Above Average Audio Brands?

Hello,

Wife had a pair of Bose headphones that finally died after 4 years and was asking what brands she should look into for replacements. I don't know anything about audio brands so what do you consider better then average or top of the line brands for headphones, tv surround sound, vehicle, etc?

 

Not too versed on Headphones but Sennheiser i've heard are the Shiz.

Home Audio:
Klipsch, Bose, Sony, Marantz, Onkyo, Yamaha, Shure.

Vehicle:
Image Dynamics (High Mid Low)
Rockford Fosgate (Mids, Subs)
Alpine (Amps, Decks, Speakers basically everything)
Pioneer (Decks Highs Mids)

 

Headphones:
Sennheiser, Grado, Beyerdynamic, Shure, AKG, Audio Technica. There are a ton, depends on what style you want. If your local best buy as a Magnolia section, they should have some higher end headphones to check out. I would listen then just buy them online for cheaper.

Home Audio
Speakers: Energy, Klipsch, Polk Audio, PSB, Paradigm, KEF, Dynaudio, B&W, Chane (Internet Direct Brand), Home Theater Direct (Internet Direct Brand)
Recievers: Denon, Yamaha, Marantz, Onkyo

 

Start your search on a good audio enthusiast website. For headphones, Head-Fi is really good.

My brother got really serious about looking at headphone setups. His first venture has been a set of Shure SRH1540 paired with Schiit audio Magni 2 and Modi 2. He's since upgraded to a Lyr 2 and (I believe) a Bifrost.
I really want to get his old Magni/Modi, but right now I'm busy spending on other projects. He recommends earphonesolutions as a place to buy, they rate the equipment and separate it buy use so you can make a good decision. Explore the website, they have in-ear, full size, etc., whatever you want.

Top of the line is a hard thing to define, especially in home audio, because it seems you could buy top of the line mainstream, top of the line boutique, or start venturing into exotic stuff that requires pro installation. If you want top of the line that you may actually get to see in a store, I've always heard McIntosh is a name to stand by. I haven't explored speakers as much. I personally just have a set of Logitech Z-5500 and they do alright for my current living conditions, with a set of messed-up Klipsch Promedia 5.1 for computer speakers (they only operate in 2.1)

Vehicle? It really comes down to a lot of personal taste. There's an incredible amount of misinformation and swaggering in this department, which is really detrimental to you. Most mainstream people can't tell the difference between a $500 set of component speakers vs. a set of sub-$100 6x9 budget speakers once you get a small bit of amplification into it. The only real truths I've been told are these:

1. Brands are subjective. Listen to what your ears are telling you, they don't lie. Your eyes lie. Your eyes will look at what looks pretty, what looks beefy, what the price tag is. Close your eyes. If you can't tell the difference between a set of exotic Rainbow speakers vs. a pair of economy Alpines, get the Alpines and save several hundred/thousand dollars (I haven't looked at prices in a while)
2. Your biggest enemy is the vehicle itself. It's the most horrible environment for audio. Road noise, speaker placement, your position in the vehicle, rattles, and so on. You will spend more on car audio trying to make it sound as good as home audio, and always fail.
3. You can make cheap speakers with sound deadener sound better than expensive speakers without sound deadener. You can make the best subwoofer in the world the biggest piece of junk by simply sticking it in a bad enclosure
4. All reasonably built or better amplifiers will sound fairly the same at low volume. The more volume you add, the more you will be able to tell the difference. Cheap/poor amplifiers won't have the power to maintain a clean signal.

Also remember that your audio quality is subject to the source media. The stuff you get from iTunes, Google Music, etc., are compressed. At some point you need FLAC recordings or other lossless format, CDs, or quality vinyl to make your equipment really do what it needs.

 

I have two different sets of Sennheisers and love both. My big ones are the HD's (forget which model number) and my other more versatile set are the Urbanites. Love me some Sennheiser.

The HDs are an all around great headphone. Not too bass-y or high treble... I think they are just right.

To attract the younger crowd the Urbanites are definitely a bass oriented headphone. I like them because I listen to a lot of electronic music but that might not be for you.

 

{Headphones} What kind of music does she listen to? No single pair will be the best in every genre, will need to pick based on what you listen to. I big factor is your source also. Shitty source will sound shitty no matter what you spend on headphones, unless you drop a DAC or amp in between.

I use my Grados for easy listening, R/B, pop and classical. They are open back so I use those at home. Everyone should own at least one pair of Grados.

I use my Sony XB950BT for EDM, Hiphop, pop, and rock.

Vmoda's for EDM and Hiphop.

 

Def can vouch for Sennheiser. Love them.