Okay, so I'm either looking for wireless headphones that might have an SD card slot or just have built in storage OR I am looking for a Portable music Player and a set of headphone (over the ears)
My current headphones that I enjoy listening on are actually very neutral response headphones intended for audio mixing, and personally it's just the way I have preferred listening to my music. I've had my Sennheiser HD280 Pros for over 5 years now and they are starting to show their age. While they aren't dead, I don't think they will last much longer if I keep using them as my daily drivers, coming with my on my travels. So I would like to just leave these at home and find another pair to take with me during traveling and my walk to work. Personally, I hate the 3.5mm jack...as much as I hate to agree with Apple - and I still think their choice is stupid...BUT, I have never had ANY luck with 3.5mm jacks on portable devices. They always crap out, connections become loose and I wind up spending 5 or 10 minutes before I can even listen to music just turning the jack around in the socket until the audio stops crackling. So, preferably, I would just like to cut out the middle man here and have a set of headphones that have the audio storage built in. But I did some searching and it seems to be a bit of a rare species aside from a few chinese knock off brands that are worryingly low in cost. So, if there are no good wireless headsets with built in audio play back, I DO NOT want to have to deal with bluetooth, so I'd rather just have a reasonable quality portable music player and a good headset to go with it.
What I would like out of a portable music player is a quality build - I don't want the 3.5mm jack to turn to shit 2 months after I buy it. If the player doesn't have expandable memory, then 8gb is the smallest size I would want.
And as for headphones; like I said, I'm not into the uber-bassy stuff that seems predominant in a lot of consumer headphones. I like neutral response, though if I had a preference of "flavor" I typically favor the trebles being clear and crisp while not becoming fatiguing.
Also the budget is less tha $200 - preferably around $150
To be honest, my current Sennheiser HD280's I got for $75. I almost considered just buying a new pair replace them...but...they are actually more expensive in China...so If I was going to pay over the $75 price tag, I think I would prefer something newer and might fit my needs better (for example, the cable on the HD280s is a coil with probably too much length for traveling)
I'm mainly recommending these because I myself own a pair and I enjoy them. You mentioned you prefer listening to music with headphones that are intended to be used for mixing. As a musician myself, I find that these headphones are great for both making and listening to music. As far as comfort goes, I've seen people make complaints that they can get uncomfortable, though I myself have not had any major issues in that regard.
If you can't or are just not willing to go over your budget, then Audio-Technica's ATH-M40x headphones, which are a step down from the M50x's, may work.
Hmm...and they are only a few dollars more expensive in China. They seem nice and I trust Audio Technica. It's worth considering, even given the price. However, there is still the matter of the audio player. Any recommendations there?
I can't help you there, unfortunately. I know basically nothing about those. I'm sure someone else will see this and recommend to you something in that regard.
I second on the ATH-M50X. They got 3 swappable cables included too (1 meters straight, 3 meters straight, 1,5 meters curled). Had the previous model (ATH M50; no swappable cables) before and they were equally comfortable to wear and lasted until my dad sat down on them.
For the DAP: I got myself a Cowon Plenue D: http://www.cowonglobal.com/product_wide/PLENUED/product_page_1.php It handles almost any thinkable codec, has a micro sd slot and 32 GB internal storage. The playback time they advertise (50 h) is quite precise, I only charge once a week. I'll share my experiences with it if you if you wan't an opinion.
EDIT: I just re-read the OP's post and considering the budget given, I have to row back on the Plenue D, although it's a far better device than the newer iPods (had a modded Classic , but the hd and battery died on me, replacing is tedious and pricey here). Might as well row back about ATH-M50X , given the budget.
Alright, I have seen a lot of new audiophiles say things like that. Usually when they complain about stuff that is generally well accepted, it is because they are doing something wrong. For example, a lot of people complain about iems falling out of their ears, and say that iems just don't work for them. No, you just are using the wrong tips. You need to find what works for you. You might just have really big or really small ear canals, for example, which require you to use specific tips. Likewise, people that complain about durability issues are typically mistreating their products. To give you an idea, I have been using the same iems for about 5 years now. And they are just now starting to crap out on me. Why? Because the rubber on the cable is literally falling apart. Use it long enough and you will find the weakest link, and in this specific case, the cable's rubber (I assume it is rubber but it could be whatever) is the weakest link. Never had a problem with the headphone jack.
Typically, problems with connection like that are caused by dirty ports. You probably got some crap down into the port which is stopping the connector from making a decent connection. Again, a problem that I have never encountered, and you would likely never encounter if you treating you things well.
As for the recommendations, I am taking it from what you posted that you are planning on using the dap and headphones together as a portable unit. That makes things a bit more difficult as it means you basically have to go with closed, and easy to drive headphones. With that price range, you aren't really going to get much for both the headphones and the dap. I wold recommend you look at getting a clip+ and installing rockbox on it. That is what I use and has been an audiophile standard for many years. Good quality all around, expandable memory, and rather durable. I've had mine for something like 7 years. If you want something better than that, I would have to recommend going up the price range to around $100 to make it a worthwhile investment over a clip+. Something like a Fiio x1, but that would eat too much of your budget, so I would stick with the clip+. And for the headphones, if you like the sound that you were getting with the hd280s, then you don't really like a treble forward sound. Sennheiser's low end stuff is known for its "Sennheiser veil" which is basically the high end being turned down and sounding like it has a veil over it. So not fatiguing is a bit of an understatement for that. I would venture to say that you like a warm, laid back sound signature. Nothing wrong with that. It is pleasing, easy to listen to, not fatiguing, and can be clear enough for the majority of people. Unfortunately, I don't have a recommendation off the top of my head for that sound signature in your price range. But I do know that the m50x is NOT it. They are very V shaped, with elevated bass, exactly what you didn't want. Something in the vein of Soundmagic HP100s would fit you really well, but that is rather out of budget.
While the whole: "treat your stuff right and it will last forever" thing was not really necessary I have to take defense for @1920.1080p.1280.720p, since he pointed out some valid things:
The Sansa Clip is indeed often recommended, but I never owned one myself, this is why I can't tell much more about it. For your budget it might be an option.
The ATH-M50x are a little more on the bass side of the spectrum, and they are open headphones. I have owned Monitors from AKG and Sennheiser, if you like, the AudioTechnicas lean more to the first, and IMO what 1920 said about lower end Sennheisers cut of bass a liitle is definetely true.
You might wan't to try ANY headphones in a shop (should that be an option) before buying. It's always a matter of taste, and you're more likely to end up with a product you can enjoy.
@NolanAlighieri, for the sake of a civilized conversation, please don't insult people on the forums.
EDIT: When trying, you might want to use your own audio source, given that the clip for example won't really be able to drive, let's say the M50x. The plenue D, on the other hand has no problem driving my headphones. I recommend you to approach 1920 for recommendations, he/she/"attack helicopter" seems to have dived into the matter a a lot deeper than me, as I was just sharing what I am rocking.
I edited my post. Apologies for perhaps going a little off the rails there.
I think I could agree with trying before buying but that's a bit difficult (but not impossible) with me living in China. Navigating Beijing is difficult for me, and getting to a store doesn't mean I can just ask a clerk for what I am looking for. I'm pretty much on my own unless they speak English. I guess, on the one hand, that also means I can avoid any slimy sales pitch they might throw my way since I won't understand them.
Everything has a good side :) When your Sennheisers still work (you like them, eh?), you could keep them focus on the DAP, and switch headphones when you can afford some more pleasing ones. Thanks for trying to keep it civil.
A little off topic: I tend to break stuff, dropping stuff on the concrete , but not one part of the combo mentioned above has taken any damage from my abuse. Since you are traveling, feeling the product and thinking about robustness might add to your decision. For the 3.5 mm audio jacks, they don't like levering forces applied to them by the cable (I speak from own experience), so always unplug before tossing it into a bag, if you haven't acted like this before.
Disclaimer: Not an audiophile per se, just enthusiast. If you decide on keeping the wires, I can recommend the HifimeDIY Sabre 9018 DAC (that you can get assembled, as per the link), which comes with a microUSB for instance, so you can hook it up to your android phone, no drivers required. As the name says it uses the Sabre 9018 chip, which I've been told is used in much much more pricey DAC's.
So I wasn't able to return before the original response to my comment was edited, but I don't much mind either way. You don't say the things that I do and not expect people to get offended. I just wanted to get the point across. This is a fairly common problem that I have seen a lot of new audiophiles run into. And no matter how well built a dap is, if you get crud down in the port, you are going to get a crappy connection. It is just the nature of ports being small holes that crap can find its way into. You will find that most audiophiles, and this is especially true of those who favor mobile listening, really baby their devices. I, for instance, have been using an altoids case with foam glued to the inside as a way of storing and transporting my iems while not in use. That is fairly common, but a lot of others use less diy solutions (but if you have no money, an altoids can and a small sheet of foam from a crafts store is a good solution). I want you to know, the only audio related device that I have had actually break on me (aside from the afore mentioned rubber deteriorated cables) was my Soundmagic HP100. I was stupid enough to put them into my bookbag without being in the hardshell case they came with. And as a result, they broke. It is seriously common for user error to be the cause of things like this, and I just want that to be perfectly clear. Anyway, I would look into clip+ and HP150 if you can. I got the HP100s (which sound the exact same as the HP150) because they have a neutral, leaning on warm sound signature with excellent clarity. Basically exactly what you seem to want. And they are easy to drive, unlike stuff from AKG for example, which means that you can easily use it with something like a clip+ without a problem. Wish I could give you more recommendations, but as I said before, I don't really have any go-to headphones with that sound signature in that price range. Maybe a CAL!, maybe. That might be a sound signature you are looking for. IF you want to see a bunch of recommendations and reviews and whatnot, on head-fi, the user |joker| has a portable headphone shootout. Has over a hundred headphones on it, and his word can be trusted (he is incredibly well respected). I would look into that if you are feeling up to reading some reviews and finding some more options.
Okay so a few things so I looked into the clip...sorry to doubt you here, but it looks pretty cheaply made...you sure this is a reliable PMP? It also seems that is has been discontinued, so is there a modern equivalent that is still being manufactured. Since I live in China finding some of these things is kind of tough. I might be able to ask my assistant to search on whatever the Chinese equivalent is of Ebay for a used one, but I hate making requests of my assistant that is not part of his job. The HP's seem fine, assuming what you say is true. I'll try to find an audio store (I think I know where one is too) and test some headsets before I settle on anything. While I doubt I'll find a store that carries display units of the HP150/100s at least I can hear the options they might have on display before pulling the trigger on any headsets that I only know what has been told to me by word of mouth.
And as for @JokerProductions ; I went to his Youtube channel. I know about him - I actually won a mechanical keyboard from him during a contest he ran back on the 'ol forums'. I searched for headphones/headsets/monitors but I couldn't find any videos that were headphone shootouts other than one video that I think he posted last year about what headphones he uses for gaming, movies, and listening. You mention reading, so I guess maybe it's not a video. I (briefly) looked over his youtube channel but did not see any links to a website.
These look interesting, but I think they are just DAC's and not portable audio players...I think. Do they have internal storage?
edit: I see what you are saying now in your post. They are USB DACs, and some offered work on phones...so, I suppose theoretically I could plug it into the USB on my phone and just use the 3.5 jack on the dac....which might work, actually. I am, however, worried, since I use this cheap chinese crap phone whether it will work or not, as the site mentions MOST (but not all) phones are plug and play...I'm worried my phone might be in the latter category of "not all". And since I doubt these DACs are available here, to get one, I'll have to pay some pretty steep import fees (albeit, still probably less than buying a new quality PMP) so I would hate to spend that money and find out it doesn't work with my set up.
I don't think that I was clear enough. I meant someone completely different than that joker. The joker that I was referring to is a user on head-fi. Here is the thread that I was talking about. Give it a look.
As for the clip, it is definitely reputable. If you spend some time on audiophile forums, you will see that it is a staple. All of that said, I have been a bit out of the loop for a while (busy with school, jobs, significant other, etc), so I am not as knowledgeable about things as they stand now. As I mentioned, the clip I use is like 7 years old, and I haven't really looked at cheap daps since then. I would recommend getting something like a Fiio X1 in combination with an HP150, if you can swing the price, but that will put you way over budget. Try going through the rockbox website and see what players they support that have expandable storage and are easily available. I believe that the replacement for the clip+, the clip zip, is equally well respected and supported by rockbox, so that should be a solid choice if you can find them where you are. Beyond that, I would have to do some digging to find anything out.
An extensive read for sure. But since the author broke up all the models by price sections it quite useful. Maybe you could post this link as an extra thread to the Headphones and Headsets subject and ask a mod to pin it to give people a point to start? just an idea
You can also get it as a DIY kit for half of the price, if you are up for doing some soldering. I do understand you though, if it's not guaranteed to work it's potentially still money out the window.