[POS]

Hi,

I'm starting a PhD soon and have been advised by others to get a pair of headphones, as I'll be working in an open office which can get very distracting. I'd like a little advice on which pair to choose. Here are the key criteria:

1. Comfortable. I'll be wearing them for most of the day, every day.
2. Noise isolating. I don't want to hear others and they don't want to hear me.
3. Sound quality. I'm not a complete audiophile but I do love listening to music. I own a pair of Ultimate Ears 5 pro so have had a bit of experience with quality earphones. I'll be using them at home for listening to music and playing guitar silently.
4. Durability. I'll be travelling a lot and don't want them to break in some random country where they won't be fixable.

Price range: anything up to ~£150 (as good as my hardware will allow)

Music tastes: Metal, folk, classical

Devices: Mainly a laptop with a Creative X-fi Go USB soundcard, but also a Sony S-series MP3 player


The two I've been thinking of are the Denon AH-D1001 and the Sennheiser HD25 1-II, but I'm sure there are other options out there.

Thanks for any help!

 

[NapalmK]

Welcome to Head-Fi.

The HD25-1 II is a great can. They are on ear though which gave me some problems with comfort but if you don't have this problem they are great. I don't have a lot of time with them but FWIR they are almost indestructible. Another consideration may be the Audio Technica M50's as they also fit your criteria.

 

[rhythmdevils]

I don't mean to be rude or anything, but does your username stand for Piece Of Sh!t?

oh, and Welcome to Head-fi, sorry about your wallet, your sanity, and your time

 

[nitrotron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NapalmK /img/forum/go_quote.gif Welcome to Head-Fi. The HD25-1 II is a great can. They are on ear though which gave me some problems with comfort but if you don't have this problem they are great. I don't have a lot of time with them but FWIR they are almost indestructible. Another consideration may be the Audio Technica M50's as they also fit your criteria.

Go with what he said and grab yourself the HD25-1 II. If you can get the velour pads with them, then you check off all the requirements for your list.

 

[wantmyf1]

Are you considering IEM's at all? Only that they'll provide better isolation than just about any headphone. If it's only between the two you mentioned I'll go with the crowd and recommend the Senns as well.

 

[POS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhythmdevils /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't mean to be rude or anything, but does your username stand for Piece Of Sh!t? oh, and Welcome to Head-fi, sorry about your wallet, your sanity, and your time

Ha, actually it stands for a band 'Pain of Salvation'. Guess I didn't think that one through then...


I don't want to use IEM's because I find after more than 3 or 4 hours a day and my ears start to feel sore/weird.

 

[flexium]

I agree with what you said about IEM. Your best bet is to get some sort of closed headphones, like RP-21 for good bass response or other Ultrasone's headphones.

You should tell us more about what type of music do you like? Do you value high more or mids or the low end?

 

[chrisjackson]

When I saw "POS" I thought of "point of sale". Honest.
No love here for Beyerdynamic? Does velour make a big difference for long term comfort? How about DT250 or DT770 Pro 80 ohm models?

 

[Mr Joboto]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NapalmK /img/forum/go_quote.gif Welcome to Head-Fi. The HD25-1 II is a great can. They are on ear though which gave me some problems with comfort but if you don't have this problem they are great. I don't have a lot of time with them but FWIR they are almost indestructible. Another consideration may be the Audio Technica M50's as they also fit your criteria.

Lol, knew you'd insta-recommend the M50
Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisjackson /img/forum/go_quote.gif When I saw "POS" I thought of "point of sale". Honest. No love here for Beyerdynamic? Does velour make a big difference for long term comfort? How about DT250 or DT770 Pro 80 ohm models?

Yay, some love for the DT250, ill x2 this

 

[NapalmK]

Lol. Yeah I'm really getting sick of recommending them.

 
I guess they deserve to be mentioned though so the OP can do some research and make a decision.