About a month ago I flamed SonicBlue and Digital River for what was (at the time) terrible customer service from the company's on-line store. As a follow up I contacted Jim, Director of Customer Care at SonicBlue. (Thanks for Rob for bringing these issues to his attention).

Jim was very polite and assured me they were working to resolve the problems with the on-line store. From talking with him, I suspect he was previously unware of the problems many of us here have experienced.

Anyway I did finally receive the backup MkIIA, Tuner module, & screen color kit I had ordered. For all my troubles Jim gave me a free RioVolt SP90 and even shipped it FedEx Overnight! That was very generous of him.

After trying on and off at using my empeg as a crude portable around the house and at work, it's amazing how liberating the RioVolt is. I'm really enjoying this thing. The only problem is the headphones that come with it sound terrible!

Anyone have any experience with which headphones for under $100 would sound good with this player? Some suggestions I've narrowed it down to include Grado SP80, Sony MDR-V6, and Sennheiser HD495. I heard the cheaper Sennheiser HD490's at a local store, but I had to crank the Volt all the way to max volume in order to get decent sound out of them. It seems that this player's output is even weaker than the outputs off the back of my empeg.

I think alot of sonicblue would benefit from poping by this board occasionally it would be nice to see the ceo pop by and say what he thinks of his empeg and would hacks if any he has on it.

I will say that i presonnaly think a big part of empegs success was down to Rob and the incredable customer care they have.

I'd suggest you head over to HeadRoom. They have great reviews for headphones and sell them at a pretty good price, too. They also suggest Head-Fi as a good customer forum for headphones. I've never used it, but if those guys at HeadRoom suggest it, it's bound to be good.

I have an older pair of Grado headphones (SR-60's, I believe). They're wonderful. The only problem with them is that they're "open air", so any sound outside the headphones easily gets inside the headphones. But, if you have a truly quiet environment, they're great. Also, as a nice bonus, the head band is metal, not plastic. This means you can bend and tweak the headphones until they sit lightly on your head, rather than many of the fancy Sony's, which seem designed to squeeze your head until your eyes pop out.

Anyone have any experience with which headphones for under $100 would sound good with this player? .... It seems that this player's output is even weaker than the outputs off the back of my empeg.

The only headphones I have tried that worked with my empeg are made by Optimus, about $20-$25 at Radio Shack. These may not be what you are looking for -- they are not full ear coverage audiphile grade headphones; rather, they are small "inside-your-ear" Walkman style headphones, but better than average quality and low enough impedence that the empeg will drive them at quite acceptable volume levels. The sound quality is OK. Nothing like you'd get from an amplified set of Sennheisers, of course, but acceptable for casual use. No sub-bass to speak of, but no distortion either.

I have tried other headphones, but the impedence is too high and I can't get acceptable volume. The Optimus headphones sound the same, volume-wise, at the same volume settings on the empeg as my car stereo.

tanstaafl.

DW: How do your Grado's sound with the empeg? Just adequate volume level, or will they go really loud?

From what I've read on some of these message boards, it sounds like there's no ideal headphone for low output devices. The Grados seem to be greatly admired for their involving sound and efficency yet they're ugly as hell, leak exessive amounts of sound, and many feel not very comfortable. The Sennhiesers are not at all efficent yet they look great, are very comfortable, and have a laid back sound that's ideal for taming the somewhat harsh sound of the RioVolt. The Sonys have everything just right, except many seem to think the bass is a bit too heavy and highs rather bright. I really dislike the boomy bass that so many headphones I've heard have.

I think the Sennhieser 495's might be my best bet, but their efficency is a real problem. Sigh. I think I may have to go with the Grados. My nearest Grado dealer is 100 miles away so I've yet to hear them though.

The folks over at HeadRoom agree with your comfortability problem with the Grado's and have replacement earpads for you to buy. Just FYI.

The only problem with them is that they're "open air"

I actually really like open-air headphones because they allow me to keep in touch with what's going on around me. If somebody calls my name, or my phone rings, I can hear it.

I personally love my Sony ear-clip hearphones. They're the ones with the interchangeable color plates. They're only $29 US, they'll blow away any other headphone in that price range. They're really light and comfortable. I definitely prefer them over behind-the-ear headphones. And they're great for going to the gym and other activities where large headphones won't work.

These Sony 20th Anniversary Fontopia Headphones are the best things i've ever put in my ears. I HATE earbuds. They suck. THESE however aren't typical earbuds... they actually fit snuggly inside the ear canal with silicon "plugs" instead of sitting in the curve of the ear. The driver is suspended in the middle of the bud and sounds FANTASTIC. My friend got some on a business trip to Japan and when i tried them when he got back, i was floored that those tiny things could produce so much bass and such a rich sound. I've tried a ton of earphones, and these have by far been the best... i made him buy me a pair on his next trip to Japan, as they weren't available here in the US at the time. I haven't tried them with the empeg, so i can't vouch for that... but i always evangelize these things to death, so i thought i'd put in my 2 pence.

Wow, those look particularly cool. I'm tempted to simply order a pair right now.

How's the comfort of the Fontopia headphones? I don't like any of the plugs because they hurt my ears after a while.

I always hear about headphones that use vibrations to reproduce sound (without actually creating sound themselves). Anybody have tried one of these?

The best headset I had was when I did support for a local ISP. The first day, the VP is telling me all about the job, and she remembers she has to take care of something. She grabs this thing of goo, and tells me to tilt my head to the side. She put the goo in my ear to form a mold of it, and sent it off. A week later, I had this little ear piece to use with the headsets. It was awesome. It fit easially, and was confortable to wear. I about cried when I saw my headsets here at my current job could have used that mold, and I left it behind. Oh well...

I just want a wireless headset. There was a trial rollout right before the economy went to crap, and I have used one that was floating around for a while. It was so nice to not worry about the cord while trying to go to a nearby lab machine. A wireless headset combined with the molded earpiece above and I might actually not mind my job .

This pair comes with three different sizes of the soft silicon that fits around the driver cylinder... tiny, medium and how-the-hell-do-you-fit-that-in-your-ear. I've been using the medium sized ones since i got them, but recently switched to the small ones after noticing that wearing them for 6 hours straight at work sort of made my ear itch, and they haven't bothered me since. Maybe i just shouldn't wear them that long =]. But... that's why i like these so much. In addition to the great sound... they are VERY comfortable. You forget you're wearing them after a while, which was their main selling point to me after wearing various HUGE studio sized headphones and a multitude of earbuds and earclips that i couldn't stand wearing for more than 5 minutes.

How good are they at blocking external noise?

Apart from wondering what type of job you work in where it's practical to wear headphones for 6 hours.... :)

Did you buy a set since getting your originals from your friend? I haven't done any searches yet for lower prices, but are these worth the premium for this size driver? I don't have the chance to use headphones much - I'm usually blasting music in my car or over large speakers at home. If I had a wireless solution maybe I'd go 6 hours at work too.

Bruno

I haven't tried them with the empeg, so i can't vouch for that.

Could you please do so and let us know if the empeg's line-outs are strong enough to drive them?

Most headphones/earphones I've tried won't work with the empeg.

tanstaafl.

Has anyone seen a small (ie. VERY small) quality in-line amplifier that can be used for headphones? This would be somethiing nice to pack in with headphones in a carry-around case.

Bruno

Wow. I was replacing headphone with headset when I read this thread at work earlier, and made the above post.

Someone PLEASE get me out of this line of work

Well, based on the rave reviews from the good people over at Head-Fi, I just broke the bank and ordered a set of Etymotic EP-4P earphones. (See www.etymotic.com for more info.) At $269 for in-ear headphones they had better sound as incredable as high-end home speakers, but they do come with a 30 day money back guarantee just in case.

The Etymotic phones are similar to the Sony's metioned above, except they seal more tightly down deeper in the ear canal. They claim 20dB of isolation which means they should block out as much noise as those regular industrial hearing plugs. You should hear pretty much nothing but your music while they're in your ear. This allows you to save your hearing since you won't need to turn the volume up so loud in order to compensate for external noises. They say you can use them on an airplane and it's almost like listening to your music in an otherwise quiet room!

Also, the 'P' in the model means they're designed to be ultra efficent for use with portables. So hopefully they should sound good with the low outputs of the empeg and RioVolt.

Anyway, I should have them in a couple days. I can't wait to hear what they sound like. I've already heard the Sony's mentioned here and while they do sound pretty good, they seem to have kind of exagerated treble and bass that I think I'd find fatiguing after awhile. Supposedly the Etymotic is much more neutral sounding, which is what I'm looking for. Over at Head-Fi they describe a mod you can make to the Sony's that helps reduce the problem though. What a great site! If anyone has any interest in headphones, Head-Fi is a great resource.

I have Etymotics, the same model you ordered. It takes a few days for your ears to adjust. They'll irritate and annoy you for the first few days but bear with it. Be sure to read the instructions first! And don't pull them out of your ears very quickly, they have quite a strong seal! With them on, you might as well be deaf to the world, they're that isolated. I have 5 pairs of different headphones, and the Etymotics are the best of the bunch.

Be sure to have a good headphone amplifier. I tried them on a portal CD player, and they're better than regular headphones, but weak. I think earphones like these deserve a nicely matched amp.

Calvin

They are excellent at blocking noice... moreso than my huge Sony Studio "ear covers". The silicon plug in your ear is like an earplug (heh) with a speaker inside, so it does a good job of not letting much noise in at all.

I'm an animator at LucasArts... and animation can be just as tedious and longwinded as coding at times =]

I haven't bought another pair since i got mine from Japan, but I'd pay $50 for them again if i lost these. Just finding a comfortable pair of headphones was worth the $ to me, and the fact that they sounded amazingly full bodied for such a tiny driver was a bonus. They sound nothing like those little earbuds that sit in your ear, it's a whole different experience. I'm still pretty amazed by the amount of bass they put out compared to my larger Sony Studio's. I dunno... everyone that has tried them was really impressed, but YMMV.

I'll try them out at work tomorrow, i'd do it now but i left all my cables at work =]

K, i plugged them in to the empeg RCA outs with an RCA to Miniplug and it works great! Surprised i never tried it before. They sound a little more flat than when i run it through my soundcard... interesting.