Over-ear headphones - How much for decent ones?

whyamihere
whyamihere Posts: 7,700
edited February 2011 in The hub
I'm after some new ones. Current ones are Audio-Technica things that I paid £30 for a couple of years back, which don't sound great. There's a kind of slight fuzziness to the sound, the bass response isn't as good as I'd like. They're beaten to death by my Sennheiser CX200 in-ears, so I normally use them. Trouble is, using the little silicon earbuds for too long can get pretty irritating, so for the days where I'm listening to music for 12-18 hours, I prefer on-ear 'phones.

Unfortunately, I'm skint. So, how much am I going to be looking at to get some new ones which give me good sound?

Comments

  • stu8975
    stu8975 Posts: 1,334
    What are you plugging them into? Mp3 player/HiFi etc. Do you want smaller 'portable on ear' type or full 'over ear' type?

    Budget?

    Currently using Audio-Technica ES55's myself.
    ANTHEM X
    Youth
  • whyamihere
    whyamihere Posts: 7,700
    MP3 player half the time, the rest of the time my computer via a headphone amp. I'm after full over-ear ones.

    Budget's actually pretty much unlimited. If they're worth the money, I can jiggle things around until the point where I can afford them. I'd prefer to spend less rather than more though.
  • stu8975
    stu8975 Posts: 1,334
    Unfortunately, I'm skint.
    Budget's actually pretty much unlimited

    ?
    ANTHEM X
    Youth
  • whyamihere
    whyamihere Posts: 7,700
    I have very little 'actual' money, but I have a rather large source of free credit available (interest-free student overdraft). I prefer to keep the overdraft small, but if there's something worth buying, I can do.
  • stu8975
    stu8975 Posts: 1,334
    Sennhieser HD218, Lindy active 24025, Audio Technica ATH-T400.

    You'll be looking at starting price of around £50 for anything half decent in full over the ear style, unless you try out the stuff you get from Argos :lol: Skull candy ones seem to be popular with the yoof of today (although no idea if they sound any good). Try before you buy.
    ANTHEM X
    Youth
  • FurnyBaby23
    FurnyBaby23 Posts: 6
    You will definitely need to invest some serious money if you want some serious sound to be honest, I used to use Skullcandy but they were all pretty much crap in-ears, on-ears and over ear's were all naff. I now own a pair of "Solo" Beats by Dr. Dre, cost me about £130 but fully worth the price. They are on ear's but they do a set of totally over-ears called "Studio" which have a ludicrous sound, definitely worth a listen if you see them in a shop anywhere. Highly reccomended in many tech magazines too!

    http://tinyurl.com/6jv8ar3 are the Studio ones.
  • Andy
    Andy Posts: 8,207
    Chris do not but any of the Dr Dre ones. Way over priced and not worth the money.
  • whyamihere
    whyamihere Posts: 7,700
    Andy wrote:
    Chris do not but any of the Dr Dre ones. Way over priced and not worth the money.
    They're associated with Monster Cables, which means that they're at least 200% overpriced, judging by the rest of Monster's range.
  • stu8975
    stu8975 Posts: 1,334
    whyamihere wrote:
    Andy wrote:
    Chris do not but any of the Dr Dre ones. Way over priced and not worth the money.
    They're associated with Monster Cables, which means that they're at least 200% overpriced, judging by the rest of Monster's range.

    They actually got a good review in what hi fi mag (4/5) and that was when they were priced at £280. Never heard them myself.
    ANTHEM X
    Youth
  • whyamihere
    whyamihere Posts: 7,700
    Monster cables tend to get pretty good reviews too, despite being worth about a tenner.
  • FurnyBaby23
    FurnyBaby23 Posts: 6
    stu8975 wrote:
    whyamihere wrote:
    Andy wrote:
    Chris do not but any of the Dr Dre ones. Way over priced and not worth the money.
    They're associated with Monster Cables, which means that they're at least 200% overpriced, judging by the rest of Monster's range.

    They actually got a good review in what hi fi mag (4/5) and that was when they were priced at £280. Never heard them myself.

    Perhaps overpriced but I am yet to hear something that sounds as good without spending upwards of £250 for a pair of Bose Accoustic noise canceller's to be honest...
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Professional opinion:
    You cannot beat Beyer DT250s
    They are simply awesome headphones. I've even done some mixing on them, with a quick check on the studio monitors afterwards.
    They're also comfortable to wear all day.
    There really is nothing than can beat them, at any money.
  • rubins4
    rubins4 Posts: 563
    If you have a shop about, you can get sennheiser HD 25-1 II for a far bit off list price. They are great, really robust, sound great and come with the adapter for the larger headphone jack which your amp may or may not have. The standard cable is really long too, you can get a longer one if need be, as well as different ear pads. All parts are replaceable as they are part of the Senn Pro range. Does mean they are a bit more cash tho sadly. I've seen these head phones being used by the BBC on some of there live studio recordings on youtube, so they must be fairly good :)
    http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12613038
    Cat With No Tail wrote:
    Anyway, fk dis, I iz off 4 a ride innit. l8rz peepz
  • tx14
    tx14 Posts: 244
    http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/433 ... s-reviewed
    take it with a pinch of salt as always.
  • unixnerd
    unixnerd Posts: 2,864
    Anything Sennhieser, you cannot go wrong with them,

    +1 I have a 25 year old set in daily use. I had to replace the foam covers on them two years ago though. When someone actually sells new foam for 20+ year old items you know they build their kit to last.
    http://www.strathspey.co.uk - Quality Binoculars at a Sensible Price.
    Specialized Roubaix SL3 Expert 2012, Cannondale CAAD5,
    Marin Mount Vision (1997), Edinburgh Country tourer, 3 cats!
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Same with Beyer. You can still buy all the parts for everything they've ever made. Including their WW1 era communications headsets.

Categories