[sejorules]

Hi all!
I currently own the HD202 from Sennheiser. I spend 8 hours a day in the office with these on, and I get pretty tired of wearing them, so I'm thinking about acquiring a better gear. In the past, I owned the Creative Aurvana (which broke one cold day) and the AKG K81 (too painful to wear it for more than an hour), and this time I want to extend the budget a little bit more.
I mainly listen to Rock, Metal and Classical music, and more sporadically to other genres. I'm interested in some headphones that don't need to be unamped to sound good, although I will think about buying an amp in the future. Also, they need to be comfortable. The main reason I'm ditching the 202s is because I can't wear them through the whole day, but I like the sound I get from them. I have been looking around, and I have set my eyes on the Shure SRH840, but I'd like to know if there are any other options out there.
Of course, I'll try to test the headphones before buying them, but I'm living in a small city in Sweden, and availability can be a problem.
 
Thanks a lot guys!
 
EDIT: I forgot to add that I also use the headphones to play piano. With the previous ones, I could hear a noise (sort of like the noise you get when you plug in the speakers while they are on) when playing certain notes around the middle and higher part of the keyboard. It also happens when I play a song on the computer that has said notes. Anybody mind telling me why is this happening? Is it possible to fix it somehow?

 

[sejorules]

I have trimmed down the list of candidates to the following one:
 
Shure SRH840
Sennheiser HD598 (or maybe the HD558)
Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro (or maybe the DT-880 Pro)
Philips Fidelio X1
Sennheiser Momentum
AKG K702
 
Any help will be appreciated!

 

[sejorules]

bumping.
Any good soul can give me some advice?

 

[JK1]

  I have trimmed down the list of candidates to the following one:
 
Shure SRH840
Sennheiser HD598 (or maybe the HD558)
Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro (or maybe the DT-880 Pro)
Philips Fidelio X1
Sennheiser Momentum
AKG K702
 
Any help will be appreciated!

Do you want an open or closed headphone? A closed headphone will give better bass and isolation(an open headphone gives no isolation), however it will give a much narrower soundstage, and will likely be much less comfortable due to ears overheating and/or clamping force. An open Sennheiser headphone like the HD598 will give great midrange detail, which includes vocals. They are also very comfortable for most people.

 

[sejorules]

Hi @JK1 thanks for replying.
Well, so far I only had closed headphones, but maybe I should give a try to the open ones. The place where I mostly listen to music is in a quiet office, and I can sacrifice isolation in exchange for good sound and comfort.

 

[JK1]

  Hi @JK1 thanks for replying.
Well, so far I only had closed headphones, but maybe I should give a try to the open ones. The place where I mostly listen to music is in a quiet office, and I can sacrifice isolation in exchange for good sound and comfort.

A good open circumaural headphone like the Sennheiser HD598 will be great for classical music. Those who listen to rock though, and want hard hitting bass are likely not to be satisfied with an open circumaural headphone. 

 

[sejorules]

Do you have any recommendations on which one could be a better choice given the budget. I have seen lots of people recommending Grado headphones for this genre, but I really don't like on ear headphones.

 

[JK1]

I guess for an open headphone you should try the HD598. It should be easy enough in Europe to find places to listen to the HD598. How far away are you from the nearest large city?

 

[sejorules]

Perfect! I'll give them a try. I'm more or less one hour away from a big city, so either I'll drive there, or wait for the next trip. One last question, for closed circumaural headphones, do you have any recommendations?
 
Thanks a lot!

 

[Transmaniacon]

Just know that with an open headphone, it will leak sound.  If there are other people in your office, they will hear your music.  I would probably stick with closed unless you won't be bothering anyone.

 

[Hachiroku]

Hi, I've been having a lot of trouble with headphones over the years, mainly because of really sensitive ears- can't really stand many model types like stressful on-ears, pairs with strong clamp etc. Although I can't give you a sound expertise on anything, I can say out of experience that Philips Fidelio X1 has been the best choice for me so far. Using them even over 10 hours sometimes and they cause no pain, my ears are sitting comfy and breathing without getting warm. Sound-wise I really enjoy them as well, while I don't find the bass that controlled, it's not boomy at all. I think they even show a bit of their potential without amping, so with a decent setup you should get good soundstage and a slightly warm tone (I think so at least, they're surely not dark or completely neutral). 
 
Good luck with your choice ! 
 
Edit: grammar

 

[sejorules]

Hi all.
@Transmaniacon I am sitting alone in the office, so I won't be bothering anybody. But thanks for the warning!
 
@Hachiroku I will try to find the Fidelio X1 and give them a try. Unfortunately, it is a model that is becoming harder to find, and the X2 are out of my budget. Good to know that they can be extremely comfortable, because the reviews that people were posting made me want to try them.