So why are so many headphones UNCOMFORTABLE????

[goodyfresh]

So, here's something I've been thinking about lately that really grinds my gears, my fellow Head-Fi-ers!  The fact that so many of the headphones available on the market today are, by all accounts, horribly uncomfortable.  Companies like Focal, NAD, and others (hell, sometimes even the established greats of the industry like Sennheiser and Shure) go way out of their way to engineer headphones that sound absolutely amazing, and yet seem to completely ignore the simple, obvious fact that hey, people are going to be wearing these frigging things on their head for hours at a time!!!!!!
 
Doesn't that just seem downright stupid?  It makes no sense to me.  So much engineering R&D money is poured into engineering the sound of headphones, while aspects like comfort and ergonomics are completely ignored in the process.  Why?  It's beyond dumb, it's downright moronic really.  You end up reading accounts from whole hordes of people saying things like "I can't even wear the Focal Spirit Pro, it feels like my head is in some kind of medieval torture-machine!"  Or things like "the headband of the Nad Viso HP50 is made for people with cone-shaped heads."  I mean, WHAT?  What possesses companies to make such decisions when it comes to designing headphones?
 
This is as opposed to the company which, in my expereince, makes SUPREMELY comfy headphones: Sony.  My Sony MDR-1A seem to downright DISAPPEAR on my head.  Why can't some of the more audiophile-level headphone manufacturers take a cue from Sony in regards to engineering comfort?

So, what do you guys think the reason is for this?  Is it just another example of companies don't really care about their customers as much as they care about making money?  Or is it just that companies put so much thought into engineering sound, that they outright FORGET about things like comfort and form-factor?

 

[eqnx911]

I was actually pondering this too after attending SoCal Canjam earlier this year.  Would either come across headphones that were uncomfortable after long periods due to heavy weight or poor design, looked hideous, or sounded uninspiring.  Most that I tried exhibited at least one of those traits (note: subjective).  However, I did eventually come across the Audioquest Nighthawks and was absolutely blown away.  It pretty much met every single one of the criteria I was looking for.  They were by far the most comfortable headphones I tried on while still looking distinguished and sounding amazing.
 
As you alluded to, I think sometimes it has to do with the comfort taking a back seat to the other aspects of the headphone causing it to be relegated to "good enough".  This is unfortunate because I consider comfort as important if not more than sound accuracy/quality.  What good are they if you can't stand to wear them?

 

[obobskivich]

I think it's an experience thing on the mfgr's part - Sony headphones TODAY tend to be comfortable, but Sony headphones ten or twenty or thirty years ago is another story entirely. They "made their bones" and now can show the fruits of their labor with cans like the 1A, the pillow-pad XBs, etc. I think the same is true for other manufacturers, to a greater or lesser extent (e.g. I'd say the same thing about Koss). It isn't surprising to me that newer entrants into the headphone marketplace have cans that aren't as comfortable as what you'd find from veterans like Sony or Koss. There's also a degree of subjectivity to comfort, for example I think Grado makes some of the most comfortable cans in the world (and I'd assume they do too, since they keep doing it the same way), but I know a lot of people would disagree with that statement and say Grado makes very uncomfortable cans. Neither side is wrong: for me, they're comfortable; for someone else, they aren't. I'm sure things like head size and shape, personal tolerance to "stuff touching you" (is there a term for that?), etc factor into that - maybe I have a misshapen head that fits Grado-size better than others, who knows.

Just from my experience in owning and trying a lot of headphones, I think weight is also a factor (lighter tending to be better). It seems like it goes in waves too - a few years ago it seemed like every manufacturer was trying to make the lightest headphones possible. In a lot of cases this was probably at the expense of sound quality, but they were after light headphones. However today it seems like a lot of newer releases are just progressively heavier and heavier - a lot of TOTL cans are nearly as heavy as the Koss PRO4/AA (which are huge). I have no idea if it's the case that weight has some correlation to sound quality, or if they're just making stuff heavier because "it sells" ("is it heavy? yes? then its expensive, put it down."), or if they're just not worrying about comfort and pursuing only sound quality, or what. Just something I've observed.

 

[ubs28]

Comfort is a very high priority for me. Hence for portable use, IEM's are the way to go for me. Never found a single closed full sized headphone that was comfortable. 

 

[goodyfresh]

  Comfort is a very high priority for me. Hence for portable use, IEM's are the way to go for me. Never found a single closed full sized headphone that was comfortable. 

Very interesting that you say so.  Have you ever tried Sony's headphones?  Like the MDR-1A, specifically?

 

[TommiK]

Any of you guys tried the new TMA-2 from AIAIAI? I liked the design of the TMA-1 but it never really was that comfortable in practice--I know the TMA-2 has some new earpad options.

 

[goodyfresh]

  Any of you guys tried the new TMA-2 from AIAIAI? I liked the design of the TMA-1 but it never really was that comfortable in practice--I know the TMA-2 has some new earpad options.

With measurements like these, I have no DESIRE to hear the TMA-1: http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/AiaiaiTMA1.pdf  The sub-bass is just nonexistent, which is something inexcusable in closed-back headphones.  Maybe the TMA-2 is better?

 

[TommiK]

 
With measurements like these, I have no DESIRE to hear the TMA-1: http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/AiaiaiTMA1.pdf  The sub-bass is just nonexistent, which is something inexcusable in closed-back headphones.  Maybe the TMA-2 is better?

The new one's big sell is that it has modular drivers (and pads/headbands) so it seems like they are trying to offer some choices to make up for the first edition's shortcomings.

 

[goodyfresh]

  The new one's big sell is that it has modular drivers (and pads/headbands) so it seems like they are trying to offer some choices to make up for the first edition's shortcomings.

Wow!  I'm looking at it on their website and it actually seems REALLY intriguing!

 

[alynx]

I hate the pads on the 1A, I really do. My ears touch the inside which gets uncomfortable the second I wear them. Most comfortable headphones yet are the hd 580 and the dt 880, so pillowy, mhm … me likey. The X2,  from what I remember, where also really nice comfort-wise. Im not whoring for comfort, so ill give headphones a pass, even if they are just all right in that department, like the k550, they are only kinda comfortable, but not really, but man, the sound, the SOUND!!!

 

[goodyfresh]

  I hate the pads on the 1A, I really do. My ears touch the inside which gets uncomfortable the second I wear them. Most comfortable headphones yet are the hd 580 and the dt 880, so pillowy, mhm … me likey. The X2,  from what I remember, where also really nice comfort-wise. Im not whoring for comfort, so ill give headphones a pass, even if they are just all right in that department, like the k550, they are only kinda comfortable, but not really, but man, the sound, the SOUND!!!

The 1A are just about the most comfortable headphoens ever UNLESS a person has ears which stick out more than average, which is a complaint I have seen from a number of folks before.  Sorry you have that problem, dude >_<  That sucks.

 

[alynx]

 
The 1A are just about the most comfortable headphoens ever UNLESS a person has ears which stick out more than average, which is a complaint I have seen from a number of folks before.  Sorry you have that problem, dude >_<  That sucks.

 
Thats a bit of a stretch. The 1A pads are super hollow and they give in super easily. Thats what makes them so uncomfortable. Heck, even the old ath m50 pads are better than the one on the 1A and thats saying something. But I guess everyones ears are different. So if the 1A fits you nicely, its all good. I'm the last one to complain.

 

[goodyfresh]

   
Thats a bit of a stretch. The 1A pads are super hollow and they give in super easily. Thats what makes them so uncomfortable. Heck, even the old ath m50 pads are better than the one on the 1A and thats saying something. But I guess everyones ears are different. So if the 1A fits you nicely, its all good. I'm the last one to complain.

You are definitely in the minority on this.  A vast majority of reviewers on all different websites praise the MDR-1A for being incredibly comfortable.

This just goes to show that everyone's ears and head are vastly different, as you were just saying

  But it would seem that for a very large proportion of folks, the MDR-1A provide very good comfort.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

In addition to obobskovitch's points about manufacturers' accumulated experiences, there's still the problem of each headphone being designed for as universal a fit as possible while every head is very different, some may deviate from the average far enough as far as headphones are concerned while not being visible just by looking at that person. A lot of people don't find some uncomfortable but then there will be some who can barely find any of them usable. Even hair can affect that - thicker hair can add to the headband cushion, but it can affect the fit in other ways. Then there's preferences and tolerances that varies from one person to another, which can also be affected by temperature (ie the hotter it is the more uncomfortable all headphones will be in general).

 

Look at AKG for example. I'm one of those who love their self-adjusting headbands, no doubt borne out of their decades of experience, and even with my thinly trimmed hair (my friends call me "Caesar" for it - just look up the busts of Roman Emperors) I wasn't even aware of the bumps until I read how many people hate them. Then there's Sennheiser - they feel comfortable enough but even then it's still advisable to bend the frame on the HD580/600/650 outward, even a little bit.

 

[Jackson 6]

They don't want anything to go wrong with our earsy weersies, everything in moderation children, 30 mins will do, go and play with the other children now.