Ask MuppetFace Stuff

For easy headphone solutions:

~> Koss PortaPros (on ear)
~> Sony MA900 (over ear)
~> Honorable mentions: NAD Visio HP50, Focal Spirit Pro, Beyer T51P (just about the only Beyer I personally like)

For some more adventurous projects:

~> Koss KSC 75 and a cheap headband; search for how to easily mod these into amazing on-ear headphones
~> vintage Yamaha YH-1 from eBay ($100); sounds rlly good either stock or with simple mods

All of these sound good directly from an iPod and would serve as a great introduction to larger sized headphones. Especially the PortaPros which are iconic, have a fashionable 80s kitsch design, and fold up really easily. They can also withstand punishment. The MA900 from Sony is extremely light and comfortable, has a very balanced sound signature, and would also make for a nice pair of first full sized headphones. They will however leak sound, so they are better off left at home.



If the person in question is set on earphones instead of headphones, I'd suggest:

~> The Radius line of IEMs from Japan, especiall the Wn4. However the other models in the new product lineup seem to have nicely balanced sound as well according to Tyll.
~> Sony MDR-EX800ST aka MDR-7550 (same thing, different names for Japanese vs export versions).
~> Etymotic ER4 (assuming they don't mind the ear torture)
~> FitEar F111 (sort of a "super Ety" you can find on ALO's site or from other importers)



For someone who wants to get into serious *this is the tits* sounding home systems, some "entry level" electrostatic systems can be found for surprisingly good deals. You just have to have patience for when the sales come up, or look for a used pair of Stax (which are surpringly robust despite their look, able to withstand decades of wear and tear... within reason).

~> Koss ESP 950 (can often be found new at ~$500)
~> used Stax Lambda Pro and T1 amp pair (these pop up on eBay for ~$400 often)
~> SRS-2020 or SRS-2170 systems
~> SRS-002 in-the-earspeakers

These sets are nice because they come with the transducers and a small amp that is able to drive them more than adequately. You can connect them to a nice source like an external DAC or turntable, or you can just connect them to a notebook, tablet, or iPod. The newer Stax sets like the SRS-2170 can be found for ~$500 if you know where to look or find some leftover stock on sale. The SRS-002 has a battery powered amp and in-ear monitors, so technically it is portable, but the sound leakage makes it better suited for private listening. Still it offers a great introductory system that, frankly, sounds better IMO than a lot of other stuff on the marker right now.



Obviously around here you're gonna find recommendations for stuff like the HD650 and Schiit gear---which is good, cuz you can't really go wrong there---but since you asked me, I thought I'd offer some more "MuppetFace-y" alternatives for consideration.

I think the PortaPro is, in a way, *the perfect* gift for someone new to the world of music listening beyond earbuds. Plus they can use some of the money you'd save on music.

 

I've heard of it---and had it recommended to me---but I've yet to spend too much time looking over it. Yet.

However I plan to remedy this soon!

 

So this time I have some questions for all of you:

Should I re-start my blog?

I was an "official head-fi blogger" for whatever that's worth, and I pretty much wrote about music exclusively. You can still read through my short-lived blogobabble; is there like some kind of forgotten monument to over-ambition and laziness, in the midst of the vast desert that is head-fi's blog section (the only shining oasis there isn't filled with water, but rather Schiit).

Not sure if I'll keep to music this time around; I occasionally get the itch to write about gear, particularly headphones for whatever reason. Which is odd to me, because a lot of headphones kinda suck, and I feel as though a lot of headphone obsessed audiophiles just use music as an excuse to collect and play with their toys. Buuuut... yeah, I don't know where I'm going with that.

Point being I have a love-hate relationship with headphones I suppose. Yet I still kinda wanna write about 'em. Maybe a 50 / 50 split between gear and music? Or 30 / 70?

Does anyone really care about what I have to say when it comes to headphones anyway? I mean, my sonic priorities are pretty simple: don't give me a f'ing headache. That's more important to me than being able to hear a musician in the fourth row fart or having a soundstage the size of an iMax screen.

Was thinking of just making a thread here on SBAF and calling it a blog lmao.

 

You should restart your blog here in the blog section. If you do, I will rename it the VIP sub-forum. Currently it's dedicated to Mike Moffat @baldr. But that's because he is the only one who has offered.

Also, I would like to see your blog here. Better audience. Easier to manage. Less weirdos. And you have supapowas here. Over there, you are just a Kryptonian on Krypton.

 

Blog it up. Call it "dynamic headphones suck"!

 

Do. It.

 

"when using proper protection because we don't want to pass along headphone transmitted diseases and we're progressive like that"

 

A big thanks to everyone for their feedback and generous words. It's kind of overwhelming, really.

Because of certain life circumstances, I haven't been able to write as much as I'd like, so starting a blog again seems like a good way to ease back into things. I can't promise much consistency right now as far as an update schedule goes, but posting with more regularity is something I can work toward, and at the very least I'd like to do an "album of the month" (or "album of the week" if I find my stride) sort of thing.