Gear Days - New Year Over Ear Invitational Part 4: The Winners

And here we are, a few weeks into the new year with the best of the over ears.  As you might have noticed, the 'losers' didn't just include the bottom 10 but neglected a couple and included the AKG K7XXs.  But let's talk about that as we go why don't we, this one'll be long with 13 headphones.

The first of the 'winners' I want to talk about are the Beyerdynamic Custom One Pros.  These are an interesting pair of headphones because they allow you to control the amount of bass you listen to with these sliders, one on each earcup.  So why are these on the 'winners' list while being in 14th place?  Simply put they're very interesting.  Part of the reason why they're ranked so low is because they're kind of expensive at around $215 for the quality of sound they have.  The other reason is that why you bring the bass up to louder amounts it seriously degrades the sound quality.  The bass gets really bloated and slow.  The idea and premise behind them though is quite interesting and I do quite enjoy them even though I ranked them as low as I did and for that I think they belong on the 'winners' list.

Next up is the other sub top ten ranked pair of headphones, the Bose QC15s.  Yes, there's a new version of these headphones in the QC25s but I don't have those so you'll have to live with this.  Honestly, these are here because the noise cancelling is just that good.  The sound is...odd to say the least.  Out of all the headphones I looked at this time around, they had this really odd vocal focus that made their mids very odd.  The bass was pretty decent but I just couldn't shake the odd mids that were so very partial to vocals and so oddly weak when vocals weren't involved.

Skipping over the Beyerdynamic T90s for now, I'll talk about those last, let's get to the AKG Q701s in 9th place.  The Q701s honestly sound very similar to the AKG K612 Pros when unamped.  Amped is a different story with the K612s getting uncharacteristically sloppy with the Q701s maintaining their sound.  The general sound is that the bass is pretty good with a strong yet not overly strong volume.  The mids are clear and detailed and the highs are sparkly without getting out of hand ever.  The stage is wide and natural.  Overall the sound is not the reason these headphones are here.  The only reason they're here is because the headband has bumps on it that are really annoyingly uncomfortable.

Gear Days - New Year Over Ear Invitational Part 3: The Losers

Oh the 'losers', the disappointments, the stay at home headphones.  Whether the price to performance ratio was off or the sound quality just wasn't there, these headphones just didn't stack up to the fierce competition for the top, regardless, it's important to talk about them so here we go.

At the bottom of the scrap barrel are the Audio Technica ANC7b headphones.  At $130ish with admirable noise cancelling, these headphones fit into an interesting niche in the low end noise cancelling headphones department.  While their noise cancelling is admirable, outperforming both the Audio Technica ANC70s and the Beats Studio Wireless, I just couldn't enjoy their sound quality in comparison to the other headphones in the group.  As I stated before in my ANC70 vs ANC7b post, the ANC7bs suffer pretty greatly from the tin can syndrome.  They have overly strong bass, that isn't even good, which paired with an already small sound stage makes things almost claustrophobic.  While it's true that with noise cancelling on they sound significantly better, they still don't really get up to par with some of the other headphones in the group so they get the lowest ranking.

Moving on are the VModa Crossfade LPs.  Note that these are the first incarnation of them and that there is a new version.  That said I just couldn't get behind the sound.  When I first reviewed them back at the tail end of 2013, I gave them quite a high rating.  That said, I have listened to a great deal more headphones and honestly I don't think they sound that good.  Maybe it's because I tend to favor mid and treble heavy headphones over bassy ones but I found that the Crossfade LPs just lacked on so many levels.  The bass was overly strong and not crisp, just kind of boomy.  The mids were weak and the stage was overly small.  I wouldn't say they're particularly bad headphones, just not really all that good either.

Gear Days - New Year Over Ear Invitational Part 2: The Rankings

First off, this ranking took a really long time to do.  I've found that listening to multiple headphones for differences can be really difficult.  After 5 or 6 you start forgetting what the other ones sounded like and it all kind of blurs.  Also, I haven't done the amped ratings yet so there will be an edit to this post when I do end up finishing those.  Regardless, let's get to the standard rankings.

From top to bottom in ranking:
1. Superlux HD668B
2. AKG K612Pro
3. Sony MDRV6/MDR7506
4. Audio Technica ATH-M50
5. Beyerdynamic DT880
6. Incipio NX-100 f38
7. JVC HA-RX900
8. AKG K7XX
9. AKG Q701
10. Beyerdynamic T90
11. Audio Technica ANC70
12. Scarlett HP60
13. Bose QC15
14. Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro
15. California Headphones Co Silverado
16. Beats Studio Wireless
17. NuForce HP-800
18. VModa Crossfade LP
19. Audio Technica ANC7b

Some notes to consider when looking at these rankings:
The Sony MDRV6 and MDR7506 are for all intents and purposes the same headphones which is why they share a spot and have the exact same ratings.
Comfort, price to performance ratio, and certain extra features like noise cancelling or interesting sound profile factor heavily into these rankings.  For example, the Beyerdynamic T90s are ranked 10th place purely for price to performance ratio reasons while the AKG Q701 is docked for comfort reasons mainly.

Next up is the loser's list which is largely the bottom of this list but not completely.  Expect it up in a couple days.  Until next time.

*Edit*
After checking out some select headphones through the Aune T1 MK2, there are some surprising results.  None of them really change the standings but I'll go through a couple points here.  All three AKG headphones and the Beyerdynamic DT880s took a lot more volume to get equivalently loud as compared to the other headphones.  The Aune T1 MK2 tended to increase bass response and lighten treble response except in a couple of cases.  Those cases being on the Beats Studio Wireless and the AKG K612 Pros where the bass got weaker and the treble got stronger.  Also, even though some of the headphones appear to do worse, that doesn't necessarily make them as low ranking as in the base standings without amping/driving through the Aune T1 MK2, this is evidenced by the fact that I didn't give values below a 5.  I'll talk about each of the headphones and how they changed due to being run through the Aune T1 MK2 more in depth in the following posts.

--CsMiREK

Gear Days - New Year Over Ear Invitational Part 1: Introduction

Before moving on with the year and new and exciting things, I wanted to do my big winter headphone review.  The contenders this time are all of the over ear headphones I own, currently 20 of them.  As usual, head over to the headphone spreadsheet for more complete breakdown.  As this is the "heavyweight" division, at least in terms of price, I'll be handling this particular post a bit differently than some of the previous ones.  First off, this will be just an introductory post going over the gear used to test and some other considerations.

During previous group headphones posts, I used my Focusrite 2i2 hooked up to a PreSonus HP4 so I could listen to multiple headphones at a time.  I will be doing so again for the majority of the testing.  Additionally, I'll be running a few headphones through an Aune T1 MK2 tube DAC/amp with its stock tube.  The reasoning behind this is that I've found that this particular group of headphones has a handful of individuals that sound markedly different when amped differently and in most cases better.

Another thing to note will be the inclusion of 1/10 ratings which I have shied away from in the past.  However, I want to have as much available range to work with in the ratings scheme.  A 1/10 rating in this sense only means that that pair of headphones ranked the worst out of the ones tested.  During the spring full listen, the 1/10 ratings will likely not be so far down.  The last bit of interesting information is why some headphones might rank higher during one listen versus another.  In going through the beginning of this listen through I found the California Headphones Co's Silverado headphones to have significantly worse bass than during the under $50 listen and so it loses out to the Incipio f38 which it beat prior.  Part of this has to do with my ears listening to different things on one group compared to another.  Our hearing adjusts somewhat to any sounds we hear which makes objective listening quite difficult.  Also, sometimes I change my mind.

Upcoming in this series of posts will be, the overall rankings followed by a post on the 'losers' with the last post of four being a post on the 'winners'.  I hope you enjoy, the next post should be up Friday.  Until next time.

--CsMiREK

Gear Days - Stocking Stuffer Special

I'm a bit late with this, I wanted to originally have this out yesterday night but it took a bit longer than expected.  The topic for the day is the Stocking Stuffer Special, a ranking of headphones I own that can all be bought for under $50.  The field is crowded and honestly there aren't a large number of standouts but let's get started anyways.

All told, there were 14 pairs ranked this time around and they got grouped into 2 small groups at the ends and one big blob in the middle

So let's get to the ratings:
1. Superlux HD668B
2. Yuin PK3
3. Sennheiser CX200
4. Incipio NX-100 f38
5. Panasonic RPTCM125K
6. NuForce NE600X
7. UrbanEars Plattan
8. Sony MDR-PQ5 (Discontinued)
9. TTPOD T1-E
10. California Headphones Silverado (Discontinued)
11. Klipsch S4i Rugged (Discontinued)
12. Sol Republic Amps
13. NuForce NE770X
14. Zipbuds Juiced

Gear Days - Holiday Kickoff: Beats Studio Wireless

It's holiday time and that means headphones (not that it isn't headphones time all the time).  To kick off the holiday headphone times I'll cover a pair of headphones I've recently come to owning, the Beats Studio Wireless.

So, what are the Beats Studio Wireless headphones?  Most obviously, they're headphones produced by the often controversial company Beats (now owned by Apple).  Equally obvious is that they're wireless headphones.  What else can be easily gleaned about the Beats Studio Wireless?  Well, they're over ear, closed back headphones that also sport ANC (active noise cancelling).  Now let's get to it and get on with the review.

M50 vs M50x: Changing of the guard?

Back in February of this year, Audio Technica released a followup to their wildly popular Audio Technica ATH-M50 headphones, now labelled the ATH-M50x.  About a month ago I caved and decided to get a pair expressly for the purpose of figuring out what has changed.  With that, let's get started.

Both the M50 and M50x are closed back over ear headphones, that much has not changed.  In fact, overall, the sound and design are really quite similar.  So what has changed?  First, the M50x has a removable cable, which is awesome.  In the box, it comes with three different length cables and the addition of having a removable cable is really quite great.  Second, the pads on the M50x are initially more comfortable and less stiff than the original M50's ear pads.  After extended wearing though, they both feel about the same.  The carrying case that comes with the headphones is the same as before.  That pretty much sums up the external differences.  Let's move onto the sound.

Gear Days - Fall On Ear Classic

This year's Fall On Ear Classic featured 8 entrants and honestly was quite surprising to me with the end results.  As a note, the Fall On Ear Classic may be a biannual thing as I don't find myself liking on ear headphones all that much.  In general, I find on ear headphones to be quite uncomfortable. Another note is that my views on how bassy particular headphones are may be quite biased, both personally and as an effect of the gear with which I am doing my testing, it tends to give all headphones a not insignificant bass boost.  Anyways, onto the results.

How very colorful, just missing purple

From top left to bottom right, the Beats Mixr, Yamaha PRO 300, Sennheiser Momentum, Harman Kardon CL, Voxoa HD (Bluetooth), Outdoor Tech Privates (Bluetooth), Grado SR80i, and UrbanEars Plattan.

Exact numerical breakdowns can be found in the headphones spreadsheet under the On Ear tab but let's get to some reviewing.

Gear Days - Summer Super IEM Showdown

Since I've been at the headphone collecting game for about a year now I thought I'd start doing yearly headphone roundups broken down by headphone type.  For summers I think IEMs or in ear headphones are worth a look at.  For falls I think that on ear headphones are a good topic.  And for winter I think that over ear headphones are the most fitting.  In spring I'll do the full gambit with a full relisten and a completely updated ranking.  Why such arbitrary month matchups?  Personally I think summer is the season most about traveling and a good pair of in ear headphones can take you a long way if you don't want to get noise cancelling headphones.  In the fall, I like walking around outside as the temperature begins to drop but isn't too cold yet.  On ears tend to be cooler to wear outside than over ears so they get fall.  Winter is the coldest month and over ear headphones can work as pretty good earmuffs so that's that.  Spring is the time for rebirth and a fresh outlook and so a full listen will be good to reassess the top and the bottom alike.  Now for IEMs.

Currently I have 9 pairs of in ear headphones.  Ranked from 1 to 9 they are:
1. Brainwavz B2
2. Klipsch X10
3. Shure SE-315
4. Sennheiser CX200
5. Sol Republic Amps
6. Klipsch S4i Rugged
7. Nuforce NE770X
8. HiSoundAudio HW2 Wooduo 2
9. Zipbuds Juiced

Gear Days - Audio Technica Noise Cancelling Showdown

More headphones GO!  This time I'm gonna do a head to head between Audio Technica's ATH-ANC7b and their new noise cancelling headphones the ATH-ANC70.  The ATH-ANC7bs sell for around $130-$150 new while the ATH-NC70s sell for $200 new which is their MSRP as they are new headphones (they came out in December 2013).  A good thing to note is that both of these headphones can play music without a battery which is always a plus especially in the realm of noise cancelling headphones.  As a review it'll be just about the same as most others just with head to head comparisons.  So let's get started.

First off, as with all reviews is form, comfort, and accessories.  Thankfully, in this particular category the two don't vary much.  Both headphones are over ear closed back headphones.  The build quality on the ANC7b feels more sturdy regardless of the lower price.  Both headphones have memory foam cups but I find that the ANC70's cups are more comfortable and the ANC70s are more comfortable to me.  A thing to note though is that I feel like both pairs are somewhat small.  If your head is large I might not recommend these.  Personally, I find the headband to push down on my head more on the ANC7bs leading them to be less comfortable in that respect as well.  In terms of accessories, both pairs of headphones come with a carrying case, airplane adapter, and 1/4" adapter.  The ANC70s come with one 1.2m (3.9') cable while the ANC7bs come with a 1m (3.3') and 1.6 (5.2') cable.  These cables are standard 1/8" to 1/8" cables so it's relatively easy to replace them if you have to.  A couple of nice things about the ANC70s in particular are that it has a volume fader on the left earcup which can be useful and that it has a built in microphone to answer calls with.  To use the microphone, or pause/play music you hit the logo on the left earcup which doubles as a button.  Overall pretty cool although I haven't tried taking a call with them.

Before jumping into the differences in sound quality, as these are both noise cancelling headphones it makes sense to compare how well they cancel noise.  As I was reading up on reviews of the ANC70s I came across this review which I agree with in some parts and wholeheartedly disagree with on others.  Most importantly I completely disagree with how she portrays the noise cancelling, saying that they cancel higher pitch frequencies better than low.  First off, it's not true.  I'm typing this review on a mechanical keyboard with MX Blue switches, which if you don't know what that means, means that there is a really loud audible click every time I hit a key.  These clicks are pretty high pitched.  Regardless of whether I have noise cancelling on or off, the clicks are quite audible.  In fact, while wearing my ANC7bs, the clicking is louder with noise cancelling on than off because the other sounds are muted more than the clicking of my keyboard.  The reason why it makes sense that higher pitches aren't affected by noise cancelling as much is that higher pitch sounds tend to be louder and easier to hear, up to a point, and because higher pitch sounds travel faster.  Noise cancelling also does relatively poorly with voices since those are quite variable.  Also, what's the point of noise cancelling headphones if they can't cancel out the low drones of airplanes?  It's a weird statement by the reviewer for sure.  In regards to how well these cans do in ambient noise cancelling, both are pretty respectable.  The large majority of fan noise from my desktop is removed as well as all of the other non-keyboard clicky noises.  Voices don't get cancelled all that much but being closed back headphones, there is still a decent amount of general noise isolation to both cans.  If you run the noise cancelling without any music on, there is an audible hiss on both headphones that's just about the same loudness which is just the signal that the headphones are using to cancel the outside noise.  All that said, given what I hear, the noise cancelling on the ANC7bs is better than the ACN70s regardless of price but neither are as good as what you can get from Bose.

Service Announcement - Shopping For Headphones

I've been writing this blog for about a year and a half now, and although I've reviewed many pairs of headphones and written up jargon filled pages to assist the average consumer, I find that I have yet to say anything about how to shop for headphones.  So here I am to assist and serve.

For most people, my general methods to gathering many headphones and having the best come to the top won't work.  One it's too expensive and two it's just plain silly if all you want is one good pair of headphones.  I do hope that from reading this blog you realize that headphones do sound different from each other in completely objective ways.  But let's get down to some details on how to shop for headphones.

Step one.  Determine why you're buying new headphones.  Are you just looking to replace stock Apple earbuds and don't really care about the sound?  Well I have no idea why you're reading this unless you really like my writing.  In that case buying whatever the hell you want, it's not gonna matter anyways.  Do you want fashionable headphones that won't break the bank?  Do you want to truly enjoy your music or do you want to drown the world out, maybe both?

Step two.  Price.  This is potentially the most important step for most people.  When you are looking for headphones, realize that the prices you initially see are almost never what they could be.  Sales inevitably crop up as with most buyable objects.  If you're passively looking for headphones, make sure to check out websites like Lifehacker who usually post sales for the day posts which usually have a pair of headphones or two on sale in various places on the internet, not necessarily always the best headphones, but headphones nevertheless.  If you really need to get a new pair of headphones and are on a constrained budget, ask yourself, what is the greatest price I could spend on a pair of headphones?  When you establish this number, your options lessen.  However, it is important to note that price does not equate to performance.  There are plenty of great options in the lower end of the price spectrum as much as there are plenty of not so great options in the higher end of the price spectrum.  Case in point, the Noontec Zoro HD headphones rate as some of the nicest sub $100 headphones with a similar aesthetic to Beats iconic Solo HD headphones yet are half as expensive.  There is no need to sacrifice sound quality and performance for aesthetics.

Gear Days: Headphone Spreadsheet

Recently I've been going back through all of my headphones and re rating them.  The results of which I'm glad to share with you here on this link.  When I obtained a pair of Beyerdynamic DT880 headphones all of my rankings needed to change.  Simply put, at the current moment they are the best headphones I own and everything needed to get re rated in order to compensate.  In the sub tabs of the spreadsheet I'll be breaking down the sub sections of headphones I currently own with the best in each category taking the 10/10 slot and everything else adjusted to the headphones that hold the 10/10 slot for the category.  The last sub tab is a list of songs I like to listen to for various reasons that I try to elucidate.  If you are ever in the position of looking for headphones I hope you can refer to that spreadsheet for some advice at any time.  I'll also be leaving the link on the side for reference at all time.  And with that, until next time.

*Note: No audio for this post*

--CsMiREK

Gear Days: Brainwavz B2 Brazen Brightness

And...we're back.  Well at least I am.  For my return to posting we have another issue of Gear Days.  For this post, I'll be talking about the Brainwavz B2s.

The Brainwavz B2 headphones, henceforth referred to as the B2s are in ear headphones that you can get for around $125-$140.  At this point you might be asking yourself, 'Why would I ever spend over $100 for a pair of earbuds?'  Well firstly, if you've read any of my other posts on headphones you'd notice that I make a distinction between in ear headphones and earbuds so get your shit straight.  Second, honestly if you like in ear headphones and want a good step up, the B2s are some really nice headphones for the price so now let's get down to the specifics.

Gear Days: V-Moda Crossfade LP Striking Sonority

Before the last post of the year, I wanted to leave you with some nicer headphones to look/think about.  Forget the under $30 stuff, this is serious.  For my next pair of nicer headphones, I have up the V-Moda Crossfade LPs.  With an MSRP of $199.99 but a going price closer to $100, these are by no means super expensive.  However, that doesn't mean they aren't good or nice; and yes those are two different things as I'll explain.  This is going to be a long post, so I'm just going to say that these are closed back headphones like the ATH M50s and stay with that for form.  Since these are nicer headphones, I'll go a bit more in depth with the sound and go into a bit of what kinds of songs I like listening to to test out new headphones, as such this post will also double as a multiple Top Tracks post.

As always let's begin with accessories.  Normally, I'd say something like, these headphones come with a quarter inch plug.  Maybe I'd compare it to some other pair of headphones I own.  But really, these headphones come with a lot of stuff.  Like, I'm gonna just leave this link here to show you.  Sorry about the blurry images, unfortunately I don't have the steadiest hands while taking pictures.  Also, my camera's pretty old at this point and my phone can't do too much better.  Maybe I'll retake them when/if I get some better camera gear.  If you can't tell what the V-Moda Crossfade LPs come with I'll walk you through it.  First off, you have a pretty nice box, complete with a button clasp which is pretty snazzy.  The headphones are held in a plastic hardshell case which is pretty sturdy and fits everything really well.  Inside the case you have the headphones themselves along with 2 detachable cables.  One of the cables has a built in 3 button remote.  It also comes with a small carabiner and a quarter inch plug.  Also, all the ties and the holding pieces for the cables are secured with Velcro which I really enjoy.  All said and done the accessories are very nice and there are quite a few of them.

Comfort wise they're quite nice.  Apparently the pads are memory foam, but all I can tell is that they feel pretty comfortable and the size is pretty decent for over ear headphones.  The cups are large enough to fit my ears and deep enough that there is no weird rubbing.  The headband is pretty comfortable and doesn't put a lot of pressure on the top of the head.  Also the adjusting for the headband makes a nice and satisfying audible click which is always a plus for me.  The one thing I don't like about them comfort and form wise is that they don't fold up which isn't necessarily a big deal.

Gear Days: Sennheiser CX200 Economical Excellence

We've gone through 2 in ears, 1 on ears, and a pair of earbuds in coming up to this.  My favorite under $30 headphones are the Sennheiser CX200s.  At $13.99, it is my thought that these represent the best cost to performance rating of any headphones I own regardless of price.  Now let's get started with this review.

The Sennheiser CX200s are a pair of in ear headphones.  They come with 3 pairs of tips: small, medium, and large as is standard with most in ear headphones.  As with all in ear headphones, fit is a big point of importance.  In this department, I have to say that the CX200s are a bit hard to put in.  However, they fit well and quite snugly when they are put in.  After you get them in, these are actually incredibly comfortable so although I gripe about putting them in, they're really not that bad.  But enough about this, let's get to sound.

Gear Days: Sony MDRPQ5 Funky Freedom

Ah, the Sony MDRPQ5s.  These are a bit of a blast from the past for me.  I originally got a pair of these from a Best Buy 3 years ago and they've been following me since.  At the time they were retailing for $19.99 and now you can get them for as little as $7.99 depending on the colors you get.  At the time, I had a pair of Skullcandy in ears that had just broken and another cheap pair of in ears so I just said, to hell with it and picked them up because they looked interesting.

I ended up going with a green pair and surprisingly they've lasted these past few years.  I say surprisingly because the build quality is quite shoddy.  They do look interesting with the gas mask covers and after you get used to putting them in, I actually find them quite comfortable and snug in my ears.  That said, they do feel really awkward when you first put them in and it takes a while until you know that they're in right, at least in my experience.  Form wise, they're earbuds, different from in ears, note I'll be calling IEMs and canalphones in ears from now on, just because really.  Earbuds rest on the outside of the ear instead of going into the ear canal.  Some people compare the difference to being the difference between open and closed headphones but that's not really the case.  Open headphones are named as such because they don't isolate sound and sound doesn't reflect off the back of anything.  Earbuds generally do.  However, the comparison is made because they don't isolate sound the way in ears do.  Namely, with earbuds you get more sound leakage and can hear more of your environment.

Gear Days: Panasonic RP-DJS400 Rainbow Resonance

Let's keep on rolling with the reviews.  Up next are the Panasonic RP-DJS400s.  These are a pair of on ear (supra-aural), or maybe over ear (circumaural), headphones that come in quite a variety of colors, hence 'rainbow'.  I got my pair for $21.95 which is a bit cheaper than it is now at $30.89.  But anyways let's jump into the aesthetics and form a bit more.

Aesthetically, they're pretty standard headphones.  The colors pop a bit and are fun to look at.  Additionally, the packaging is really easy to open which I have to say is a giant plus.  The JVC HAFX1Xs that I just reviewed have that really annoying to open clamshell packaging that is just a nightmare to open. As for the form I said that they're supra-aural since that's the case for me.  If you happen to have smaller ears I can see them functioning as closed back circumaural headphones as the pads and cups are pretty large for supra-aural headphones.  There are reviews saying that they leak sound, which is relatively common for supra-aural headphones but it's hard to tell when you're by yourself and no one's really bugging you about the sound.  Comfort wise, I personally find them pretty uncomfortable.  My thoughts on that are that one, I don't usually like supra-aural headphones as they apply funny pressure on my ears and that there simply isn't enough padding at the top of the headband so there's more pressure on the top of your head than necessary.

Gear Days: JVC-HAFX1X Booming Bass

Next up on the bucket list are the JVC-HAFX1X or more normally called, the JVC Xtreme Xplosives.  These can be had from Amazon at a relatively cheap, $16.88.  But enough about price, let's get down to it.

First off as always is accessories and looks.  If you dig the red cables and black drivers, these are probably right up your alley.  With 3 sizes of tips: small, medium, and large these are quite standard and unlike the Nuforce NE-770Xs I just reviewed, there's only one pair of each.  Oh well, that's not a deal breaker.  The Xtreme Xplosives also come with a small hard case with XX on one of the sides which honestly looks pretty nice.  However, I can't say I really enjoy the aesthetics that much as the casings are just much too large for my taste.  And by that I really don't mean taste as they have no business actually being as large as they are.  But that's a good way to lead into my next topic.

Fit.  And these don't really.  I find them really hard to get a good fit.  I think part of it is the large casings and the other part being the really awkward diagonal angle of the driver off the casings.  There are other headphones that do this and I haven't tried them so I can't be sure of that being the cause but in any case I can never get a good feeling fit with these headphones.  It constantly feels like they're loose and honestly they're much too easy to take out for in ear headphones, namely they're too loose.  Also, because of the large casings they are heavier than most in ears which causes more physical fatigue than necessary.

Gear Days: Nuforce NE-770X Colorful Competition

To kick off my headphone review rant once again I will begin with the Nuforce NE-770Xs.  For $18, I've gotta say that these are some really good headphones.  They also come in 3 different colors so if you don't like blue or white, they also come in a funky what looks to be purple-y grey color.  Now that price is out of the way let's get onto the important stuff.

Let's start with accessories as accessories are much more important on in ear headphones than others.  The Nuforce NE-770Xs come with 3 sizes of tips: small, medium, and large as per usual for this type of headphone.  However, the nice thing is that it comes with duplicate pairs so you get 6 pairs of tips, 2 pairs each of each size which is quite useful as it's not that hard to lose a tip here or there.  It also comes with a white Nuforce pouch to hold your headphones in which is quite nice so that's a big plus in my book.

Next up is fit.  With in ear headphones, canalphones, or IEMs, whatever you want to call them, fit is of utmost importance.  When talking about over the ear or on ear headphones comfort is really important, but fit for in ears is even more important.  This is because fit encompasses comfort but also affects the sound you'll end up hearing.  The tips you use affect this somewhat in that when the tips you use are too small they might go deep but not form a good seal.  Without a good seal you get poor bass response and poor noise isolation which are both things that in ear headphones are meant to do well, assuming a good fit.  Personally, I went with the small tips and they fit really well.  It took a bit of getting used to as the actual casing is a bit on the larger side, but I find them quite comfortable and pretty easy to get in and out which is always good.

Gear Days: Review: JVC HA-RX900

Here we go, more headphones.  This time up to bat are the JVC HA-RX900s.  Coming in at around $60, these are quite a bit cheaper than the last pair, but don't be fooled, these are some really amazing headphones.

First off, aesthetics and form.  Aesthetically, these are not the prettiest headphones.  They're quite large and bulky, and they happen to be quite heavy, 2.35oz heavier without cable than the M50s I just reviewed.  With cord and all, it comes pretty darn close to a pound, sitting on your head which over time gets a bit heavy.  Form wise, these are similar to the M50s, circumaural and closed back.  They do not lie flat and really look just one way, which is fine for their function.

Next up is comfort.  These headphones are really comfortable after you get over their weight.  The pads are really soft and don't press much at all.  The headband relieves pressure really well and doesn't push down much.  They do get quite warm, but most circumaural and supra-aural headphones do.  I do recommend that you keep the cable wrapped or handled in some way.  It's really, really long (3.5m or 11.48ft).  The long cord is really nice, but also can get caught really easily.