Be Excellent To Each Other

Right.

I have been using my lovely pair of Shure EC2Bs for a while now, but the wiring around the ears has frayed, and the right headphone has started to cut out intermittently whilst I move around. What's more, I have run out of the lovely yellow/orange foam buds that were the best fitting ones of the numerous options they sent me. This will not do.

I have been very impressed with the 'phones in general, but I got them for 30 quid and now they are 52.90 on Amazon.

Whilst I'm not a cheapskate, these headphones have been wonderful but not worth that money given the feeble nature of the cables. I'm not sure exactly how long I have had them for (Amazon appears to have forgotten I had ever bought them), but it doesn't feel like long enough for a 50+ quid set of headphones.

So, does anyone have any good suggestions?

My pair of Sennheiser CX-300 are absolutely fantastic - you really cannot fault them soundwise. You may not like them though, as they're not foam, but rubber.

i have a pair on Sennheiser which i really can't remember the model (i think its 6550 or something but i'm not sure). They're very good, but if you're going to use them to listen to Matt Bellamy vocals, its overkill

*badum tish*

Behold, the king:

http://soundslive.co.uk/product~id~1166.asp

No farting around, no fancy design, just the king of headphones, full stop.

Saw QVC or somesuch advertising Bose headphones for 400 quid a throw the other day. Hillarious considering the Beyers will be every bit as good and will last you for life.

For mobile use, I swear by Sennheiser PX100s.

Light, foldable, great bass response. Luvverly.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00009QH7P?ie=UTF8&tag=nano07-21&gclid=COi58LuT05ICFQKIMAodbm88BA

And only £21.88! Barg!

They do look marvellous, but I'm after some sneaky in-ear ones at the moment, I think.

Best Buys
as by which

Bose QuietComfort 2
Price: £225
Score: 89%
Type: Over ear
The stylish black and silver Bose QuietComfort 2 are a cracking pair of headphones but only plump for them if you've deep pockets as they don't come cheap.

Our listening panel rated them as excellent for sound, though. They've a good, natural sound with deep, evenly controlled bass.
Beyerdynamic DTX900
Price: £49
Score: 85%
Type: Over ear
Our listening panel were full of compliments about the handsome Beyerdynamic DTX900.

They give a 'very clear, dynamic sound' with 'good clarity and balance'.

Grado SR60
Price: £80
Score: 85%
Type: On ear
The Grado SR60 might look basic with a simple black design and foam ear pads but they offer superb sound. They're rich and well balanced with full bass.

Our listening panel gave them top marks for all types of music and described them as 'dynamic' and 'spacious'. Because they rest on the ear rather than over it, they're not as great as other Best Buys at preventing sound leakage. So, you're likely to disturb someone next to you if the volume's turned up high.

Grado SR80
Price: £100
Score: 83%
Type: Over ear
The Grado SR80 look almost identical to the SR60 but with over- rather than on-ear pads. They offer superb sound too. The bass is powerful but even and like the SR60 our listening panel gave them top marks for all types of music and described them as 'dynamic' and 'spacious'.

Although the Grado SR80 cover the whole of your ears, they're not as great as other Best Buys at preventing sound leakage – like the SR60, they're open-back. So, you're likely to disturb someone next to you if the volume's turned up high. They're also poor at shielding unwanted noise and they don't have a noise cancelling feature.

Bose Quiet Comfort 3
Price: £275
Score: 80%
Type: On ear
These Bose QuietComfort 3 acoustic noise cancelling headphones are an update of our previous Best Buy the Quiet Comfort 2 and look very similar to their previous incarnation. They don’t quite match the heady heights of their predecessor but are still worthy Best Buys if you’ve got a few bob to splash around.

This on-ear set has soft imitation leather ear pads and an adjustable head bracket. They offer an excellent fit and were one our experts favourites when it came to comfort. They are portable, weigh in at 147g and have a removable 132cm cable.

Bose Triport
Price: £99
Score: 78%
Type: Over ear
The lightweight Bose Triport offer good sound. Our listening panel described the bass as being a tad 'boomy' but overall they're dynamic and clear with a good range.

The Bose Triport cover the whole of your ears but they're surprisingly light and compact making them perfect for portable players as well as hi-fis. They're superb at preventing sound leakage, so you needn't worry about your music disturbing anyone nearby.


Sennheiser PXC 250
Price: £100
Score: 76%
Type: On ear
The compact Sennheiser PXC 250 offer good sound. Our listening panel told us they give 'good detail and dynamics' and the bass is 'punchy'.

These headphones are perfect for portable use. The small leatherette earpads don't cover the whole of your ears but they're closed-back so you won't inflict your music on everyone else. They have a good noise reduction feature to block outside noise too.

Sennheiser HD 435
Price: £33
Score: 73%
Type: On ear
The Sennheiser HD 435 are chunky grey headphones with orange earpads. They're a bit bulky but they offer good sound. Our panel described them as having 'good bass' with a 'dynamic', 'spacious' and 'well balanced' sound.

The Sennheiser HD 435 rest on your ears, rather than covering them but they're closed back and are fairly good at stopping sound leakage. However, they're not very good at blocking unwanted noise and they don't have a noise cancelling feature.


Sennheiser PX 100
Price: £30
Score: 72%
Type: On ear
The Sennheiser PX 100 are great value. They're almost identical in design to the Sennheiser PXC250 but on-ear and with open-backed pads which look like mini alloy wheels. Sound is clear and bright with good, full bass.

The Sennheiser PX100 rest on your ears, rather than over them and have open-backed earpads. They're average at stopping sound leakage but not very good at blocking unwanted noise and they don't have a noise cancelling feature.

So price vs Which? score PX100s are the winner.

I'm right again!

Oh, and for out-and-about I'm not fussed about 'unwanted noise', I want 'unwanted noise'. Helps stop you getting run over.

I also use Sennheiser ..very good headphones, whatever model I've ordered so far.

My Sennheiser CX-300s are lovely. They should be bought just to experience the 'Eco' packaging which is an absolute design marvel.

I always use these;

http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/store ... 93&x=0&y=0

Perhaps not the greatest headphones ever made, but for my purposes (on the bus etc) they are perfect; block out external noise to a significant extent, give really good sound and decent bass response. And fairly cheap.

They now even have decent build quality and as such will last more than six months. My current pair is almost two years old now.

Sennheiser CX300s are aces and I'd highly recommend a pair.

HOWEVER

Amazon are currently selling the virtually-identical Creative Labs EP630 headphones (which are apparently made in the same factory as the CX300s -- I read somewhere that the Sennheisers might have slightly better drivers in them but that's about all that's different) for an astonishingly cheap £8 -- less than half the price of the CX300s. At that price they have to be worth trying, surely?

Incidentally, if you do go for CX300s then make sure you buy them from a reputable retailer; apparently there are lots of shoddy fakes out there that will break within days or strangle your dog or do some similar evil.

You can get the Grado SR-60s for a lot less now. I paid £80 back in 2000. You can get the SR-80s for about £75. Grado makes good headphones. Ridiculously comfy and clear-sounding.

I ended up buying these, and they arrived yesterday. They were around 16 quid or so.

Pros:

Cheap!
Sound quality seems good
The doo-dads fit in my ears

Cons:

Asymmetric earphone wires
Ridiculously short cable


Whilst those should theoretically be minor negative points, it's annoying me at the moment. The wire is actually not long enough to reach from my right hand side coat pocket to my left ear (as the left ear wire is tiny). I have had iPods of various guises for years and years, and they have ALWAYS lived in my right hand side coat pocket. I can flick through anything, take off the lock, do whatever I want and it fits in my hand perfectly.

Now, due to the short wire and lack of symmetry, I have to keep it in my left hand pocket, which I DO NOT LIKE!

(I realise I could put the left earbud in the right ear and vice versa, but that would be WRONG).

Not only that, but the wire is still pretty taut to my left ear, and occasionally this means it snags on my shoulder and I get the earphone tugged, which is an annoying feeling, especially when it happens about 15 times on my walk to work in the morning. Quite why they supply these earphones with a wire shorter than my arm is a mystery to me. The diagrams say I am supposed to leave my iPod/MP3 player in my breast pocket, but that's really very stupid.

Rating out of ten undetermined until I either get used to my new iPod positioning or go mad and snap the wire.

Get one of the top ones on this page. I've ordered one of the shorter ones because the iPhone headphone socket is too far recessed to fit my CX-300s in. $12 inc shipping.

Denon make some excellent in-ears. The more expensive 700Ks are wonderful, and even the cheaper 551Ks are robust and meaty sounding. Well made and designed too. Amazon often has a sale on this line so keep an eye out.

I think the Creative EP630s I mentioned have a Y-shaped cable. I've badgered the missus into buying a pair (purely because she wants some nice cheap headphones, of course, and not at all so that I can talk at length on the internet about EP630 vs CX300 with some measure of authority) so can report back with some A/B comparisons when Amazon get round to delivering them.

I recently bought myself a pair of skull Candy in earphones.
So far I'm pleased, comfy, good sound quality, cheap, decent length wire.

That would be nice.

I forgot to mention that which also say that the in ear ones don't have as good a sound. Probably should have mentioned that earlier.

I have a pair of Sony in ear ones, mind. Cost me about 30 quid 5+ years ago and they are still going strong and sounding good.

I've heard this a lot too although I haven't found any actual direct reports -- just urban-legend-quality friend-of-friend stuff. Seems like £8 is too cheap to be a knock off, if that makes any sense.

Now, funny you should say that, because on the weekend a mate showed me a pair of Sony-Ericsson headphones (a high-end accessory to one of the Walkman phones) that looked downright identical to my Sennheisers, right down to the plastic moulding. So I was wondering if perhaps they were OEMd under different names. You think this happens then?

Mods: is this appropriate, what I've written here? How much discussion do we want to allow in the bargains thread? I'm in two minds; it doesn't really belong in this thread, but it is valid discussion, and there's nowhere else logical to put it that I can see. Opinions?

We're trying to keep the bargains thread for bargains only. Obviously we're not going to be too harsh, but if chatting starts getting out of hand we'll start to think about nuking some bits.

bought a sennheiser 250dj, great sounds, my wife and son can be happy it will be more quiet.. (strange to listed to the tv though)

The CX300s I bought from the PlayTrade thingie were posted last night apparently, be interesting to see whether they're genuine.

That's fair I think. The question is where to put discussion that moves out of the bargain thread. In this case there was a fitting RMD already, in other cases I think it may well be sensible to start a new thread of it. Most discussions spawned from the thread will ultimately be some form of RMD I guess.

Yep, we never delete anything anyway, and it all goes into the mods forum. If there's anything that's worth talking about, give us a shout and we'll create a new topic with it.

Well after doing a quick spot of testing I've come to the conclusion that the Sennheiser CX300s and the Creative EP630s are pretty much identical, bar the cable (asymetric on the CX300s, Y-shaped on the EP630s) and the jack plug (L-shaped on the CX300s, straight plug on the EP630s). Pretty good for nine quid (ex. delivery) from Amazon.