Over Ear Headphones Recommendations?
Discussion
Recently saw Wasc Chamber headphones reduced from allegedly £149 to £39.95 in HMV Bath and a couple of places online. Was momentarily tempted as am on the lookout for over-ear "open" headphones - does that mean I can hear what's going on around me or that those around me can hear what i'm listening to? Want to be able to hear my surrounding to some extent. These have active noise cancellation, but that's not essental, don't want to really be fitting batteries and throwing switched.
Will ing to pay up to £50 - any decent options that might actually be better - I'm assuming the rapper branding is pushing the list price beyond their audio capabilities?
Will ing to pay up to £50 - any decent options that might actually be better - I'm assuming the rapper branding is pushing the list price beyond their audio capabilities?
http://www.superfi.co.uk/p-2870-akg-k450-headphone...
Bought some of these for my mrs. They sound nice for the price seem reasonably sturdy and come with a good case.
Seem to have won some awards to.
Bought some of these for my mrs. They sound nice for the price seem reasonably sturdy and come with a good case.
Seem to have won some awards to.
simonej said:
Hmmm, I have those AKG 450s and I'm not impressed. Sound is ok but the ANR is useless compared to Bose and I find them incredibly uncomfortable after an hour or two. Looking for some new headphones to replace them so will watch this thread...
I think my pair are fantastic (apart from the fact I have to wear my glasses like a librarian!). As with most things - quality depends on the source - I raved about them to a workmate and brought them in for him to try on his iplayer - quite possibly the worst sound I had ever heard and he just laughed at me! But with quality home separates (Philips CD960, Marantz NA7004) the quality is "there to be heard"...watched a film on my netbook the other night and they were still comfy after 2 hours.simonej said:
Hmmm, I have those AKG 450s and I'm not impressed. Sound is ok but the ANR is useless compared to Bose and I find them incredibly uncomfortable after an hour or two. Looking for some new headphones to replace them so will watch this thread...
What do you mean by ANR? These AKGs don't have any form of noise reduction apart from being closed back. There is no way they would compete with the Bose in that regard. My view on headphones (unfortunately) is that as the level of noise reduction gets better, the sound quality gets worse.
I currently have three pairs of headphones all at roughly the same price point whilst I decide which works best for me:
Bose QC15 have brilliant active noise reduction and the sound quality is ok, but lacking in any sort of detail.
B&W P5 are closed back but only seem to offer a bit in the way of passive noise reduction. I find the sound a little 'muddy' but a good step up from the Bose.
Sennheiser HD650 just sound beautiful in comparison to the other two, but offer no noise reduction at all and, worse, everyone sitting within 3 metres can hear every note of what you are listening to.
I think that the IEM style plugs offer a good compromise as some of them can sound really quite good and the action of stuffing them right into your ear to get a 'seal' really blocks out a lot of noise. I have never heard a pair that sound as good as my HD650s or block out plane engine noise as well as the QC15s, but they are actually better with sudden noises like babies crying and can cost quite a lot less.
CarCluster said:
Purpose will be listening through laptop at work. So source will not be high quality - so comfort is a factor as is being able to hear my surroundings as well.
In that case, you definitely need closed back as they will allow you to hear some of you surroundings but won't annoy all of your collegues by broadcasting your music all over the office like open back ones would.The AKG451s recommended earlier in the thread seem to be very well thought of, but I never got on with them. If you could push the budget slightly, the Sennheiser PX200 II are excellent for their price/size.
CarCluster said:
Purpose will be listening through laptop at work. So source will not be high quality - so comfort is a factor as is being able to hear my surroundings as well.
How good are the files on your laptop ? If they're good I think it should be worth investing in a USB headphone amp like one of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MUSE-DA10-PCM2704-Mini-U... or http://www.amazon.co.uk/FiiO-Headphone-Amplifier-A... if you can stretch your budget . Imho when paired with something like some Sennheiser HD202s http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-Closed-On-ear-S... they're likely to give far better sound quality than the laptop's soundcard feeding very expensive phones. Crackie said:
How good are the files on your laptop ? If they're good I think it should be worth investing in a USB headphone amp like one of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MUSE-DA10-PCM2704-Mini-U... or http://www.amazon.co.uk/FiiO-Headphone-Amplifier-A... if you can stretch your budget . Imho when paired with something like some Sennheiser HD202s http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-Closed-On-ear-S... they're likely to give far better sound quality than the laptop's soundcard feeding very expensive phones.
What he said! Good advice.Open backed let the sound out so will be very annoying to your colleagues / partner / commuters.
Try so half decent ear buds, most come with different size 'buds', if you need to hear whats going on i suggest you shouldn't be using headphones. A £40 pair of Sennhiser ear buds would i suspect amaze you, even my RAP listening tone deaf stepson admits they are awesome.
Try so half decent ear buds, most come with different size 'buds', if you need to hear whats going on i suggest you shouldn't be using headphones. A £40 pair of Sennhiser ear buds would i suspect amaze you, even my RAP listening tone deaf stepson admits they are awesome.
CarCluster said:
Recently saw Wasc Chamber headphones reduced from allegedly £149 to £39.95 in HMV Bath and a couple of places online. Was momentarily tempted as am on the lookout for over-ear "open" headphones - does that mean I can hear what's going on around me or that those around me can hear what i'm listening to? Want to be able to hear my surrounding to some extent. These have active noise cancellation, but that's not essental, don't want to really be fitting batteries and throwing switched.
Will ing to pay up to £50 - any decent options that might actually be better - I'm assuming the rapper branding is pushing the list price beyond their audio capabilities?
I've got a pair of the £149 RZA Chamber headphones. I'm sure the £249 ones have noise cancellation, not the £149 ones? Great quality both in build and music although they are prone to greasy fingerprints as they are Matt finished. Keep sound from others ears. Go for it. Will ing to pay up to £50 - any decent options that might actually be better - I'm assuming the rapper branding is pushing the list price beyond their audio capabilities?
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