Christmas is coming - Headphones for commuting

I seem to spend half my life on a train at the moment commuting (3 hours each way, each day). Thankfully this assignment should draw to a close before Christmas and the next one will be closer.

With that in mind I’ve had plenty of listening time. For in-ears I’ve got Sennheiser IE8s, which I find can get a bit shouty at times. On ear I have Beyerdynamics 1350 and dt51 (pretty much the same thing, but the 51s sound more ‘fun’ - The 1350s are supposed to be monitors). I have a pair of dt1770 for home use - my iPhone can’t really drive them.

I would recommend any of them for a shortlist, to which I’d add Sennheiser Monentum on and over ear types and the AKGs at less than £100. The AKG 550 are good, but you will look like a cyberman in them. I can’t get on with the B&W ear pads, but if you can they are uniformly good.

The various Bose are good for noise reduction and sound ‘nice’ in a good way.

I use an Audioquest Dragonfly Red as DAC/amp which improves them all tremendously and would heartily recommend - you need the iPhone camera adapter to connect it to an iPhone. You lose the ability to take/make calls via any buttonage on the headphones with this in place. 

It’s  probably not worth the cost of a Hugo for travelling.

As always, try to listen to a few yourself - take your phone to John Lewis or Currys who both have them out to try for fit - I don’t see why you shouldn’t try them for sound too. I’ve yet to find other stockists willing to let you hear headphones. 

Hi.

Why don't You give the brand new Focal Elegia a try - it's the first close back headphone from the new series, so You won't disturb your fellow travellers - and it's designed witha high sensetivity to be driven by portable devices, - smartphones, iPad etc - and best of all - It sound fantastic.

https://www.focal.com/en/headp...adphones/home/elegia

For your scenario I would definitely consider the dragonfly red as a base. Then there are multiple options depending on your budget. For in ears consider Shures or Senheiser IE8, while they are above the 500 budget. For over ears consider the Focal Eligia. Again considering your budget has some flex.

I've 'retired' my B&W headphones, as the right channel has become 'intermittent'.  SWMBO used them last week as ear protectors when she was using our shredder to clear the leaves from the garden!

I've replaced them with a £70 pair of Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 earbuds.  Nice, but possibly a little lacking at the bass end.  However they fit well, don't fall out, and provide good insulation from external sound.  Also, don't seem to suffer much from the sound leakage that the Apple supplied buds do.

Sony WH-1000MX3, not the best for sure in terms of out and out sound quality, BUT for me the noise cancelling outweighs that negative.

It leads to lower listening volumes, as your not cranking it up to drown out background noise.

Another vote for Sennheiser Momentum (wired, over ear version) which are on sale now at a well known music retailer for a shade under 65 notes. 

Dungassin posted:

I've 'retired' my B&W headphones, as the right channel has become 'intermittent'.  SWMBO used them last week as ear protectors when she was using our shredder to clear the leaves from the garden!

I've replaced them with a £70 pair of Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 earbuds.  Nice, but possibly a little lacking at the bass end.  However they fit well, don't fall out, and provide good insulation from external sound.  Also, don't seem to suffer much from the sound leakage that the Apple supplied buds do.

Do you commute by train? Buds aren't any good for the "Competitive Headphone Comparison" stakes, as those encumbered with various exotic ear bins spend their time slyly checking out the competition in the carriage today and either feeling smug and superior because they're using gold and black B&W PX's with a Dragonfly red DAC and Audioquest Golden Gate cable (SWIDT?) or bitter and upset because they thought their bluetooth Bose dustbinlids were the bees' nuts before they got on board... ????????

It really depends what you are looking for.

If you are looking for noise cancelling headphones, I agree with Obsydian that the Sony WH-1000MX3 at around £330 is almost certainly the best you can get. Sound quality is pretty decent although obviously not quite up to the best at the price without noise cancellation. The previous generation Sony (the WH-1000MX2) has just been discounted at Currys and others to around £199 - noise cancelling still very good and sound quality probably on a par with the MK3.  

I haven't used headphones myself at home for many years, but was recently looking for a pair of good noise cancellation headphones with decent sound for use whilst travelling. I settled on last years Bose Quiet Comfort 25 model which is almost on a par with the Sony WH-1000MX2 from a noise cancellation perspective, and its equal for sound quality. They are also very comfortable indeed (as their name implies). I didn't want to pay a lot of money for something that would only be used while travelling, and at £129 from PC World/Currys (they originally sold for almost £300) they met the bill very well indeed. The only two potential downsides to the QC25 are that 1) they do not have Bluetooth (the latest generation phones do)  and 2) they are not re-chargeable and instead use a single AAA battery. Neither of these is an issue for me, and I actually find the use of a replaceable battery to be an advantage.

So, probably not of interest to you if your interest is out and out sound quality on the road rather than an all round device with NC, nor if the thought of saving quite a bit of money on your own Christmas present doesn't appeal. However, I reckon that they could be a bit of a bargain for many at their current price.       

Can’t be that smug and superior with an Android phone.

another vote for the Bose Quiet Comfort 'phones. i bought a pair for our recent trip to India and they were indeed pleasant to wear during the long-haul flight. i agree with a previous poster's take that noise cancellation more than makes up for the fact that the Bose rig is not the last word in high fidelity. the Bluetooth connection to one's phone or laptop is excellent, as well.

Having listened to a pair of B & W P 5's for years, last year I decided to consider some new headphones for my commute.    I heard and enjoyed both the Audioquest Night Owl Carbon and the Audeze EL-8 Titanium.    Ultimately, I chose the Audeze headphones which come with a special cable which includes a small DAC and also allow me to integrate them with my phone functions on my i Phone.    Both phones are too large for any on the go portable use such as jogging, but on my commute by train, they are fine.

Good luck,

Bruce

I use Bose Quietconfort 25 headphones when travelling, and have used on tube and bus as well as plane - their nose cancellation helps with music play, without being hugely bulky. They work fine off iPhone. (And have inbuilt microphone which could’ve usefulwith phone) 

Mike1951 posted:

Dungassin posted:

I've 'retired' my B&W headphones, as the right channel has become 'intermittent'.  SWMBO used them last week as ear protectors when she was using our shredder to clear the leaves from the garden!

I've replaced them with a £70 pair of Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 earbuds.  Nice, but possibly a little lacking at the bass end.  However they fit well, don't fall out, and provide good insulation from external sound.  Also, don't seem to suffer much from the sound leakage that the Apple supplied buds do.

Do you commute by train? Buds aren't any good for the "Competitive Headphone Comparison" stakes, as those encumbered with various exotic ear bins spend their time slyly checking out the competition in the carriage today and either feeling smug and superior because they're using gold and black B&W PX's with a Dragonfly red DAC and Audioquest Golden Gate cable (SWIDT?) or bitter and upset because they thought their bluetooth Bose dustbinlids were the bees' nuts before they got on board... ????????

I'm retired, and have recently reached my three score and ten!  The only time you'll see me on a train is when we go from our youngest daughter's house in Sutton Coldfield into Birmingham to hear the CBSO.  Easier than parking/driving there, especially with all the 'dig up the road to congest the traffic schemes' going on there at the moment.

The phones are really just for holiday use with my iPhone.  I'm not into these 'willy-waving' contests.

If they are comfortable, suggest going with IEMs.  Shure and Etymotic are the one I have experience with, each with models w/in your budget.  The Sennheiser IE8, mentioned earlier, is one I have interest in, but never an opportunity to listen.