I (A)M

TIE ME UP AND NEVER LET ME GO

(i felt like this post need a hipster title, im going to bold this sentence so you’ll read it and won’t think i am a fucking hipster, -bold-)

edit: i wrote this at a weird hour, i dont think that explains anything

i thought i’d put up a nice, how to buy a good pair of headphones, post. because, i am nice, and i have nothing else to do. so im looking for stuff to photograph in my room. going outside is overrated. oh, i got my hair cut today, but i wont post the before and after, because i dont want you to hate me.

it’s on my twitter though, -self promotion! self promotion, it’s what my generation taught me- and i took some artsy fartsy photographs of my past, and present (headphones).

(from left to right, top to bottom)
1. Sony MDR EX-700 (i dont know if these are the SL or the EP? i didn’t pay what amazon said they cost, because i am not insane)
2. Aiwa BEST ONES THUS FAR, i dont know the model number
3. Audio-technica Most disappointing pair, bought them in Japan and died after 8 months
4. Sony MDR-EX51 Good enough, but shit ear buds, have your own to replace their crappy ones
5. Generic ones that come with your iphone or ipod / what can i say, it blows
6. brandless, Bought it because of the mic / good for what it costs, could be unclear

here are some things to consider when purchasing new headphones

the price: no matter how kickass some reviewer says they are, if they are too expensive, let them go. I use to spend a lot of money on headphones, now my price is about $25, you can find some legit ones on amazon for less.

fit: this is the most important thing for ear buds, i have giant ears, some ear buds dont feel like they fit and are about to fall out any second, so no on that. but when you’re buying online it’s hard to say, and they dont really let you try them on at the store so just make you sure you’re buying a set with multiple sizes for ear buds. MAKE SURE they fit well on the actual headphones, sony makes super shitty earbuds, audio-technica best so far (but poor wiring) so just switch them around.

the cord length /type: most ones i have are generic cord length, i dont know how long that is. some of mine come with extension cords, they are sometimes useful, mostly annoying. the Aiwa ones had an extension cord and i needed one because i had a MD player with a remote. The cord type could also be important, some (like the ipod ones) are very flimsy which means they get tangled easily and once they do they won’t let go, and are also more subject to damage. Better ones (MDR-EX700, audio-technica) are thicker and more heavy-duty, naturally they get tangled too but are usually easier to untangle. Another factor is whether the cords leading up to the earbuds are the same length or one significant longer than the other, so are they ipod-like or does one of them wrap around the back? I like the ones that wrap around the back of your head simply because it doesnt get caught in stuff, very important if you commute because it is a bitch if it’s stuck onto someone else’s clothing or bag, and yeah will wreck your headphones if you accidentally pull on them.

the sound: although it would seem that this is the most important criteria. for most of us, we can’t really tell the difference between a $200 pair and a $30 pair. Of course there are differences, but it’s not major and not worth the money probably. My test for headphones is usually the bus ride, how good do they sound on the bus? Will you be one of those douchey people that turn up their music really loud and cause the person sitting next to you annoyance? Yeah, dont be that guy. So, if you are forced to turn up more than half way through your volume control (on a running bus), the insulation is probably not very good. And at home, especially at night, you probably only need to press the +volume button once, from completely mute to level 1 (or whatever control you have), you should be able to hear sufficiently.

pretty simple, i hope this helped! I want to do a DJ version of this post, too bad someone has to donate some headphones to me to test.

yada yada yada…