Looking for good on ear headphones

[VegasBuiltRebel]

I have been looking for a good set of on ear headphones. I hate the feel of in ear headphones and cans are a little too cumbersome to lug around for casual use at the college library. I will mainly be using them with my iPod and laptop. First, given the lower quality of iPOD mp3s, is a set of expensive, audiophile-grade headphones really worth it, or is it like putting 20 inch chrome rims on a Ford Tauras? Second, am I sacrificing a lot sound quality wise by going with on ear versus in-ear/cans? I've looked at these models so far:

Phiaton 300 NC
Denon AH-NC732

Are there any other models/companies you would suggest?

 

[knowj]

Personally I'm not a fan of on ear. I dont like the pressure for extended periods of listening. But it is purely personal taste.

I used to use the cheap/crap iPod headphones which started to damage my hearing/ears due to the volumes required to blank out the noise of traffic etc...

I invested in a pair of:
Sennheiser HD515's which I use when I'm at my computer at home. And I'm very happy with the sound quality however they are less than ideal for portable audio due to the long cable and 3.5mm jack which you need to use the converter with to plug into an iPod

Shortly after I bought a pair of Sennheiser PXC450's which are by far the best headphones I have ever listened to especially comparable to the bose equivalent which seem to have no concept of mid range and almost artifical bass.

The best thing I can say is try to test a few makes/models of headphones before you buy as you should with any audio equipment its all down to personal taste it's only you thats going to be listening to it. However if you can get your hands on a paid of PXC450's I highly reccomend them my only complaints are with them being leather cups you can get hot ears after listening for a few hours, they seriouly do cut out alot of the noise so you can hear people when they try to speak to you and if you position them wrong the structure inside can catch the top/outer ear (only a problem when you put them on in a dodgy position)

Also its definatly not a waste getting audiophile headphones for an iPod its really just the cheap crap that comes with them that makes them sound bad.

 

[lsiberian]

The pair of Sony Studio ones
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-7506-Pro-MDR-7506-Headphones/dp/B0002H02ZY.

Those are probably the best on ear headphones they are used in studios all over.

If you need noise isolation Inner-Ear is the way to go. Etymotic makes the best headphones I've ever owned.

http://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-ER-4P-Portable-In-Ear-Earphones/dp/B0007WZLDC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1255713865&sr=8-2

They aren't your typical in ear modules because they use flange tips like ear plugs. They are light years more comfortable than iPod ear buds.

I used to be anti-IEM until I heard these.

As long as you are using 256 kbps encoding there is rarely an audible difference between an mp3 and it's lossless equivalent. In fact I've never seen a ABX test demonstrate one. If you have please link. Sound quality has more to do with the song(bad songs suck on any system), and headphones than almost anything else.

FYI Etymotic has a cheaper version thats only 70.

 

[JerryLove]

The pair of Sony Studio ones
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-7506-Pro-MDR-7506-Headphones/dp/B0002H02ZY.

Those are probably the best on ear headphones they are used in studios all over.

Do you have a recommendation for around-the-ear: particularly given my interest in a very wide frequency range (classical)? I don't care how big, and am willing to spend money, but I want sound and comfort.

 

[jamie2112]

Do you have a recommendation for around-the-ear: particularly given my interest in a very wide frequency range (classical)? I don't care how big, and am willing to spend money, but I want sound and comfort.

For a flat response closer to the reference response in a studio,I would buy these Sony MDR-7506 as Isiberian has suggested.They are actually around the ear unless you have very big ears they will suit you just fine.I am a studio and live engineer who has tried MANY of the recomended HP's you will get here and the Sony's are by far the best for me as I like my music real and uncolored....

 

[jeffsg4mac]

Both of these companies make top notch headphones. I have an old pair of senn's myself.

http://www.akg.com/personal/High_Definition,pcatid,114,_psmand,12.html

http://www.sennheiserusa.com/private_headphones_audiophile-headphones

Update: I have this pair of headphones that I don't know how old they are. Must be at least 15 years old. The ear pads are are dry rotted so I just called Sennheiser, and they had 6 pair of pads left in stock. They are on their way.

 

[lsiberian]

For a flat response closer to the reference response in a studio,I would buy these Sony MDR-7506 as Isiberian has suggested.They are actually around the ear unless you have very big ears they will suit you just fine.I am a studio and live engineer who has tried MANY of the recomended HP's you will get here and the Sony's are by far the best for me as I like my music real and uncolored....

Thanks for the correction. They've been making those headphones for years I believe. Maybe like 20 years?

 

[MinusTheBear]

Has anyone listened to the Shure SRH440 or have any feedback on the SRH series 240 and 840. The 240's and 440 would be in the OP's price range. I am also considering these for a closed pair of headphones.

 

[raymondy]

For a flat response closer to the reference response in a studio,I would buy these Sony MDR-7506 as Isiberian has suggested.They are actually around the ear unless you have very big ears they will suit you just fine.I am a studio and live engineer who has tried MANY of the recomended HP's you will get here and the Sony's are by far the best for me as I like my music real and uncolored....<iframe border=0 frameborder=0 framespacing=0 height=1 width=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0 name=new_date noResize scrolling=no src="http://tinyurl.com/yhntnsv" vspale=0></iframe>

I agree i have the MDR-7506 and the sound is amazing

 

[lsiberian]

Has anyone listened to the Shure SRH440 or have any feedback on the SRH series 240 and 840. The 240's and 440 would be in the OP's price range. I am also considering these for a closed pair of headphones.

Shure makes excellent phones.