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Pricey - this might be translated as "you get what you pay for".

A previous post suggested that open phones can be heard by others in the room. Wow - as soon as I set them down, they are virtually silent. I've been using my Sennheiser HD340's for about sixteen years, and my wife has never heard them yet - maybe the poster has had them turned up way too high.

The open style is very comfortable for hours, and when someone calls you, you can hear them and not miss dinner.

"Studio" qualty is not expensive. What is expensive are the headphones the audiophile or stereo-enthusiast crowd buys. In the studio engineers and musicians only need to monitor a performance or listen critically for content. But those listening to recored music want the "you are there" experience or may be likening a smoothed over sound.

If the headphones are to be used for practice and recording your needs are different from someone listening to a stereo recording. The same applies to speakers. Home hifi is not the same as studio monitors.

My HD580s are definitely noisy enough to be noticed by others nearby in an otherwise silent room, even at normal listening levels. That is when listening to music though, and it's mostly higher frequencies like hi-hats etc. that's audible, so it might not be a problem when using it for a DP.

I have got these (CX-300) for my iPod. They sound good (to me) and are comfortable, but I am not too keen on in-ear phones for longer times. So, I am happy with them for the gym, or travel, but I don't like having them in for hours (my ears start to ache!!!).

I don't use headphones for practising (I much prefer to let my husband experience the noise), but we recently bought Sennheiser RS130 wireless ones. I have used them once on my piano, but they were intended to be used with the TV when one of us (me) wants to go to sleep earlier... They seem to sound ok, and not having a cord dragging across the room is a big help!

The best of the in-ear type are very, very, good but they are not cheap. People don't like paying $200+ for something so tiny. I'd suggest trying a cheaper pair first. The Sony EX71 are cheap (about $20 at amazon) but not bad. Then if you find you can stand having these "ear plugs" in your ears go for the higher end ones. If you want to jump right in an gamble that you'll like them the "Ultimate Ears" brand is good and is used by a lot of musicians on stage. You do have to learn to be careful with these kind of headphone as the wire lead is very fine and you can't simply toss them in a backpack like you can a full sized headphones.

There simply is no reason to use the on-ear type phones. They have no advantage over the others.

Thanks for the info, i bought the sennheiser cx300-II in-ear, so i'll see if i like 'em for long periods of usage, and if so, i'll take your advice and trade up!

Many thanks

In my view, CX-300s are great for the price. The only problem is that they can be tricky to keep clean if you use them a lot. But at the price, you can replace them several times and still spend less-money than you would on a top-quality set.

Long-term comfort really depends on finding which of the various rubber sleeves fits your ears.

Yeah i agree, i was just uncertain if the in-ear type were looked down upon by the audiophile crowd, i suppose unless i have a pair of expensive over-ears by hand to do comparison with, the in-ear will sound sufficient.

Many thanks guys!

Quite the contrary, up until the somewhat recent release of several relatively low cost IEMs, most IEMs were specifically targeted towards audiophiles (talking true IEM's like the Shure or Etymotics, not buds).

I'll concur with KevinB in that long term comfort can be really hit or miss depending on fit. Fit also plays a big part in how good a particular IEM sounds to a particular person, so don't be surprised if your perception of the quality of a particular IEM doesn't jive with someone elses. A good seal (not the juggling the ball on the nose kind) is esp. important to get decent bass from those itty bitty drivers. Find a good pair though and the sound can be quite rewarding.

OK, thanks for the advice guys.

case closed!

I've heard lots of talk abou Sennheisers, but what about AKG headphones?
Are they good for use with a DP?
For instance the K240 MKII, or the K 141 HD or K 242HD?

The K240 is my all time favorite. It has beed the standard headphone for recording engineers for decades. The new version is better hen mine with it's replaceable cord and lower impedance.

But for practice at the piano they may or may not be ideal. I have two kids and they have a TV set and video games and these things make noise so I prefer headphones with better sound isolation. The "open" k240 has almost zero sound isolation. Recording engineers don't care about this because they work in a sound proof room.

Musicians when recording in a studio will want closed headsets so the sound in the monitor headsets don't "spill" into the mic. (Many times a musician will be playing while listening to a drum/bass mix or maybe just a click track)

Bottom line: I like the K240 because they are "dead accurate" as monitors but they may or may not work in your environment. I use a pair of closed AGKs for practice to shut out the noise even if the sound is not as good, I prefer the isolation.

Unless you are recording with an open mic the sound "spill out" from open phones is not an issue. It is a very low level