Is there such a thing as, chunky, solidly made, over ear headphones, with a long, chunky lead and full size jack? Without them costing the earth. Obviously, sound quality is important, but I don't see the point if they are plasticity rubbish, that end up broken, almost immediately.
Indoor Headphones
- Thread starter Forever Young
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Gray
Well-known member
Meet all of your criteria and sound pretty good too.
They"re a closed back model with about as chunky a lead as you"ll get, but it"s not detachable, single-sided though, which I always prefer.
Not sure what your budget is but the mark 1 version cost me £99.
I bought and tried their K92 but was not impressed.
People here speak highly of the 712, which I've not heard. If not as rugged, by all accounts it sounds a fair bit better than the 550.
Consider Sennheiser models too.
If you can, try before buying anything.
They"re a closed back model with about as chunky a lead as you"ll get, but it"s not detachable, single-sided though, which I always prefer.
Not sure what your budget is but the mark 1 version cost me £99.
I bought and tried their K92 but was not impressed.
People here speak highly of the 712, which I've not heard. If not as rugged, by all accounts it sounds a fair bit better than the 550.
Consider Sennheiser models too.
If you can, try before buying anything.
Thanks for the advice, Gray. It was the 550s that got me thinking. They're the sort of thing I'd like to get in terms of type, and people speak highly of them on here but, they look very plastic to me. Possibly, I'm looking for something that doesn't exist.Gray said:
Around 2000, I went to my local shop. I tried all the of them, including Senheisers. I wasn't keen on any of the Senheisers, even the really expensive ones. I was between £15 Beyers and some £189 Bose. I went with Bose. I loved them but after around 6 mothers, I'd already broken the headband. I gutted some cheaper ones and put the cups inside. Fast forward a few years and the cushions went.
Senheiser Momentum look pretty sturdy. California Headphone Company headphones look very sturdy too. Have you heard them before? They get good reviews on some websites. Perhaps the 550s are more robust than they look.
Gray
Well-known member
You prove the point about listening for yourself - I wonder how many people have compared £15 and £189 pairs when choosing.
As for durability, I'd expect the K550s to be every bit as durable as the Momentums. Like you, I've replaced earpads, headbands and repaired leads over the years especially on pairs given very heavy daily use, so I understand why you want durability.
I know nothing of the Californian Headphone Company you mention, but I think I know of a man who might.....watch out for a post from Dalethorn. If anyone can help you with headphone advice, he can.
Edit; Just seen this thread, I reckon he could have something to say about headphones:
https://www.whathifi.com/forum/your-system/my-system-2010-2018
As for durability, I'd expect the K550s to be every bit as durable as the Momentums. Like you, I've replaced earpads, headbands and repaired leads over the years especially on pairs given very heavy daily use, so I understand why you want durability.
I know nothing of the Californian Headphone Company you mention, but I think I know of a man who might.....watch out for a post from Dalethorn. If anyone can help you with headphone advice, he can.
Edit; Just seen this thread, I reckon he could have something to say about headphones:
https://www.whathifi.com/forum/your-system/my-system-2010-2018
Gray said:
Funny thing - I took a long look at the California headphone offerings a couple years ago, and decided against them. I don't remember exactly why, but somewhere between the reviews, the price, and the expected result, I didn't see the value. Sometimes if an item is unique I'll go for it, but after getting several pricy headphones that were meh for sound quality (NightHawk, Pryma, BlueMic Ella....), I decided to wait more and buy less.
I bought a K553 from Massdrop a while back, and loved them. Good build, very good sound, big enough earcups. If the original K550 is as good, they should be a good purchase. At this point in time, you should get a bargain price.
idc
Well-known member
The AKG K44 cans are robust (having been stress tested by a careless teenager, who inherited them from me after I had given them a lot of use) cost around £40 and produce a really rather nice sound. The lead is an OK length and it has a full sized jack.
This is when I wish I didn't live in the sticks and still had a local shop. I'm just not sure about plastic fold up headphones. There's something niggling me about the Californias that I don't trust. Don't know what exactly. Obviously I want decent sound quality. I may have to compromise and go AKG. My dad's still got the same metal headphones I used to use as a toddler. I'm 36. They got abused but you'd never know. They were heavy and didn't fold but that never mattered. Hoped there might be something similar, with modern drivers. Guess they just don't make them like that anymore.dalethorn said:
Can only see them second hand, on ebay. Ones I've see have mini jack. It's no biggy. Just that as I won't be using with a Walkman, I don't see the need for an extra connection (the adapter). I'm not sure how they compare with the other AKGs. They seem to do a few models, all a similar price.idc said:
Thanks for everyone's input. Not having a local shop, I'm not in a position to walk away, think about the purchase and haggle. I'll buy online. You've convinced me to go AKG.
K553s are much harder to come by than K550. If 550 mk 2s are £110 and 553s are £150, do you reckon the 550 mk 2s are the best value for money, or are the 553s worth the extra?
K553s are much harder to come by than K550. If 550 mk 2s are £110 and 553s are £150, do you reckon the 550 mk 2s are the best value for money, or are the 553s worth the extra?
hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004
Well-known member
I have a pair of k550's.....apart from the earpads starting to disintegrate....they are still working fine...but alas I'm looking for something newish to hook up to the superuniti.
The k550 mkii... I've read is basically the same hp as the mki....so if you can find a mki for even less cash that'd be what I'd go for.
Oh and the build quality is pretty good..a lot of the hp is aluminium.
The k550 mkii... I've read is basically the same hp as the mki....so if you can find a mki for even less cash that'd be what I'd go for.
Oh and the build quality is pretty good..a lot of the hp is aluminium.
I don't have an answer but I do feel you pain. When I was a kid in the 70s my dad had a pair of Philips phones, they had metal headband, metal driver- enclosures and faux leather padded vinyl ear cups that made your ears sweat. They weren't massively expensive, maybe £20 back then, I'm sure they sounded goddamn awful compared to anything worth buying today, but likely they would survive a nuclear holocaust.
Just a little follow up. I very nearly hot the K550s. I ended up waiting, and getting Beyer dynamic DT 1770 Pro headphones. The build quality seems reasonable, though I was hoping for a bit better and they sound great. For me, they're a good balance between not being too heavy, but being reasonably substantial, and sounding good.
chris661
Well-known member
I'm surprised nobody mentioned the Shure cans. For me, the SRH840s cheerfully annihilated the likes of Sennheiser Momentum etc.
I've used a lot of Beyerdynamic microphones (day job is live sound and on-location recording), and find the build quality consistently excellent. If their headphones live up to that, I'm certain you'll be happy for years to come.
Chris
I've used a lot of Beyerdynamic microphones (day job is live sound and on-location recording), and find the build quality consistently excellent. If their headphones live up to that, I'm certain you'll be happy for years to come.
Chris
Hope so. I've been putting them away in their case after each use, which isn't like me at all. I'd be very interested to see how they sound through a valve amp. I wonder if it's worth upgrading from my NAD DAC headphone out, without spending a fortune...either valve or transistor.
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