Help buying over/ on ear headphones

[admin_exported]

I want to buy some new headphones, looking in the range of £100 - 150 (I'm from England) but could be persuaded up to and maybe slightly above £200 if it's worth the extra money.

Not sure wether I want on or over ear headphones...

I listen to a range of music but mostly rock and alternative music, sometimes hip-hop/ rap, indie, reggae. I guess an all rounder would be good. Would quite like the headphone to have good bass but don’t want to sacrifice mids and highs for it.

I’d mainly use them in my room whilst working but I’d also use them for walking into uni so I don’t think open earphones would work for me (although I’m not an expert so I’m still open to suggestions).

Would also like them to be comfy to wear around the neck because that’s normally where they go when I’m not using them (will probably wear them round my neck through lectures, although maybe not) which is the reason I’d like a detachable jack for the wire that goes into the headphones and just for ease of putting the cable through a jumper/ t-shirt.

Style - not a massive fan of some of the plastic in some headphones I've seen and I’m not sure about brown (maybe leather/ fake leather). Would preferably like a sleek, plain coloured pair of headphones (probably black/ grey). Although this is the least important attribute I’d quite like them to look good if I’m paying a lot of money for them.

I realise sound is the main thing and I'm considering the V-moda M80s but would still like some other options.

Does anyone know of anywhere in the UK that I’d be able to listen to a pair? And would they be broken in as well?

Bit of background:

Had a pair of V-moda crossfade LPs last year but they started making a weird clicking sound when I stepped off pavements or ran so I sent them back (to be fair I did sleep in them a lot which I won’t be doing with my new ones). I’m having trouble finding a new pair of headphones that have the features I liked about the crossfades but I’m not sure I want another pair.

Currently own an okay(ish) pair of sennheisers that I had before my crossfades, not really needed them much cos I’ve just used my speakers in my room but I think I’ve been annoying some of my flat mates and a good pair of headphones would also be useful in everyday life and when travelling.

 

[dalethorn]

This is closest to your requirements and budget. A bit lean in upper bass, but good low bass. I don't have the HP200 link, but check Edd's review..

http://www.hifiheadphones.co.uk/soundmagic-hp100-closed-back-headphones-hp100-prodid-4393.html

This is more expensive, but adds a much richer upper bass/lower midrange. Also available in black.

http://www.hifiheadphones.co.uk/sennheiser-momentum-closed-back-audiophile-headphones-in-brown-prodid-4536.html

From your description, I wouldn't recommend the M80 or any other on-ear headphone unless the sound way outweighed the comfort.

I have both of the above, and a few more.

 

[Anonymous]

How are the M100s just out of interest?

Those headphone you've suggested definately have a better sound quality than crossfade LPs then?

 

[Exoticsounds]

If you can stretch the budget to 250 then Sennheiser Momentum is a great option.

Philips Fidelio M1 (around 160) and Focal Spirit One (around 175) could both also be nice alternatives.

 

[dalethorn]

How are the M100s just out of interest? Those headphone you've suggested definately have a better sound quality than crossfade LPs then?

The M100 is bass-heavy, but sounds quite good with bass reduction - almost neutral but a little dark, a lot like the Senn Momentum but not with the Momentum's recessed mids. Beware of the Philips M1 - I paid $250 USD and the treble was so recessed the sound was dead.

 

[quadpatch]

How are the M100s just out of interest?

Those headphone you've suggested definately have a better sound quality than crossfade LPs then?

I agree with Dale about the M-100's sounding much better with bass reduction, but I find EQ an anoying chore to do if you don't only ever listen to everything through one pair of headphones. I don't see why a pair of headphones would be set up to use EQ so that they sound acceptable. Without EQ the M-100's are extremely overpowered in the bass and very recessed in the mids. I find the mids of the Momentum quite perky in general, let alone in comparison to the M-100. I haven't heard the LP's so I can't comment about the comparison.

 

[dalethorn]

OK - mids test with Momentum (flat) and M100 (bass reduction). Note that these settings bring the two headphones closer in balance, and even *with* bass reduction the M100's bass is as strong or stronger than the Momentum's. Mids test: Cat Stevens' Morning Has Broken, with a male voice that's less than prominent, the M100's reproduction of the voice is clearly more "present" or forward than the Momentum.

Another test, anyone?

 

[quadpatch]

It seems really strange that two headphones can be compared to each other when one has had EQ and the other not. I can't see how that proves anything, almost anything can be EQ'd differently.

 

[dalethorn]

It seems really strange that two headphones can be compared to each other when one has had EQ and the other not. I can't see how that proves anything, almost anything can be EQ'd differently.

It's actually no different than two people speaking English and Chinese. With translation, you have great flexibility and happy communication. Without translation you have a dead end.

I find my life greatly enriched by my M100 experience with EQ. Without EQ (i.e. translation) I would not have a happy experience and I would lose that enrichment.

EDIT and caveat: There's no way for me to know whether my style of reviewing "with EQ" as I arbitrarily use it is going to have a long-term positive or negative effect on the headphone biz, or audio reviewing. Since nobody else I know of does it, somebody should be able to compile some stats on it eventually. People have always used EQ of course, so there's nothing inherently wrong with that - only a possible confusion as to the difference between the fixed and unfixed sound. If reviews other than mine were more specific about how an item sounds (yours was very good for the M100, but most are not), it might help me frame my research and reporting better. I'm reaching a level of mid-fi experience with the M100, Momentum, DT770, and ATH ESW9/11 headphones that's very helpful in explaining colorations of all kinds to people enquiring about these things. I can't imagine a better stable of flawed headphones to work with, unless I tossed in a Sennheiser Amperior.

 

[eggontoast]

EDIT and caveat: There's no way for me to know whether my style of reviewing "with EQ" as I arbitrarily use it is going to have a long-term positive or negative effect on the headphone biz, or audio reviewing.

Probably none I would imagine.

Since nobody else I know of does it....

And what do you surmise from that

 

[dalethorn]

And what do you surmise from that

Surmise is based on participating in many headphone forums (as many as I can find via Google), and from other reviewers' comments, including Quadpatch, and the main reviewers at the other major forums who have stated the same thing. I think you have to concede also that when reviews are monetized and manufacturers are paying, they don't want it stated that their headphones are 'unacceptable' without EQ.