Now that my wife has realised that the arrival of my 272/250 combo means a lot more noise a lot more of the time in the house, she has offered to buy me a new set of headphones for my next birthday. My current phones are over 20 years old and are made by Beyerdynamic.
The price range dictates the choice to some extent but what I want are comfortable good sounding phones that do not need to be portable, noise cancelling or wireless. I have rather limited availability to actually test any of the following so would be grateful for any advice or even other suggestions.
i have narrowed down my initial range to three and the prices quoted are on Amazon
(1) Beyerdynamic DT 880pro - £180
(2) Sennheiser HD600 - £220
(3) Kef M500 - £250
Posted on: 09 February 2016 by GuyPerry
I still use Senn hd580s with new cables from the 600s, as the old ones had gone (and have even recently found spare cushion pads) and must be 20 years old.
I can't give advice on new models, whatever make. One thing not mentioned here so far is comfort, try before you buy, as I have a large head and it ruled out certain makes from the off.
WBR
Guy
Posted on: 12 February 2016 by George F
The old Sennheiser HD 600 is quite something. At once it delves very deep in the recording [given a satisfactory source], and also is suitable for very long listening sessions without strain. Quite an achievement, and probably why it still exists as a production variant in the Senn DH line-up.
Mine are glorious after nearly a month. They work rather nicely with the Little Dot Mk 3!
ATB from George
Posted on: 12 February 2016 by Solid Air
Interesting, the Engadget article. I haven't heard - and until recently hadn't of - HiFiMan headphones, and they top the list!
The Senns come out well too in second. If you click through to the original article, it says the Grado SR325e were next in line, and seem to be saying the comfort of the ear-pieces let them down. I find them very comfortable, but I have heard that critique before.
Certainly a useful short-list.
Posted on: 24 February 2016 by Belfast Taxman
Just to update all who contributed (thank you) I eventually managed to get a bit of an audition with three sets of headphones - Shure SRH 1540 (good), Sennheiser HD650 (better with a very warm sound) and the Beyerdynamic T90's which I eventually plumped for, especially as I got them under £300. They are definitely brighter than the other two (some might say spiky), but I just loved the overall sound and level of accuracy in the detail.
