[Senden]

My Sennheiser IE7s choked their last sound this morning and am spending the evening searching for a suitable replacement to buy at the end of the month when I get paid. Anyhow.. when I got my IE7s, earphones were a must as I was doing a lot of travelling but now not so much so I've been exploring the possiblity of over ear headphones too. Usage wise, I used my IE7s for everything pretty much.. movies while watching alone, music from my laptop mainly but also from my phone sometimes and gaming on both PC and Consoles. While they clearly weren't designed for movies and games, they still produced a much cleaner sound than my TV did.  With this in mind, would I be better off moving to Headphones or sticking to earphones? In terms of my own preference, I think I prefer music in my ears while gaming/movies with headphones on however the quality of the headphones I'm now using are pretty bad so I'd probably enjoy my music more with a better quality one. The other big reason why I'm tempted to switch to headphones is durability.. My IE7s lasted me about two years with a LOT of usage and had to replace the cable too once, I'd imagine headphones last a fair bit longer. 
 
Anyhow, in terms of what I'm looking at, I'd probably stick with Sennheiser, have stuck with them for the last six or so years with no complaints to their sound production at least and don't see any reason to change. On my budget I'd say for Headphones I'd be looking at the HD650 and earphones IE8 however if the current price of the HD700s stays the same on amazon, I might be tempted to go over my budget and pick them up instead.. with this in mind, which one would likely produce better sound quality for all things, HD650 or IE8? In terms of music taste, I'd say 75% of everything I listen to is Heavy Metal like Metallica, Disturbed etc however that other 25% is usually when I'm chilling and probably be some laid back jazz or something along those lines. 
 
Thanks for reading, any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. 

 

[b0000]

Headphones can last forever, just take care of it and don't stress the wires.
 
I'd go for the hd650. Just keep in mind that they are open and unsealed and unsuited for travelling or public use.
The hd700 might be too bright for metal.
The ie8 has too much bass.
 
 
 
if you want to try something new, go for a planar magnetic design like the hifiman he400i. It's much much better than the hd700.

 

[lusagi]

Go for both options, a good pair of earphones(earbuds) with detachable cables are great high mobility situations like walking/running and where don't have much room.  It's always good to get that nice pair of over ear headphones for when your in the office or home. 
 
Recommendations are good way to start your search for headphones and try some them out to report back your opinions of them.  Everyone has specific headphones they like, maybe a preference for cheap stuff instead your $1000+ priced headphones.  Also let us know what audio gear you have or plan to buy so we can recommend headphones that work with your system.

 

[billybob_jcv]

I have some Sennheiser HD420 headphones that I bought new 1980 and still use because they sound great. They sat in a box for over 10 years, and one day I pulled them out, changed out the foam pads and plugged them in. They work fine.

I also have an old pair of Koss Pro/4A (probably older than the HD420) that I bought used. They also work fine, although I had to replace the pads because the original pads were completely flat.

IEMs take a lot of abuse, and to top it off, we want them to be as small and light as possible. Everything is tiny, including the wires - which break. I loved my Westone IEMs so much, that I have bought them 4 times in 12 years. 3 of the 4 are dead soldiers...

Head-fi is a cruel mistress that requires sacrifice...

 

[Eclair]

I have sony xba Z5 right now , and im so happy to have it