a set of Shure e2c's (inear), a set of Shure e3c's (inear) and also a set of Grado SR80's (over the head proper headphones)
The shures are the same as the i series ones but wiothout the mic..

All three are stunning headphones (the Grado's I cant reccomend enough for the cost - they are expensive but not stupidly so) however if you are only going to listen to your phone with them you might be dissapointed.. if you can pick them up cheap enough they do indeed sound better than the stock headphones (on my TyTN at least) but the sound quality from the phone isn't the best.

If you are gonna use them on other things too I can highly reccomend the Grado's and both the shure's although I actually prefer the e2c to the e3c's because of the shape of them.. they are more comfortable in my ears. (Sound quality wise both are very good)

(ah didnt read that you wanted headsets specifically.. i use all of these with a downlead that includes a mic as the tytn doesnt take 3.5mil jacks in any case so id always need a downlead)

[bLiTz^]

hmmm.... well it seems wrong recommending any headset to u before asking wad genre u listen to......

cause some music require a headphone to have lots of bass well the others need more detail n a larger soundstage.

diff brands of headset produce diff signatures and r meant for different genres.... so its really best tt you try them... at ur local headphone dealer but in short

pple tt like shures dun usually like UE ( ultimate ear ) and Sennheiser..... the sound signature they produce r just very different....

[schizo]

Thanks all for the positive reply.

Anyway, just to share that I've even tried to mod my original headset by cutting off the old headphones, soldering a new female stereo minijack as replacement, and then connecting my audio technica headphones into the minijack.

However, the cable got pretty much longer and get tangled easily, I have to reroute it around my body parts everytime I use it :D Not to mention that the new minijack has added considerable weight that creates uncomfort feeling when hanging over my shirt. And even when I've been very careful in soldering and rewiring, I can "feel" a little sound degradation from the new setup.

That's why I'm so keen in looking for an audiophile stereo headset, built from scratch for that very purpose.

And regarding type of music, I dig everything from fusion, jazz, classic, heavy metal, etc. Hence, I do prefer natural sound. Whenever I need bass or treble I can manage in setting it through the equalizer.

I wonder if there's someone with same interest with me....

[maaron]

How about one of these:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Enhanced-Mini-USB-Audio-Adapter-Orbit-P3300-M3100-TyTN_W0QQitemZ160139900854QQihZ006QQcategoryZ14419 QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Allows you to use any standard 3.5" headphones you choose as it has a built-in microphone for voice calls.

[padawan]

Anyone know what impedance the headphones should be for proper loading?

[Rudegar]

dont the earphones state their impedance ?

personaly i doubt that the DA converter in these htc phones are
graded audiophile quality though :P

[KTamas]

dont the earphones state their impedance ?

personaly i doubt that the DA converter in these htc phones are
graded audiophile quality though :P
Actually, many PDAs have excellent SQ: such as the Asus A620 series or the Dell x5xv series; and my hx4700 isnt bad either.

[Rudegar]

when i say audiophile i mean those superhumans who can
hear goldcables diff and can tell the diff between the last 1000
their stereo speakers cost more then the 2th best one :P

[schizo]

I think Padawan is asking on impedance rating specified in his PDA-Phone output,since on the other side one can easily find the impedance on his headphone. This is my curiousity also. Is there a DIY way to measure it? I mean, by using ohmmeter/multimeter or something?

Anyway, I also doubt that DA converter in HTC phones are audiophile grade. But yet, if we can avoid further degradation by using crappy headsets, why not? Since, many of us use our PDA phones as music player too right?

Anyway, to still keep the topics, this is the ramp up until now:
1. Shure i2c, i3c, i4c (starting US$79)
http://www.shure.com/PersonalAudio/P...eadset_content
2. Sennheiser MM50 (US$60)
http://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite...transid=500745
3. V-Moda Vibe Duo (US$100)
http://www.v-moda.com/collection/mod...ibe%20duo.aspx

Anyone has tried any of these and be so kind to share your experience?

[schizo]

Relisted:
1. Shure i2c, i3c, i4c (now $129)
http://www.shure.com/PersonalAudio/Products/Headsets/ISeries/index.htm
2. Sennheiser MM50 (now $80)
http://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite/productdetail.asp?transid=500745
3. V-Moda Vibe Duo (US$100)
http://www.v-moda.com/collection/modaphones/vibe%20duo.aspx

[bubbahump]

I used the Shure i4c-t for over a year with my Tornado device. Single gold-plated 4-conductor 2.5 mm connector fits perfectly. Shure says the -t series is designed for the Treo, but the 2.5mm 4-conductor connector was fairly standard on HTC devices until the dreaded extUSB came out (dammit).

I am actually in the process of retrofitting the extUSB connector to my i4c-t headset. I'm trying to find the color-coding of the wires in the HTC headset before I cut into my i4c-t wire.

[schizo]

I used the Shure i4c-t for over a year with my Tornado device. Single gold-plated 4-conductor 2.5 mm connector fits perfectly. Shure says the -t series is designed for the Treo, but the 2.5mm 4-conductor connector was fairly standard on HTC devices until the dreaded extUSB came out (dammit).

I am actually in the process of retrofitting the extUSB connector to my i4c-t headset. I'm trying to find the color-coding of the wires in the HTC headset before I cut into my i4c-t wire.

How's the i4c-t sound quality to you on a 1-5 scale? Anyway, I wonder if you really want to mod a pricey $329 headset... :wow:

I agree that the new mini USB connectors is no less than a new headache for us headset owners. Maybe in future it will serve the universal purpose, but as for the transition period now... sux...

Anyway, the 4-pole 2.5-mm jack structure i learned so far are (on my ETEN M600):
(Be sure to check whether it applies to your device too)

= = = =[[[[[
1 2 3 4

1 : Microphone (white)
2 : Right Audio (green)
3 : Left Audio (red)
4 : Ground (yellow)
5 : Mic. Trigger On/Off (blue) -> connect to (4)

[bubbahump]

I'd give it a 5 if you're comparing it to other single-driver canalphones, and a 4 if you bring in the dual or triple-driver designs. I tried several before settling on the i4's. These have a perfect balance of bass and crystal clear highs and need no eq adjustment (good since our phones don't have it anyway). Tracks with bass play that bass down to the lowest frequencies, but it is not loud and does not overwhelm the music.

A dual-driver design might be able to play louder bass without distorting the highs (as good as they are, bass-heavy music turned up loud will cause the i4 to muddy up the highs). However, I wanted a single-driver design that would fit entirely in my ear and allow me to wear them while I slept. 90% of their use has been on airplanes, blocking out screaming babies while I doze.

I paid about half of the list price you quoted earlier. Still very expensive, but I feel it was entirely worth it given how much I enjoy listening to them and how much I used them. At the time, any other headset (other than the i2c-t or i3c-t, which I tried) would have required a bulky/ugly adapter and would have killed the microphone.

I just soldered on the extUSB connector. Took a lot of guts to cut the old one off, but I'm spoiled by these headphones and had nothing to plug them into. So now I'm back in business until they change the connectors again... http://www.intomobile.com/2007/05/27/picture-mini-vs-micro-usb.html