[Mochiman]

Hi,

I’m looking for headphones to listen audiobooks, lectures, talks, radio programs and podcast when travelling.

I tried Sennheiser HD25 and really liked them. Their noise isolation was good and the neutral response range made human voices so clear. Unfortunately HD25’s on-ear design was not for me: they pressed my ears so hard that I couldn't wear them for longer periods. I experience in-ears uncomfortable as well, so over-ears would probably be the best option for me.

I'd be happy to hear suggestions for headphones with following specs:

- Can be driven by a smartphone without extra amplification
- Closed-back with good passive noise isolation
- Over-ear – comfortable
- Portable and durable
- Lightweight
- Easy to move around with (don’t fall off easily)
- Wired – preferably max 1.5m or possibility to replace with a standard wire
- Clear neutral midrange, since I listen a lot to audiobooks etc.

Budget is not fixed, but since I listen to music mostly at home with other equipment so it’s unnecessary to go overboard with this. However, I prefer durable stuff.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[goldsmith83]

Bowers & Wilkins P7.

 

[Mhog55]

Do you want over or on ear? You mentioned liking the HD 25s, and those are on ears. If you want on ears, the Thinksound On2 is really, really good. Fits your wishes nicely. If you want over ear, maybe take a look at the Audio Technica ath-msr7.

 

[serman005]

NAD Viso HP50 could potentially work

 

[yong_shun]

Sennheiser HD4.30.
If you want wireless - HD4.40BT
If you want noise cancellation - HD4.50BTNC

 

[Mochiman]

Thank you for all the answers.

I’ll look into these headphones and see if I could test them somewhere. Some people seem to complain about the small cups of Sennheiser HD4.30 so I wouldn’t like to just order them without testing.

Thinksound On2 is probably not an option, because the on-ear design of Sennheiser HD25 was so uncomfortable for me.

I also found the KRK KNS 8400 that could fit my needs, except that it has a non-standard jack for the wire – but maybe I could live with that since replacement cables are available in eBay.

Please let me know if you have more ideas.

 

[serman005]

Meze 99 Classics might also work for you.