Hi Fi headphone buying.

tomstickland

Here's my spec:
-not cordless
-not in ear
-not noise cancelling
-for listening to CDs from Hi Fi seperates

-price £40 up to around £80

I've seen these so far

Sennheiser £38
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-HD215-Closed-Back-Headphone/dp/B0007QN180/ref=sr_1_29/026-2770152-0137240?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1185568348&sr=8-29

Sony £42
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-MDR-V500DJ-Professional-Headphones-Housing/dp/B00005QBU7/ref=sr_1_46/026-2770152-0137240?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1185568384&sr=8-46

£75 Sony
http://www.amazon.co.uk/o/ASIN/B00005QBU6/ref=s9_asin_title_2-2259_g1-1966_p/026-2770152-0137240?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=0ZBCNQZSMY7F85TMK9B4&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=139042191&pf_rd_i=468294

£100 Sennheiser
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-HD595-Open-Headphone-ohms/dp/B0001FTVE0/ref=pd_bbs_sr_10/026-2770152-0137240?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1185568457&sr=8-10

I'm a bit torn by a decent upgrade from what I've got for £40 versus spending £75 and getting a bit more still.

Maybe I should go for top dog?

crankup

I had similar requirements to yours 5-10yr ago. I went for Sennheiser HD270 closed back headphones. Still going strong. I'm glad I went for the closed back, I hear nothing but the audio and it doesnt have to be loud to achieve that either.
Any chance of getting to a local dealer and trying a few? I tried a few and I could only split them by comfort in the end.

Indulge!!

niceguyrichy

Don't buy sony. or if you do, only get the MDR - V6 's.

for the price range you're talking about the best headphones you can buy are very possibly Grado SR60's, as seen here. (I didn't look very hard, you'll probably find them a bit cheaper if you search)

Genghis

I have a pair of Sennheiser headphones in work, can't remember the model number I'm afraid but I can certainly vouch for their quality.

jpe20

Go for Sennheiser I got 3 pairs

The best are my hd-600s which are fantastic which I picked up for 100quid (Richer Sounds - long time ago), another pair of hd600 2nd time round for 130quid on offer from somewhere and a pair of hd590s which I picked up for 90quid from Richer Sounds.

The nice thing about the expensive Sennheisers are the fact you can replace the headphone cable, ear pads and headband etc though the components are dear to order I think makes these headphones last years. My first pair of hd600s which I purchased 7years ago are still going strong even though I have used them daily to watch TV. I have so far replaced the cables 3 times at 25-30 quid a pop!

Great headphones IMO dear initially but will last and probably more economical than spending 40quid every 6months on poor inferior headphones.

HTH
Jules

PS Another nice feature is that when you stand on the cable and "accidently" tug the cable it pops out such that you can simply plug it back in. This accidental tugging of the headphone cable damaged many a pair of cheaper "all in one moulded design" type headphones b4 I purchased these.

Play.com have some deals on Sennheisers in the past so worth checking them out.

wolfman

For the price range you mentioned, you can't beat the Grado SR60's as mentioned above. Stunning sound, even compared to more expensive headphones. When my Senn 280's pack in, I'll be getting the SR60's. They're perfect for home listening on the hifi.

tomstickland

Richer Sounds, now that's an idea. Also Play.com. I'll go and take a look.
I'm thinking Sennheiser or Grado.

tomstickland

Richer sounds clearance:
Grado SR80 £109.95
Sennheiser HD595 & HD280 £99
Grado SR60 £89.95
Sennheiser HD25SP £79.95
Sennheiser HD465 £49.95
Sennheiser PX200 £39.95

SR 60s are £65 at Amazon and the 80s are £80.

I'm going to ponder this for a while longer yet. I wonder if fully enclosed cans will be uncomfortable, and since I listen at home, there's no real issue with noise
escape.

I'm warming to the Sennheiser 595s at the moment. Along with the Grado SR80s

"Truly wonderful - they may not look it but these headphones are a bit special." What Hi-Fi Sound and Vision magazine.

tomstickland

http://www.audioreview.com/sf-1/befid-418/pid-21279800/productreviewscrx.aspxis a very useful review site.
which led me to this
http://www.headphone.com/guide/by-application/our-10-best-headphones
which has this comparison tool, I love this.
http://www.headphone.com/technical/product-measurements/build-a-graph.php?graphID%5B0%5D=243&graphID%5B1%5D=213&graphID%5B2%5D=135&graphID%5B3%5D=&graphType=0&buttonSelection=Compare+Headphones


I'm down to three models
Grado SR60: the thinking man's choice
Sennheiser 595: open design, but I love the looks and it has very good reviews
Sennheiser 280: closed design, same price as 595. Open vs closed. I think the former will be more comfortable and I'm not planning on using in a noisey environment.

I've also found that the Sennheiser 555 has identical performance to the 595, and is £55 vs £100.

I know that any of these will be a lot better than what I've got at the moment. So it's mainly an MSE style decision on whether twice as much money will give twice as much satisfaction.

Hmm, I prefer 595


or
555

to

oldagetraveller

I don't know what separates you have Tom, but if it is a decent system save up some more money and try these http://www.lordpercy.com/sennheiser_hd_650.htm
I realise they are more than double you intend to pay but they are absolutely astounding headphones. Prior to the HD650 I had a set of Grado SR80 which are very good but not in the same league as the HD650.
I tend to listen via the headphones more than my speakers now - they are THAT good. (also appreciated by my neighbours:D )
However, they are not forgiving of a bad source.

tomstickland

Law of diminishing returns though!

I found a trader selling new 595's for £80 on Amazon and that's pretty much the way I'm going to go.
I've had a look at the Sennheiser website and the only difference between the 555's and 595's is that the 595's show a slightly lower minimum frequency and 0.1% harmonic distortion rather than 0.2%.
The 595's have a list price not shy of £150, so I reckon they're going to be pretty good phones.