Headphones for guitar?

~~Odyshape~~ · 12-13-2010, 05:47 PM

I have an amp with a headphone jack and am looking for some good headphones for practicing guitar with.

Insane Guest · 12-13-2010, 05:51 PM

I do this all the time.

I use these
Bose Quiet Comfort 2 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones

Very good. I don't lose any tone, although the harmonics are not as good as when I play normally. Pretty much any over the ear headphones will do you good.

s_k · 12-13-2010, 06:03 PM

I'd like to be kind, but I can't say anything but: You ain't heard nothing yet.
These boses are pretty expensive and kicked ass by a pair of 10 dollar Philipses. And I'm being serious. This is with everything that bose does except for their car audio and amplifiers. These are actually pretty good. The rest is just good marketing.

You might want to go for a nice AKG though.
You should probably wonder whether you'd want an open or closed headphone (open if you'd like to year your environment while playing, closed if you don't. They sound a bit different too, but that's taste)

Insane Guest · 12-13-2010, 06:18 PM

Do you own a pair of Bose headphones?

s_k · 12-13-2010, 06:23 PM

Haha, that wouldn't be logical

.
Why would I buy something I dislike?

Insane Guest · 12-13-2010, 06:26 PM

Where have you even tried them?

If you can really tell me that $10 headphones can compare to them, is kind of throwing me off.

s_k · 12-13-2010, 06:36 PM

I'm sorry man, it's the thing with bose.
They're brilliant at marketing, but their stuff isn't all that good.
I'm not telling you this to make you feel bad. It's just true.
Same goes with all those thousands of bose 201's, 301's, acoustimass, 3-2-1 systems that people buy. They're not good. I might even call most of them plain bad.
The brand has gotten famous because of marketing, not because of quality.
The only thing Bose made that's really really brilliant is this:

The Philips SHP2000 doesn't actually sound worse than those boses.
I'm really shocked by what the boses cost, because I thought they were around 50 dollars. I didn't really pay attention to that.
And again, I'm not trying to be unfriendly, I just know my way in audio.

Back to headphones:
Budget: Philips
Pricey: AKG or Beyerdynamic
Unaffordable: STAX or GRADO

And (unpopular opinion ;D) forget about affordable sennheisers too.
There's some pretty neat sennheisers, but the AKG's and Beyerdynamics that cost the same are way better.
Sony has some pretty good headphones around 75-100 dollars, too. But I'm not really into those.

And I know it's often a question of taste, but amongst serious audio enthusiasts, everyone knows that bose shouldn't be taken seriously. I'm sorry man.

SATCHMO · 12-13-2010, 06:53 PM

The deal with Bose is a few things.

One, they've ridden the coattails of the legitimate recognition that they received in the 80's/early 90's for their speakers and amplification systems.

two, the use a lot of signal processing to color the sound of their speakers/headphones so that they sound more dramatic to consumers that are looking for headphones for personal use. I think Bose headphones are good for just listening to very compressed digital music files, but I would never ever mix with them, or use them on an analog system or for primarily analog recordings because they are so biased and inaccurate. I still think they're decent headphones, but They don't sound anywhere as good as the price tag would lead me to believe. Most of what you're buying is a name.

Insane Guest · 12-13-2010, 06:56 PM

Not everyone has the same opinion. I think they are great, you think they are bad, I think your ears are messed up. Again, where did you use them?
It also depends on what you use them for. It could sound completely different based on person's taste in music. And again, speak for yourself and not EVERYONE.
This is why I voted for you as the worst Argumentalist.

s_k · 12-13-2010, 07:07 PM

There's always taste man, but if that's all that matters then any speaker or headphone is right as long as it's your taste. I don't agree with that. There's still good and bad.

You might also want to read Satchmo's post as he's completely right, except probably for the 80's/90's part. Bose made some nead amplifiers in the 70's.
They also had the 901 speakers which were rubbish, but came with an external amplifier that made them sound acceptable (still a lot of money for 'reasonable' sound quality).
In the 80's they already went all acoustimass on us.

Edit: Heard them a couple of times. In a shop, at school and at someone's home plugged in to a pretty nice NAD amplifier (he also had pretty afwul B&W speakers, so I guess he also went for the name).

12-13-2010, 05:47 PM	#1 (permalink)
~~Odyshape~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 526	Headphones for guitar? I have an amp with a headphone jack and am looking for some good headphones for practicing guitar with.

12-13-2010, 06:03 PM	#3 (permalink)
s_k Music Addict Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 2,206	I'd like to be kind, but I can't say anything but: You ain't heard nothing yet. These boses are pretty expensive and kicked ass by a pair of 10 dollar Philipses. And I'm being serious. This is with everything that bose does except for their car audio and amplifiers. These are actually pretty good. The rest is just good marketing. You might want to go for a nice AKG though. You should probably wonder whether you'd want an open or closed headphone (open if you'd like to year your environment while playing, closed if you don't. They sound a bit different too, but that's taste) __________________ Click here to see my collection

12-13-2010, 06:23 PM	#5 (permalink)
s_k Music Addict Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 2,206	Haha, that wouldn't be logical . Why would I buy something I dislike? __________________ Click here to see my collection

12-13-2010, 06:36 PM	#7 (permalink)
s_k Music Addict Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 2,206	I'm sorry man, it's the thing with bose. They're brilliant at marketing, but their stuff isn't all that good. I'm not telling you this to make you feel bad. It's just true. Same goes with all those thousands of bose 201's, 301's, acoustimass, 3-2-1 systems that people buy. They're not good. I might even call most of them plain bad. The brand has gotten famous because of marketing, not because of quality. The only thing Bose made that's really really brilliant is this: The Philips SHP2000 doesn't actually sound worse than those boses. I'm really shocked by what the boses cost, because I thought they were around 50 dollars. I didn't really pay attention to that. And again, I'm not trying to be unfriendly, I just know my way in audio. Back to headphones: Budget: Philips Pricey: AKG or Beyerdynamic Unaffordable: STAX or GRADO And (unpopular opinion ;D) forget about affordable sennheisers too. There's some pretty neat sennheisers, but the AKG's and Beyerdynamics that cost the same are way better. Sony has some pretty good headphones around 75-100 dollars, too. But I'm not really into those. And I know it's often a question of taste, but amongst serious audio enthusiasts, everyone knows that bose shouldn't be taken seriously. I'm sorry man. __________________ Click here to see my collection

12-13-2010, 07:07 PM	#10 (permalink)
s_k Music Addict Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 2,206	There's always taste man, but if that's all that matters then any speaker or headphone is right as long as it's your taste. I don't agree with that. There's still good and bad. You might also want to read Satchmo's post as he's completely right, except probably for the 80's/90's part. Bose made some nead amplifiers in the 70's. They also had the 901 speakers which were rubbish, but came with an external amplifier that made them sound acceptable (still a lot of money for 'reasonable' sound quality). In the 80's they already went all acoustimass on us. Edit: Heard them a couple of times. In a shop, at school and at someone's home plugged in to a pretty nice NAD amplifier (he also had pretty afwul B&W speakers, so I guess he also went for the name). __________________ Click here to see my collection

12-13-2010, 05:51 PM	#2 (permalink)
Insane Guest Music Addict Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: CA Posts: 1,322	I do this all the time. I use these Bose Quiet Comfort 2 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones Very good. I don't lose any tone, although the harmonics are not as good as when I play normally. Pretty much any over the ear headphones will do you good.

12-13-2010, 06:18 PM	#4 (permalink)
Insane Guest Music Addict Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: CA Posts: 1,322	Do you own a pair of Bose headphones?

12-13-2010, 06:26 PM	#6 (permalink)
Insane Guest Music Addict Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: CA Posts: 1,322	Where have you even tried them? If you can really tell me that $10 headphones can compare to them, is kind of throwing me off.

12-13-2010, 06:53 PM	#8 (permalink)
SATCHMO Al Dente Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 4,708	The deal with Bose is a few things. One, they've ridden the coattails of the legitimate recognition that they received in the 80's/early 90's for their speakers and amplification systems. two, the use a lot of signal processing to color the sound of their speakers/headphones so that they sound more dramatic to consumers that are looking for headphones for personal use. I think Bose headphones are good for just listening to very compressed digital music files, but I would never ever mix with them, or use them on an analog system or for primarily analog recordings because they are so biased and inaccurate. I still think they're decent headphones, but They don't sound anywhere as good as the price tag would lead me to believe. Most of what you're buying is a name.

12-13-2010, 06:56 PM	#9 (permalink)
Insane Guest Music Addict Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: CA Posts: 1,322	Not everyone has the same opinion. I think they are great, you think they are bad, I think your ears are messed up. Again, where did you use them? It also depends on what you use them for. It could sound completely different based on person's taste in music. And again, speak for yourself and not EVERYONE. This is why I voted for you as the worst Argumentalist.