i have the e2c's. unfortunately i must have damaged them because one ear is too quiet, and one ear is super loud. does anybody know if they any kind of return/exchange policies? and if so, if they are familiar with how they went about getting a product exchange?

thanks

a) this really depends. are you buying an amp AND speakers? If so, i would spend around 800-1k for the whole system, so like 100 per speaker and around 500 for an amp. This might be too much, because like i said, i really know very little about surround sound systems.

b) spending less than 500 would be a bad idea imo.

You run the longer side around the back of your head/neck. That way, you can take them out of your ear, just drop them, and they'll hang over your shoulder / around your neck. This cord style is so much better than the standard Y-cord. I wish all earphones would have this J-cord style.

any specific recommendations on brands or models to check out for a speaker set up more than $500 and less than $1500? Keep in mind these would primarily be plugged into a computer.. or is this not best?

Depends on what you want.

If you just want to be able to listen to music on your computer, while at your computer, just go buy the higher end logitech computer speakers.

If you want to fill a room, get yourself A left and right speaker, a sub and an amp. Then plug your computer into that.

Just wanted to add that I have the Grado SR60's....

These are pretty much considered by the industry as the best "bang-for-the-buck" headphones out there. ($60ish).

Compared to a normal pair they absolutely blow them away.

However, they are lacking in bass, and definitely aren't as comfortable as the Sennheisers or AKG's.

Another nice thing about them is that they are 32ohm, so you don't need a headphone amp to power them.

If I did it all over again, I probably would still get these considering the price. In the future if I upgrade, I may go with Sennheiser/AKG instead though.

I haven't had a chance yet to listen to the SR-225's/RS1's/etc

dont bother upgrading. up to the sr225 there is really no difference in the sonic qualities as compared to the sr60. i disagree that theyre the best bang for the buck. the sennheiser hd212 is probably best for the buck, or maybe the koss ksc-75 or the koss portapro.

Well, they're considered -one of- the best cheap headphones. The ksc-75's and portapro's are only like $30 headphones. I've heard both of those, and wasn't overly impressed. Haven't heard the 212's.

I'm certainly not a grado-fan-boy - I just read a ton of reviews before I bought and ended up w/ sr60's from the many recommendations.

PITTM - for my next 'upgrade', what should I go with? Say, $200 or less range. (unless there's something drastically better for $220 or something)

HD580s. absolutely no question imo. you could probably find them for around ~120 used and then use the rest of the money for an entry level amp. Unless youre using them with a nice integrated amplifier or something in which case an amp becomes less necessary.

Hmm..

I'm seeing the HD580's as cheap as $150 new from newegg - I don't see any reason to get them used for that price.

Also,

Between the ksc-35's and 75's, which are preferred? I need a cheap set for the mp3 player I'm picking up.

ksc-75s are generally considered to be better. i know the 580s were 120 used like a year ago. i would correct myself and say theyre probably closer to 100 now. anyone who doesnt know, should know that the hd580s have the same driver unit(read: speaker) as the 600s, but the 600s cost like 300 bucks. why? because they have metal outside covers as opposed to the 580s plastic covers. solution? do what i did and buy two 600 metal covers from sennheiser for like 8 dollars each, pry the old covers off, put new covers on. the sound is much better without the vibrating plastic.

Opinions of the Sennheiser HD280 Pro?

I've had them for a few years at work and love the attenuation they provide as well as the sound quality but have always found them to be a bit tight on the head.

Bose Triports - band breaks VERY easily, but they replace for free

Sennheiser HD590 - awesome sound and very stable (can be dropped, bent, etc.)

Go to Shure's website and call the 1800 number. They probably have one of the best customer service departments and exchange policies of any company in the world.

I recently got a pair of Shure e500s. They were more than I wanted to spend, but usually when I'm seriously considering buying the 2nd or 3rd best model of something, I just say say [censored] it and get the best. These earphones are absolutely amazing. It's almost like the sound isn't being mechanically reproduced and instead is being beamed directly into my brain. The first thing I listened to was an uncompressed recording of Beethoven's 9th on my ipod--it was orgasmic.

The only thing I don't like is that now my mp3s sound like crap, even the ones with high bitrates. For example, I have an uncompressed Black Flag album with poor production values on my ipod, but to me it sounds better than the Phil Spector-produced Let It Be at a bitrate of 256. I now find myself transferring CDs uncompressed and downloading FLAC files instead of mp3s. Luckily I have an 80-gig ipod, but it's rapidly filling up.

this exact same thing happened to my e3cs, and shure exchanged them without any problems. evan is right, their customer service is awesome.

--turnipmonster

I haven't really read the thread, and I'm not up to date on headphones anymore...but I used to take competitive gaming really seriously, and at the time sennheisers were awesome and the best of the best

WhoIAm, you speak the truth.

After reading a bunch of reviews, I got a pair of the e500's a few weeks ago and am completely blown away. They sound incredible. Now when I listen to music from other sources like my stereo or my car stereo, I think they sound like crap (even though I'd always thought they sounded fine). Also, I now often notice parts of songs that I'd never noticed before, even though I'd listened to the song hundreds of times over the years.

I'm using the yellow foamies right now, but there is a long thread on head-fi about new black foamies that are supposed to be better. I ordered them from amazon but they haven't arrived yet.

So, if you're reading this thread, considering getting new headphones or iems and don't know what kind to buy. Go to amazon and start reading one rave review after another about the e500's. Then go to ebay and start bidding on some. I got mine off ebay new in box for $300 ($470 on amazon). Probably one of the best purchases I've made in a while.

-Trebek

this is the beauty of great headphones. hearing the dialogue at the beginning of Led Zeppelin's "The Ocean" or just hearing background instruments you didnt know existed in a song or finally hearing a detailed, correct lyric that you always wondered about is always an amazing feeling for me.

I am definitely going to check out Ray Samuels - The Hornet amp, as mentioned by a previous poster, for some high end headphone listening - will need to of course get much better phones.

For those on an extreme budget - get the Sennheiser PX 100's instead of stock ipod phones - worth the $40.

i have the hornet. it is amazing. i just found out that there are 2 new versions of it. I have the 55th one ever made and i just talked to ray and he told me he would do all the upgrades for $15. solid.

Grrr I have a pair of these arriving in the mail next week and now I am salivating!

Has anyone compared the $10 KSC-75's to the Sennheiser PX100's ($40) ?

I've heard the px100's and thought they were really good for lightweight headphones.

I just ordered the ksc-75's with a $10 amazon gift certificate I had. I'll report back with what I think.

ElD

I heard these were better than the ones you're talking about.

http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B0009Q4PHO/...;pf_rd_i=507846