Right…I used to have some over ear headphones that were comfortable but i trod on them (i’ve already had “why did you put them on the floor” from the wife).

I then bought some cheap ones (<£15) but these hurt my ears.

So does anyone have any suggestions for decent headphones?

My requirements are;

– <£100
– Minimal external noise
– Suitable for use on a laptop

Thanks!

These are great according to my brother. But he’s a Drum and Bass DJ so I’m unsure. Must be good for Bass though.
I swap between my Dre Beats or the ones that came with my phone.

Why did you put them on the floor?

Seeinehiser pro 200ohms are fantastic for listening and making music, unreal.
I personally have a set of £30 rolands which are exteemely good for the money, only distorts when mobile turned up to max due to mobile amp and are bassy with the right balance between bass and tone.
Csomfortable most deffo yes and are reasonably tough the last 3 years with a exceptionally long cable with jack.

8/10 for me for quality, 10/10 for vfm and if I had got £150 ish then would most definitely be purchasing the 200ohm seeinehiser pro’s oooo yes.

Hope this helps.
Oh and don’t bother with skullcandy/dr smoked up dre, he must have been on something other than pot when he signed the contract for his name to be printed onto those things.
Thankthemarkettign lords it was not my set ;D

Over ear ones.
Koss, Porta Pro or Sporta Pro, you wont get a better sound at 4 times the price, just check out the reviews.

I’ve got a pair of those in-ear Sennheiser headphones for general walking about/commuting listening to stuff…those are good headphones

I’m looking for headphones for in the living room playing games on laptop or listening to music, or watching films etc, while the wife watches Kirsty Big Buttons make things out of crap she found.

@onceinalifetime

I have no interest in those Skullcandy/Dr Dre ones…I don’t want to pay extra for a fancy colour or some aging rappers name on them.

It amuses me when you see the STW demographic on the morning commute with a pair of those…

Sennheiser HD25 FTW

Slighty over your budget, but worth every penny.

Koss, Porta Pro or Sporta Pro

big difference in my book, sportapros are like KSC-35s and KSC-75 in being a very good sound for the money with a little upper bass bloom that makes everything sound good and makes you want to listen to more.

Portapros have way too much bass which is inaccurate, piano just doesn’t sound right on them, etc.

blanket recommendations for sennheisers used to be safe, but not anymore so you have to get the right ones. Open back always sound a little better, but leak sound, obviously.

Sennheiser HD-25 SP’s are under £100 and almost as good as normal HD-25’s, which are pretty much the best which is why they are the industry standard for sound professionals. Will withstand being trodden on and mistreated and all of the parts are user replaceable. My 25’s have withstood the best part of a decade of travelling the world, djing and general abuse and are still pretty much as good as new….

– <£100
– Minimal external noise
– Suitable for use on a laptop

I got some Bose AE2 headphone a couple of months ago – my 7 quid ebay specials were so unbelievably uncomfortable (sort of explains why they were 7 quid!). I think I paid just over 100 – but boy are they worth the money. supremely comfy, fold flat for storage/transport, wonderful sound. Not too bulky either – unless you want the big can/Cyberman/DJ look.

If you want “proper” isolation then you’re looking at the noise cancelling ones which are £200 plus. very good if you fly regularly and have deep pockets.

Oh and a colleague has one of the cheaper Sennheiser sets – very good reports and about £30 – worth a look. A lot of the cheaper headphones seem to be biased towards being good for DJing, so have enhanced bass. something to bear in mind if you want/don’t that.

Not sure what “Suitable for use on a laptop” means – I thought all headphones worked as long there’s the 3.5 mm jack on the laptop?

TM

I use these at work, with the fancy additional mic kit.

http://www.froogle.richersounds.com/product/headphones/akg/k450/akg-k450

Once run in, bloody excellent.

Something to note, when running headphones on a laptop, use an external amp, like Fiio E6 as it’ll hugely improve the quality of the sound.

Audio Technica ATH ES 55 circa £80 from Richer Sounds – they are absolutely excellent. Some may recommend AKG 450’s but i found them very dull sounding.

Splashed the cash on some Bose QC15’s a month or so ago, revolutionise flying, but not cheap.

Sound great and turn noisy environments virtually silent, very comfortable too.

Cheers, Rich

Not sure what “Suitable for use on a laptop” means – I thought all headphones worked as long there’s the 3.5 mm jack on the laptop?

Not really sure to be honest, but i thought I’d make it clear what the main use was going to be!

Although someone did mention using an external amp, so maybe I’ll look into that too.

Thanks for the replies…plenty to look into!

Etymotic are the pair that I keep meaning to buy at an airport! Only problem is, I never seem to find anywhere with stock of the ones with the microphone for phone calls as well. They do get excellent press, though.

I plumped for Denon noise cancelling phones for long hauls, though. Couldn’t really tell the difference in quality/sound for the extra cost of the Bose, so went with the Denon. Very pleased.

Slighty over your budget, but worth every penny.

That’s ok…i’m not very good at sticking to budgets, and will probably convince myself to get mroe expensive ones.

Out of interest, if i was to increase my budget to £150ish, would anyone’s recommendation change?

I’ve got these – very happy with them and very well reviewed. They’re quite big but pack down quite compact.

http://www.dv247.com/headphones/audio-technica-ath-m50s-studio-monitor-headphones–66956

BTW, headphones can have a different impedance rating, which means some really need a headphone amp to get the best out of them. Most will just work fine with any jack socket though.

http://www.superfi.co.uk/p-2406-grado-sr60i-headphones.aspx

Lovely sound

For £150 you can get the HD-25’s.

“A lot of the cheaper headphones seem to be biased towards being good for DJing, so have enhanced bass. something to bear in mind if you want/don’t that.”

No professional or serious dj worth their salt will use cheap headphones. it’s just about the most important piece of kit. It’s not just the bass that you need to hear in order to mix. Often it is the high frequencies that are more useful.

http://www.aiaiai.dk/store/headphones/tma-1

For £99 you can get the HD25 SP2’s and £150 will buy the version with split headband. I’m pretty sure they both have the same earcups don’t they (so the extra money for the split version seems completely excessive)

I’ve had mine a few years now (picked up for sub £90 on eBay). Light, tough, comfortable and fantastic sound.

“A lot of the cheaper headphones seem to be biased towards being good for DJing, so have enhanced bass. something to bear in mind if you want/don’t that.”

No professional or serious dj worth their salt will use cheap headphones. it’s just about the most important piece of kit. It’s not just the bass that you need to hear in order to mix. Often it is the high frequencies that are more useful.

I’m sure you’re right – I think they are marketed as being for DJs (with enhanced bass). Whether any DJ would actually use them is another matter….

STW forum fab as usual – loads of choice and opinions!

TM

Ok, I might have increased my budget a little (it was inevitable).

I’ve have Sennheiser in ear ones for ages and like the sound quality so I’m leaning towards the same brand. Based on the above possibly the HD 25 (or the cheaper version if my research suggests they’re pretty much the same).

I was looking at the HD 558 or the HD 598, but no-one’s mentioned them yet. Although they look a lot bigger than the 25 which might make me look like a plonker if i decide to wear them outside.

The Bose® QuietComfort® 15 someone mentioned are a few £££’s too far…SWMBO will give me The Look.

Byer Dynamic DT 250 are what i use at work for (pro) radio, Beyer Dynamic do cheaper ones, but these are great, no distortion at any volume, you can even use them as mini speakers (although I dont think that they are designed for this)

Superlux HD662’s are fantastic for the money. Use them for everything, recording, hi fi, laptop. About £30

I was looking at the HD 558 or the HD 598, but no-one’s mentioned them yet. Although they look a lot bigger than the 25 which might make me look like a plonker if i decide to wear them outside.

If you like the Sennheiser sound then stick with them.

I’ve got a set of HD 595s however IMO they would be wasted in a laptop, they’re the same as the 598s but without kitch finish.

They are rather large for portable use as are the 558s

Your best bet would be to go to a HI FI store and have a listen to a few different sets.

Id still say Audio Technica, probably the ES7’s….you cant beat listening and comparing…I thought I wanted AKG’s based on reviews then couldnt believe how muffled they were in store. Your ears will find a winner.

Oh shire, not seiin heis, I meant beyer dynamics the pro 200 ohm model, Unbelievable!
Try, get buy a set to believe the most bestist headphones on the market for the price.

Tose wood covered ones look uber bent imo and wouldn,t stand up to much abuse, think they are grado make.

These are very good indeed: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bowers-Wilkins-P3-On-Ear-Headphones/dp/B0082AQ81U/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1348506820&sr=8-3
Not cheap at all, but cheaper than the original P5’s, I’ve tried them against my Shure SE215 and UE TripleFi 10 Pro IEM’s, and they sound a little lacking in the bass, but that’s not too surprising compared to in-ear phones that really seal the ear canal.
Having now spent some hours trying them out, for £30, the new Apple EarPods are really very good indeed, worth getting a pair just to see how you get on with them.

don’t even think think about noise cancelling if you want sound quality – isolation is much better.