Need new headphones. Headphone bruhs, gtfih

[Brom Bones]

I'll echo what many have already said. Anything in that price range by Audio Technica or Sennheiser. I prefer AT, but I do have a pair of Senns and they're good too.

 

[mushishi]

Do you call your ears biggie smalls?

 

[Omegaboy13]

I’m a big fan of Mpow for their cost effectiveness and decent performance. Never really care if they get stolen or something happens to them since they’re only 40 bucks. Noise cancellation works extremely well for the price point. There are a lot of audiophiles on here, so answers may get ridiculously technical.

 

[Peteyandjia]

Does the frame (or whatever) need to loop over your ear? Don't think that would be comfortable for. Glt a wee golf ball on my ear

It does, but the piece that slides behind the ear is pretty thin, and the entire frame has a lot of bend & give to it.

 

[Madmick]

It's going to be difficult to find a legit set of headphones under $200

No. It's 2018, not 1998. Physical headphone technology really hasn't evolved much at all, but the prices have cratered. The same headphones that sold for $400-$600 at the turn of the century run ~$150-$200 today.

Sennheiser, Sennheiser, Sennheiser.
https://www.rtings.com/headphones/tests/design/comfort

@nhbbear is the most well-versed headphone enthusiast we have on the forum, and he himself has called the Sennheiser HD 598 the most comfortable headphones he has ever worn. My current set is the Sennheiser HD 650, One of my previous sets I nurtured for roughly a decade was the Sennheiser HD 600. They're vaginas for your ears. @Lone Coyote flagged the Sennheiser HD 6xx because there is a unique enthusiast community called Massdrop you won't find tracked by Google shopping or other internet scrapers because they deliberately occlude their prices. I believe he recently bought them. Massdrop teams up with manufacturers to offer distinct Massdrop versions of their favored products. The Sennheiser HD 6xx is their collaborative rendition of the HD 650, which runs $320 on Amazon, but is just $200 on Massdrop:
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-sennheiser-hd6xx

Any of the Sennheiser HD audiophile class in your price range will be ideally plush:

• Sennheiser HD 569
• Sennheiser HD 579
  
• Sennheiser HD 598
  
• Sennheiser HD 599
• Sennheiser HD 6xx

on ear or over ear?
closed back or open back or semi open?
wired or bluetooth?

Wisely considered, unfortunately.

Open-backed headphones are superior for sound reproduction, but you said you wear them when traveling. Usually when traveling people prefer closed-back headphones or noise-canceling headphones because they block out ambient noise. Some people can't stand wires. People also tend to like smaller, lighter designs for ease of portability, but an over-ear design is still your best bet for comfort. I'm assuming when you said your right ear suffers with bigger headphones you meant bigger on-ear designs, or maybe some cheesy cheaper over-ear designs which are sometimes too small in circumference, and not really "over-ear". The Sennheisers above are so massive the rims of your ears simply rest inside the earcup without touching the material-- your head is what is in contact with the headphone. For traveling it's also nice if they have external controls on the earcups so you can just reach up and hit some buttons to skip tracks or alter the volume.
https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/best/by-usage/commute-travel

This is the road @JSN was describing. Suddenly the very best options that meet your goals are above your price range. The Sennheiser PXC 550 he mentioned is one of your top options, but runs $230. Bose tend to be overpriced, and offer weaker inventory control by making a ton of products not worth owning at all, but their high-end noise cancelling wireless headphones are what make their name; the Bose Quietcomfort 35 II for $300 might be the ideal option for your criteria. The Sony WH-1000XM3 is $350. The cheaper alternative Rtings suggests is the Plantronics Backbeat Pro 2 ($145):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MY4P9EZ?tag=rtings-tv-ps00a-20&ie=UTF8


Also consider checking out some local Best Buys. Some will have a pretty solid selection of headphones you can try on hanging on the wall back in the computer section by the gaming laptops. Layouts vary, but that's where they try to tuck them away. Not the crappy white plastic illuminated Beats or Sony stations they have at some stores. They stick those in the middle of the floor where they want everyone to see them. You may have to drag a rep over to actually test sound, but they don't mind if you just try them on too get a feel for comfort. Some are gaming headsets, but there are also headphones.

 

[japman40]

No. It's 2018, not 1998. Physical headphone technology really hasn't evolved much at all, but the prices have cratered. The same headphones that sold for $400-$600 at the turn of the century run ~$150-$200 today.

Sennheiser, Sennheiser, Sennheiser.
https://www.rtings.com/headphones/tests/design/comfort

@nhbbear is the most well-versed headphone enthusiast we have on the forum, and he himself has called the Sennheiser HD 598 the most comfortable headphones he has ever worn. My current set is the Sennheiser HD 650, One of my previous sets I nurtured for roughly a decade was the Sennheiser HD 600. They're vaginas for your ears. @Lone Coyote flagged the Sennheiser HD 6xx because there is a unique enthusiast community called Massdrop you won't find tracked by Google shopping or other internet scrapers because they deliberately occlude their prices. I believe he recently bought them. Massdrop teams up with manufacturers to offer distinct Massdrop versions of their favored products. The Sennheiser HD 6xx is their collaborative rendition of the HD 650, which runs $320 on Amazon, but is just $200 on Massdrop:
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-sennheiser-hd6xx

Any of the Sennheiser HD audiophile class in your price range will be ideally plush:

• Sennheiser HD 569
• Sennheiser HD 579
  
• Sennheiser HD 598
  
• Sennheiser HD 599
• Sennheiser HD 6xx

Wisely considered, unfortunately.

Open-backed headphones are superior for sound reproduction, but you said you wear them when traveling. Usually when traveling people prefer closed-back headphones or noise-canceling headphones because they block out ambient noise. Some people can't stand wires. People also tend to like smaller, lighter designs for ease of portability, but an over-ear design is still your best bet for comfort. I'm assuming when you said your right ear suffers with bigger headphones you meant bigger on-ear designs, or maybe some cheesy cheaper over-ear designs which are sometimes too small in circumference, and not really "over-ear". The Sennheisers above are so massive the rims of your ears simply rest inside the earcup without touching the material-- your head is what is in contact with the headphone. For traveling it's also nice if they have external controls on the earcups so you can just reach up and hit some buttons to skip tracks or alter the volume.
https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/best/by-usage/commute-travel

This is the road @JSN was describing. Suddenly the very best options that meet your goals are above your price range. The Sennheiser PXC 550 he mentioned is one of your top options, but runs $230. Bose tend to be overpriced, and offer weaker inventory control by making a ton of products not worth owning at all, but their high-end noise cancelling wireless headphones are what make their name; the Bose Quietcomfort 35 II for $300 might be the ideal option for your criteria. The Sony WH-1000XM3 is $350. The cheaper alternative Rtings suggests is the Plantronics Backbeat Pro 2 ($145):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MY4P9EZ?tag=rtings-tv-ps00a-20&ie=UTF8


Also consider checking out some local Best Buys. Some will have a pretty solid selection of headphones you can try on hanging on the wall back in the computer section by the gaming laptops. Layouts vary, but that's where they try to tuck them away. Not the crappy white plastic illuminated Beats or Sony stations they have at some stores. They stick those in the middle of the floor where they want everyone to see them. You may have to drag a rep over to actually test sound, but they don't mind if you just try them on too get a feel for comfort. Some are gaming headsets, but there are also headphones.

Basically this. However they made the ath m50x wireless, so you can go for that as well and it's under 200. I would get the sennheiser pxc 550 if I had to pick a traveling wireless headphones.

 

[Lone Coyote]

They're vaginas for your ears. @Lone Coyote flagged the Sennheiser HD 6xx because there is a unique enthusiast community called Massdrop you won't find tracked by Google shopping or other internet scrapers because they deliberately occlude their prices. I believe he recently bought them. Massdrop teams up with manufacturers to offer distinct Massdrop versions of their favored products. The Sennheiser HD 6xx is their collaborative rendition of the HD 650, which runs $320 on Amazon, but is just $200 on Massdrop:
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-sennheiser-hd6xx

Yup, got them and a dx3 pro, great combination, for a not insanely expensive bundle, check it out

 

[nhbfan8080]

No. It's 2018, not 1998. Physical headphone technology really hasn't evolved much at all, but the prices have cratered. The same headphones that sold for $400-$600 at the turn of the century run ~$150-$200 today.
..............

The new thing in town are bone conduction earphones. Very useful while exercising but leaving your ears open.
Whats the reason for prices cratering?

 

[GearSolidMetal]

@Spoken, have you come to a final conclusion on your purchase?

 

[n...not crazy]

A mere 300 dollars. One of the best purchases I've ever made. bose QC35

 

[jericksen5]

Anything decent for in ear buds that don’t sound like trash? I fly a lot for work, but always try to pack as light as possible. So I prefer buds just to listen to music and podcasts on flights. I have a cheap pair I spent $30 on but the sound quality is trash.

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

Audeze LCD4

This was my feeler to see who'd flip out over someone recommending $4k headphones. <45>

Seriously, I've used Sennheiser for years and am happy. I have somewhat cheap HD 558's and even un-amped with my laptop's shitty audio, it still sounds pretty good. I'll be upgrading to the HD 660S at some point as I've heard good things about it.

 

[Satanical Eve]

Beats by Dre.

I hope you are being sarcastic because I would never recommend Beats to anyone.

 

[UKBBC]

I use the bone conduction headsets at work. They are great in a quiet environment.

As soon as I step outside - useless. Ambient sound on the train drowns them out completely. Unless it’s my cranial architecture that is screwy...

 

[Madmick]

Look at audio technica or sennheiser. Ath50 or pcx 550 wireless versions are the way to go if you travel.

Bang for buck, it’s hard to fuck with Audio Technica products, and I’ll put these cans up against anything that’s out there.

It's going to be difficult to find a legit set of headphones under $200

I would go with the Audiotechnica M50x which are around $150

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JZRXWRW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

These are also good for $120. I have a pair similar to these:

https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Techni...5343856&sr=8-15&keywords=audio+technica+ad900

Also, got some memory foam replacement pads similar to these for them too:

https://www.amazon.com/Brainwavz-Ve...61VVR5RPV36&psc=1&refRID=3QN26RAMV61VVR5RPV36

Highly recommend pad replacements if you use headphones for long amounts of time.

@Spoken, have you come to a final conclusion on your purchase?

You didn't answer Gear, so I thought I would flag this B&H sale for you, @Spoken, in case you still hadn't bought a legit pair, and maybe just grabbed some cheapos to tide yourself over. $129, free shipping, no tax unless you live in NY:


Obviously aftermarket foam earpads are popular with this headset. The top upvoted comment on Reddit recommends this $22 pair:
https://www.amazon.com/Brainwavz-Velor-Memory-Replacements-Earpads/dp/B00MFDX4YO

These are MKBHD's favorite cans. Here's was his review from 4 years ago. He caught Dr. Dre actually disliking this video, ROFL:

 

[Spoken]

You didn't answer Gear, so I thought I would flag this B&H sale for you, @Spoken, in case you still hadn't bought a legit pair, and maybe just grabbed some cheapos to tide yourself over. $129, free shipping, no tax unless you live in NY:


Obviously aftermarket foam earpads are popular with this headset. The top upvoted comment on Reddit recommends this $22 pair:
https://www.amazon.com/Brainwavz-Velor-Memory-Replacements-Earpads/dp/B00MFDX4YO

These are MKBHD's favorite cans. Here's was his review from 4 years ago. He caught Dr. Dre actually disliking this video, ROFL:

thanks for looking out. Haven't snagged a pair yet. Other stuff came up here or there and I've been side tracked.
I'll takes a quick look

 

[Spoken]

@Spoken, have you come to a final conclusion on your purchase?

I haven't yet. Had flooding in the house so I've essentially not bothered with anything else. @Madmick has me checking again tho

 

[Phlog]

My minimally cauliflowered left ear blew the hell up this week and I can't fit ear buds in there anymore.
However, cauliflower n the right ear makes it tough for bigger headphones to fit comfortably.
I don't use headphones much, maybe 2-3 hrs a week and when I travel. I'd spend $100-200 if need be. What do I do?

Have you tried bone conduction headphones? I’m thinking of giving them a go as I keep getting ear infections from my in-ear headphones.

I use trekz titanium trans cranial headphones. I'm sold on them.

You don't get much bass unless you put in ear plugs but you're a legend to hear what's around you while hearing the podcast/music. It's like the sound is in your head. They also act as a mic for calls and when activating the Google assistant. Water resistant, I wear mine in the shower, battery lasts a day of solid use minimum.

Range from phone is about 30ft no walls, 20ft with a supporting wall in-between.

My dad had tb and it destroyed his ear drum, I gave him a set of these and he can hear music in both ears for the first time in 60 years.

 

[Phlog]

I use the bone conduction headsets at work. They are great in a quiet environment.

As soon as I step outside - useless. Ambient sound on the train drowns them out completely. Unless it’s my cranial architecture that is screwy...

Ear plugs make them work in any environment. What trans cranial do you use?

 

[sweetviolenturg]

I'm also in the camp that says to stay clear of Beats Audio products. I fell for the hype & bought an overpriced pair that sounded OK but which stopped working after about four months. I was able to exchange them for a new pair but they only lasted for three. So, fed up ( & broke at the time ) I replaced them with a cheap $50 pair of Altec Lansing & they not only sound much better than the Beats but they've lasted for over a year with no problems whatsoever.