Budget headphones advice

[vladcjelli]

I'm after a pair of over ear headphones, as the good lady wife shares not my passion for music.

Unfortunately, my passion is not matched by my financial reach, so I'm not in the market for B&O/W etc, I'm aiming squarely at the bottom end of the market, hitting the heady heights of £30-£50 tops. I'll be listening mostly to Spotify, via iPhone or iPad. Maybe dabbling in a little sound recording.

A colleague was extolling the virtues of wireless, saying he'd not go back to being tethered by a cable, so with this in mind (and quite liking the idea of mowing the grass with my music on full whack) I've been looking at some options.

For now, these three are on my shortlist.

Jam transit touch
https://uk.jamaudio.com/headphones/jam-transit-tou...
Our youngest had a Jam Bluetooth speaker as a gift, which impressed us, so we bought a slightly bigger one for our eldest, which impressed us further. It only seemed right then, that I look at their headphones. Not convinced by the touch controls, but not too concerned.

Kit sound Harlem
https://www.kitsound.co.uk/product/headphones/wire...
Like the look of these, definitely like the looooong battery life.

AKG K472
https://www.amazon.co.uk/AKG-K72-K72-Studio-Headph...
Or should I forego the wireless ability and just buy a pair of these? I like the simple style, and they seem well thought of in my internet research.

Anyone tried any of these low price options? Any better ideas for the cash?

[viggyp]

I purchased a pair of AudioMX HB-S3 over ear Bluetooth headphones and I am very impressed. Sound stays in, don't hear much of the outside world and they come with a cable to listen to if the battery runs low. I'm very impressed and I got them for under £40 on eBay. They're also foldable.

[gregs656]

Wireless made more of a difference than I expected.

For your budget I'd go second hand, look at the back catalogue from Sony, Philips, sennheiser, AKG etc and you will find something.

Noise cancelling is handy if you want to use them mowing the lawn etc.

I'd start with the Philips SHB8850NC and the Sony MDR-ZX770BN

[vladcjelli]

gregs656 said:

Wireless made more of a difference than I expected.

For your budget I'd go second hand, look at the back catalogue from Sony, Philips, sennheiser, AKG etc and you will find something.

Noise cancelling is handy if you want to use them mowing the lawn etc.

I'd start with the Philips SHB8850NC and the Sony MDR-ZX770BN

Regards the lawn mowing, noise cancelling irrelevant, as I have a push mower, not a noisy motorised one for our little lawns.

Second hand feels a bit like wearing someone else's shoes, might just be me, but I'm not entirely comfortable with having them pressed to the side of my head after someone else.

Anyway, as it turns out not long after posting, my good lady took charge, telling me to stop pissing about and order something, so have a pair of the jam ones from above.

Early impressions are a little bit woolly sound wise, but am playing with eq settings. Enjoying the wire free nature of them so far, but need to get them home (away at the moment) to give them a proper play.

Philosophical about the purchase, treating it as an experimental dip in the waters with no risk, as they will be passed down to one of the kids when I order something better.

Will probably be on again in a few weeks asking what's best at £200!

Cheers all!

[benz0]

If you want awesome sq at upgrade time get some beyerdynamic dt150s for 115 quid

[Stiggolas]

If you value lower frequencies, forget the AKGs. I have the K92s and am a little disappointed. They appear to be more of a studio monitor with a flat frequency response. They are great for very subtle music / sounds but for general listening my old Sennheiser HD202s are far better.

[w1bbles]

As a family we are currently running 4 (!) sets of Plattan ADVs. Definitely worth a look at the budget end.