Inspired by Taure‘s AV setup thread and a recent purchase, I thought we could use a similar thread for headphones of all varieties. In-ear, On-ear, Around-ear – pick your poison. Which kinds of headphones do you prefer? Are you looking for any particular features/quality demands or are you happy with just any pair?

As I don’t have a home setup as such, I’ve always preferred to have headphones of a certain quality, trying out different kinds and brands throughout the years. My friend group is very musical – we all play instruments and enjoy listening to music, so we tend to have higher standards for our “daily drivers” than most other people we know. I‘ve always enjoyed the role of the contrarian in my friend group – one friend prefers Bose over everything else, another loves Sennheiser. I didn‘t want to get stuck with one brand, so over the years I‘ve used models from Bose, Bowers & Wilkins, Bang & Olufsen, Sony, Beats, Sennheiser and have now arrived back at B&W.

I used the opprtunity of a recent sale to upgrade from my pair of Sennheiser MOMENTUM In-Ear Wireless headphones to the Bowers & Wilkins PI4. I‘d picked up the Sennheiser headphones for €140 in February and would‘ve stuck with them for the foreseeable future, but B&W ran a 50% sale on the PI4s, dropping them from €300 to a much more affordable €150. The PI4s are of the In-ear variety as well.

Here‘s a quick overview:

Sennheiser MOMENTUM In-Ear:

• Warm sound, well-balanced
• Good bass, not too overpowering
• Slight overemphasis on [ß]-sounds
• Very good battery life, frequently getting two days of moderate use out of one charge
• Neckband is stable in most situations
• Bluetooth connection could sometimes get spotty, leading to interruptions in the delivery of music/radio/podcasts or whatever I was listening to

Bowers & Wilkins PI4:

• Very neutral, detailed sound for instruments and voices – the rhythm section & guitars in particular are excellent
• Base is (to my ears) perfectly balanced for most instrumental & vocal arrangements
• Features noise cancelling, which isn‘t of Bose quality but solid for most everyday situations
• Noise cancelling settings can be changed on the headset or in the B&W complementary app: High, Low, Auto, Off
• Other features: adaptive ambient noise transparency, environment sound simulation (thunderstorm, campfire, waterfall, etc.) – both accessible via app
• Good battery life even with noise cancelling on thanks to automatic stand-by function

All in all, I‘m very happy with my purchase so far. In terms of functionality and QOL features, the PI4s are clearly a step above the MOMENTUMs – as they should be, given that they‘re usually quite a bit more expensive. At work, I tend to have only the left bud in my ear so I can still hear what‘s happening around me – I‘ll probably play around with the ambient noise functions to see whether I can put both buds in my ears in the future.

Feel free to add your recommendations and experiences below!

 

Beyerdynamic DT880 (around-ear)

Pros:
- Great, rich, natural sound and thumping bass
- Incredibly comfy for longer sessions
- Absolutely bombproof - I've had mine for 12 years now.

Cons:
- Kinda heavy
- Wasted on any mobile device or even a standard computer soundcard.
- Needs a fair bit of power - max volume is low on phones and even laptops.
- It's an open cup design, so everyone else knows what you're listening to - not great on public transport or in the office
- No noise cancelling

They were spendy new, but I've enjoyed them for a long time, they're still going strong and they are extremely good headphones. No regrets.

 

Grado SR225e Prestige Series (with some minor modifications)

First off, the stock earpads are not great. These are easy to replace, at $10 for a pair of nice memory foam that not only are more comfortable, and improve the sound / enhance the bass. There is also a headband cover modification that you can do if you want, altough it's a bit more work. We replaced the stock with a padded sheepskin band (around $30 on Amazon).

These have been around for quite a while, and there's been a huge modding community that has sprung up around it, from what I listed above, to actually modifying the drivers (more than I care to do). These are hand made in Brooklyn, NY.

Pros:
- Great sound quality. Balanced, just as it was recorded. If you are used to "warm" headphones or "bass enhanced" headphones, these may sound odd to you at first. As one of the Amazon reviews said, "I hated it for the first 3 minutes, and then they sounded amazing".
- Wired (3.5mm with adapter for 6.5mm). I consider this a plus, although not everyone will. No worries about charging, etc.
- Not too heavy. Comfortable to wear, especially with the recommended mod above with the earcups.
- Cord is nice and sturdy / heavy
- Does not require an amp to sound good, although one certainly doesn't hurt
- Best I've found in the price range
- Very active community

Cons:
- Open backed, so others can hear what you're listening to. Not great for groups / public transport.
- Cord is not detachable (without opening things up)
- Earpads issue mentioned above
- Does not fold up, and doesn't come with any kind of carrying case, although some are available 3rd party

All in all, I'm extremely happy with these.

 

I have the Lindy BNX-60s, which I've had for about a year now. They are more or less the cheapest wireless, active noise-cancelling headphones you can get which are semi-decent. They go for around £75.

Sound quality and battery life are good, and the noise cancelling definitely works to achieve what I wanted - the ability to listen to music at lower volumes (to avoid earache) but with the same level of immersion.

Their big weakness is the bluetooth range. If I leave my laptop in the bedroom and go to the bathroom (one room over) they struggle to keep a clean connection.