Not noise cancelling but Grado SR80s are the best headphones I’ve used and are relatively cheap (about £60 I think) for “audiophile quality” headphones. They just sound so nice and natural. No overhyped and muddy bass like Sennheisers and the highs are very clear and bright without being harsh.

Hmmm, thanks for the replies so far. I must have weirdly shaped or sized inner ear channels as I can’t find any in-ear phones which stay in place or are comfortable for more than half an hour or so.

So, unless I’m strongly persuaded otherwise, it’s closed back over-the-ears phones for me…

I tried some “Beats by Dr Dre” ‘phones yesterday and they sounded excellent but the demo was with (c)rap music so I guess it was optimized for those ‘phones. Any suggestions of what tracks should I using to sample other ‘phones?

variety of different music types with which you are familiar.

Probably best to avoid Dr Dre.

If you buy the Bose and don’t like them you may be able to get a good price 2nd hand for them, just a thought…

Not noise cancelling but Grado SR80s are the best headphones I’ve used and are relatively cheap (about £60 I think) for “audiophile quality” headphones. They just sound so nice and natural. No overhyped and muddy bass like Sennheisers and the highs are very clear and bright without being harsh.

Grados are indeed excellent headphones but are an open backed design and as such leak a lot of sound both out and in – not really ideal for public usage IMO.

For home listening only 🙂