Best Headphones/Earphones for Ipod + Guitar

[FusedGrooves]

Hi everyone.....looking for some advice.

Am sick of cheap poor quality (sometimes expensive poor quality LOL) headphones so am looking at higher end of the market.

Initially I was just keen on headphones/Earbuds/Earphones for my Ipod so were looking at the Shure series - specifically the SE530s with Triple speakers - how they fit 3 speakers into something so small is incredible:
http://store.shure.com/store/shure/en_US/pd/productID.105460100

But then I got to thinking.....I also need a pair for when playing guitar and not sure these will do the job or respond to all the frequencies? I mean, if listening to music via ipod which of course have guitars, bass, drums etc then should it really matter if I plug into my rig?

I am only worried since I know with some of the motorcycle video's we've produced we've had to bump up Mic output to Line level (RCA) in order for it to work correctly...would hate to spend $500 on these headphones (sorry Earphones LOL) then fry them when I plug it into my rig......(which is a Marshal stack, with headphone out but the larger 6.5mm diamter so converter needed no biggie - or plug into the Boss Fx ME-50 or Looper RC-50 which from memory all have headphone out jacks. . . . .)

HELP! :AOK

[vroomery]

You can go in soooo many directions here.

My personal preference is to stay away from shure. They have decent products, but much better can be had from other products, especially if you're willing to spend a little more. Here are some solid options.

Westone UM2 - These will run at about from about 225 to 250 depending on where you get them from. They are universal fit in ear monitors designed specifically for musicians. They have 2 drivers for each ear.

Ultimate Ears UE4 - These are custom molded in ears and run about 400. They have an amazing seal because they have been designed specifically for your ear canal. This contributes highly to bass response, ambient noise cancellation, and overall clarity. These are dual drivers as well.

Fidelity Duals (formerly livewire) - These are also custom molded dual driver in ears, but they offer a much better price point of 259. For the price these are very tempting, but they are a young company and the verdict is still out on their long term quality.

There are many many other models out there. Sensaphonics is also a solid choice in the custom molded category, but they are a bit more expensive. My one note of caution is that the universal fit ultimate ears design is absolutely terrible. They are so insanely uncomfortable that you will surely regret that purchase.

Hope this helps.

[rylanmartin]

I HAD some M-audio ie40s and they sounded GREAT! They were triple driver and such. They also didn't sit flush in my ear and stuck out a big and looked pretty goofy. I sold them and bought some Shure E3's and I really love them. They're not triple driver, but they sound great, feel great, and sit comfortably in your ear.

The moral of my story is that you don't need to be persuaded by multiple drivers, moving parts, and the ability to check your email. You're first priority with ear buds is comfort EVERY TIME! Once you've found something that feels good and looks decent, then you can start seeing what options are available for quintuple drivers, internal fog machine, and financial advisory features...

My opinion anyways.

[Kazz]

These are what I use and are awesome.

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-CX-300-Headphones-ear/dp/B001CNEUW8

[syo]

My personal preference is to stay away from shure.
I have a pair of Shures and think they're terrific. I think they sound great and find them very comfortable with a good seal. I think they are a good value too.

[aeolian]

I have a pair of Grado SR60 which are terrific, and it is still going strong after 8 years. Grado makes excellent headphones. Here's a link:

http://www.gradolabs.com/frameset_main.htm

[peachhead]

These are what I use and are awesome.

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-CX-300-Headphones-ear/dp/B001CNEUW8

Do you actually play into these or just use them for listening? I like Sennheiser and I've been wondering if they would be ok to use out of my small Peavey. I need something so I can play more at night.

[Tig]

Word:
Sennheiser

[FusedGrooves]

Hi and thanks for the input!

Firstly I'll say I end up buying the Shure SE530s > I have some of their mic gear and it's not bad, after reading alot of reviews I thought the SE530s were right up my ally although a little expensive.

Initially, not really blown away by the sound as I thought I might (should) be for the purchase price or for the triple drivers but more on that in a tic. Little things like the extension leads, or lack of a longer one included is annoying, again if I'm spending that much on the phones then a .50c cable thrown in shouldn't be a problem.....esp when I hear the wire used eventually cracks and breaks down. SO might be needing that 2 year warranty then!

They are by a country mile, THE most comfortable earbuds I have worn. I also race motorcycles (GSXR1000 for those that care) and use ear plugs all the time. During longer road touring (talking 8hrs a day for 2-3 days on a bike) I had used the cheaper ear bud style and have 2 issues - they don't stop wind coming in (even inside a helmet there is significant wind noise) AND they were just plain uncomfortable inside a tightly fitting helmet. Not so with the Shure (and any noise cancelling jobs) but the way the SE530s wrap around your ear makes it perfect for using inside a helmet.

Whilst using with my iPhone I am now, after a week, quite impressed. Changed back to the Apple units yesterday and wow, what a difference I can NOW tell. Changing some of the EQ setting do help, reviews I had read about the SE530s basically said better for Rock than say Club music as the bass isn't as responsive or deep as some other models however that suits me perfect thank you very much > take that doof doof club music and well.....just take it away from me! hahahaha The mids/highs are so clear - listening to live music opens a whole new experience, you can hear a sneeze or a laugh in the crowd. The bass is more than enough in my opinion but if you were listening to dance music apparently the Sennheisers are the ones to get.

The biggest test for me then came once plugging into my rig at home. This is where it got a little tricky as I was saying in my 1st post. I must explain, I am only using the cheaper MD 100 WT stack (MD or MG, the cheap tranny one basically LOL) and it has a 'Emulated' headphone jack 6.5mm. I am using the FX loop so guitar into AMP, out to ME-50 then to RC-50 loop station back to amp then to cab.

I can plug the phones into the amp itself and I can hear it, however it does NOT cut sound to the quad box! I can unplug the speaker box and problem solved but seems a bit odd. I plugged into the headphones jack on the RC-50 and could hear the music, but also doesn't cut sound to quadbox (unless there's some setting somewhere that I'm missing......). With phones in the RC-50 I can turn off the head and still hear my recordings but then I can't play over the top since I need the head turned on for guitar to play over the top of the loops. I guess I could not use the FX loop but again, seems a bit odd and the FX loop is the best way to go VS running it all through the amps input only. (? or so I've been led to believe)

Aside from these issues which is probably just my lack of knowledge on how all this is meant to plug together (should be simple enough surely....LOL) the sound produced from them is utterly amazing. Iv'e used varying headphones whilst listening to my loops and the SE530s are just incredible. I am finding it a little hard to sing because when I move my jaw the phones must move a tiny bit so I might have to work on that a bit more but so far, very happy!