[bangrahman]

 
Hi guys, I have a question to pose to you guys. I have a budget of £150ish and am looking for portable headphones. Now I've had the Sennheiser HD25 ii's for a while now but as amazing as their sound quality is, they're very uncomfortable for me. I'm not sure why neither. My ears start hurting after about an hours use even when I wear contact lenses. My Sennheiser HD555's are perfectly comfortable, but these get really irritating sometimes. So could you guys give me a list of recommendations? Help would be much appreciated.

 

 

[Armaegis]

Most comfortable headphones I've tried:
Phiaton PS500
Sennheiser HD380
B&W P5
Sennheiser PX100
 
I also found the Beyer DT1350 more comfortable than the HD25 mostly due to the extra rotation available in the cups.

 

[JamesMcProgger]

Quote:

I'm going to be sending them to him soon to review... Been preparing to move for the past month and a half, so I've been busy. I hope to remedy that soon.

these are good news. 

 kudos to you. 
I was tempted long ago but got the HD25 instead and Im happy with them, but would be nice to see the AiAiAi compared.

 

[ljokerl]

 
Quote:

Hi Joker! Nice reviews, I have spent a lot of time reading them. Will you review the AIAIAI TMA-1? I have read other head-fiers reviews but i´d like to know how well they compare to other headphones on their price range. Keep the good work!

Quote:

I'm going to be sending them to him soon to review... Been preparing to move for the past month and a half, so I've been busy. I hope to remedy that soon.

I guess that answers that 

 
Quote:

Hi guys, I have a question to pose to you guys. I have a budget of £150ish and am looking for portable headphones. Now I've had the Sennheiser HD25 ii's for a while now but as amazing as their sound quality is, they're very uncomfortable for me. I'm not sure why neither. My ears start hurting after about an hours use even when I wear contact lenses. My Sennheiser HD555's are perfectly comfortable, but these get really irritating sometimes. So could you guys give me a list of recommendations? Help would be much appreciated.

You probably just can't handle tight-clamping supraaurals. I would recommend going with something that encloses the ear fully, like your HD555s do. Many of the higher-end DJ cans like the ATH-M50 will work. I also find the Denon D1001k/Creative Aurvana Live extremely comfortable, though perhaps not well enough isolating for commuting. The MDR-ZX700 is another one though it too is a compromise.
 

 

[OnlinePredator]

I think you've removed the bottom 7 headphones from the table, as there are only 84 headphones.
And maybe you should rename Tier A to $100-$300 and D to $1-$50.

 

[ljokerl]

 
Quote:

I think you've removed the bottom 7 headphones from the table, as there are only 84 headphones.
And maybe you should rename Tier A to $100-$300 and D to $1-$50.

Not sure why the table is cut off but I didn't do that on purpose, though it's not like anyone will be shopping for the bottom seven...
 
Redoing the tiers is very time-consuming but if things keep going the way they've been going, I may have to change the tiers around. Originally they were just split into approximately equal parts.

 

[Windyridge4]

thanks a million for the reviews, brilliant work!

 

[Raguvian]

Quote:

I'm going to be sending them to him soon to review... Been preparing to move for the past month and a half, so I've been busy. I hope to remedy that soon.

Awesome! Just a quick question (sorry to derail the thread, joker), but how how do you like the TMA-1?

 

[kyuuketsuki]

 
Quote:

Awesome! Just a quick question (sorry to derail the thread, joker), but how how do you like the TMA-1?

 
They have a very Sennheiser-esque sound sig, which works for me, because I got used to it with my Senn iems. So I enjoy them. I A-B'ed them between Roma's HD25-1 IIs, and I have to say that I sorta enjoy them better than the HD25. That could be because I'm used to the laid back and darker sig compared to the brighter HD25s.... That said I can see why some people would enjoy the HD25's more. The TMA's have a better sound stage though. Its only weakness is in the highs which can be compensated with EQ, but its not perfect (I tested with frequency sweeps and could not hear above 19kHz. Where as I could hear 21kHz on my HJE900s). That said, it doesn't debilitate them in any way, in fact it sorta works, because they are very non-fatiguing. 
 
So overall I enjoy them more than HD25-1 IIs for the majority of my music but that is due to my personal preferences. However... I do plan on getting the HD25-1 IIs, just so I can say I own the same pair of cans Martin Scorsese uses (Also, HD25s work better for certain genres, but only marginally imo). 
 
 
Oh right.. and the build quality is STELLAR! 
 
(Note this was only from around a 15-30 minute A-B comparison) 

 

[Raguvian]

Quote:

 
 
They have a very Sennheiser-esque sound sig, which works for me, because I got used to it with my Senn iems. So I enjoy them. I A-B'ed them between Roma's HD25-1 IIs, and I have to say that I sorta enjoy them better than the HD25. That could be because I'm used to the laid back and darker sig compared to the brighter HD25s.... That said I can see why some people would enjoy the HD25's more. The TMA's have a better sound stage though. Its only weakness is in the highs which can be compensated with EQ, but its not perfect (I tested with frequency sweeps and could not hear above 19kHz. Where as I could hear 21kHz on my HJE900s). That said, it doesn't debilitate them in any way, in fact it sorta works, because they are very non-fatiguing. 
 
So overall I enjoy them more than HD25-1 IIs for the majority of my music but that is due to my personal preferences. However... I do plan on getting the HD25-1 IIs, just so I can say I own the same pair of cans Martin Scorsese uses (Also, HD25s work better for certain genres, but only marginally imo). 
 
 
Oh right.. and the build quality is STELLAR! 
 
(Note this was only from around a 15-30 minute A-B comparison) 

Awesome, thanks!
 
I just ordered a pair.

 
I had the HD25 for a while and amongst its other problems I felt it was too sibilant for me. The darker, more laid back soundstage sounds much better. I always thought DJ cans quieter/more recessed highs so it's easy to listen to them at high volume in a noisy club or something until I heard the HD25-1. I already have some sparkly cans with low bass, so a set of cans with the opposite sound sig is what I wanted.
 

 

[faisal2003456]

Thanks for this thread! Just purchased the ZX700!

 

[ljokerl]

Added Pioneer SE-MJ71 and Coloud Colors since the purpose of this thread is to cover the good, the bad, and the ugly.
 
Quote:

Thanks for this thread! Just purchased the ZX700!

 

[JamesMcProgger]

I was afraid you couldnt sell that red one, lol.
 
too bad about the sound of the pioneer, it really is a nice looking headphone

 

[ljokerl]

 
Quote:

I was afraid you couldnt sell that red one, lol.
 
too bad about the sound of the pioneer, it really is a nice looking headphone

Think I got luckier with the MJ71.. I was wavering on putting it up for sale as a 'headphone' (since it's a poor excuse for one) when someone PM'd me asking for a set of cheap and good-looking portable housings.

 

[JamesMcProgger]

^ I like the new custom tittle.