Technology

[animagic4u]

Are you going to be listening to the headphones tethered to a computer or are you going to be walking around listening to them? One of my headphones has way too much cable to be convenient for stuffing into a pocket. The second pair of headphones I use is discontinued. The third is just a pair of Apple EarPods. I have more than three kinds of headphones but those are the three that I actually use. I'm actually going to be ordering a new pair of headphones myself (these). I'll post my impressions of them here. It'll take a few days for them to arrive, though.

I would bring them places, but mostly use them while I am sitting down or something like in the bus, in the library, etc.
Looking forward to your review.

[altuixde]

Since you're going to be listening on the bus and in the library, the headphones I'm ordering probably wouldn't be suitable because they're open headphones, so they leak sound and people around you will be able to hear your music. What you need is closed over-ear or closed on-ear headphones, earbuds or in-ear headphones. I'll think about what might work, but I can't recommend any of my own.

Edit: Are you going to be using your headphones with your MacBook Pro too? The headphone out on Apple's laptops can sometimes be a little noisy, so you might want to get headphones that aren't too sensitive, otherwise you'll hear a soft hiss in the background. Speaking of your Mac, you should definitely install BetterTouchTool on it if you haven't already. It lets you configure gestures and shortcuts that can be activated by trackpads, mice, keyboards and more.

[Cael K.]

Anyone have a recommendation for good headphones for Jazz and Acoustic music? Anything under $200 is fair game.

I usually go to Head-Fi for opinions and recommendations. That said, I haven't needed to buy a new pair of headphones in a while, so it's been a while since I posted.

You can ask here. Looks like you already have type of music and price down, and it looks like you want them to be portable. If comfort's a big deal for you, you might want to mention that as well.
http://www.head-fi.org/f/7840/introductions-help-and-recommendations

If you don't feel like asking, you can take a look at this huge thread.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/433318/shootout-113-portable-headphones-reviewed-alpha-design-labs-adl-h118-added-07-15-14

[animagic4u]

I usually go to Head-Fi for opinions and recommendations. That said, I haven't needed to buy a new pair of headphones in a while, so it's been a while since I posted.

You can ask here. Looks like you already have type of music and price down, and it looks like you want them to be portable. If comfort's a big deal for you, you might want to mention that as well.
http://www.head-fi.org/f/7840/introductions-help-and-recommendations

If you don't feel like asking, you can take a look at this huge thread.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/433318/shootout-113-portable-headphones-reviewed-alpha-design-labs-adl-h118-added-07-15-14

Thanks! Awesome site! I'll give it a read!

[Cael K.]

Kinda a shameless plug, but maybe someone might find this interesting.

If anyone remembers Valkyria Chronicles, remember the Canvas engine that made everything look like it was drawn in a sketchbook? I decided I'd try doing something similar in XNA (a programming package based on C#) and HLSL (a shader programming language), and well... I want to say I have a basic imitation of it down, but even if I didn't, it's something.



If there's any programmers out there who wanna know what I did, I explain it all on my blog.

First article (of fourteen) - http://d.hatena.ne.jp/caelk/20140811

But no, I don't have a detailed stage set up like those in the game, so I had to make do with putting models in arbitrary space.

[altuixde]

animagic4u - These headphones could be a good match for you!

audio technica ATH-EW9 Adjustable Wooden Clip-on Headphones

I've read reviews of them on Amazon and AudioCubes and people seem to agree that they're good for acoustic music. Makes me think that maybe I should've gotten these for myself too. One fault they may have is that they don't provide much passive noise isolation, so if you're listening in a loud environment it could be hard to hear the music.

[Accoun]

Eh, it would be nice if she mentioned what is she going to pair them with.

@altuixde: I'd be more concerned about sound leakage, considering she's gonna use them in library. And clip-ons aren't really my ideal of comfort (in fact, I dislike almost everything with foam pads like that. At least Grados have them thicker but softer, so it isn't - that - bad).

[altuixde]

Headphones with less sound leakage also usually have more isolation too. Wearing headphones that isolate a lot when you're out and about could lead to getting flattened by a bus that you couldn't hear coming. Closed-back clip-ons, as long as you don't blast them, should be acceptable in a library. The sound emitted by them would be audible but not distracting to those around you. I agree about the comfort issue. I could only wear my KSC-75s for so long before the clips made my ears hurt. However, the EW9s have slightly different clips that may be more comfortable, I don't know. Also, the EW9s weigh 33 grams, as opposed to 43 grams, which may help. The foam pads didn't bother me, though, at least with the KSC-75s.

Something that I'm sure would work is a pair of earbuds like Apple's EarPods. Earbuds leak even less sound than clip-ons. For me they're very comfortable (but I did put a pair of earbud foams on them). Also, they allow you to hear what's going on around you. They're not the best in terms of sound quality, though. However, they only need to sound so good because I can still remember what the music is supposed to sound like.

[Accoun]

Wearing headphones that isolate a lot when you're out and about could lead to getting flattened by a bus that you couldn't hear coming.

Bah, I don't really think it matters unless you ride a bike or something while wearing them.

[animagic4u]

Eh, it would be nice if she mentioned what is she going to pair them with.

Pair with? ^_^; I don't think I understand. Like the device I'll be listening from or something?

[altuixde]

I think that's what he meant.

[animagic4u]

I would probably use them with all my devices (phone, tablet, computer), and in a rare occasion perhaps with an amp.

[altuixde]

I don't have an amp myself, but I do know this: when using headphones with an amp, you've gotta make sure that the impedance of the headphones is at least a certain factor (I can't remember exactly how much) greater than the output impedance of the amp, or else you'll risk damaging the amp. Phones, tablets and computers tend to have low output impedance, so they won't be damaged by using low-impedance headphones with them. Also, the impedance of the headphones and the source can affect the sound. A quick Google search yields results that say the impedance of your headphones should be at least 8-10 times as much as the output impedance of the source in order to avoid audible distortion. Don't go too high, though, because headphones with very high impedance (like 600 ohms) may not be driven loud enough by weak sources.

[animagic4u]

Didn't know that! I rarely use an actual (physical) amp anymore, but I'll remember that if I do use one.

[SakuraMaxX]

Any camera people here?  I'm currently running with a Samsung NX2000 but I'm considering selling it and getting a Sony Alpha a6000.  Can't decide whether I want to bump up to a more expensive mirrorless camera or keep my NX2000 for the sake of having a compact system and having an entry-level DSLR at the same time.