[hdnov9]

I am looking to buy open - over the ear headphones to watch movies on the laptop. Right now I am using sony closed - over the ear ones but they are not comfortable at all. Looking for ones which can be used daily for around 2 to 3 hours.
 
My assumption is that open - over the ear ones are more ergonomic to ears and hopefully do less damage then closed ones at the same sound level.
 
I have searched a lot, been searching for a week now lol and finally came to Sennheiser HD 558, 518 and 598. I was about to buy 598 but then I came across something new called "DAC and AMP", I really have no idea about amp/dac, upon searching more I found that I would need to buy an AMP for HD 598 if I want to use with laptop.
 
I really dont want to buy an AMP, so can someone please help me in choosing the right headphones for just watching movies on laptop which doesnt need an AMP?
 
I am not from the US, so we dont have a lot of brands available here, I will be using this site so I would appreciate if someone can tell me an option from this site (I am not sure if its allowed to post a link or not, if it isnt, then I am sorry)
 
Thanks!

 

[NA Blur]

The Audio Technica ATH-AD700 is an excellent open headphone that can be found for $100 or less.
 
http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATH-AD700-Open-air-Audiophile-Headphones/dp/B000CMS0XU
 
They are a tad light in the bass so if bass is what you require you may want to try something else like the Superlux HD668B.
 
Here is a frequency comparison chart between the two:
http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompare.php?graphType=0&graphID[]=3301&graphID[]=2661
 
Neither of these headphones will need an amp.
 
When you mention "over the ear ones are more ergonomic to ears and hopefully do less damage then closed ones at the same sound level" what exactly do you mean?  Is just the outside of your ear hurting or is it something more about the inner ear and your hearing?  Do you experience excessive ringing in your years?

 

[hdnov9]

Hi,
 
Thanks for your reply. I meant about hearing. I started using headphones 2.5 to 3 years back (daily usage, 1.5 to 2.5 hrs approx) and for the past 1.5 years I am having little hearing loss. Many times I cant understand what exactly the person is saying.  
 
I am having ringing in my years as well, whenever there is pin drop silence I can hear ringing, if I try to concentrate, it increases. However I am not sure exactly when I got the ringing issue (if from childhood or if from 3 years), right now I am 21.
 
Thanks again

 

[NA Blur]

The thing to remember about headphones is not to turn up the volume when you listen on an airplane or other mass transit vehicle because the loudness of the music will be masked by the ambient noise.  I noticed this with my ATH-M50 headphones on a plane.  I had to have the volume very near max to clearly hear the music over the plane rumble.  At this level, with no plane noise, it was well passed ear blistering levels.  Using an IEM or Quiet Comfort Q15 is much better for your hearing in that case.
 
There are of course other methods for protecting our hearing, but none more affective than lowering the volume a few notches.
 
If the problem persists I would take a 1 week break from headphone and loud music listening.  If the problem still persists you may want to schedule an audiologist appointment and have your hearing / inner ears checked.  Our hearing does change for the worse as we get older so some hearing loss is expected.

 

[biggbenn74]

I completely agree here with the AD700. For the money, those headphones have a great sound when it comes to movies. Under 100 bucks on amazon.

 

[HideousPride]

You do not need an amp to drive the Senn 598s. I have amps but often run them unamped hooking them directly into my laptop/desktop. They sound fine as is.
 
The hearing loss is quite concerning. I would definitely get that checked if at all possible, ringing in the ears is never a good sign, especially if it persists.