[risktaker3]

I have quite a few pairs of headphones ranging in prices from multiple different manufacturers and right now I have 2 go to headphones, my Beyerdynamic Custom One Pros and my Sennheiser HD238s.  I like the light weight comfort of the Sennheiser's and could listen to them all day long.  I like my Custom One Pros because the sound clarity is so much better than the HD238s and I typically have them to the 2nd notch (closer to less bass than more).  I use a Fiio X3 amp/music player with MP3s at 320 or FLAC files. 
 
As I stated I have the Custom One Pros and I love them, but they are just not comfortable at all.  After listening to them for about 45 minutes they start putting pressure on my head and they really hurt my jawline. 
 
On the other hand my Senn's are like dreams on my head, but I wish they have a better range of sound to go along with their comfort. 

The question I have is what would be a headphone that would give me the comfort of the Senn's, but the sound quality (or better) of the Custom One Pros?  I have been looking at te Sennheiser Momentums which currently go for 169.99, the momentum 2 for 349, and I have also been intrigued by the PSB M4U-1.  Any suggestions would be helpful.  Thanks.

 

[cel4145]

I have not heard the Custom One Pros.

Comfort is such an individual thing, that it's often hard to advise people on that. Now is your comfort issue related to clamping pressure? Some headphones have more clamping force than others.

Also, what is your overall budget?

 

[risktaker3]

Thanks for the reply, I sort of alluded to the type of discomfort below.

  After listening to them for about 45 minutes they start putting pressure on my head and they really hurt my jawline...

So to be more specific yes they put a bit of a clamp on my head, but it seems also too that he earcups are so large that they start to irritate my jaw since they sit right on the edge of it.  I am guessing that has to relate to the overall clamping of the headphones.  Also, which I did not indicate before, after a while the earcups start to get warm and my ears start to get too hot.  Obviously with the Sen HD238s since they are on my ear and much smaller and lighter none of the issues above cause any of these issues. 
 
I agree that comfort is a personal thing so I guess for me I would say I am pretty sensitive to pressure on my head. 
 
For an overall budget.  I would say anything around $300 and below.  I know you get what you pay for and if I go beyond $300 I believe you start getting into the realm of really needing amps to really push the cans to their maximum potential and I am not convinced that I am going to hear that much of a difference (law of diminishing return) to warrant spending that much more, but I am always open to suggestions and reasons why to go up a notch.
 
I started looking at other headphones like the HifiMan He-400, Sennheiser HD 598, and the Sony MDR1A.  I honestly wish I could spending time actually listening to these headphones instead of reading about them since sound and comfort are very personal, but it is always helpful to get opinions from people who either have auditioned these cans or run into the same issues I have.
 
I appreciate your help.  Thanks.

 

[cel4145]

Thanks for the reply, I sort of alluded to the type of discomfort below.
So to be more specific yes they put a bit of a clamp on my head, but it seems also too that he earcups are so large that they start to irritate my jaw since they sit right on the edge of it.  I am guessing that has to relate to the overall clamping of the headphones. 

Sounds like it might be related to the particular shape of the cups just as much, where it's putting the pressure. Could be something with a bigger cup (or smaller) or different shaped cup might work better. It's just difficult to say since we all have different shaped/sized heads :etysmile:

Have you tried wearing them with the headphone band extension a bit shorter? That might shift the cups such that the pressure is more evenly distributed (although seems a long shot).

Note that the HD238s are on ear, not over ear, which is why you aren't getting any pressure on your jaw line.

Otherwise, I think you might just have to try and see. But I would probably rule out the HE-400s right away. Very heavy headphones (compare the weight) with some clamping force. The HD598 are generally recognized for being very comfortable, for whatever that's worth. Also worthwhile to order two headphones from somewhere like Amazon that has easy RMA (although not 3rd party Amazon vendors that do their own shipping), and return the headphone you like the least. Worthwhile $10 to $12 "demo" fee, IMO, to return ship a pair.

You might want to check out the Innerfidelity Wall of Fame lists: http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/innerfidelitys-wall-fame. Look at both the current Wall of Fame headphones and the "retired ones" (they are good, too). Each headphone generally has a link to a full review.

 

[risktaker3]

Thanks for the info I ended up purchasing the sen hd598s, based on research from the forums and online. We will see how they work out.

 

[risktaker3]

So just an update I ended up also purchasing the v-mods xs headphones considering I may find on ear headphones more comfortable and from what I read they may be a little more lively and have more of a deeper presence. In the meantime I received the hd598s and so far they seem both comfortable and sound good. I listened to them for a few hours and didn't have the discomfort I experienced from the custom one pros.

I will update once I have listened to the hd598s for a longer period of time and have had some time with the v-modas.

 

[risktaker3]

So I have had the HD598s and V-moda XS's for almost a week and I like the HD598s.  The sound is more open and the bass is more present.  The V-Moda's I thought were supposed to have more low end, but they don't compared to the Senns.  The Mids on the V-Modas seem to be much more present and they are definitely a much more closed sound.  Maybe the V-Moda M100 would be a better set of headphones to compare the HD598s, but unfortunately I didn't want to spend that much.  Another thing that was sort of odd about the V-Moda's is that on the smallest setting the headphones still seemed to big on my head.  I even seemed to get a better sounds when I applied some pressure to the earcups.  All in all I think for the price the Sennheiser's are hard to beat.