Sony MDR 7506 or similar are the best headphones I've ever owned. They are modular, designed to be repairable, and have great build quality. They're wired and have no microphone, but they retail for a third the price of a bluetooth set that can match the sound quality. (~$100)
I loved mine but the membranes aged quickly
They are designed to be repairable, but iirc the parts cost enough to make it hard to justify repairing over just buying a new pair
Just hope that a different part breaks on the second pair and then you can put off ordering a third.
I like my Sony XM4s
They're a little bassy and have that proprietary app. Good contender for wireless headphones though, but a cheaper wired will outperform instantly
Well sure, it's wired.
If that's an option for you, it's still worth it to buy some quality wired buds too though. There's some really great repairable ones for under $100 out there!
With IEMs, I don't like them as much as they always fall out and feel uncomfortable.
I'm still on my xm2 from almost a decade ago, if that helps anyone with the decision. Just had to buy new earpads from AliExpress a few years ago.
XM5 have hinge problems I hear, but my 4s have been great
MX2 was great, broke mine. Just recently realized how much better mx3 is to mx4. MX4 dropped aptx support and the mics refuse to work with macOS, mx3 hums(less) along working great (aside from the bent wired jack from more stumbling)
Had an XM3 and now an XM5, these are top notch head phones indeed!
Anything on this list, its a list of high quality eq curves for tons of different headphones ranging from very cheap to very expensive, its also available on github and available to be accessed by a lot of different software.
I see a lot of good recommendations in here, but it would be more helpful if you said whether you want them wireless or not. I figured the answer is yes, but a lot of the (excellent) headphones people are recommending are wired and require a DAC/amp.
For wireless, you can do a lot worse than the Sennheiser Momentum line. The current best is the Momentum 5 Wireless, but I got my wife the 4, its over $100 cheaper and quite good. Not a fan of the Bose or Sony, but they have decent noise cancelling.
For wired, I'm not even going to recommend stuff because I'll out myself as a weirdo that spent too much on audio.
I had a pair of Beyerdynamic DT231 in the late 90s, my first decent sounding headphones.
So I looked up last year what is their best, reasonable price, current model:
( Edit: A day after this post, I researched more and ended up getting the DT 770 PRO X. 48 Ohms and can play from any source with no amp required. Also got a Beyerdynamic PRO X USB-C Cable, for phone use. Inbuilt DAC in the cable, wild. Original recommendation follows:)
Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO 80 Ohm
--
Own an ATH-M50 too, solid sound, no issues.
I have a pair of DT-770 Pro 80s that are 20 years old and still rocking. I just had to replace a few mounting pieces a couple of times for a few bucks and get a new pads every several years.
They sound sturdy as.
I blew up my 231s with DnB.
There's only so much the budget model could handle.
Yeah, the 231s always looked kinda flimsy, but I've never used them so I can't really say.
Beyerdynamic DT 150.
They are designed to be fixed and are built like a tank. I fully expect them to keep working for the rest of my life
I second the Beyerdynamic. I have the DT 770 myself, bought them 15 years ago and still going strong. I'd expect these to be the last pair of headphones I'll ever need. Mine are however fully closed, which can lead to hot ears. They are super comfy and I get cold ears quickly, so I prefer them. I also really like the sound isolation and the sound quality is absolutely perfect.
A friend of mine has the DT 990 which are open backed, so they don't suffer as much from hot ears. However the sound quality can be a bit worse as they have less isolation. It's a bit of a trade off, both have excellent sound and in a quiet room there is no difference. So it's just preference really.
Yeah, I've had two pairs of DT 770 Pros now, and they're probably my favorite non-active-noise-cancelling headphones. Good passive isolation, comfortable, fairly light, durable.
I think that the cable used to be detachable and isn't on current models, but my current model also cost significantly less, so...shrugs
If OP wants ANC headphones, though, which I assume he does if he's looking at Momentum 4s, might not be what he wants.
I have some 770's and fit a mini XLR socket on them. I then balanced them too. It's nice to have cable options. It was years ago I did this, there were a few videos on how to convert them, probably more these days.
Probably gonna get hate, but why not Quietcomfort? If you’re an audiophile and your phone is actually playing lossless high res audio, of course go for Sennheiser. If you wear your headphones everywhere often, prioritize ANC and don’t mind the Bose sound, I’d go Bose every day and save the hifi listening for at home.
Agree. There are some things that annoy me but my QC35 II are the most comfortable headphones I've ever had. I don't like anything touching my ears and I am very very sensitive to pressure, so if this matters to you then look at the quiet comforts.
I completely agree with this. If I want noise cancellation, the quiet comforts are good, I am mostly playing music to mask sounds anyway, so the main exception is comfort, non-obtrusive sound, and good ANC. I also use them on flights, for podcasts when awake or background music when trying to sleep- so again, sound quality is secondary. My only problem with them is the faux leather cover of the ear cup flakes easily, needs replacing about every 2 years. For listening to music at home, I use open headphones.
Adding another +1 from personal experience.
I’ve happily used the same wired, over-ear Sennheisers as my daily drivers for 15 years, but tried switching over to Sennheiser’s wireless noise-canceling line a few years ago. Horrible mistake: the sound quality was acceptable but the firmware, the fit, and the ANC were atrocious.
Couldn’t believe the two products were made by the same company.
I really like my QC35, but man these components are not built to last. I’ve had to replace my ear cushions and cable a few times now to the point where I wonder if I should be looking at other options. I respect that you can replace individual parts but I never have had issues like this with the ATH-M50 for instance.
Sennheiser HD 650 with a good DAC and your all set
I second these as well
Do not buy Jabra products. I use them for work (work pays for them) and have had multiple models. They have all failed for various reasons. They do replace under RMA but it's annoying as they should not break someasily, especially the upper premium models. I wouldn't touch a pair of I was personally paying for them.
Audiotechnica ath-m50x. I bought it for 100€ in 2019 and they still make it, cord is replacable. They are super popular, tons of units sold, so there are parts everywhere.
I bought earpads replacement for them from aliexpress, theres headband too, they were not original but they fit perfectly. Maybe you should check for replacement, sometimes they go for under 10$
The original pads on the ath-m50(x) suck IMO. Most of the other brand replacements are much more comfortable. My friend swears by the Shure pads that are compatible.
I recently bought Senheizer HD-650's. I'm very happy with them.
It depends on your requirements.
I have the Momentum 4 and they sound good, but in my opinion the noise cancelling is really bad. I also really dislike the pressure they create on my ears, but i've been told all noise cancelling headphones do that so that might just be a thing i personally dislike. My friends swear on the Sony XM1000 series, though i remember them saying the older versions were better.
I've had a Momentum 4 and a WH-1000XM5.
I was not happy with the Momentum, and can't recommend it. I initially had some kind of connectivity problems with Linux. Then, it had a tendency to l cut out, which I eventually discovered was a problem with the infrared sensor in one cup used to detect whether you've taken the hesdphones off. When it fogs up with condensed sweat, apparently not enough IR light gets through and it thinks that you've taken the headphones off. I disabled that feature with the Android app. Then some problem came up where when moved slightly, it would play back loud, high-frequency "squeaky" sounds. Some sort of problem with the noise-cancelling setup. Oh, and I had problems with bumping the side triggering touch controls.
The XM5 was fine for me when used as headphones---and better noise cancellation than the Momentum 4. But when used as a headset, sometimes, especially when resting my head against a chair, the other party would say that I suddenly became muffled.
I currently use it as headphones, but pair it with a USB lapel mic when I need a mic.
Had the exact same IR problem with the XM4. Bit disillusioned with basically all the brands.
I had the Sennheiser Momentum 4 and they turned into a creaking mess of cheap plastic after some months. I also had the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4, which broke and got replaced for the 5 on warranty by Sennheiser. Which was great until they also broke in the exact same way. Occasional high pitched tweeting in the right bud. They didn't want to replace them again and now I am actively avoiding Sennheiser.
Currently I have Beyerdynamic DT 900 ProX. They are open back and I only use them at home. Amazing sound.
For on the go I now have Linsoul Zero 2 (The Crinacle colab ones) and they are cheap and sound great.
No particular model to recommend, but if you use it primarily for music/movies at home and don’t have anyone around you to bother, go for open-back or half open-back headphones.
Meze's headphones are absolutely flawless, european made, open back, hardly even need a DAC/AMP to run them, and the product support from the company is unmatched.
They even have headphones that aren't four figures
I've heard Ploopy headphones are good, and since they're open source you can easily fix them yourself if you have an issue
I like Crinacle's headphone ranking list, check it out. If it's not on here, probably not good
The site is super cool and full of info, but I've never agreed with Crinacle's list at all. Has some really weird picks/ratings that no person I have ever met would agree with, even when so many of the choices weren't quite outdated. For example, the two highest rated Beyerdynamic headphones are the two usually poorest rated and least liked headphones in their tier (the t70 and DT 990 pro). There is a bunch of choices like that on here.
It can still be a cool site for getting a feel for the overall sound of a headphone and getting ideas. The graphs are cool too as long as you don't get too crazy about them. Also, don't even think about using the prices on there, they are long out of date and were only accurate at the time of his review.
I use Panasonic ergofit everyday, good luck
https://www.technics.com/ca/products/headphones/eah-a800.html
I don't know exactly where they stack up, but when using a headphone jack the audio quality and volume are much better than just bluetooth. I've been very happy with them, also have a set of earbuds from them I use everyday and they've been around for about 3 years and are holding up very well compared to Sennheiser earbuds I had. I also only really bought them because it's what a local shop sells.
If you want wireless, good sound. I am very happy with my Cambridge P100se. (I like full sound that isn't sharp, like velvet for my eardrums). They support aptx Lossless. Not cable quality, but good for wireless :)
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