A not-so-F-A-Q regarding headphones that was worth
sharing
A reader, Brad, wrote in:
"Hi, Do you have any insight on a good headphone
solution for the Cube? There seems to be a pretty significant drop-off
in sound level on headphones vs. the Apple speakers."
Headphones are a pretty personal choice, and your
choice may vary widely depending on how/where you use your Cube, how
sensitive your ears are, and what your price range is. The best site
I've ever found for reviews and info on headphones is HeadRoom.
I use and swear by the Koss SportaPro phones for my iPod. They sound
amazing, are super comfortable, and deceptively cheap. But I never have
need to use headphones with my Cube, nor do I use the Cube speakers (I
use TDK Tremors with an iMic). But for home use, I like the Grado SR-80's for stereo
listening and my hubby loves his Sony
MDR-V600 studio phones that he uses when he plays his bass late at
night when I am trying to sleep :).
You might want to check out
J&R.com's selection of
headphones 
for other ideas.
If it's just the
volume drop off that's got you down, you might want to consider using a
nifty device called the Boostaroo Audio Amplifier and Splitter. I have one
and I use it often when hubby and I are traveling together by bus,
train or plane, so we can both listen to the iPod at the same time.
Added June 27. 2003: CubeOwner Forums member, Gobbledigook says this about noise-cancelling
headphones, for your silence-freaks :):
Check out Headroom. They have hilarious ads in Stereophile
(ok, I admit it..... I am one), and they seem to be smitten with
Etymotic and Shure headphones (both are around $100 and offer -20dB
noise isolation as opposed to the 10dB others have). Do check it out,
since they are very serious about good headphones and pretty unbiased
as far as brands are concerned.
Personal rant (and
likely flamebait): My 15+ years experience in Audio equipment has led
me to conclude that Bose has not produced a single piece of equipment
that (forgive me for being blunt) didn't suck, except for their new HT
measurement and calibration technique. Even so, everything they make
can be had from another manufacturer with better sound quality for less
money.
To put things in perspective for us mac-users;
think of Bose as an overpriced low-end PC pretending to be a mac.
Ahhhhh..... glad to have that off my chest. If anyone wants to know
more about the bliss of good audio, or feels the need to have some
audio phallacies stamped out, feel free to PM me.
