Buying headphones - suggestions wanted

[Respenus]

Well, time to turn to those with more experience on the subject. Until recently, I've been able to use external speakers for my PC, yet going abroad and with a laptop, together with the fact that disturbing my neighbours with brass blazing in the middle of the night isn't something socially acceptable (or even allowed according to house rules), I've been thinking about investing into a quality set of headphone. I'm getting sick and tired of the iPhone ones, which are defective to start with.

Now, I don't wish to give away a fortune, but I'm not ready to buy some 5$ waste of a product. So some middle ground is sought for.

So those of you, who would kindly share their knowledge with me, what would you recommend? Now, my only requirement at this time, apart from the price, is that it must be adapt at playing classical music. I'll be damned if I have to hear another symphony through the speakers I have right now. So sound quality is an important issue, like with any audio product, giving you nothing but the most simple, or the most impossible mission concerning the subject.

So, any takers? I would be grateful for any advice.

[Sailor Steve]

I've got a talk-and-listen headset I bought at BestBuy for $20, and it does a great job.

I also paid about the same at a nearby office suppy store for a fat pair of headphones I use for practicing with my guitars, and they also do very well.

[CCIP]

How much are you looking to spend? What are your preferences in terms of, let's say, size, style, open vs. closed, mic included or not?

Personally, for music I lean towards larger, robust, open-air monitors. These are favourites http://www.sennheiser.ca/live/senn/produit/en/103/14 (you can find them for about $100), and in general I can't recommend Sennheisers enough. This is my current pair: http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/he...56f/index.html and I also like them a lot. I tend to steer off cheaper headphones and headphones of other styles (closed, behind the head, portable, in-ear...), mainly because of comfort (even assuming sound quality is the same).

These are rather um... mid-range as far as price goes. If you're looking for something simpler, do let know. However if you do listen to a lot of music in headphones, I honestly can't stress enough how a solid pair of headphones is a good investment for somewhere in the $100-200 neighbourhood.

[FIREWALL]

Price or Sound expectations ?

[Respenus]

Thank you CCIP, I've just looked over the specs and price range of the Sennheiser headphones. Since I do use them in a closed space, with little outside noise and quite nice thick walls, meaning it will be hard to disturb anyone, I don't think that open headphones will be much of a problem. Since I do consider myself to be a sort of an audiophile, these certainly are the item to look at.

Right now, I'm only deciding between the HD 555 and the HD 595 (there is the 55 euros difference). Anything higher is way beyond what I can afford right now and reading the reviews, it seems that I won't be too disappointed.

[antikristuseke]

Koss products are difficult to go wrong with and their warranty terms are great.

[CCIP]

I think both of those are really good, I'd even be inclined to go with the cheaper option so that you could also consider a couple of other things I'd personally recommend...

Not sure what harware you've got in the pc/laptop, but I also suggest you consider a good sound card - that makes a huge difference for sound, and they're not massively expensive either. There are USB sound cards that hugely improve listening, even if you get a fairly simple one (I had a creative X-Fi with my laptop when I used it for music, which isn't the most brilliant sound card but was miles above on-board, and that was less than $60). I'm not actually a huge expert in this, and I plan to upgrade my own sometime soon, but I can vouch for it being a very good idea.

Another thing I got was a simple headphone amp. That's really optional, and mine is actually home-made (not by me), but you can find lots of cool options for these for $20-30. They don't make a massive difference, but especially on so-so hardware they really do help.

[Respenus]

Well the laptop is a HP G72. It says that is has Realtek High Definition Audio, but since Google came up empty, your guess is as good as mine. I do have the option of a digital output straight from my graphic card, which is an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470. But there doesn't seem to be too many, if any, headphones with a direct connection to a digital out.

I'll think about the external amp though. It seems that many reviewers do recommend it when it comes to headphones.

Again, thanks for all the advice.

[CCIP]

Realtek is common on-board stuff. I'm not sure how the later-generation ones might be, but the one I have on my current (old) laptop is awful and makes me cringe (I sold my USB sound card and don't really use the laptop for music, though).

[Respenus]

Well, I bit the bullet and went with the HD 595. What can I say, they're Sennheiser. CCIP, I'll look into buying an USB soundcard in the future, but it sounds brilliant as it is. The orchestra is playing and I'm even hearing the conversion errors, which I had never heard before, even on a "real" sound system. I'm quite glad I made the "more" expensive purchase.

Again thank you all for your input.

[Stev1]

I am using Trust 5.1 Surround USB Headphones which cost around £45:00 as I already had a Trust 5.1 Surround speaker system.

[MH]

I use those earphones for music and they are excellent.
http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/hf5.html

They really keep the sound open and natural even tho they feet as earplugs.

Koss is good choise as well as AKG they are also much chipper.

Sennheiser and Audio Technica are excellent too and have some relatively chip models.
If you are into music spending 100$ or more on phones can really make a big difference.

If you just want to get best for $ get Koss or AKG stay away from Sony and similar.

[papa_smurf]

I got a pair of 5.1 Surround Sound Creative Fatal1ty headphones with removable mic (bad idea, as I keep misplacing the mic...) for £25 from Amazon. That was 2 yrs ago, and the still work just as well.

[the_tyrant]

NEVER buy skull candy
you break it, your screwed
since the only warranty center for them is in salt lake city
I broke my sennhaisers that I got at best buy, broke them, and got a new pair instantly

[Reece]

The most important thing is comfort, especially if you intend to wear them for over an hour for example, most of the cheaper sets sit on your ear and after 15 minutes or so you have to remove them, like talking on the phone for half an hour, your ears get rather sore. The only ones I would recommend are those that cover the ear totally and even those you have to find ones that don't apply too much pressure or you end up with a headache!! I am into shortwave listening and have them on for hours, the pair I use is around $60 but very nice:
audio-technica ATH-M30
There are better ones but there are also a lot worse, good luck!