Physically modifying Headphones.

[AOS-]

What do I mean exactly? Best I describe it with a story.

Once upon a time, Andy had decided to look into some headphones since he grew obsessed with them. He wanted excellent quality headphones, but he also wanted headphones that didn't look hideous (in his opinion). However, this ultimately defeats the spectrum with any products: FUNCTION vs. FORM.

He stumbled upon some nice looking headphones by Skullcandy. He thought "Hey these look so cool! I can't decide between the Metallica HESH, or Black/Gold TI's." Luckily he had discovered that many people said Skullcandy (SC) headphones are terrible in sound quality. Okay, so scratch that one (for now).

Then he took a look at Bose Around-Ear Headphones. Little pricey, but it at least has SOME looks. So what about quality? Some said bad, some said good. People who sampled them at a Bose store say they play the more contemporary music; jazz, classic, etc. So I reckon these headphones weren't made solely to pump out bass from rock & hip-pop, but people have said they we're still able to pump out some good bass without distorting the sound.

Let's compare the headphones I am interested in.

Skullcandy HESH:
$50
looks nicer than the bose.
focused on bass-driven music. I am right about this?
comfort? the neck band probably is, the ear cushion I'm not sure, as I have not tried them on or seen them in real life.
Cord is short apparently, even with the extension.
Longitivity?

Bose Around-Ear:
$189 @ Best Buy, $139.99 on Amazon.com (but I'm in Canada)
Lighter than the Hesh (that's not an issue though, not like I care)
I remember sampling these, the cushion is nice and soft.
5ft. cord is nice length, though a tad bit (about 1/2 ft.) longer than what I prefer, but whatever that's okay.
The Band looks and feels extra fragile.
Apparently sounds nicer than the Hesh's.

With that in mind, Andy wants the perfect headphones, those who satisfy the visual and function. What if he dissected headphones? Take the quality speakers of Bose, and stick 'em into the visually appealing ear muffs of the Hesh's?

anyone tried something like this before? anything I should be aware of? Tips & tricks on how to dissect the headphones in the cleanest way?

 

[CDailey]

Bose? Buy Bose only if you want to over pay for a mediocre product.

If you want to molest some awesome headphones, buy a pair of Grado SR60 or SR80. They sound a million times better than any Bose prodcut, and they cost less.

 

[waggles]

The band on the Bose's aren't flimsy-trust me, I have a pair.

And they are effing good. They're basically the noise canceling headphones w/o the canceling.

 

[Aldo]

go for some Sennheiser headphones
they are just all round awesome

 

[AOS-]

Bose? Buy Bose only if you want to over pay for a mediocre product.

If you want to molest some awesome headphones, buy a pair of Grado SR60 or SR80. They sound a million times better than any Bose prodcut, and they cost less.

i was waiting for someone to mention Grado, i heard of them over the net, which means i've never seen it in stores. I'm in Canada if you haven't known by now, i don't know of any place that sells Grado 'phones. how much cheaper are they?

go for some Sennheiser headphones
they are just all round awesome

I'd do sennheiser if they look nicer.

but seriously, has anyone dissected headphones before?

 

[Azuremen]

I've repaired several sets.

At the moment, it sounds like you want to be come a headphone ricer or something. Just get some good Sennheiser.

Skullcandy doesn't make a bad product, and it is a bit bass biased.

 

[Slicks]

I transplanted a set of Sony headphones into a set of ear defenders.

Practically noice-cancelling, sounds okay, and didn't cost much. Perfect for 'work use', in an environment where I needed ear defenders anyway.

 

[F1GTR]

Audio Technica ESW9 or ES7's.

 

[Azuremen]

I transplanted a set of Sony headphones into a set of ear defenders.

Practically noice-cancelling, sounds okay, and didn't cost much. Perfect for 'work use', in an environment where I needed ear defenders anyway.

Oh doh, forgot about when I did that years ago too when I'd have to use the riding mower to mow my family's estate. That wasn't too hard but I was mostly just aiming to have some music instead of very faint humming from the tractor thing.

 

[Dougboy]

Audio Technica ESW9 or ES7's.

👍 Best suggestion so far.

In Kanada? Ive had good experience buying from this place
http://dxcstore.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=51

While i love grados, they are useless in public because of how "open" they are. Also useless in places like libraries because of how "open" they are. And their looks is debatable

Take the quality speakers of Bose, and.........

what is this quality you speak of?

 

[AOS-]

you got a cheaper better headphone brand im not aware of?? besides Grado... none in Canada

 

[Kryz11]

Bose? Buy Bose only if you want to over pay for a mediocre product.

If you want to molest some awesome headphones, buy a pair of Grado SR60 or SR80. They sound a million times better than any Bose prodcut, and they cost less.

👍
These are the exact ones I have.. http://www.gradolabs.com/product_pages/sr80.htm
I have SR80s, they are .. big so it's bit silly to take them outside the HOME lol... but the sound quality is just PURE. Base is just at right volume, everything sounds just so pure. At first few days you will have to get use to the sound. You buy them and say.. they not so good. But once you get use to them, you do not want to go back, if you do go back to other headphones you will notice how other headphones are just crap with sound.. As well Grado sounds good at all sound levels, at low or high, unlike other headphones you always want to crank them up to enjoy, then when you over crank them quality drops with bass or high sounds.

I also love the OLD SCHOOL, Classic looks!

So get GRADO.. SR 60 I think goes for about 70 dollars on AMAZON, and SR80 Prestige series 100 dollars, they are pretty wider then SR60s but way better sound. SR60s are more for the go with iPod or Zune.

Sorry I do not know any other CHEAP system that works fine.. skullcandy? well they are just flashy similar prices, but not too good..

Here is a site if you wanna modify your Grado Headphones
http://www.headwize.com/projects/showfile.php?file=grado_prj.htm

I never touch my with any mods, but some look neat.. like this one

Looks nice and clean design.. I just don't like the cushion for the head rest. I like my Leather strip just the way it is.

 

[bergauk]

you got a cheaper better headphone brand im not aware of?? besides Grado... none in Canada

Panasonic RP-HTX's come to mind. I'm wearing mine right now and the speakers are infinitely better than anything I've come across so far. They don't look bad either.

 

[Kryz11]

Don't you mean HTX?

Sorry they look like construction gear

Hmm.. Closed design? Grado is Open design.. more pure

But yeah Closed design = more noise cancellation from outside world.
Open Design, more clean sounds but no noise cancellation form outside world.

So before you buy headphones choose what design you want too. If you stay home and listen to Music, play on PC with headphones, Open is good. If you travel a lot with a lot of noise in background, get closed design.

 

[bergauk]

Don't you mean HTX?

Sorry they look like construction gear

Hmm.. Closed design? Grado is Open design.. more pure

But yeah Closed design = more noise cancellation from outside world.
Open Design, more clean sounds but no noise cancellation form outside world.

So before you buy headphones choose what design you want too. If you stay home and listen to Music, play on PC with headphones, Open is good. If you travel a lot with a lot of noise in background, get closed design.

Hah, nice catch, fixed now. I don't like the open design much, leads to falling off while riding alot. That, and the amount of hair I have on my head requires something that can just stick. I admire the speaker quality in these though. It's a step above everything I've owned. And I've owned a bunch of different headphones.