as posted in the techie nerd thread:
my 10+ year old grados have fallen apart and were never that comfortable in the first place, i’ve tried those audio technicas everyone likes and they’re like a fucking vice even with nicer pads
i need some comfy headphones!!! looking at the beyer dynamic stuff and sony mdr-1a, that kind of price range
i also have like 0 preference between open/closed
Do you know if they loosen if you pry them open for extended periods of time? I had to basically stretch my MDR-V6 over another pair of headphones that were already on a headphone rack whenever not in use after I first got them. It was unbearable to wear due to the clamping force before doing that.
Since you don’t mind open headphone alternatives, I super like and recommend my Philips Fidelio X1. It has since been disconnected in favor of the X2 but they are supposed to be just as good.
Just for comfort the Sennheiser 598’s I repped above are really, really good. Very light clamp and I don’t get the ‘head pressure’ feeling I often get where the band sits.
Yep, seconding Sennheiser; I had HD 555s for something like 8 years until I accidentally stepped on them because I’m a mess.
I replaced them with these Sennheiser HD 598 SR Open-Back Headphone and they’ve been great. I’ve never had a comfort problem with them; I wear them for hours every day.
thanks for the recommendations, i have tried stretching the ath set over a stack of books for a couple of nights and there’s slightly less clamp but they’re still 'orrible
apparently the 598s are reduced from £200 to 80 fairly often, hmm
i recently bought a pair of massdrop x sennheiser HD 6XXs. they’re great! i bought them to replace a scruffy but reliable pair of HD 555s w/ foam mod. the 6XXs are a little less comfortable so far (very tight clamp), but the difference in quality is notable even despite me just driving them directly from my laptop and desktop 3.5mm jacks. i’ll be trying them from a receiver shortly to see how nice they sound when properly driven. i guess i have been tempted by a headphone amp but i know nothing about headphone amps or what would be worth it.
I have the Massdrop/Sennheiser PC37X and it’s as good a headset you can get. Open back means you don’t need mic monitoring and you can hear other people without taking a cup off. Don’t want to dip my toe into headphones that require amplification.
Curious to see if Apple’s rumored over-ear headphones have better noise cancelling than the Sony Mk3s.
the 6XXs don’t quite require an amp, but i get the sense that they would sing with one
i have no idea if the following is a worthwhile product but i WANT it anyway
i don’t know if this thread is intended to have a price cap, but i bought these for myself for my birthday this past August and have been really happy with them.
earbuds don’t really work for me since i have some inner-ear piercings. never tried the over-ear buds, but i imagine they’d probably be better.
since the part of the headphones that always ends up breaking for me is the cable, i decided to give wireless a try. if these break on me, then i think i’ve reached the end of trying to wear fancy audio on my head.
I absolutely love my beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO headphones (80 ohm). I bought a pair for work a little over a year ago – use them almost every workday for multiple hours a day. Super comfy, great sound. Haven’t ever used a headphone amp with them, they’ve been driving okay on my Macbook’s headphone port (but I’m also a dirty non-audiophile, so take my words with a grain of salt).
Another guy at work saw them and talked about how he loves his pair that he’s had for ten years and they apparently still work great, so that’s a plus.
I love them so much I bought a second pair to keep at home.
Currently in the market for over-ear, affordable (sub-$100) preferably noise-cancelling headphones with detachable wire. Recommendations highly appreciated.
Actually, I think I’ve narrowed it down. Looks like these fit the description just fine. Anybody have experience using these? They seem well-reviewed and reliable
I have never used them, but the MPOW H5 is supposed to be the best deal in that price range if you’re looking for bluetooth and active noise canceling.
FWIW Wirecutter recommends the Anker Soundcore Space for budget ANC but they didn’t test either of the Cowin models.
I’d definitely recommend you order whatever you do from Amazon so you can use their generous return policy (usually no restocking fee regardless of packaging) if you don’t like them.
On some ANC headphones I hear a whine from the ANC signal and it ruins the effect. IIRC you’re on the spectrum too, so you might be more likely to hear the signal (esp. if you hear PWM fan controllers, fluorescent bulbs, etc.). But if you get a set that you like it’s life-changing. I had no idea how much ambient noise was stressing me out until I got my Sony pair before a flight a couple of months ago.
Yeah I have a pretty textbook severe case of misophonia and that would stress me the fuck out
Anyway thank you for the recommendation I will take it into consideration
Am I too late? If you haven’t already made a purchase, I like these: https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=10010
Pretty good build quality, comfortable for 3-4 hours at a time, decent sound, decent noise canceling, decent noise isolation even without the ANC, and has a removable cable (along with an impressive number of pack-in connectors so it’s not just mini-jack only).
I liked them a bunch and my wife liked them enough she got a pair for herself too.
Only downside is the earcup starts to detach after a lot of use and the memory foam begins to get exposed. I keep meaning to figure out a way to fix it, but it’s not easily replaceable.
I love the sony monitor headphones for cheap, reliable, and decent sounding cans. the black flaking is annoying but I haven’t encountered headphones with pleather ear pads that don’t do that?
edit: specifically I mean these, not the ones linked earlier in this thread:
Though I’m familiar with the earlier revision.
Yeah, the MDR-7506 is still the best under $100 headphones if you don’t care about ANC. My dad has bought three pairs in my lifetime, the first two of which each lasted ten years.
I try to get headphones with velour pads or immediately replace the p/leather with some, especially the Sony ones. (I’m actually annoyed that the WH-1000XM3 don’t have aftermarket velour pads available.)
Open-back Sennheisers with velour pads are hands-down the best option if you live somewhere hot/humid and aren’t looking for ANC.
i got the hd599 se, this is really fuckin’ nice
by far the most comfortable set i’ve ever worn too