[skanan]

Hi,

I'm looking for another pair of head phone that is comfortable to wear and sound good. The sound quality is less important than the ergonomics. After all, I prefer to listen to music for 2 hrs instead of 30 minutes because of the torture from the head phone.

By comfortable, I mean
1. Does not press ears or head too hard.
2. Does not heat up my ear too much.
3. Does not have super analytical sound that cause fatigue after one hour.

I narrow my choices to these head phones but open to other suggestions.

AKG K271, SONY CD 2000/3000, Senn HD-580, 590, or 600, Etymotic ER4, ER6
Beyerdynamic DT880.

I have Koss PortaPro, KSC-35 and Senn HD-575. All of them are comfortable for me but I'd like to get better sound.

Thanks,
-Nick

 

[usc goose]

if you have the means to drive them properly akg k501s are pretty much the closest thing to putting on headphones and having them disappear. they're light, they're big enough to be totally circumaural and the massive soundstange is the least fatiguing thing i've heard. i can wear them and listen to them pretty much forever.

 

[hero zero]

Do you have an amp?

I get the impression that the AKG K271 will trap heat....most Beyer's would be pretty good...the DT250-80 if you don't have an amp...if you do, there are the DT531, 931, 770 [dunno if that one gets hot], 880, and 990.....

There are also the higher end audio-technica's....the A900 seems to be pretty good [again, dunno if it traps heat...]

 

[skanan]

Yes. I have an amp.

 

[tom hankins]

DT-880
CD-3000
AKG K501, I've only listened for one night since I just got these but don't think they are in the same league as the other two as far as sound go's.

 

[psyco1]

The hd-590 is super comfortable and the A900 is like putting two big pillows on your head, it having two head pads instead of a headstrap helps a lot.
Out of those two, I'd say the 590 is a bit nicer to wear because it's light and the veloure(sp?) feels nice and it doesn't trap as much heat.

 

[IWalker182]

I've tried the HD590s, the DT880s, and the ATH A900s, and I think the DT880s are by far the most comfortable (the others are comfortable as well...just not nearly as) About 30 seconds after putting on the 880s I forget that they're there. If I'm listening to jazz or classical on them...I start to fall asleep almost immediately...they're that relaxing both in terms of music quality and comfort.

I've never heard or tried on the CD3000s (though these will be the next ones I buy, once I get the money together) but have heard awesome things about the sound quality...so if people are saying they are comfortable, and you have the ~$400 to spend on them...those might be a good choice. For me though, at $250 the 880s are unbelievable in terms of comfort and sound quality.

-now if only my prehead would get here....

-Ian

 

[skanan]

Thanks every one who replied.

How about HD 580/600 VS HD 590 in term of comfortable.

-Nick

 

[destro713]

Personally, I think the 600's have the edge over the 590's because of the crushed velvet on the pads and the thick padding on the strap. But the 590's are still really comfortable -- way more comfy than Grados, even though Grados sound way better.

 

[Habib]

My CD3000 way more comfortable than HD580 despite its size.

 

[wallijonn]

skanan,

you may want to fill out your profile a little more. while you say "The sound quality is less important than the ergonomics," depending on your music style and the volume level you listen to, certain headphones may be recommended over others.

For pure comfort, the K401/K501 can hardly be beat for lightness of lateral pressure and overall weight feel. But you need a powerful and pure amp (just as you would for the DT880). Some find the K401/K501 pads scratchy, while I find that the BD pads soak up a lot of sweat. High volume will cause your ears to extrude more wax which will also promote higher temps inside the ear canal.

The ATHs have side wings but some may be delicate. There is also a pad compression problem with some ATHs. The top headband on the BDs may exert too much pressure if worn snugly for a very tight fit.

There's always the Grados; you just have to make a sock to cover the whole driver so that it doesn't irritate your ear lobes.

Personally I find eggo shaped pads uncomfortable, others do not.

So for rock I would suggest the Grados and the HD590; for jazz and light classical/swing/big band I recommend the K401/K501; for all around general use I suggest the DT880. The CD3000 is too personal a piece and you will have to try it out yourself. It's just like cars - some like big cars, some like mids, while others like minis. You'll just have to try them all out. Since you don't care what they sound like, check out the Sony CD380s - pillows for about $50 - but they break very easily if you do not know how to open them up.

and then there's the Sony F1s....

 

[bluesaint]

I would avoid HD-600 as they were the most uncomfortable for me. I have a R10 and its by far the most comfy fones ever!!

but i also had CD3K's before and they were comfy too, but R10's greek lamb skin is more comfy.. felt so normal.

 

[D-EJ915]

Quote:

The ATHs have side wings but some may be delicate. There is also a pad compression problem with some ATHs. The top headband on the BDs may exert too much pressure if worn snugly for a very tight fit.

I thought the A1000s fixed this problem, anyway, you could always get CD780s, they are about 100 shipped from etronics and are extremely comfortable, albeit slightly looser than the "A"RT series

 

[wallijonn]

skanan,

I have not heard the AKG K271, so I can't help you there. But for the most part the DT880 is light weight and non-fatiguing.

what is too much heat? i would think that most headphones will heat up after 1 hour. heck, even after 1 hour i had to remove the grados. and depending on the volume level / SPL to listen for 3 hours straight they are going to have to be played at under 85 dB. So now the question is, what headphones are flattest at 85 dB? from what I remember, and it is most probably faulty memory, there is a certain point where the HD600, like the HP910, sounds best.

http://www.antonylord.com/pages/djlevels.html (per week exp.)

http://ccrma-www.stanford.edu/~jos/mdft/DB_SPL.html

http://hkusury2.hku.hk/ffng/construc...und_levels.htm

don't forget compression and distortion.

Headroom may be your best best as you can return them before 30 days for an exchange.

D-EJ,

the wings are still made of plastic. the A1000/W1000 are not the only ATHs' with wings.

 

[skanan]

Wallijohn, I just put in the profile. Thanks for taking time to answer my post. I intend to use this headphone with amp. I have tried HD580, HD590, Grado, Sony MDR-F1, and MDR-E888.

MDR-F1 is the most comfortable among these and I liked the sound too. I listended to it about one hour.

I don't like the way supra-aural head phone like Grado press on my ear though.

HD590 sounds similar to HD575 (may be because they use the same driver) that I have but better. Therefor, it's not that excited for me.

-Nick