Looking for comfortable, durable open-back headphones for all-day use under $100
Aug 24, 2020 at 12:55 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 34
midix

midix

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Hi there.

I currently have Samson SR850 headphones and I'm looking for something of at least the same quality and comfort to replace them.

Here's what I liked about SR850 :
- sound quality - fully acceptable. I enjoyed both communicating with my colleagues (working from home) and also watching movies, listening to music (light rock, ambient, world music, ethnic electronica) and gaming. SR850 has a pretty neutral sound.
- comfort - they were on the tight side at first but keeping them stretched on a pillow for some days helped a lot :) However, I have a small head, I'm a short and skinny person. Otherwise, they were just fine for all the years. No sweating at all.
- open back. I need to hear people around me.

What's wrong with SR850 , you'll ask?
- build quality - they have served me well for about 3 years but now they are falling apart. Essentially, all the plastic pieces just broke at the places around screw holes. I shouldn't ask for more, I guess, for the price I paid ($40, if I remember correctly).
- the cord is smearing my clothes. I cleaned it with alcohol and whatnot, and still, after a few days, I always notice a dark spot on my clothes at that exact location where the cord rubs at my chest.

So, I'm looking for something that I can keep on my ears for like 8 hours with some short breaks. Something with soft pads (to avoid sweating), but also durable enough to serve me for some time. It would also be nice to have a more solid build construction that would last for more than 3 years, but, sigh, that's what we have nowadays. And also to have a soft cord that doesn't stiffen from bodily fats and does not smear my clothes, if possible.

If you happen to be working in headphones a lot and if they happen to be very comfy, long-lasting open-back headphones with decent sound quality, I'll be happy for suggestions.
 
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Aug 25, 2020 at 4:11 AM Post #2 of 34
midix said:
Hi there.

I currently have Samson SR880 headphones and I'm looking for something of at least the same quality and comfort to replace them.

Here's what I liked about SR880:
- sound quality - fully acceptable. I enjoyed both communicating with my colleagues (working from home) and also watching movies and gaming. It's just a pretty neutral sound.
- comfort - they were on the tight side at first but keeping them stretched on a pillow for some days helped a lot :) However, I have a small head, I'm a short and skinny person. Otherwise, they were just fine for all the years. No sweating at all.
- open back. I need to hear people around me.

What's wrong with SR880, you'll ask?
- build quality - they have served me well for about 3 years but now they are falling apart. Essentially, all the plastic pieces just broke at the places around screw holes. I shouldn't ask for more, I guess, for the price I paid ($40, if I remember correctly).
- the cord is smearing my clothes. I cleaned it with alcohol and whatnot, and still, after a few days, I always notice a dark spot on my clothes at that exact location where the cord rubs at my chest.

So, I'm looking for something that I can keep on my ears for like 8 hours with some short breaks. Something with soft pads (to avoid sweating), but also durable enough to serve me for some time. It would also be nice to have a more solid build construction that would last for more than 3 years, but, sigh, that's what we have nowadays. And also to have a soft cord that doesn't stiffen from bodily fats and does not smear my clothes, if possible.

If you happen to be working in headphones a lot and if they happen to be very comfy, long-lasting open-back headphones with decent sound quality, I'll be happy for suggestions.
Click to expand...

You could have a look at audio-technica's ATH-AD series. The ATH-AD500X have quite a solid build quality and are relatively neutral and airy sound if a bit bass light. You do get a fantastic soundstage as with all ADs. There's also the ATH-AVA500. Good build quality as well but with a more full bodied sound though sound stage isn't as good. Both are self-adjusting though the AVA is tighter on the head and the don't have any of the awful pleather. Both have the same cable, soft rubber coated. The velour pads aren't so good though if you'll be using them somewhere hot.
 
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Aug 25, 2020 at 10:20 AM Post #4 of 34
Thank you for the suggestions.

I just looked around my local shops for these audio-technica models.

The pricing and model availability seems to be very different on my side of "the big pond" - in North-East of Europe. The prices are comparable to Amazon Germany (I sometimes buy from there when I can't find something in local shops).

ATH-AD500X ended up being rarely available and costs about 150$, and ATH-AVA500 seems to be entirely gone from Europe.

Open-back and semi-open seems to be rare and not popular in this price range. The only options I could find for under 100$ were Koss UR40, Grado SR60e, Sennheiser HD 559. That's a pity. I had Beyerdynamic open-back headphones 10 years ago and they were definitely under 100$, but now I don't see any such options on Beyerdynamic website.
 
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Aug 25, 2020 at 10:39 AM Post #5 of 34
There's always the koss portapro. Build quality is something to be left to desire though, especially the cable but despite the massive amount of headphones I've owned over the years, the portapro still remains one of my favourites and they still work. Plus the rhythm beige is to my eyes really cool looking. There's also the Philip SHP-9500 but I haven't heard them personally.
 
Aug 25, 2020 at 12:20 PM Post #8 of 34
Superlux is your friend:wink:
I’d probably get an HD681 as well as an HD668 and see which one sounds the best...or indeed keep both as they’re cheap as chips.
Good luck:)
 
Aug 25, 2020 at 12:36 PM Post #9 of 34
midix said:
Hi there.

I currently have Samson SR850 headphones and I'm looking for something of at least the same quality and comfort to replace them.
...
So, I'm looking for something that I can keep on my ears for like 8 hours with some short breaks. Something with soft pads (to avoid sweating), but also durable enough to serve me for some time. It would also be nice to have a more solid build construction that would last for more than 3 years, but, sigh, that's what we have nowadays. And also to have a soft cord that doesn't stiffen from bodily fats and does not smear my clothes, if possible.

If you happen to be working in headphones a lot and if they happen to be very comfy, long-lasting open-back headphones with decent sound quality, I'll be happy for suggestions.
Click to expand...

Sennheiser hd 559? Prices are between 76,25 euro and 95 euro.
They are comfortable, cable is detachable and the sound is non-fatiguing.
 
Aug 25, 2020 at 12:38 PM Post #10 of 34
Wait, I see you have mentioned them already as an option LOL
 
Aug 25, 2020 at 12:44 PM Post #11 of 34
Also, it would be nice to get an upgrade sound-wise. I mean - those SR850 were almost a legend for the price and someone compared them even to 200$ models.

Now I found that Takstar PRO seems to be the new "budget legend" :smile: But they are closed-back, unfortunately.

About Philips SHP9500 - it seems, now I can get them only from AliExpress, and often it might be SHP9500S version without even mentioning S in the description. I might try them, but I'm yet not sure what the difference is with that S (have to read some more).

In the end, I might end up with PortaPro for all-day work and something else for music and movies, although it would become a bit inconvenient to switch every time. Also, I'm listening to music while working, so the line between work-music gets blurred.
 
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