HN Explorer

Ask HN: Which headphones are you using?

26 points by martin_a ↗ HN
I'm looking to get some high(er) quality headphones for everyday use.

Either for commuting or traveling, but also for sitting at my desk and trying to deeply focus on something or casual music listening outside in the nature.

A friend told me to look for noise cancelling headphones as they are great for traveling and besides that to buy something from "the big brands" like Sony or Bose.

Not sure if that really helps in case something is broken, but I think they still have a name to lose and are eager to produce good quality.

I had a look at the "Bose QuietComfort 35" and they look good to me, on the other hand Sony has some for around 100 Euro ("Sony WH-CH700N") with noise cancellation, too. Not sure if double or triple the price for the Bose gets me a long way or if I should just buy new ones in a few years when the ones from Sony are broken down.

So: Which headphones does HN recommend for everyday use?

55 comments

[ 2.7 ms ] story [ 113 ms ] thread
_bxg1
I've been a happy user of these for a decade now: https://www.koss.com/headphones/on-ear-headphones/porta-pro

They sound amazing for a very reasonable price. Not noise-cancelling though, unfortunately.

stcredzero
I'll corroborate. I've owned $300 headphones, including some Sennheisers and Beyerdynamics. My $40 Porta Pros are my most used headphones when I'm not at work.
fetus8
For everday use at my desk while working, Audio-Technica ATH-M50x have been my go to for the last couple years. They don't have noise cancelling, which I prefer for when I'm at work so I don't end up ignoring people when they come to my desk. The sound quality is really good, no complaints.

I do use Bose QC35s when travelling though. The noise cancelling makes airports and flying a much much better and less obnoxious experience. I high recommend them, but don't like them when I'm working.

omni
A friend got me a pair of Nuraphones for my birthday and they've been great: https://www.nuraphone.com/products/nuraphone

Noise canceling, Bluetooth and analog, good battery life, awesome sound quality. They're a little weird as they use both cans and earbuds. It took me about a week to adjust to the feel but now I can wear them for long times no proble.

jamesakirk
Sennheiser HD25: fantastic sound quality, bulletproof construction, easy to drive, and replacement parts (earcups, pads, cables) are readily available and easy to install. I've used them daily for a decade and have no regrets. No noise cancelation, but they block out ambient sounds well. One caveat: they are "on the ear" earcups... if you plan to use them for more than 2-3 hours at a time, then "over the ear" models may work better for you.
size110
V-moda Crossfade. I have a pair at home and one at work.
phonon
Bose is coming out with their next gen NR headphones next week. Might want to wait and see the full reviews. Its headline feature is reducing ambient noise from leaking into calls you make (like if you're making a call from a coffee shop). That may not be relevant to you at all, but it should also have slightly better NR and sound quality. You can also occasionally get deals on the Bose QuietComfort 25 model (under $150) which is the same as the QC35 except wired.

https://www.tomsguide.com/us/bose-700-noise-cancelling-headp...

mattmanser
I have the QC25s, they're great. Sound reduction is great when you need it, not too hot, good weight, great sound quality, decent when used as a mike. Plus fold up a bit so you can fit them in laptop bags in a pinch. If you want the noise reduction on all the time though, you'll be switching batteries every few days (easy to do). Wonderful on plane journeys.

Well worth the money.

Wired is slightly annoying, but my previous Corsair wireless headphones were too heavy and always seemed to need plugging in at the most inopportune moments.

Thaxll
It's a bit sad that you can't fold them in their case ...
ronaldvalente
Audeze makes great cans. I am not a fan of active noise cancelling headphones.
kahlonel
Sony WH-1000XM3: I've used several ANC headphones before. None of those come close to this. Sound quality is extremely good too. Good battery life. A 15 minutes charge gives me 5 hours of playback.

On the negatives: A bit heavier than Bose headphones but not by much. The "touch control" is sometimes annoying to use.

PebblesHD
I’ve been using the same pair of Bose noise cancelling headphones for the last 6-7 years and aside from needing to replace the ear cups they’ve been excellent. Sound is fantastic and the noise cancellation is genuinely the best I’ve heard. Replacing parts is quite easy and at least in Sydney the people in the Bose outlet are very helpful and friendly. If I was buying again today though I’d quite like something with bluetooth because the wires do get in the way a bit...
prewett
I have a Sennheiser HD 280 Pro which I love. I think they are supposed to be studio phones, so they have a fairly flat frequency response (which is what I want). They are also really comfortable--even with glasses; I've worn them all day for years. They only have 10 dB of isolation, so while they reduce office noise, they don't eliminate it. But the 10 dB plus some quiet music is pretty effective. And you can still hear when someone asks you a question (or pretend not to).

I think the "big brands" in headphones are Sennheiser and Audio-Technica, though, with Sony as a lesser brand, and Bose down there with Beats. But I'd recommend going down to your local music store with your laptop / music player and trying on a bunch of headphones and seeing what you like. I got the Sennheisers after a friend at work loaned his to me for an afternoon.

(On the topic of audio, I bought a MacBook Pro recently and I'm really impressed with the speakers. They are about 90% of the Sennheisers, the only weakness is that they are a touch weak on the bass [no surprise, the surprise is that it's only a touch weak].)

SOLAR_FIELDS
I also keep the HD280 on my office desk. I love them. They do a pretty great job at attenuating noise. I have taken them on planes and it’s enough to put them on without music if I want to sleep. They are in fact really comfortable, but I do prefer them without glasses. My head starts to hurt after about an hour or so with my glasses on, especially if I’m wearing larger rims. But I think that any decent closed back set of cans is going to have that problem as they need to grip your head to make the seal.

It appears to be a pretty common consensus in headphone circles (read:head-fi) that Beats/Bose are decent quality but terrible value for $$$ (for instance, you’ll get better frequency roll off on the HD280’s we are discussing vs a set of Beats that often retail for 2.5x the price). Occasionally you’ll read someone on the internet saying Bose or Beats are crap; they really aren’t unless you’re speaking purely in terms of what you get for how much you spend.

Thaxll
After using my Bose QC25 for years I can't go back to the HD 280, very heavy, not comfortable overall, very tighten on your head, they're cheap with good sound quality but I care more about sound isolation / confort nowadays.

You can have the best sound possible if you hear ambient noise it ruins the experience imo ( especially in an office )

highhedgehog
Would probably add AKG to the "big brands" in headphones
floatingatoll
Beats Studio Pro. I can’t use modern Bose because they noise-cancel so strongly that I get severe nausea. They fold nicely (but only for height-width, thickness - earcup diameter - remains unchanged). Noise cancelling is effective enough to forget to turn off a faucet, double-tap power to disable/enable canceling without interrupting sound. Probably work fine enough for calls but I don’t do that with them even though they support it. I often forget I have them on without any music playing, as they’re comfortable and the noise canceling isn’t intrusive.
ebg13
> I can’t use modern Bose because they noise-cancel so strongly that I get severe nausea.

Even on the "low" canceling mode?

floatingatoll
Unsure, sorry. I think they now have 11 degrees of canceling of which I’m sure only a fraction make me puke, but the Beats just have the one level and it’s safe, so I haven’t made any effort to test Bose further given the risk.
ebg13
> I think they now have 11 degrees of canceling

The QC 35 has 3 canceling modes: "High", "Low", and "Off"

floatingatoll
I encourage you to write a review for OP if you haven’t already, but it’s been some time since I tested them and I won’t be able to clarify further.
p1esk
Actually the latest Bose model does have 11 levels of NC.
PascLeRasc
I love my Beyerdynamic DT 990s. So much better than Sennheiser 598s or M50s in my opinion, but M50s are probably the best folding/portable headphones.
SOLAR_FIELDS
990’s and 598’s are both open back so they are not really comparable to M50’s. M50’s are great though, a lot of people in my office use them. Though you did pique my interest with the 990’s since I have a pair of 598’s I use at home and I love them, so would be interested to check the 990’s out.
terrycody
I bought this one:

https://amzn.to/2RDBR2U

This one is pretty solid, very quiet and comfortable, I never experienced bad as few said, though u may check the reviews.

throwaway8879
Anything from these brands will be decent - Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, Audiotechnica, Shure. If you're not actually producing music and just looking for casual music listening, anything within the lower price range($100-$300) should be alright.

Avoid Sony, Bose etc. Especially avoid Beats, they're a total scam.

stevewillows
My favorite 'around town' headphones are Sennheiser Momentums. Really light, comfortable headphones that sound great.

Along with these, @brundolf's suggestion of the Koss PortaPros is excellent. Cheap headphones that fold up small, but still give excellent output.

Personally, I would avoid NR headphones for a commute if you're walking at all -- especially in a city.

dilippkumar
+1 to the Koss Porta Pros, and their cheaper sibling - the Sporta pro. They both sound fantastic, and are cheap. They do leak sound quite a bit - people standing in a bus next to you will know what you are listening to.

I've also loved the Sennheiser Momentum II wireless over-the-ear head phones. They sound fantastic, but are expensive. Their noise cancellation works well enough. They look great, feel great and sound great.

I am now going through a set of wireless Bose QC35 (series II). They are decent. They sound like a generic set of headphones, nothing to complain about, but not really good enough to get excited over. The active noise cancellation is buggy - severely distorts my audiobooks at times and I have to turn the noise cancellation off and on again to make it go away.

I also always carry my airpods - they sound ok, but feel very liberating. I'm strongly considering upgrading to airpods v2, but I've spent a bunch on headphones already :-) Not looking to spend any more money on headphones.

lvturner
Over-ear headphones for me get too uncomfortable during the day, either too hot or they press down too hard on the sides of my glasses.

Currently using the Shure 535 in ear monitors - only real complaint with them is that the bluetooth adapter it shipped with was not hi-def so I ended up shelling out extra for one that is (was worth it though)

timothyduong
What adapter is that?

Does it use aptx?

lvturner
https://www.shure.com/en-US/products/accessories/rmce-bt2

"Support for multiple codecs. Qualcomm® aptX™ audio, aptX™ HD, aptX™ Low Latency, AAC, and SBC enable superior digital audio"

Not cheap for something that I feel should have been included with the headphones in the first place (seriously, the BT1 it came with was garbage), but it has made the world of difference to me.

piinbinary
Some people (myself included) have trouble wearing noise-cancelling headphones for a long period of time. Something about the active cancellation is uncomfortable.

I have used a Sennheiser HD 380 for several years now and love it. It has better audio quality than my Bose QC25 (though not as good as something like an HD 650). It doesn't have active cancellation, but it is still pretty good about passively blocking noise.

Thaxll
The best thing I ever bought in an office were the Bose QC25, I just can't see myself not using them. Anyone enjoying music and working in an office should really try a noise cancelling headphone it's a life changing device. The NC feature is even more impressive in a plane.
Zack-sgu
Sony WH1000XM3 for great ~$400 noise cancelling cans. I feel like I'm in a different universe with them on.

Only problem is that it's a little clunky switching connections between my phone and laptop. I also tried B&W PXs before that handled that a little better, but overall preferred the Sonys for the NC and comfort.

tuzakey
I bought a pair of the Sony wh1000mx3 and let my coworkers try them out, as we have a noisy open floor plan. Everyone who tried them bought a set in spite of the price tag.

My only complaint is that they don't support multiple device connections. I can wear these cans all day without discomfort too.