[Nepenthe]

We issue these horrible little Labtec headphones to our processing reps at my company. These things are really only good for reviewing phone quality recordings a few minutes at a time. The sound that comes to mind recalls the worst walkmen headset you remember from the 80s, and they start to feel uncomfortable despite their featherweight after just a few minutes. They're also constantly shorting out and being discarded.
 
A lot of these people spend 45+ hours/week listening to music, and a lot of them plug into their PCs (the younger ones sometimes use an MP3 player or phone + earbuds, but on the whole there are a lot of people using the PC and Pandora or last.fm and other various internet radio stuff), but most of them (85%) stick with the Labtecs. You can see how this offends me. But a lot of them don't know any better and aren't willing to spend any extra money on sound or comfort.
 
Now it's almost end of year, and we have some extra money that we can spend (or watch it go away), and I want to put my vote in for acquiring more comfortable and better sounding headphones for the floors of processors here. Even the ones who use an iPod might benefit if they're still using the earbuds. So I'm looking for one or two models (circumaural and supraaural would be good) that emphasize comfort and durability, while producing a slightly upgraded, non-fatiguing sound. They have to be able to be driven well out of a pretty crummy business PC integrated soundcard headphone output. And they have to be available in bulk.
 
Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[UnityIsPower]

I'm no expert, just joined. What have you looked up so far? Monoprice 8323... look them up, about 20 and discount with bulk purchase.

 

[Nepenthe]

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10823&cs_id=1082302&p_id=8323&seq=1&format=2
 
^Wow, that may be just the thing! I hadn't really looked a whole lot up since I've never dabbled in this end of the pool. Thanks a lot!

 

[UnityIsPower]

Quote:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10823&cs_id=1082302&p_id=8323&seq=1&format=2
 
^Wow, that may be just the thing! I hadn't really looked a whole lot up since I've never dabbled in this end of the pool. Thanks a lot!

Hold on tiger.... LOL. I am no authority, still waiting for someone to answer my question on what first headphone I should get. I just happen to stumble on the Monoprice after reading many hours of headphone dabble. Understand I haven't even tried the Monoprice myself. If however you already got this impression from the "I'm not an expert, just joined" and I indeed helped you find a good contender for what you need... Great! glade I could help I would feel better as would you(I'm sure) if more people back up the Monoprice as a good choice... Bazinga!
 
"that may be just the thing!" lets hope it is.

 

[Nepenthe]

Well, it looks like a good starting point anyway. I can research them and make a recommendation (powerpoint) and hopefully spend the money ($4000 to $6000).

 

[Bee inthe Attic]

check out the Sennheiser HD 201

 

[Spardasieg]

Those monoprice, I know nothing about them but wow I have never seen a detachable cord on a 20 dollar pair before! What are these comparable to price wise...?

Found a review http://www.head-fi.org/t/569239/monoprice-hi-fi-dj-style-headphone-review

Not bad for 20 bucks...

 

[SanjiWatsuki]

The Monoprices are my suggestion. I do not suggest the low-end Sennheisers.

 

[PANGES]

They may look ugly, but you might want to try looking into Koss PortaPros. I've been tossing my pair around for a while, and while they look cheap, they're pretty durable and sound surprisingly good for the price. I picked up mine for around $34 shipped on Amazon, but you can probably find some retailer (or maybe contact Koss directly) to work out some sort of bulk deal at a lower price.
 
 

 

[UnityIsPower]

Quote:

Those monoprice, I know nothing about them but wow I have never seen a detachable cord on a 20 dollar pair before! What are these comparable to price wise...?
Found a review http://www.head-fi.org/t/569239/monoprice-hi-fi-dj-style-headphone-review
Not bad for 20 bucks...

 
Apparently nothing... LOL. It took me a long time to find them after I started looking up headphone info. I was actually going to buy them but I have all my headphone money in the form of a amazon gift card after trading in all my old books. Trade-in FTW!

 
Quote:

Well, it looks like a good starting point anyway. I can research them and make a recommendation (powerpoint) and hopefully spend the money ($4000 to $6000).

Cool... powerpoint up that sucker. For the price, you could simply buy a pair for yourself and test them out!
 

 

[UnityIsPower]

Any updates Nepenthe?

 

[Nepenthe]

Yes. A big fat no. The money went elsewhere.
 
But, at least I have a couple of choices to show people who want to spend their own money on something more comfy and better sounding, and if I do get to spend some money I know where to go.
 
Thanks!

 

[Mbrodyj]

I would highly suggest otherwise. Those mono prices look to be the EXACT same build/headband/everything as the kicker hp541 and hp541tj. But yet kicker is much more expensive and the driver is much better. 
 
But the quality and durability of the actual headphones is COMPLETE crap. The cheap (I mean really cheap) build of the headband is absolutely horrible. For as thick as the headband looks, you would think they would take time to use some decent plastic.  The headphones is made in such a way the headband seems to be overstreched on even the smallest of heads. The top flexible/padded part is connected to the other 2 sides horribly. I had my headphones for 2 days and the hard plastic part where it connectswas already pulling away from the flexible part. There was about a 1mm or two gap where there should be none. Then the swivel part of the cups is extremely cheap to, it comes loose at te slightest of stretching. 
 
But: the sound on the kickers is really good. Durability, laughable to say the least. 
 
 

 

[Mbrodyj]

Oh did I forget to mention the comfort on those headphones are horrible as well. The clamping is very tight as it is already closed from start and the slightest stretch nearly over stretches the headphone

 

[JK1]

The JVC HAS160 is very inexpensive and has great sound for the price. It does seem very durable. Sometimes this sells for under $10 retail, so for a bulk buy you might be able to get it for $8 each or perhaps even less. It is my favorite headphone under $30. B&H has it in black for $9.59, however you might be able to get a much better price on a bulk order. You should buy one locally and try it out. Many retailers sell it , but many charge $15, $20,  or even more for it. Paying that much for a single one to try it out  wouldn't be so bad.
 
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=HAS160&N=0&InitialSearch=yes