Headphones come in all different varieties. One can buy a pair of headphones
for one dollar in any 99-cent store in NYC. One can also easily pay over
$500 for a pair. I have probably owned 30 pairs of headphones in my life
and listened to many more. My assessment of the situation is as follows.
Some headphones go into your ear and some sit on your ear. The ones that
go into your ear need to make a good seal with your ear hole if you want to
get any bass. It has a lot to do with the correct match between your
anatomy and the shape of the piece that goes in your ear. Personally, I
dislike this type of system because I can never get consistent results. One
ear always seems to be getting better sound than the other. And they tend to
fall out when I'm moving. But if they fit your ear well, and I did once have
a pair that fit my ears well, they can sound really good, particularly given
their small size and light weight.
Other headphones go over your ear. These vary a lot in sound quality across
the different models, but are not so much affected by the anatomy of the individual using them.
The ones with small-diameter diaphragms usually have poor bass response.
The ones with big diameters tend not to have spacious treble response.
But if you are willing to pay $100 or more, you can get headphones with
good treble and good bass.
I have a pair of Sennheiser HD-280 pros. They cost
$100 at HeadRoom http://www.headphone.com. HeadRoom is an honest, knowledgeable online headphone store. (HeadRoom has only spammed me once in the months
since they obtained my email address.) The HD-280s are large headphones. They have closed
backs. This means that when you're wearing them you are in your own world
with the music. But the sound quality of closed-back headphones is always worse
than open-back headphones at the same price. The HD-280s do not have the
sparkling detail of some open headphones that I have heard. And their bass
is not as clean and tight as some other headphones, but they are still very
satisfying. Let's put it this way, if the headphones that came with my MP3
player are "1" and the best headphones I've ever heard (Stax) are "10" then
the Sennheiser HD-280s are around 8. Actually I think that my Grado SR-60s
were better sounding and cheaper, but they were open, so it isn't fair to
compare them.
If one doesn't care about keeping your music private and blocking outside sound,
getting a pair of large open-back headphones is the best move. Great sound can
be had for around $100. But the problem is that good headphones expose the
bad sound quality of most MP3s. Fortunately most "MP3 players" can also play
uncompressed files, which are much better sounding.
I have a pair of
GK-Music Ultraphones.
They have extremely good attenuation of outside sounds and are good sounding.
They are comfortable, not heavy and don't squeeze my head. Needless to
say, they are closed-back headphones. There is
an interesting tradeoff. Being closed-back, they have a less transparent
sound than good open back headphones, and would tend to transmit less detail.
But the isolation they provide allows me to hear
Update (April 24, 2006): I have been listening to the GK-Music Ultraphones
for hours every day for the past weeks. They are currently my favorite
headphones. I actually find them more comfortable than the Sennheiser
HD-280s and I prefer the sound of Ultraphones. The isolation of the
Ultraphones makes listening a much richer experience. On one recording,
I think I can actually hear the HVAC system in the studio where the
music was recorded! Of course an increase in perceived detail
can be also achieved by just turning up the volume on any decent pair
of headphones, but then the sound will be tiring and will destroy your hearing.
So, all things considered, I am a fan of the Ultraphones.