Good headphones?

[WiiUBricker]

I only have cheap headphones. Usually I buy the same when my old ones break. And they break often. This time I want to go with something more durable that can be premium priced. The problem is I don't have a clue about which headphones are good and popular. There are many to choose from. I reckon that Sony is a good headphone brand? Any recommendations?

Edit: Over-Ear or In-Ear headphones don't matter. Both will do.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

What's your budget?

You could grab some Sennheisers, the HD598's are excellent, something from Audio Technica like the ATH M50s, or even the M30s if you don't want to pay too much

 

[felix.200]

I really like the Sennheiser HD 598's they are very comfortable and sound great. They are currently about 150$. But please dont expect too much bass from them they sound very neutral.

 

[bitjacker]

you would be better off getting a good headphone amp and keep using crappy headphones

 

[Clanver]

The beyerdynamic DT Series is great as well (maybe the closed DT-770 as a cheap option first?). You can choose which version you like, open, closed and so on~

You need a preamp to use them though.

I personally did not try them out but the above mentioned ATH M50s is considered by many one of the best headphones for the money.

But try to stay away from gaming headsets and the like. .

 

[BORTZ]

Headphone cables will fray and stop working after a time, so IMO its a good idea to find some with either a replaceable aux jack or something that skirts the line of affordable/quality.

I have a $30 pair of Sony inears that deliver a better than average range of frequencies but aren't going to break the bank when they need replacing.

 

[RevPokemon]

What music do you like?

 

[mgrev]

Street by 50, SMS audio. had theese for 3 and a half years now and they have AMAZING sound quality and are very very durable!

 

[Hells Malice]

Pretty much take whatever your budget is and get the best sennheiser headphones you can afford. Amazing brand that never lets me down.

Headphone cables will fray and stop working after a time, so IMO its a good idea to find some with either a replaceable aux jack or something that skirts the line of affordable/quality.

I have a $30 pair of Sony inears that deliver a better than average range of frequencies but aren't going to break the bank when they need replacing.

I've had my current headphones for a solid 6 years (and i'm not kind to them like I should be) and they still work good as new. Granted they're pretty high end headphones from Sennheiser.
I do like headphones with a replaceable cord but it's not really the biggest deal to look out for.

 

[Weyu]

You should list your budget and what you want to use them for, and what characteristics you value most.
There is really too much stuff out there, otherwise people can only just name something.

That said, most German brands are built like tanks. My fav headphone brand is Audio Technica so I'm inclined to recommend those.
There are models in the A/AD series that should fit most budgets.

 

[DarkJediRey]

Whatever you do, don't blow money on Beats. When i was doing audio work, the Sony 7506 were pretty much the broadcast standard. But ended up with a pair of sennheiser 280. nice reference quality and good bass. they will probably blow your eardrums before the headphones distort too, that is if your input levels are good

 

[WiiUBricker]

I ended up with Sony MDR-1A headphones. They are pretty light on the ears. But for the life of me I can't make up a difference between them and my cheap over-ear headphones even though reviews say they sound pretty good. Perhaps I have bad source material although I don't think iTunes tracks and CD-to-FLAC rips would lack quality. Perhaps I have just bad ears or I'm not good at comparing music quality. Anyway, I'm still gonna keep them.

 

[DarkJediRey]

Those look nice! To really test them out you'd need a flat input without colorization of the sound. Your sound card, phone, even home receiver will all do this to some degree. Probably why you're not seeing the drastic difference in quality yet. Still think you made a good choice

 

[DaniPoo]

For anyone who want's new headphones that are good but not too expensive I can highly recommend the Audio Technica ATH-m50x.
These headphones are my everyday headphones as well as my studio companions. The have a relatively flat sound with small peaks in the high and low frequencies (not overwhelmingly so)

I would say the music with female vocals or heavymetal vocals sounds the best, the vocals are crisp and bass is tight and not muddy.

They have nice and soft padding and does not push too hard against your ears som expect hours of use without any discomfort

 

[Weyu]

I ended up with Sony MDR-1A headphones. They are pretty light on the ears. But for the life of me I can't make up a difference between them and my cheap over-ear headphones even though reviews say they sound pretty good. Perhaps I have bad source material although I don't think iTunes tracks and CD-to-FLAC rips would lack quality. Perhaps I have just bad ears or I'm not good at comparing music quality. Anyway, I'm still gonna keep them.

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It's easier to perceive changes from good to bad than the other way around, so if you're interested you can listen to your new ones for a while and then go back to the old ones.
You'll most likely hear a difference then.

(But even so, most likely you'll just be hearing volume differences, there's no real point in comparisons without level matching besides getting a general idea)