Buying Headphones

[Neil]

I think I'm getting the lend of enough cash to buy myself a new puter, hooray.  I want to try and get a really nice pair of headphones too, as I've only ever had shitty cheap ones.  So can you give me some advice please?  I'm not sure how much I'll be able to spend, but I'm thinking between £20 - £80?

[fanny splendid]

Yes, I want a pair of good headphones, too. What's the deal with the noise cancelling £200 models? Are they worth the money?

[Borboski]

I've got some Sennheiser PXC250s (?) noise cancelling ones - which I think you can pick up for about £50 quid now.  They really do cut out ambient sound, which supposedly is especially good for train and plane journey, as that supposedly causes stress (?).

I think they're excellent, they sound great once you've clicked them on.  They aren't massive mufflers either - I got some of those but realised a lot of noise leaked which meant they weren't an option for the bus, and so swapped them for these.  Oh yeah, make sure you don't get ones with open backs, I can't stand listening to other people tinny shitty music.

But if you're using it in the house, then I suppose massive cans are an option!

The PX250s are quite small, and clip together nicely.  They don't sound very powerful when not turned on (e.g. you have a turn on the little noise cancelling sausage - which take AA batteries).  The batteries last an age though - and why wouldn't you turn them on.

I think there was a thread on this before with some good reviews - search under PX250s.

[fanny splendid]

Thanks, they look okay. They even come in white!

[A Passing Turk Slipper]

I recently got some Grado Labs SR60s for about 70 - 80 quid and they are absolutely amazing. I wanted to get some really nice 'phones as I normally spend at least an hour in bed with headphones on before I sleep every night. I did a lot of reading on the web, Head-fi and places and came to the conclusion that the SR60s were the best you can get for under a £100. I've read reviews that say they are superior to some headphones that are twice the price. I was a big Sennheiser man and was pretty much 100% sure I wanted to get another sen pair but after reading what people had to say about the sr60s I couldn't not get them. It took them a while to break in, I was worried because they were still distorting after a good few hours of play but now they are really worn in and there's no distortion even with the music turned up full. The quality is amazing, you feel so close to the music, you hear bits of songs you haven't heard before, minute details and they're really comfortable to wear too, I forget I've got them on. They are only really for indoor use though, I wouldn't want to wear them walking around, I've got a couple of portable sennheisers for that which work well. If you went walking in the street with the grados the person next to you would hear as much as you could. Later I'll dig out some links I found when I was looking for the perfect pair, there are a lot of options in that price range.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

I've never been much of an audiophile, so I'm fine with my cheapo Sony ones. What does piss me off about headphones is how the wire always manages to snag on even the tiniest obstacle and yank them half-way out of my ears. I've gone through at least three pairs because of the connections getting damaged in that way. I've looked a wireless ones, but it always seems too much money just to avoid the occasional bruised lughole.

[Borboski]

I should say that I've had to send my Sennheisers back twice, and my girlfriend's pair once, because the wire keeps coming exposed and coming free from the plug part (a-ha, what Claude describes.  Except without any real noticeable cause).

They've been great though, replacing them within days, so I'm still happy as larry.

[Jaffit]

I have shure ones, think they set me back about £50. They are amazing quality but have an annoying habit of popping out of your ears every five minutes.