Decent Closed-Back Headphones...

What have you.


I'm slightly fed up with my earbuds and am considering getting a (reasonably) decent pair of 'proper' headphones. Am aware of the arguments of open vs closed (I dont want to irritate everyone around me), and also the apparent not-so-greatness of getting noise-cancelling headphones. I'm also aware that I'm going to get some responses of "go try some on" :)

So, a bit of googling has suggested the Sennheiser HD 380 Pro ones, and I think £100 is plenty as I'm no audiophile.

Thoughts?

@Mods - feel free to move this to the lifestyle section, I just thought it would get more views (and hopefully more suggestions) here.

Cheers,
Mark

I would look at the Goldring NS1000:

http://www.play.com/Electronics/Elec...rlrefer=search

The Shure 440s are also worth considering. I have them but I'm no audiophile so I can't really provide a description of the sound it produces. I'd advise you to check out Head-Fi for "pro" suggestions and advice.

EDIT: Shure 440s here for £65. I bought it from that site so I can say it's trustworthy; it did take a week to get here with the free delivery option though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH

I would look at the Goldring NS1000:

http://www.play.com/Electronics/Elec...rlrefer=search

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I'd seen them but the sound leakiness seems to be an issue:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Random guy off play.com

Playing any music at a medium to loud volume sounds like its being played from laptop or cheap speakers to everyone else around you.

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Whereas I've read that there's no sound leaking out of the 380's.

The 440s look alright, the guys at head-fi seem to like them too, will see what other 'phones get thrown up :)

[e!] Thanks for the suggestions guys :)

Beyerdynamic DT770. I picked a pair up about a year ago for around £80 at iheadphone if I recall correctly, brilliant headphones, love them to bits.



[edit] Just had a look at a few stores, seems they've taken quite a price hike since then :eek:

The Beyerdynamic were cheap when they replaced older models with newer ones, but they are mostly sold at higher price point. I vouch for the Audio-Technica ATH-500. More on my opinion here: http://forums.hexus.net/audio-visual...eadphones.html

+1 for the ATH-A500s. Have used the same set for 3-4 years and they sound good and are very comfortable, good for gaming and music.
£75 from here and £7 shipping.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lego batman

+1 for the ATH-A500s. Have used the same set for 3-4 years and they sound good and are very comfortable, good for gaming and music.
£75 from here and £7 shipping.

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Interesting... Just seen this from their site "All orders shipped from AC's warehouse in Osaka Japan. Import tax may be applicable for Europe-bound orders."

If I was going to be hit by import tax on a £75 item, how much am I looking at? If it's going to be £15-£20 I'm tempted to go for the 380s and get some quidco from play...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by streetster

If I was going to be hit by import tax on a £75 item, how much am I looking at? If it's going to be £15-£20 I'm tempted to go for the 380s and get some quidco from play...

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No Duty would be payable, just VAT, so £15.

Ah good spot - sorry I had forgotten about that part of it!
FWIW I think it is still quite a good price

£18 buys nice closed Senn's

you have to try them before saying no.. and at that price... if you don't like them.. give them to someone!
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/sennh...201-headphones

http://static.scan.co.uk/Images/Products/358856-a.jpg

worthy.. I promise :)

NS1000s are fairly leaky for closed headphones with ANR on. They leak a fair bit less with noise cancelling off. With it off they don't disturb others much. They are very demanding to run with noise cancelling off though and need an amp. Thankfully a cheap FiiO e5 or CMOY will do the trick. Without an amp and ANR off they really do sound dreadful (muddy with bloated bass) though.

They break the 'rule' for noise cancelling in that at the £50 to £60 they'll set you back they are by far the best sounding headphones I've heard (with ANR on or using a suitable amp). I've heard a lot of headphones in this price range and they sound so good that I wouldn't consider anything less than £100-120 to be an upgrade. They not far of the level of detail and fidelity of my Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro and Sennheiser HD600, which are far more expensive.

Don't buy them from play.com at the moment though. There have been reports of a very bad batch there, with early plastic breakage and problems with the noise cancelling circuitry. Superfi (on high street or through Amazon) seems to have been selling pairs that are still OK.

Edit: I once bought some Audio-Technica ATH A900s intended as an upgrade to my NS1000s. Although they were slightly better I didn't think there was enough difference to justify the cost of the Audio-Technicas so I sold them on.