IDM Mailing Archive

AKG K240's have been the standard headphones in recording studios for years and they sound great ! You can get them for something like $130.00 there are also the K240 DF's which are the same phones but are tested to a higher standard, they are around $20.00 more. Rychard ________________________________________________________________________ "The use of noise to make music will continue and increase until we reach a music produced through the aid of electrical instruments, which will make available for musical purposes any and all sounds that can be heard." John Cage, 1937

quoted 6 lines AKG K240's have been the standard headphones in recording studios for

> > AKG K240's have been the standard headphones in recording studios for > years and they sound great ! You can get them for something like > $130.00 there are also the K240 DF's which are the same phones but are > tested to a higher standard, they are around $20.00 more. >

I couldn't agree more -- AKG consistently provides the most bang for the buck in terms of frequency response, spatialization, etc. Not so much in terms of raw power (like the Sennheisers in the same price range), but who on this list wants to destroy their ears? I find the AKG's most useful for listening to stuff like Bernhard Guenter, where subtleties really matter. Also the build quality is incredible. I've had my K400's (slightly lower-end model than the K240) for five years now, before that it was a series of "high-end" sony's which I broke every three months. I paid under $100, but I suppose the price is higher now. --Harvey

Hi, sorry for the non-idm content. I recently purchased a Sennheiser HD 490 headphone because I know Sennheiser is praised for its headphone. But the ones I got, the volume output level is pretty low. Even when I crank up my discman to the max, I can still hear the noise on the moving bus. I was just wondering if this is normal with most Sennheiser headphone, and if you've got a pair of HD 490, even better, you can tell it to me straight if I got a bad pair or all of them have low volume output. Thanks! AtL-5

On Wed, 9 Jun 1999, Trung Chan Vuong wrote:

quoted 7 lines Hi, sorry for the non-idm content. I recently purchased a Sennheiser HD 490

> Hi, sorry for the non-idm content. I recently purchased a Sennheiser HD 490 > headphone because I know Sennheiser is praised for its headphone. But the > ones I got, the volume output level is pretty low. Even when I crank up my > discman to the max, I can still hear the noise on the moving bus. I was > just wondering if this is normal with most Sennheiser headphone, and if > you've got a pair of HD 490, even better, you can tell it to me straight if > I got a bad pair or all of them have low volume output. Thanks!

I bought the same model for myself about a month or so back, and I noticed the same thing when I use it with my Discman - although my Discman is an old peice o' shit, so I thought that might be part of the reason. They're wonderful for home/office listening and for using at the station when I'm doing my show, but not as loud as I would like for mobile use. Then again, it's probably better for my hearing this way. :) Greg

On 9 Jun 99, Greg Clow wrote re: Re: (idm) Headphones :

quoted 1 line Sennheiser > headphone, and if you've got a pair of HD 490,

> Sennheiser > headphone, and if you've got a pair of HD 490,

Quote from Tully: The impedence of professional h/phones is probably somewhere between 200 and 600 Ohms, which is a studio spec, whereas cheaper (walkman type, etc) headphones are anywhere between 30 and 60 Ohms and thus have more volume. <><><><> (who, me? I don't understand this, but he works with the things all day so I believe him!) I * np : JOI - one and one is one

Many headphones require more power than a walkman delivers. My advice is to surf over to www.headphone.com and check out what they recommend. This is a company dedicated to audiophile headphones, but they sell and recommend phones in every price range. I'm a huge fan of Grado headphones. American made, fantastic sounding, indestructable, and fully guaranteed. They fixed my SR80s for free after I loaned them to a DJ who blew out the drivers. Their SR60's are about $60, and are sensitive enough to work well with a walkman. And they look cool, besides, recalling the funky black ham radio cans from the 50s. Koss makes several under-$100 headphones that are dynamite. People diss Koss for some of the stuff marketed under that name through discount stores, but their headphones are great, and they come with an unconditional lifetime warranty. kent williams -- kent@avalon.net ICQ:33001909 On Wed, 9 Jun 1999, Trung Chan Vuong wrote:

quoted 10 lines Hi, sorry for the non-idm content. I recently purchased a Sennheiser HD 490

> Hi, sorry for the non-idm content. I recently purchased a Sennheiser HD 490 > headphone because I know Sennheiser is praised for its headphone. But the > ones I got, the volume output level is pretty low. Even when I crank up my > discman to the max, I can still hear the noise on the moving bus. I was > just wondering if this is normal with most Sennheiser headphone, and if > you've got a pair of HD 490, even better, you can tell it to me straight if > I got a bad pair or all of them have low volume output. Thanks! > > AtL-5 >

If you are looking to cancel out all external noise, choose a sealed headphone design, not an open air design like the Sennheiser HD 490. Sennheiser does make a few sealed headphones. Go here to find out what they have to offer: http//www.headphone.com/ProductsHeadphones/HeadphoneList.asp The other problem lies within the output level of a portable unit like a discman or minidisc player. The HD 490 should sound great if they are hooked up to your home cd player or stereo since the source is sending more juice to your headphones. Therefore, a typical headphone enthusiast will tell you that most Sennheiser headphones require a headphone amp to drive the headphones to their potential when you are using them for portable units. The HD 490 is one of the less expensive headphone offerings from Sennheiser, and incidentally what can be said about Sennheiser's higher end heaphones cannot be said about their lower end headphones. Typically Sennheiser's higher end stuff is considered the best around, while their lower end tends to not receive the same high praises. The headphone issue came up on the ambient list a day or two ago. It seems that the overall opinion was that for under $100 the best open air design headphone was the Grado SR-60. I have a pair and they do sound great, although on my minidisc portable they are never super loud; but supposedly these are the best for a portable (unamplified of course). Koss and Sony make sealed headphones just under $100 that are decent too. Anyone wanting to spend over $100 should consider Sennheiser first, but they should also strongly consider buying an amp for portable use. --Bill

quoted 1 line ===== Original Message From Trung Chan Vuong <tcvuong@learn.senecac.on.ca>

>===== Original Message From Trung Chan Vuong <tcvuong@learn.senecac.on.ca>

quoted 9 lines I recently purchased a Sennheiser HD 490

>I recently purchased a Sennheiser HD 490 >headphone because I know Sennheiser is praised for its headphone. But the >ones I got, the volume output level is pretty low. Even when I crank up my >discman to the max, I can still hear the noise on the moving bus. I was >just wondering if this is normal with most Sennheiser headphone, and if >you've got a pair of HD 490, even better, you can tell it to me straight if >I got a bad pair or all of them have low volume output. Thanks! > >AtL-5

On Wed, 9 Jun 1999, obrienw wrote:

quoted 2 lines Anyone wanting to spend over $100 should consider Sennheiser first,

> Anyone wanting to spend over $100 should consider Sennheiser first, > but they should also strongly consider buying an amp for portable use.

those tube amps they make get a little bulky, though. ;) * #### a disturbance in a system. #### laerm. @voicenet.com ##:# i dreamt about you last night/i fell out of bed twice icq:5562209 you can pin and mount me like a butterfly

Hey Everyone, I'm in the market for a pair of headphones for both listening to music and desktop music production. I was hoping someone could point me to a pair they have been happy with for somewhere in the range of $70-100 (US). Additionally, a nice discounted place on the internet to buy them from would be helpful. Thanks. -Aaron

I use AKG-240K monitor headphones when making music. I got them at Sam Ash, NYC for $95. Great headphones although look a bit outdated James

quoted 14 lines -----Original Message-----

> -----Original Message----- > From: ADM [SMTP:adm226@is9.nyu.edu] > Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 1999 2:13 PM > To: idm@hyperreal.org > Subject: (idm) headphones > > Hey Everyone, > I'm in the market for a pair of headphones for both listening to music and > desktop music production. I was hoping someone could point me to a pair > they have been happy with for somewhere in the range of $70-100 (US). > Additionally, a nice discounted place on the internet to buy them from > would be helpful. Thanks. > > -Aaron

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