[niccolo]

I'm having a hard time finding headphones that fit what I'm looking for. Headphones should check all the following boxes:
 
1) Hi-fi, I'm picky about sound quality, a long-time audiophile with a mid-fi home rig (NAD separates, Focal lower-end speakers);
 
2) Sealed and ideally also with an active noise-canceling function, much (but not all) of my headphone use occurs while traveling, though I am pretty strongly set on also having a passive mode, the noise-cancelling hiss gets old in environments where it's not needed;
 
3) Over-the-ear, I find on-ear headphones uncomfortable for extended use, and sadly in-ears give me ear infections while traveling by irritating the ear canal a little and creating a sealed warm, moist environment;
 
4) Efficient enough to be driven by a portable device like an iPhone or iPod and sound reasonably good while doing so;
 
5) Flexible on price, willing to spend what it takes for a product that meets my needs.
 
I've tried a number of headphones so far:
 
- PSB M4U 2: These check all the boxes: Excellent sound quality in passive, active amplification, and noise-canceling modes, over-the ear (just barely) and reasonably comfortable, a bit bulky for travel but doable. BUT they appear to suffer from a severe design/quality control problem, I've returned three of these for all manifesting different but similar problems where the active amplification and noise-canceling modes sporadically get stuck in horrible bang-bang-bang feedback modes, totally independent of what source is driving them (including no source at all). Surreal for a company as reputable as PSB.
 
- Polk Ultra Focus 8000: These come close to checking all the boxes: Excellent sound quality, easily over-the-ear and very comfy, BUT they only work in active noise-canceling mode, and the subtle hiss gets tiresome when used in quiet environments where noise canceling is not needed. Wish these had a passive mode, I suppose they don't because the audio was engineered specifically for the noise-canceling mode.
 
- Bose QC25: I know, shudder, but I wanted to give these a fair shake. The noise-canceling is superb, the sound quality is mediocre, and these are surprisingly inefficient, they really can't be driven properly by a portable device and require independent amplification (which is odd given their intended use).
 
- Audio Technica ATH-ANC7B: Not in the same class, on-ear fit is less comfortable, sound quality is so-so.
 
- Shure S210: My old in-ear-monitors, used these for years, with the multi-flanged silicone earpieces (could never get the foam ones to seat as I wanted) and was quite happy with them, but also repeatedly got ear infections and started carrying Cipro antibiotic drops when I traveled. Ear infections seem to be caused by a combination of physically irritating the ear canal and the warm, moist environment created when these seal the ear canal.
 
- Sennheisers [older, low/mid-range over the ear model]: Used to use these a fair bit back in the day, was always impressed with their sound quality at the price point, but they're open models good for home use, not travel.
 
So...anything else that should be on my radar? Although my expectations are high, I don't think they're unreasonable.
 
One option is to get a sealed, non-active noise canceling headphone, and just rely on passive noise-canceling, I could live with that. What are the best sealed headphones people like?
 
The other option is to stick with the Polks, and reconcile myself to the slight hiss all the time.
 
But I'd love to find something that checks all the boxes.

 

[Youth]

Budget, and what sound signature are you looking for?

 

[niccolo]

  Budget, and what sound signature are you looking for?

As I wrote above, "Flexible on price, willing to spend what it takes for a product that meets my needs." But more specifically, I guess I'd be leery to spend more than $500. I'm certainly happy to spend less than that if something fits the bill.
 
I don't know how to answer the "sound signature" question. I guess I think of my preferred sound as relatively neutral. If you want to get more nitty-gritty, the Focal speakers I really like are a touch analytical, and the NAD components that I think pair well with them perhaps a touch warm (for solid state, anyway). But this is getting needlessly detailed for a travel headphone purchase. In that context, maybe relatively neutral is sufficient, i.e. the boosted bass sound of Beats (never demoed, just my impression) doesn't appeal.
 
Do your questions imply there are many headphones out there that you think fit my criteria elaborated in my post?

 

[serman005]

NAD Viso HP50, AKG K550, Shure SRH940, Sennheiser Momentum 2, Soundmagic HP150--you might read about some or all of these, as one or more may meet some or most of your criteria. The OPPO PM3, with a sensitivity of 102 dB, is another interesting possible option that I have not yet heard, but it has gotten 3 excellent reviews over the last couple of weeks on head-fi. The technology is intriguing. There are more alternatives and other head-fiers will be along with other recommendations. I wish you good luck!!

 

[niccolo]

  NAD Viso HP50, AKG K550, Shure SRH940, Sennheiser Momentum 2, Soundmagic HP150--you might read about some or all of these, as one or more may meet some or most of your criteria. The OPPO PM3, with a sensitivity of 102 dB, is another interesting possible option that I have not yet heard, but it has gotten 3 excellent reviews over the last couple of weeks on head-fi. The technology is intriguing. There are more alternatives and other head-fiers will be along with other recommendations. I wish you good

Thanks! I guess if I'm willing to give up on active noise canceling (ANC), there's a world of possibilities. The primary motivation for getting headphones was airplane travel, and in that context ANC is rather nice, but I can't seem to find something in that category that works for me.

 

[Youth]

Soundmagic HP150

 

[niccolo]

  Soundmagic HP150

Thanks, but your rather succinct comment doesn't help me understand why this particular headphone seems like a good fit for my needs versus competing models. Care to elaborate?
 
More broadly, I'm hoping some people will identify headphones with active noise-canceling, and a passive mode, that they can recommend, and beyond those I've already tried. If I'm willing to forgo active noise-canceling, there are dozens upon dozens of closed options. If I'm willing to forgo a passive mode and just have a pure noise-canceling headphone, the Polk Ultra Focus 8000s are great. But I'd really prefer not to have to forgo those.

 

[serman005]

Unfortunately, part of the reason for your not receiving more detailed responses from folks is that we don't generally recommend ANC sets on this site--the technology tends to bugger up soundstaging and imaging, among other things, so we usually advise that people stay away from it. That being said, since that's what you are seeking,  if you go to the "Head Gear" section of the site, there is a section on "Noise Canceling" cans and quite a number of cans are there, with reviews. You might find one or two there that are well-reviewed that interest you and can then further research. I am of no use to you because I know nothing about ANC cans--I just don't listen to them. With apologies.

 

[niccolo]

  Unfortunately, part of the reason for your not receiving more detailed responses from folks is that we don't generally recommend ANC sets on this site--the technology tends to bugger up soundstaging and imaging, among other things, so we usually advise that people stay away from it. That being said, since that's what you are seeking,  if you go to the "Head Gear" section of the site, there is a section on "Noise Canceling" cans and quite a number of cans are there, with reviews. You might find one or two there that are well-reviewed that interest you and can then further research. I am of no use to you because I know nothing about ANC cans--I just don't listen to them. With apologies.

I totally understand. It's a big motivation for me to seek a headphone with both ANC *and* a passive mode. If I have to choose between them, I think I'd probably choose a passive model like the NAD HP50s over an ANC-only model like the Polk 8000s. I can deal with some airplane background noise that's not reduced, but fidelity in quieter settings matters a lot to me. One course one option is the non-ANC version of the PSBs that gave me so much trouble, but after all that trouble I'm less PSB-enthusiastic now, and they're really bulky, so especially if I'm not going to get ANC out of them, I'd prefer a sleeker option (both in the case and on the head).
 
P.S. I see Head-Gear, but not finding a section on Noise Canceling.

 

[serman005]

  I totally understand. It's a big motivation for me to seek a headphone with both ANC *and* a passive mode. If I have to choose between them, I think I'd probably choose a passive model like the NAD HP50s over an ANC-only model like the Polk 8000s. I can deal with some airplane background noise that's not reduced, but fidelity in quieter settings matters a lot to me. One course one option is the non-ANC version of the PSBs that gave me so much trouble, but after all that trouble I'm less PSB-enthusiastic now, and they're really bulky, so especially if I'm not going to get ANC out of them, I'd prefer a sleeker option (both in the case and on the head).
 
P.S. I see Head-Gear, but not finding a section on Noise Canceling.

Sorry--it's under "Headphones," about halfway down the page on your left.

 

[jjcha]

  Thanks, but your rather succinct comment doesn't help me understand why this particular headphone seems like a good fit for my needs versus competing models. Care to elaborate?
 
More broadly, I'm hoping some people will identify headphones with active noise-canceling, and a passive mode, that they can recommend, and beyond those I've already tried. If I'm willing to forgo active noise-canceling, there are dozens upon dozens of closed options. If I'm willing to forgo a passive mode and just have a pure noise-canceling headphone, the Polk Ultra Focus 8000s are great. But I'd really prefer not to have to forgo those.

 
Just want to throw the Sony noise cancelling headphones like the 1RNC (not sure if there's a newer model now) into the mix as something to consider.  Will have pros and cons like anything else, but the balance might check enough of your boxes well enough.  Or they may not.  Just they do play at about the level of all the other stuff you're talking about.

 

[niccolo]

   
Just want to throw the Sony noise cancelling headphones like the 1RNC (not sure if there's a newer model now) into the mix as something to consider.  Will have pros and cons like anything else, but the balance might check enough of your boxes well enough.  Or they may not.  Just they do play at about the level of all the other stuff you're talking about.

Thanks! The Sonys seem to get somewhat mediocre sound quality reviews. I was very impressed with the sound of the PSB M4U-2s--if they didn't have such severe defects I would have stuck with them--you'd put those in the same category?

 

[niccolo]

 
Sorry--it's under "Headphones," about halfway down the page on your left.

Found it, thanks!

 

[jjcha]

  Thanks! The Sonys seem to get somewhat mediocre sound quality reviews. I was very impressed with the sound of the PSB M4U-2s--if they didn't have such severe defects I would have stuck with them--you'd put those in the same category?

 
I think none of the headphones in this category are perfect or will please everyone.  I can understand why any one of these headphones might get criticized in reviews.  Ultimately, you just gotta try them for yourself and see if it works for you.  Find a store with a good return policy.
 
I will say that I'm a pretty experienced head-fi'er (heh, my way of saying I'm an old fart and have owned just about everything), and I found I was very pleased with the compromises that Sony made in the non-noise cancelling version of these cans.  I liked them better than their non-noise cancelling peers from the usual names (e.g., B&W, Sennheiser's high end portable cans, Shure, audio-technica, Bose even, etc.)  I don't know Polk well though to give you a more informed opinion, unfortunately.  I do like the Sonys well enough, and thought they competed well enough, to suggest that from my experience, you might want to try it out for yourself.  Other opinions will differ, as may yours, but I'd say based on my experience, they're definitely worth a try.

 

[niccolo]

   
I think none of the headphones in this category are perfect or will please everyone.  I can understand why any one of these headphones might get criticized in reviews.  Ultimately, you just gotta try them for yourself and see if it works for you.  Find a store with a good return policy.
 
I will say that I'm a pretty experienced head-fi'er (heh, my way of saying I'm an old fart and have owned just about everything), and I found I was very pleased with the compromises that Sony made in the non-noise cancelling version of these cans.  I liked them better than their non-noise cancelling peers from the usual names (e.g., B&W, Sennheiser's high end portable cans, Shure, audio-technica, Bose even, etc.)  I don't know Polk well though to give you a more informed opinion, unfortunately.  I do like the Sonys well enough, and thought they competed well enough, to suggest that from my experience, you might want to try it out for yourself.  Other opinions will differ, as may yours, but I'd say based on my experience, they're definitely worth a try.

Appreciate it. Do any of the Sonys have both ANC *and* a passive mode? Because if I'm going to go pure ANC, the Polks fit the bill and I like them, my only beef with them is the lack of a passive mode.