[i.have.ears]

Hi! I’m a newbie…been researching for the past couple months trying to find the perfect headphones, and I need some help. Here’s some Info

FEATURES I WANT:

• Over-the-head style
• Circumaural
• Lightweight (no more than 10oz, and that’s pushing it…4-6 is ideal)
• Comfort is very important. I need to be able to wear them for 2+ hrs at a time without having to take more than a 2-minute break. I don’t want things that will have too much pressure. I want a loose fit.
• Can’t decide between open or closed. I prefer the sound of open, but don’t want nearby people to be disturbed, as I’ll mainly be using these in places that are usually more quiet. At the same time, I prefer that closed keep more sound out. Ideally, I would like an open phone that didn’t leak too much and kept a good amount of sound out (i.e.. wearing them with no music muffles conversation)
• Portability isn’t a very big issue. I don’t need anything collapsible or anything. Just something I can stick in a backpack and that isn’t too huge.
• No noise canceling…I don’t like the buzz they produce, and sometimes they work so well that I literally can’t hear people yelling at me. So I’m fine with just having a circumaural set block out some of the noise.
• Good sized cable length (i.e. at least 5ft, though I’d prefer 10)

PRICE RANGE:

• Up to $100 using Amazon prices, which are considerably cheaper than other places. They have several $200 pairs for under $100.
• Would prefer a set around $50ish, but if there is something amazing for $100, I can do that. Even if it’s more, ebay may have it new for cheap, so mention it anyway.

ABOUT ME

• Average sized ears
• Big head
• Mainly listen to R&B, Jazz, Blues, Classical. I do some pop, some reggae. No rock/punk, and almost no country.

WHAT IM CONSIDERING

• Mainly Sennheiser (apparently they are AMAZING)
• For Open:
• HD 485 (Nervous about how much sound is leaked)
• eH 350 (nervous about supposed comfort issues)
• For Closed:
• EH 250 (Nervous about supposedly “overpowering” base)
• HD 212 (same concerns)
• Basically, I’m in conflict between all 4 because of the conflicting reviews I’ve read on Amazon and cnet.

WHAT IVE TRIED (this may help you to get a feel for what I like)

• Sennheiser EH-150’s (closed) in a store. There ear-cups were on the smaller side, but fit me just right. They had a lot of bass, which was surprising, but I think I liked it. I admit that the base was muddy, but I figured they probably just need breaking in. Highs and mids seemed pretty good to me, but I’m no audiophile. I sampled it with R&B.
• Sennheiser HD-280: A friend has these. They sound amazing. The reason I don’t like them is because they are so cumbersome. I couldn’t really carry them anywhere unless they were on my head. So that’s a negative.
• Bose Triport Around-Ear TP-1: These were the most comfortable pair of phones I’ve worn to date. Unfortunately, I wasn’t that impressed with the sound. Even though the sound was fairly even in highs and mids, it missed a lot of the bass parts in some of my jazz favorites. Still, though, comfort was unbelievable, and exactly the fit I was looking for.
• Koss UR-40s: Amazing comfort, but cheaply made (as in I could tell it would fall apart after a few months of intense use). Also, that cord was WAY too short. Sound wasn’t too great either.
• I wish I could try more, but I’m not near anywhere that sells sennheisers

So that’s it. Please give me some feedback and/or recommendations, especially if you own a set of any of the models I’m looking at, or if you think you know of a pair of headphones that aligns well with my interests. Thank you!!