The best of all worlds?

[weaves444ski]

Hi all,

apologies for another "which headphones should I buy post", but....

i want a pair of headphones mainly for listening to music on my ipad and mainly whilst commuting. I tend to listen to pop / rock and it tends to more vocal heavy, I.e. not looking for a set of bass heavy cans.

I currently have an old pair of in ear klipsch image s4 which are fine but getting a bit old and I am thinking of upgrading. I am thinking of moving from the in ears to a pair of over ear. This is mainly due to comfort issues, but I won't lie and say that they way they look is fairly important too. I understand that as I will be using these mainly for travelling / commuting I should get a pair of closed back headphones. Am I correct?

also, I am thinking over ears as opposed to on ears as they are likely to isolate outside noise better. Again is this right?

I have a budget of up to 200, maybe 250 at a push and have been thinking of:

sennheiser momentum

focal spirit one

beyer dynamic dt 770

what do you all reckon?

as you may have guessed from my post, I am a bit of a newbie with not a lot of knowledge in this area, so please be gentle! Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[dalethorn]

If you want a headphone that gets close to neutral with no excess bass or treble, has good isolation from noise, is comfortable, looks good, .... the B&W P5 is closer than anything else I can think of. On the other hand, if you're willing to accomodate minor tweaks to the sound with whatever EQ settings you have available, that opens up a lot more possible choices.

 

[weaves444ski]

Thanks dale. Not sure what EQ settings I have available. Mainly to be used with ipad.

what would be the other possible choices?

thanks again

 

[dalethorn]

Thanks dale. Not sure what EQ settings I have available. Mainly to be used with ipad. what would be the other possible choices? thanks again

I'm listening to the new B&O H6 now, which is really good, and $400 in the USA, so probably £325 to £350 in Britain. But to comment on your 3 mentions, the Momentum has an uneven treble, the DT770 has a very hollow midrange, and the Focal I never had but researched, and rejected for some reason of sound quality. Possibly as you zero in on a shortlist of your requirements, these suggestions will hit closer to a good fit.

 

[josh05]

Check out the Philips Citiscape Uptown as well. Very comfortable with excellent isolation and soundy pretty nice for the money.

 

[SouthaK]

Mainly to be used with ipad. what would be the other possible choices?

Firstly, you are correct - closed back headphones are better for commuting and "mobile" use as they isolate you from exterior sounds and also isolate your commuter frienmds from your sounds! As rule over-ear headphones do isolate better than on ear but it is all about the quality of the seal around your ears.

Sennheiser Momentum would be an excellent choice. To my mind it is superior to the B&W P5 as I have found with the P5 it sits too much on the ear and is a bit leaky. Momentum has leather earcups that mould themselves to your head so you get an amazing seal. The sound quality is fantastic too.

Do also consider something like the MM 400x. Closed back and bluetooth wireless earphones are such a comfort when you're travelling, no need to worry about catching cables on cups and seats and things. Of course you can move arund much more freely too. Currently they are available for just £130 on amazon. Sure they won't have quite the sound quality of the Momentum or P5 but they are a great compromise.

 

[Frank Harvey]

The KEF M500's are worth trying out - they basically sound like R Series, which is a good thing

 

[dalethorn]

The KEF M500's are worth trying out - they basically sound like R Series, which is a good thing

I'd like to read an accurate review of the M500 that compares bass, mids, treble etc. with other headphones that are known to be neutral or that differ from neutral by a known amount that can be subtracted out in the comparison.

 

[D3CYPH3R]

Bit of a leftfield shout but the Sony MDR-1 might be up your street, great clarity and not boomy on the bass, they are also very light and comfortable to wear for extended periods, i'm currently using the bluetooth versions which are more bass focused but you might be supprised by the Sony's if you have a Sony centre near to you you should be able to put them through their paces.

 

[Ant8519]

AKG K551. If you can live with big then these are fantastic. They are the only on ear headphones I can comfortably wear for any length of time because the pads envelope and surround your ear rather than sitting on them. I initially thought the b&w p5 would be for me but the comfort just wasn't there and the AKG's also sound much nicer. The sennheiser momentum sound great but still were not as comfy, although obviously this is a personal preference thing.

I also tried some new KEF headphones (cannot remenber the model) which were very nice indeed but the AKG were a clear favourite and considerably cheaper.

They are really good at not leaking sound and the lead is only 90cm or so, so ideal for commuting and they have an ipad remote so really spot on for you.

 

[quadpatch]

Aren't the K551a like the K550 with a different cable and colour or something? A few people don't get on with the K550 because of loose fit and poor bass, me included. I'm not sure that's what the op is looking for given the other headphones he mentions.

 

[dalethorn]

The KEF M500's are worth trying out - they basically sound like R Series, which is a good thing

I hear from a reliable source that the M500 sounds a lot like a Momentum - emphasized upper bass and 'relaxed' treble (i.e. not much detail).

 

[Ant8519]

The AKG K551 is pretty much the K550 with a shorter lead and idevice controls. I don't think it lacks bass so much as presents a truer representation of sound. Basscadets can but beats headphones, which I find very unpleasant. Anyway, the o.p. stated

"i want a pair of headphones mainly for listening to music on my ipad and mainly whilst commuting. I tend to listen to pop / rock and it tends to more vocal heavy, I.e. not looking for a set of bass heavy cans."

This makes the AKG K551 ideal. The fit thing is an issue with any headphones, hence try them on! They fit me perfectly and are just so comfortable . The detailed sound they present is fantastic and the ipad is such a good music player that they match up really well.