Comfortable quality headphones

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peacetilence

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I'm currently using sennhieser 280 pros and I really like the sound quality but they're starting to hurt my ears. I have TMJ (possibly fibromyalgia...) so the right side of my head is in constant pain at times, the sennheisers cupped around my ear and squeezing at my head only intensify this pain. So I'm looking for some headphones equal or preferably greater quality than my 280's that won't squeeze at my head and will fit comfortably over my ears. I would like headphones devoid of character (flat eq no bass enhancement or anything) I no longer live in a noisy environment (bottom apartment with upstairs neighbors from hell) so I wouldn't mind using open ear headphones either.

What about higher up sennhieser or grados?
 
What about stretching out the headband so they fit better? :D


Just don't overdue it like Tyll (from Headroom) did at a recent Head-fi meet:

tyllbreak13ce.jpg


:p :p
 
peacetilence said:
I'm currently using sennhieser 280 pros and I really like the sound quality but they're starting to hurt my ears. I have TMJ (possibly fibromyalgia...) so the right side of my head is in constant pain at times, the sennheisers cupped around my ear and squeezing at my head only intensify this pain. So I'm looking for some headphones equal or preferably greater quality than my 280's that won't squeeze at my head and will fit comfortably over my ears. I would like headphones devoid of character (flat eq no bass enhancement or anything) I no longer live in a noisy environment (bottom apartment with upstairs neighbors from hell) so I wouldn't mind using open ear headphones either.

What about higher up sennhieser or grados?
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Do you mind spending about 170$ to 200$us?

If comfort is what you want, then go right to the Sennheiser HD595 headphones. Find a local professional audio store that has them on display and see if you like those better.

My dad has HD280pro's and they have too much clamping pressure and start to hurt my head past 20 minutes.

Another one to look at would be the beyerdynamic headphones with the soft velvet type earpads. They may have a little more clamping force then the HD595's, but are still rather comfortable. Such as the DT990pro which can be had for about 170$us.

I had the Sennheiser HD590 V3, and they were AMAZING for comfort. I could ware them without even knowing they were on my head they were so light, soft, and lacked a lot of clamping pressure.

I'm sure you will find the sound quality of eaither of these two to be far superior to the HD280pro's.

As always, strive to listen to them in person and wear them. That is the only true real test for you.

~Hope this helps, and Keep us posted.
 
For comfort, nothing is more comfortable than the SA5000 (was mine), SA3000, or SA1000 by Sony.

Second in line are the Sennheiser HD580, 600, and 650 (mine)... I find these FAAAR more comfortable than the 595 or 555 headphones.

SQ-wise, I prefer my 650s to the SA5000. The others fall in line somewhere along the continuum.
 
I know lots of people have problems with Bose, but...

I personally own the Bose Triport headphones. They are a whole lot different than their cube speakers (the ones made with paper cones)... these are high quality sounding and are the most comfy headphones I have ever tried on (I've tried on many).

These headphones cost me 150 dollars at Best Buy and I am sooooooo greatful I baught them. The padding on them wraps around my ears and seals out mostly all sound and then if you have music on, you can't tell what's going on in the real world. After wearing them for about half an hour, you forget that you are wearing them because they are soooooo comfy.

The high-quality noise reduction headphones that Bose makes uses Triport technology meaning the actual cone inside is the same as the Bose Triport headphones that I have!

I hope you take the Triport headphones in for consideration... and by the way, I'm 17 and I don't work at Bose (I know I sound like a salesman :D )
 
I owned the Triports and they are far from good to my ears. I preferred the Sennheiser HD201 over the triports... in both sound AND comfort. Basically, the 201 beat the triports even in the one thing people usually agree on - comfort.

BTW, the 201 are 19.99 at newegg.

Bose Triports are acoustically eq-ed... just like all their systems. You get what bose thinks is good sound... which, in reality, isnt good.
 
I've owned bose products in the past and while I think they're better than 90% of similar products I'm not fully satisfied with them. I'm sure they make some great stuff I haven't yet tried though. I'm really looking for open ear highest quality sound headphones instead of ones that cancel out ambient noise at the cost of whatever sound cancelling headphones have. 1-year ago I'd be all for that but I'm moving up in the world and don't have to deal with outside distractions anymore!

As far as price range 170-200 is fine if the comfort and sound quality is there. I love my 280's so I guess I will investigate some of the higher up Sennhieser's since I'm so satisfied with my 280's aside from them being uncomfortable to me after prolonged use.

BTW Has anyone here tried grados headphones? I have a somewhat audiophile friend that swears by them.
 
Pinipig523 said:
You said comfy and you mention grados? Both dont go together my friend.
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I agree. Even with the Sennheiser pads on them, I still could only listen maybe a couple hours at most before I had to take a break.

Perhaps a Senn. HD580/600 and an amp would be in order?
 
strid3r said:
I agree. Even with the Sennheiser pads on them, I still could only listen maybe a couple hours at most before I had to take a break.

Perhaps a Senn. HD580/600 and an amp would be in order?
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The 600 with a Pimeta or PPA would be cool. However, his budget may only allow for just the phones.
 
I'm looking at the 580s and 600s right now. Whats the difference between the two aside from the $100+ price difference? They do look a lot more comfortable than my 280's though.

I'm using a regular Cmoy amp with my 280's at the moment. Probably not good enough to really take advantage of such high end headphones.
 
peacetilence said:
Probably not good enough to really take advantage of such high end headphones.
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Why does everyone question their sources when thinking of upgrading to better headphones?

An upgrade's an upgrade... plain and simple.

Or am I just showing how poor I truly am?
 
The HD580/600 is more comfortable than the 280 imo. Try to find a used HD580/600 to save some cash. Sometimes they pop-up on head-fi.org for around ~$120 (for the 580s).
 
Hands down most comfortable set I've ever tried - Audio Technica A500. Especially if you've got a big ears/head. At $100 it's a no brainer.
 
clarkkent333 said:
Hands down most comfortable set I've ever tried - Audio Technica A500. Especially if you've got a big ears/head. At $100 it's a no brainer.
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I'll second that these are really comfortable. Although I wouldn't say that my head and ears are big...
 
towert7 said:
Why does everyone question their sources when thinking of upgrading to better headphones?

An upgrade's an upgrade... plain and simple.

Or am I just showing how poor I truly am?
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I meant that the cmoy amp I have now probably isn't good enough to drive HD580/HD600's I'm sure those headphones kick the crap out of my 280's.
 
peacetilence said:
I'm looking at the 580s and 600s right now. Whats the difference between the two aside from the $100+ price difference?
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HD-600s look cooler + are more durable(carbon fibre for the win). They sound pretty much exactly the same (they use the same drivers)
 
ZOMGWTFBBQ said:
HD-600s look cooler + are more durable(carbon fibre for the win). They sound pretty much exactly the same (they use the same drivers)
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I wouldnt say that they sound the same. People online have said that they can hear a difference between the two and the drivers they use on the 580s are usually the drivers that didnt pass the requirements for being the 600 driver.
 
580s are amazing for the price: very comfortable and they sound great (you'll need an amp).
 
I use Sennheiser PC-150's for my gaming headset, and if I turn the mic up vertical. I could use em for TV use for hours on end.

Best quality headset I ever owned, great sound quality IMO (I'm partially deaf, so I don't get full audio clarity like most people) well worth the $40 I paid for them. I can game for hours and hours on end w/o a bit of discomfort from them. Occassionally the fact they press my ears against my glasses stems, that bugs me, but thats no fault of them.
 
thomase said:
I'll second that these are really comfortable. Although I wouldn't say that my head and ears are big...
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Another vote for the Audio Technica A500. These have large nice cushy pads, and great all around sound (music/gaming/ect.)
 
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