Headphones

[Stephen Coates]

I had to buy some new headphones recently as my trusty old Sennheiser HD555 finally broke after a decade. I bought the HD559 as a replacement. They are very similar except they seem to have more bass, so I have to turn the bass down on the amp. But I read on a web page that you can modify the headphones to improve this. They also have a removable cable.

I also decided to try an active noise cancelling headphone. I went for the Sony "h.ear on" [such a weird name] WH-H910. That's one of the cheaper ones, and I got a good price on an unused one on ebay. The noise cancelling is very good, sound quality is very good, both wired and wireless, and they are comfortable for moderate lengths of time. They can get a bit uncomfortable after two or three hours. I think bigger ones would be better here.

The only problem with the Sonys is that while they work on the wired connection while turned off (so no noise cancellation), the sounds quality is absolutely crap. This means if the battery is dead, you can still listen to your music, but it will sound terrible.

I gather the XM3 and XM4 models are more comfortable and have better noise cancelling, but they are considerably more expensive.

[Kin Hell]

Sennheiser HD569's here. Ear pad has worn through after 24 months.

Bright detailed sound.

[Harrison]

Can you get replacement earpads? I still have some Sennheiser foldup headphones that are over 20 years old, but still heavy a great sound, but the earpads started to fall apart from she. Got some replacements in ebay.

@Steve. Those Sony's sound like they are active speakers so without the power you are just getting the unamplified audio.

[J T]

I don't think I've ever had an expensive pair of headphones but I suppose it depends on judgement and discretion. I've had a a few that were pretty good, and also a number of cheap and crappy ones too.

I had some in-ears that were loud, and bassy, and I liked them for the types of music I listened to, and especially considering the cost.

Only recently have I found the convenience (but ever so slightly disappointing sound) of true wireless earbuds - I got some Samsung Galaxy buds free with my phone.

[Harrison]

I had been using the AKG (Harman) wired earbuds that came with my Samsung phone. They are bassy and have fairly sound good, but I kept getting annoyed with the cable getting tangled and caught up. The Sennheiser HD 250BT wireless headphones I got in last week's sale have so far been a good replacement for those. Sound is far better. Not bass. They are full headphones so I was a bit self conscious wearing them out walking the dog, but they are quite small for full headphones and lightweight. They have a pretty long battery life too. I'm happy with them just for walking the dog.

I'm still planning on buying some decent premium ones at some point though and still have my heart set on the new Sennheiser Momentum 4s. Especially as they have a 60 hour battery life and have received some great reviews for the audio quality which is said to be more neutral and open than the older version 3s.

However the new Sony XM5's have also received some good reviews for sound quality. And are meant to have thr best noise cancelling, alight that's not really a male or break feature for me. I might have to see if anywhere has them available to test in store. Maybe a Richersounds or John Lewis. So I can compare them.

[Kin Hell]

They're about £30 & not everywhere has them.....

[Stephen Coates]

Can you get replacement earpads? I still have some Sennheiser foldup headphones that are over 20 years old, but still heavy a great sound, but the earpads started to fall apart from she. Got some replacements in ebay.

@Steve. Those Sony's sound like they are active speakers so without the power you are just getting the unamplified audio.

I got some replacement pads on ebay a few years ago (came from China I think). They didn't cost too much. The foam wasn't as firm as the original Sennheiser foam, but it did the job OK.

The Sony headphones are designed to be used without being powered up, but the built in amp is obviously doing some equalisation as without being powered up they sound crap.

[J T]

They are full headphones so I was a bit self conscious wearing them out walking the dog,

ha ha I get that. I bought some cheap wireless ones (I guess they were full sized, or close to, as the 'cups' felt quite big) from Aldi that weren't bad once I fiddled with a bunch of sound settings on my phone - but I did find wearing them out and about, or even at my desk at work, made me feel like I was getting funny looks and I don't know why.... I suspect it was all in my head.

[Demon Cleaner]

I just bought 2 of the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, one for me and one for the missus. We both need headphones mostly for traveling and my earbuds are not so comfy when using them for a longer period. She doesn't have any yet, only the ones which come with Apple devices. And the Bose are also not as big as many others.

[Harrison]

They look nice. I wasn't familiar with them, but reviews say their noisy cancelling is even better then the Sony XM5 which have won a lot of praise. And they are cheaper than the Sony and Sennheiser equivalents.