Updates …
Time for a few updates:
Headphones:
It turns out that B&H Photo here in NYC sold me a set of the Sennheiser HD-280 Pro Headphones for $79.99. This made me happy - temporarily. My happiness rapidly subsided once I fired these headphones up and put them through initial testing.
First the positives: build quality is good considering the price point, and they do a nice job in shielding surrounding room ambience. The negatives: they are much heavier than I anticipated, and in my opinion, the sound quality is 100% unacceptable. I felt like I was listening to audio resonating from the interior of two Illy Cafe` tin coffee cans. I’m not kidding.
In all fairness, it is entirely possible that my ears are just too accustomed to the smooth sound of my BeyerDynamic DT-990’s, and comparing these two sets makes little or no sense. What puzzles me is that Sennheiser specifies how popular the HD-280’s are within the professional broadcasting and recording communities? Maybe so. Personally, they are just not for me.
Plan B: the Sony MDR-7506 - or - the Sony MDR-V6, [and Ebay for the Sennheiser set].
Telos:
I find it interesting that a handful of manufactures have managed to entice a brand new target user base that in the end has to be creating a major boost in sales. Telos, Marantz, and Mackie are prime examples.
Last evening I was searching around for technical documentation in reference to the new Omnia One on-air audio processor. Keep in mind that Omnia, Axia, and the familiar Telos brands are directly affiliated. All three product lines are designed for professional broadcasting installations and networking work-flows.
Well I came across this .pdf that includes an abundance of interesting information, focusing on all specified products in the group. I was surprised to see that the people from Telos were nice enough to include my personal endorsement of the Telos One Digital Hybrid. Pretty cool …
Podcastrigs:
The arduous task of moving all site content form Podcastrigs.com to the Podcast Academy site is just about done. The last phase of this transfer is in its final stages: the integration of our recommended system rigs and accessories.
I have to say that I am quite happy with the way things have materialized. In my opinion we have managed to fortify our presence on the web by combining the audio content channel, the weblog, and the forum.
I hope that you find what we are doing interesting and helpful.
Paul,
You have been doing a tremendous job with the site! Also congratulations being recognized as the authority in the Telos marketing piece. Great job!
Thanks Michael
-ptfigg.
Hi Paul,
I have always thought that you gave real good recommendations, so, when I had to make a last minute decision about equipment with a deadline, I jumped on a purchase of the Sennheiser HD-280 Pro Headphones.
I also got them for about the same price you did, so it won’t be such a hit if they turn out to be sub par, but I have a suggestion:
Don’t write a positive review (even if you did say that you haven’t gotten it yet), until you have tried out the equipment.
You have more influence than you may think and people act on your suggestions.
I will be receiving the equipment tomorrow, so I will find out and give my own opinion later.
In general though, thanks for all suggestions you have given on other fronts.
Congrats on the mention! I’m surprised by the HD-280, I’ve played with it a number of times now and loved the sound - mind you I’m comparing them to a Philips headset not worth talking about.
Cheers,
Niels
Hi Bryan,
With all due respect my post was based on the sequence of events that took place prior to my own purchase of the headphones. It was not a recommendation or some sort of proclamation stating that readers should run out and purchase the product in question. The source of all positive references was clearly stated.
Typically I will specify that something is “highly recommended” only after I experience first hand exposure to a product.
It is entirely possible that you may be perfectly happy with the HD-280’s, so give them a shot. Personally I was not happy with the sound.
I was able to sell them on eBay for a few $$ less than what I paid for them. If I was a bit more diligent, B&H would have exchanged them or refunded my money with no problem.
-ptfigg.
Thanks Niels,
I’m glad that you are happy with the headphones. It’s really just a matter of personal taste. In fact, they are a popular set, and I’m sure there are many happy users out there …
-ptfigg.
Hi Paul again,
Well, I have had the Sennheiser’s for a couple of weeks now. Overall I am satisfied, but it is definitely true in what you say about the Sony MDR-7506, that with the uncolored (flat) audio, it needs some getting used to.
Yet, what I got them for is monitoring/editing speech audio for audio shows dealing with the Israeli/Palestinian conflict (lectures, interviews and such). They definitely wouldn’t be optimal for music listening pleasure, because of their range, but the audio does come through quite clear and undistorted, even at high volume levels, and this allowed me to differentiate and single out sounds that, when I used my other headphones to compare, were significantly less distinct. Then I went through and edited out these problematic elements in the audio. So they were helpful.
I don’t know how they compare to the Sony MDR-7506, but they do the job well enough in my estimation…
So, again, thanks…
Hi Bryan,
Good to hear back.
Very cool, and I’m glad that things worked out well for you.
Sounds like we are on the same page in terms of getting through the adjustment period as well. In fact, since I started using the Sony’s, I have not touched my BeyerDynamics. This has helped the adjustment process.
-ptfigg.