Comfortable headphones?

[4pickupguy]

Just to reiterate, because of restrictions at my onsite location, that means:

- no noise-cancelling
- nothing wireless
- no microphones

And I'm only listening to them through a provided computer, and not with anything like a smart phone (they aren't allowed, either).

Bose QC 35s because they sound fantastic. You can turn off the noise canceling and use the optional cable. Totally worth the money.

 

[Hey_you]

Nother vote for AKG

 

[schmee]

I have JVC and Sony 'over the ear' and they seem fine to me. They were cheap. Probably $60 now though.

 

[Skub]

I use a set of KRK KNS8400 studio headphones. They are very neutral sounding,light and comfy all day long.

KRK | Shop KRK Speakers & Studio Monitors at GAK

From speakers and monitors to headphones and cables KRK are by far the most popular studio monitor at GAK. Shop our range of KRK monitors and accessories.

www.gak.co.uk

 

[KC]

For what it's worth, there's a super-positive review of the KRK 8402 cans in the new issue of Tape Op.

 

[ficelles]

Edifier H850 are very good, and not expensive.

 

[TokyoPortrait]

Hi.

There is a ridiculously high mark-up on AT, never pay "retail" for them!

Interesting that the Audio Technica stuff is expensive in some places. Here they are really reasonable and across their range seem to give ‘more for your dollar’ compared to most others (I really like their condenser/ capacitor mics).

I too have some AKGs. 271 MKIIs. They’re fine, if a little heavy.

Also, check out Shure’s cheapest ’monitor’ headphones. I forget the model now. Would start with SRH no doubt - maybe something like 880 or 840, or something? I used to have some and they were comfy for me. Lasted about ten years too.

Good luck.

Pax/
Dean

 

[Peegoo]

Anything by Grado.

 

[loudboy]

Proaudiostar has the Akg 240 for $55, I think. Super comfortable, sound great, untouchable at that price.

 

[runstendt]

I’ve been using the same pair of Shure SRH 440 headphones for at least 15 years, and they still sound, feel, and fit great.

 

[Alamo]

I've now been working onsite again for almost a year now, with a desk job that allows me to listen to music via a provided computer. I'm mainly listening to playlists that I've created on Spotify.

I somehow made earbuds work for a good bit of the time I was working remotely in the two previous years, but honestly don't really care for them.

I got some inexpensive OneOdio Pro-10 cans back in '19 for personal listening at home, and they were maybe just a little better than okay. Based on that, I got another pair of them, specifically for work, early this year. IDK if the ones for work are that much different other than the color, but they sure seem to be a lot less comfortable. They seem both bulky and can't be extended enough to get them over my ears right (don't seem to have enough range). Yeah, I kind of have a big melon, but I swear it's not that big!

I do need to limit this to just headphones that aren't wireless, aren't noise-canceling, and don't have a microphone, because of workplace requirements. So this really kind of limits my choices to more of the stuff from yesteryear.

And yes, sound quality is very much a lower priority than comfort is. This is probably further compounded by me being kind of cheap, and not wanting to spend too much in the event the headphones 'disappear' at work.

Any suggestions/recommendations?

So how did your Hp seeking endeavor turn out?
I have the OneOdio's too. don't use them a lot because they are bulky and uncomfortable.
they are kind of ok to record in a band setting.

when I was working for a radio station, I was given the task to order a bulk of budget, half decent hp's.
the editors used to destroy hp's left and right. rolling over them with their office chairs, intermittent jacks and/or cans.
these turned out to be pretty decent for the money and the 24 Ohm impedance was a good match for the pc's Realtek soundchip.
I bought one myself for home use. still holding up.

lightweight, good sounding....and cheap. no one's gonna start crying if they bite the dust.

Superlux HD 572​

​

 

[telleutelleme]

One word. Koss. The hard relic'd plastic covers remind you that listening to music is serious and a price must be paid.

 

[gitold]

Anything by Grado.

+1

 

[Blrfl]

I've been a Sennheiser snob since the 1980s because they're well-designed, well-built and sound good without being insanely expensive. My current set is a pair of HD599SEs (SE meaning "better-looking color scheme but otherwise the same product"). They're on my noggin pretty much all day at work and I don't notice they're there. They are open-back, so having a good blast around others is probably not something you could do with them. But they do seem to breathe better than my closed-back AKGs.

General advice: Buy something where you can get replacement parts from the manufacturer. Sennheiser, BeyerDynamic and AKG are good about that for many of their models. The cushions and cords are what wear out on these things and both are inexpensive to replace if the cord isn't soldered in. I bought a set of HD520-IIs in 1994 and replaced the cushions once and the cord twice before they were retired at the end of 2020. For the 27 years I owned them, the annual cost of maintenance came out to about $2.25. I'd probably still be using the 520s if the cord was still available. But they don't owe me a thing.

 

[VintageSG]

Grado are OK, but are fully open back acceptable to others within earshot?
Mine drive anyone else in the room batty with the sound leakage.

Meze Neo are comfy. Pricey, but comfy. I had to replace the pads on mine with velvet faced memory foam, but that's a personal preference.

Superlux make some interesting headphones. I have a pair of HD330 semi-open, and they're superb -but- at 250 Ohms, they need an amplifier. I have a pair of Superlux HD681 semi-open too. They're comfy, easy to drive and sound really good. Both required velvet pads. The faux leather was too sweaty over an hours use. Sadly, they're both fixed wire. Happily, they're inexpensive enough not to care too much. The HD681 are a bargain for the sound quality and comfort, post pad change, they offer.

I have two pairs of Oneodio. A pair of 'Pro-30' and some that look similar, but are Bluetooth or wired. They're both good. You've had Oneodio before, but have you considered the higher priced monitors?

 

[LOSTVENTURE]

I never got into the earbud things. Not enough isolation from surrounding noise.
So, I was a big Koss guy until the droped the 3xxx series. I did a lot of shopping and ended up with the Sennheiser HD280. Overall well ballanced sound was the primary reason. But the fact that I can wear them for hours has certainly kept them in my inventory.

 

[Timbresmith1]

Sony mdr-v6 are comfy and sound pretty good.