Acoustic Research Closed-back Monitor Professional Studio Headphones (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

I ordered this one after I've bought a crap from RadioShack and after I purchased Jensen headphones (turned out not to be full-ear).Philips SHP800 vs Acoustic Research closed-back monitor studio headphones:I hoped for a full size headphone, which emits fair sound. Regarding comfort these headphones meet my expectations. The cover of the ear pieces' padding are mad eof texture, which I prefer over the more regular ones. The head-top cushions are also all right. I was afraid of the variable ear pieces, but the design is sufficient and makes it easier to carry.Regarding the sound quality I would call it acceptable. I expected a bit better than this, because these are told to have 50mm membranes instead of my Philips' 40mm. However my good old Philips sounds better than this. Although non of the two have any extra bass built in, but in comparison these headphones' bass performance is weaker. The speech range can be clearly heard, so it is perfect for voice converstions. Although I still don't have the same sound experience listening to my favorite hardcore tracks.I wouldn't recommend for those who keen on perfect sound quality, but I can get along with it during everyday use.I still prefer the good old Philips SHP800. It has top level sound quality beside its low price range. Why should a company stop producing these, if they sound so good? Only SHP2500 available nowdays from Philips, which is completely the same, expect for the volume controls and the lack of head-top cushions. Volume controls always go wrong, the top piece without cushions can be uncomfortable after a couple of hours wearing it. Why could Philips reproduce SHP800, if they should only remove volume control and put the cushions back on??? I can't understand it...

I purchased the Audio Research ARH450 "Professional Closed-back Studio Headphones" to replace a 10 year-old Aiwa X815 headphone set. The pads were begining to come apart. Functionally, they were in perfect operating condition. So, I turned up the ARH450 headphones. The search criteria included 50 or 60mm rare earth (neodymium) magnets, studio grade, single point entry, a long cord & a mini-plug. The ARH450 has 50mm magnets (NOT 60mm 'rare earth' Neodymium magnets), a long cord with a 1/8" plug adapter for the RCA Phone-jack style plug; it should be the other way around. "Studio Grade? NOT hardly. "Professioinal?" Pretend. Closed-back... well, that's right. On the first listen to one of my music CDs, I found the "highs" to be scratchy, and the (enhanced) bass to be weak on the AR 'phones, and the AR ear cups to be much smaller. Side-by-side comparison with the Aiwa X815 'phones proved the sound differences between the two phones. The makers of the AR 'phones (Thomson) "claim" them to be something that they are, in fact, NOT. IF you just need cheap headphones, and you've never heard better, these will suffice. I was disappointed in the sound quality, and returned them. The shortcomings were NOT Amazon's fault.

Excellent sound quality, very fine sound. We use it on our Radio Station. We have had it now for months. Draw back.. One earphone broke from the strap and continuous to work!!! Amazing.. This is the reason why we decided to buy this product. Still to date the strap is broke (inside) but has not fallen off. It works as if it was brand new. Thank you. Highly recommended this product.

It's an average headphone, no crap but no fancy. Extra long cord is a big plus. Quality is good but I feel very itchy after a long use.

They are comfortable, made acceptably well for the price. The sound quality is just OK - far from audiophile, even if they have a 20-20000 rating. Do not drive the bass or they distort terribly around 125hz; the highs are acceptable, but also distort if you drive hard at 8000 hz. In all fairness, they are easy to listen to at normal levels.

They are not the noise-blocking as they say. I use headphone for ReadPlease a program that reads manuscripts back to me. With so many distractions I have found having headphones keep me focused. These are comfortable (at times). I specific that, because if you have a headache in the making they can feel like a bloody vice on your head squeezing. The whole padding etc. is quality, but as I said they don't block it out sound totally. I am a white noise freak and keep a fan and television on for noise and I can clearly hear the television with them on - easily.sooooooo...if you are looking for noise-blocking like BOSE, these don't cut it. If you are looking for reasonably priced headphones that deliver very good sound, then these work. I like them. They work for my purpose.

I was drawn to these by their price, something that should never be done with electronics. They don't sound very full, nor do they get anywhere near loud enough, barely above a good 'mixing' level. Save your money and buy something a litter more expensive with better quality.

Good headphone for this price. The cushion is soft and comfortable. It fits very well. You won't hear noise from outside. Good sound quality.