Specific Earphone Shape

Jakob789521

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I had Samsung Galaxy S4 Earphones that broke recently, and they are the only earphone that fit comfortably in my ear. Are there any high end earphones that are shaped like them?

Thanks
 
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by that do you mean these?

$T2eC16Z,!yYFIcDfDUilBSeekuIlvw~~60_35.JPG


if so then there are lots of models which look like that. they are often called "canalphones" but you might find them listed under "earbuds" in online stores since the types of in ears are frequently mislabeled as all being "earbuds" when there are 3 distinct types. if you want to know the difference click "headphones" in my signature and read the "types of headphones" section as it has pictures which are easily understandable.

"canalphones" have a single rubber or silicone tip which forms a seal with the end of your ear canal. they are much more comfortable than "earbuds" which are typically hard...
by that do you mean these?

$T2eC16Z,!yYFIcDfDUilBSeekuIlvw~~60_35.JPG


if so then there are lots of models which look like that. they are often called "canalphones" but you might find them listed under "earbuds" in online stores since the types of in ears are frequently mislabeled as all being "earbuds" when there are 3 distinct types. if you want to know the difference click "headphones" in my signature and read the "types of headphones" section as it has pictures which are easily understandable.

"canalphones" have a single rubber or silicone tip which forms a seal with the end of your ear canal. they are much more comfortable than "earbuds" which are typically hard plastic and sit on the outside of your ear. they also do not sit as deep as "iems" so are typically more comfortable with less of a seal. in many cases the tips are changeable and many models come with a few different size tips to match up to your ear canal size.

at around the $30 range i've heard the soundmagic e10 is great... but otherwise you might want to do some searching to find what works at your budget range.
 
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Jakob789521

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Wow thanks for that Comprehensive answer it really helped a lot, Yes those headphones are very similar. I do have the E10's but they do not seal properly im afraid :/ I'm starting to think maybe only that specific shape will work as even though the E10's are canalphones, the E10's hurt and dont seal :/
 
you should not be getting pain from canalphones. perhaps you are using the wrong sized tip. with the right sized tip you will feel no pain but they might pull out a little easy.

iems will seal MUCH better but go deeper in your ear canal. some people like them while others find them more uncomfortable. i'm not sure which type you are.
 

Jakob789521

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It's mainly the shape of the Earphone Outside of my ear, if its not rounded like the ones in the picture then it hurts the outside of my ear :/ The inside of my ear does not hurt but doesn't seal properly, sometimes it creates a vaccum and I cannot hear it at all haha. But I think I will just get some headphones as they are easy. How are the Audio technika M50x's ? Thanks for the help BTW
 
the m50x and m50s are almost identical except for two things:
-the m50s can be had on ebay for $99 open box or $120 bnib while the m50x is about $170
-the m50 (coiled cable) or m50s (straight cable) are seperate versions. the m50x has a detacheable cable and comes with a long straight, short straight and short coiled cable.

for the price (around $100 or so) they have excellent sound quality and are quite commonly recommended because of it. they are best for people who like to have a fair bit of bass presence without losing too much on the high end or being bass cannons. they are a closed design which means good sound isolation and bass but less soundstage. they have a foldable design and are build like tanks.

as far as negatives they have small-ish earcups so are fine for people with small or medium sized ears but not for people with large ears. they also have a very small soundstage (think listing to a band inside a bar room instead of out in a park open theater) even for closed headphones.

i personally own a pair of m50s (straight cable) and have had them for years. i paid full retail price (about what the m50x goes for now) and am still happy with them. they look practically brand new despite constant travel and i enjoy the warm (tending towards bassy not harsh highs) sound of them. while a more open soundstage would be nice i personally dont mind the small soundstage which feels more inviting like you are listening to your own personal band in a small room and the quality of sound is certainly excellent.

if you wanted a more open soundstage or if you preferred a sound which is a bit more bass light then there are certainly other options worth considering but they may run just a bit more money then you can nab a m50s for. however if you were looking at the m50x prices then those choices would be somewhere about even.

you need to list your budget, equipment, how portable they need to be as well as what kind of sound profile you like (bassy, v-shape, treble high, etc)
 

Jakob789521

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Hey wow thanks for that response, I am grateful for the effort. I am in the UK and the difference in price between the M50 and M50x is about £20, the M50x's are only £120 and the M50's are £100 so my budget is <£150. I heard soundstage isn't expected to be that great with closed back headphones anyway but they sound great from what I heard.

I don't need them to be particular portable as would only listen to music around the house, The things I need headphones for are:
Watching movies
Playing games
Music
Playing Piano (Piano VST)

The equipment I have are:
Multiple laptops with on board audio
O2 amplifier (Only use this when playing piano)
I don't have any DAC's as only have laptops and every external one I owned sucked.

I have quite small ears, and as for sound profile, I just want it to be as natural as possible as I would be playing Piano on them, also games do quite well on their own digital profiles.

Thanks what would you recommend?
 
if you have an o2 amplifier the odac dac is commonly paired with it. worth thinking about if you wanted an upgrade but really isnt necessary if your onboard is fair. keep in mind though that on the laptops you would be doubleamping since they do not have a line-out jack so you lose a bit of quality there but not a huge margin.

if you want "natural" sound i would classify as a "flat" sound profile or "neutral" sound profile. the trouble with such a profile is that while they are perfect for recording or other cases where you need to hear exactly what you are producing they often make everything sound much more dull and lifeless then a V shaped sound profile (more bass and treble with recessed mids) which is often called the "fun" sound profile. this is what is preferred by many for music and gaming.

where does the m50x fit in? its a V shaped sound profile but with a bit more bass focus then treble focus. if you like more than average bass but without totally ruining treble then it does that well. i personally like the warm (more bassy less treble) sound since harsh treble hurts my ears.

i think an open design with more treble might be better for your needs with gaming and piano but that is your decision. the following are ones i think may work better for your needs but i'm not sure exactly what you prefer. keep in mind that the ones marked 250 are 250ohm so need the o2 amp to power them. if you want to power them with the laptop jacks without an amp then you might not want to go with the 250 versions (but they are very good and worth considering)

sennheiser hd598 149gbp @ amazon. open headphone which means wider soundstage but not so noise isolating. great for gaming due to a wide soundstage. clear highs without being sibilant and piercing with not excessive but tightly controlled bass. its not going to please bassheads but the bass is sufficient for many.

beyerdynamic dt990 pro 250 139gbp @ amazon. beyers are known for comfortable headphones. this particular model is known for a fairly wide soundstage thanks to its open design. bass is suprisingly good for an open pair of headphones but will not compete with some closed models of course. treble is especially crisp and clear. they are known as being bright headphones due to the treble but you can tone down the eq if treble is a bit much for you. they make great gaming headphones as well.

audiotechnica ad700x or ad900x (you would need to check if you can get them for your budget.. only checked amazon which seemed high). they are known to have a huge soundstage which works out great for gaming and positioning due to their open design. they are very precise and clear headphones however are very bass light. if you prefer sound without much bass impact then they will work however if you are a basshead then you do not want these.

if you must have closed......

the beyerdynamic dt770pro 250 may be worth a look. it competes with the m50/m50x but has a bit wider soundstage and is slightly more refined. it also comes in 32 (least bass version) ohm and an 80ohm (bassiest of 3 versions) as well.

....personally all of the headphones above, including the m50, are good in their own way depending on a persons budget, taste, and requirements. i think an open design (one of the 3) would work best but i gave you an alternate to the m50 in case you wanted closed designs.
 

Jakob789521

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Hey thanks for all the recommendations I actually enjoy a bit of bass and believe me it makes piano sound a lot more modern. I actually had the Sennheiser HD598's but I had to return them because of the bad bass like you said, in fact when I played deep bass notes on piano the drivers rattled to much. Also it didn't cancel noise enough and leaked too much. On the other hand the soundstage was amazing, I have never heard some of the instruments in songs I have listened to often without these.

It looks like Closed is the best option for me, I have already ordered the M50x's but still have time to cancel. You say Beyerdynamic dt770pro are competing with the M50x, What would you say the main differences are?
I like my sound natural and refined but I enjoy bass in games and Piano

Thanks for the help and recommendations.
 
if something like the sennheiser 598 did not have enough bass for you and if you must have passive noise cancelling then i would agree that you want closed. this means that the m50x and dt770pro are perhaps more what you're looking for. it seems the tradeoff of soundstage is worth the isolation and increased bass in your case.

there are multiple models of dt770pro you can click here http://www.head-fi.org/t/513393/guide-sonic-differences-between-dt770-dt990-models-more to read about the different models. the ones you should read on are the dt770 "pro" 32, 80 and 250.

as far as differences are concerned...

-the m50x is 38ohm which means that it can be driven by smartphones, laptops and any other device perfectly fine. the 32ohm dt770pro can do this as well but the 80ohm or 250ohm would not work terribly well without an amplifier.

-the m50x has smaller earcups, the dt770pro has larger earcups. this means that the m50x is a good fit for small and medium sized ears but not large ears while the dt770pro is more accomodating of larger ears but small ears might be a bit lost inside the bigger cups.

-the m50x has 3 removeable cables so you can pick the length and style you want. dt770pro has one non removeable cable.

-the m50x is folding so it fits in a nice little carry bag for storage. the dt770pro does not fold so takes up more space.

-the dt770pro is said to be more comfortable than the m50x especially if you have glasses but i've found the m50 to be comfortable enough in my years of owning them (sorry i havent used the dt770 to compare between the two). i have no idea why some people claim the m50x is uncomfortable but it may be that they have large ears which is a noted issue.

-the m50x uses pleather pads while the dt770pro uses velour.

-the dt770pro has slightly better sound quality than the m50x. not by a huge margin though.

-the dt77pro has a slightly bigger soundstage than the m50x.

-the m50x has swivels on its earcups (dj style) while the dt770pro does not.

-the dt770pro is a bit more precise which means that bad recordings will sound horrible so it is not very forgiving of bad quality sources and files. the m50x is a bit more forgiving. of course more precise is typically a good thing.

...generally the dt770 is considered superior to the m50 in most ways if the two are the same price.

however in the usa with the prices being more like $160 (m50x) vs $220 (dt770) and the original m50 being only $100/120 there is a quite noticible price difference which makes the m50/m50x a better choice over here for people on more of a budget. in your case though the prices are only about 10gbp different ($16usd) different which isnt bad.

the only real "advantages" the m50x normally has over the dt770pro are its foldabe design, multiple cables, price, swivel earcups and slightly heftier build quality.



 

Jakob789521

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Wow these are some really interesting things to consider, yes it wasn't the lack of bass on the 598's that was the biggest problem, it was the fact the drivers kept rattling making a horrible sound.

The DT770Pro 80ohm is actually cheaper over here than the M50x, at the moment for me, looks and features of the M50x is much better and pleather doesnt bother me at all, also my ears are quite small so it should be fine.

My main concern is making my piano more realistic and able to discern notes and not being muffled by bass. For example if I use apple earbuds while playing piano, the bass of the low notes overpowers the high notes making them nearly impossible to hear.

Some people even say the M50x is better sounding than the M50 due to revisions but who knows if they can notice that.

So really I am 50:50 between the beyerdynamic dt770pro 80 ohm and the M50x
so if it were a choice for you to make knowing that I play piano and games and like classical music as well as modern piano the what would you choose?

It may be worth noting that I plan to get higher end headphones in the future, which will be open back so I wont be using these for everything.

Thanks for the help
 
well i cannot specifically talk for the dt770 sound profile since i do not own them but i do own the m50s and can talk a bit more in detail about them after owning them for years.

while they are considered bassy they certainly have enough treble to sound good for things such as
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ws1IZKsJzo jpop&kpop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJGpsL_XYQI evanescence: lithium

or mixtures of high/lows such as
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSeNSzJ2-Jw skrillex: scary monsters and nice sprites
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVvMHA4Nrm8 eiffel 65: i'm blue

of course they can handle all of your really harsh bassy songs as well without fail.

generally i have used them to listen to:
-kpop
-jpop
-german/euro metal/rock
-rock
-pop
-metal
-screamo
-electronic
-dubstep

most of the genres i listen to require sufficient clarity and presence in the treble department to sound good. likewise they also require enough lowend bass to sound good. the m50 delivers. while it could be just a tad bit crisper in highs they work out well for me since crisp harsh highs can hurt my ears sometimes.

the small soundstage of the m50s also doesnt bother me although it does seem to bother some other people. i think it depends on what you're expecting and what your preferences are.

the dt770 is going to be like the m50s except for having a wider soundstage and slightly better crisper highs.

the 250ohm dt770pro is notably the best of the series if you do not mind using an amplifier. the 80ohm is the bassiest. the 32 is the most compatible with portables without using an amp.

--

TLDR:

if you do not need them to be portable and do not mind using your o2 amplifier then i would say the dt770pro 250 would be the best choice. out of the two discussed models.

note: both the m50 and dt770 will have more bass presence than the h598 so if you didnt want any more bass than those had... you might want to be aware of that now before you think about these two since they are quite a bit bassier although arent "bass cannons" by any stretch of the word.

in my experience though the added bass doesnt muddle out the highs too badly although i'm not the kind of listener who likes really bright crisp prominant highs so my own opinion might vary from yours.
 

Jakob789521

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Thank you for all your help, I literally just cancelled the M50x's and went for the Beyerdynamic dt770pro 250 ohm as they are on amazon now and will get them tomorrow. I can just use my laptop DAC and use the O2 amp with that? is that okay?

I figured I may as well give them a go as they look comfortable and like to see how they sound with piano. I will only use them around the house so can just plug my O2 amp in, and obviously I don't dance around when playing piano. I was interested in their sound and if I don't like them I can always send them back to amazon.

Do you think I made a good decision? They were £10 more expensive
 
well, ideally you would be using something like the odac since it pairs up well with the quality level of the o2amp but yes, you can use your laptops headphone jack if you wish. line out would be better though but most laptops do not have that.

for 10gbp/$16usd more than the m50x i think they were worthwhile picking instead.

as an afterthought it looks like the m50s (not m50x) in red was 91gbp which would have been significantly cheaper if you were on a budget. there is no doubt that the dt770 is a slightly better product though.
 

Jakob789521

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It was kinda my thinking that higher impedance usually means more clarity and performance. I heard that the Odac was a good choice as it doesn't change the sound signature like lots of other Dacs . For example I had the Asus U7 which I didn't like very much.

I had already set the budget so was willing to spend that much. I though the headphone jack was a line out?

Is there any situation or music you wouldn't recommend with the beyerdynamic dt770pro 250?
 
generally higher impedence headphones have better ability to control the drivers accurately which could lead to tighter more controlled sound at the expense of needing a more powerful amplifier to power them. this doesnt mean that all higher impedence headphones sound better than low impedence headphones though. things are not that simple.

no, the headphone out is not line out. a few things to note:

Line level outputs typically have a source impedance of 50 to a few hundred ohms. They are intended to drive loads that have a high input impedance, usually greater than 5k ohms. They are typically optimized for very low noise and low distortion when used with high impedance loads.

Headphone outputs typically have a source impedance less than a hundred ohms and the better ones have a source impedance of a few ohms or less. They are intended to drive the lower impedances presented by headphones which typically range from 16 ohms to 300 ohms. They are optimized for being able to drive higher current and for delivering reasonable distortion and noise with low impedance loads.

Line level outputs usually do poorly when driving headphones because their higher source impedance will not properly damp the driver at low frequencies and they can suffer from high frequency rollof when loaded with significant capacitance.

Headphone outputs can be used to drive line level loads and can provide good noise and distortion performance but are typically not as good as line level outputs.

I know I made a lot of generalizations here and that there will always be exceptions, but these are just some rules of thumb.

generally... line level outputs are better to connect amplifiers up to since they will produce the "best" sound (lowest distortion). however that does not mean you cannot use a headphone out jack. i was merely pointing out something you might have wanted to make note of.

well, i dont have that pair of headphones myself so i cannot really say too much about that but i've heard that they werent as good for metal. things like opera and other treble/mids based songs also might sound better on different cans with less bass presence and more mid/treble focus. piano can be a bit of both. you already stated that you wanted closed and decent bass which threw my original suggestions out the window which i thought would have been ideal but if you wanted a more bassy sound and closed then the dt770 should work for you..

all genres that i listen to sound fine on the m50s which should be similar on the dt770. i do not listen to piano based music much (likely less than 0.2% of what i've listened to) so i cannot be very specific on what i've thought about that specifically

another thing you may want to hear... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pK7QbLNjno a comparision between some different phones (m50x vs dt770 specifically). keep in mind that its just a "comparative" difference since your own speakers will make it sound different than they will in real life.
 

Jakob789521

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Oh I see thanks for that explanation, I have a Clevo P170sm laptop that has a 5.1 sound card that has line out I think. I have not checked.

Wow I just listened to that video, the beats sound crap haha. On that particular test I loved the M50s, but I was watching with crap headphones that are in ear soo :/ also the 770's were the 32 ohm versions so who knows. I am going to their website to check more samples on the headphones. My 770 250 are already dispatched so I guess I will see tommorow if I like them.

How are the 770 250ohm versions compared to the 80ohm version? And are the 990s any good?

Thanks for all your help
 
the 250s are more refined and clear than the 80's but with less bass. the 80s are the bassiest of the 3 versions (i think i gave you a link to read on this a few posts up!)

the 880's are semi-open and very neutral sounding across the board.

the 990's are fully open and have a v profile. less bass than the 770's but with much better soundstage, brighter highs and more clarity. they will not be as "warm" sounding as the 770s or m50s would be .
 

Jakob789521

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Oh yes sorry I realised that when I posted :p Well thanks for all the help you gave me :) I will let you know tomorrow how I feel about them. Good speaking to you. I am glad I went for The DT770 250Ohm
 
remember... some headphones need to be broken in and you should never judge them the first instant you hear them. give them some time and frequent use for about a week before making a decision.

i certainly would like to hear first impressions though as hearing back from people who own products only helps me to recommend products better since its impossible for me to own/try out all products and much of what i know is done from my own research on the subject matter.