6
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Looking for headphone recommendations
My current headphones (Philips TAH8506) are pretty worn out from daily use and recently a bit of plastic on the side cracked, so I figured it'd be a good time to get new ones. Since I know very little about literally any audio hardware it seems a good idea to ask here. Things I'm generally looking for:
- must be over-ear
- decent sound quality; I'm not going to pretend I'm an audiophile, the ones I have now are sufficient so anything as good will do
- connectivity: this is where things get tricky. My current usage is being connected through a jack when using pc and bluetooth when using my phone. These 2 connection modes are a must for me. However, I'd also really like if I was able to connect to pc over 2.4gz with a dongle because bluetooth latency is, frankly, awful. It's mostly why I use a wired connection to pc.
- microphone is not needed (in fact I'd prefer if they don't have one)
- ideally not more than $200
- available in Europe without oversea shipping
- nice to have, but not required:
- a way to control playback (pause/volume etc) from the headphones. The ones I have now have a touch panel on the right and I occasionally use it (but probably wouldn't miss it)
- ANC
- cat-resistant cables (probably no such thing exists)
I'd also appreciate general pointers regarding which brands provide good quality at a decent price to make searching easier. Thanks in advance for any answers!
If you really want ANC and BT capabilities, you're basically limited to a finite market of headphones, of which Apple, Sony, and Bose seem to have the best reputations in. I'm not sure if you can avoid a microphone with any of them, though.
If you just want sound quality at a good price and can deal with wired connections and no ANC, and guarantee no micrphones, and some rudimentary level of cat protection (i.e. replaceable wires), look into Beyerdynamic's lineup, specifically the DT 700 PRO X or the DT 900 PRO X depending on if you want open-backed or closed-back headphones. They can be found for 200€ usually. If you can skip the replaceable wires (and can deal with coiled wires), their older DT 770/880/990 line is still around for 125€ . It's a German brand with a lot of support so it will be easy to get repairs, parts, or support with them local in Europe.
I think you might be in luck if you move fast. Sennheiser just released their Momentum 5, which is clearly out of your budget range but that moves the Momentum 4 perfectly into the high end your price range.
https://eu.sennheiser-hearing.com/en-de/search?options%5Bprefix%5D=last&q=Momentum+4
I own a pair and they do everything that you want them to do, though I can't guarantee the cat proof wire, as my cats never have bad a chance to mess with the wire.
Just one FYI: ANC requires a mic, so i hope that isnt a deal breaker.
Do the Momentum range still have detachable cables? Sennheiser have done that for a LONG time - my very vintage and still amazing sounding HD360s from last century do, for example - and my M2s have plugs at each end as well, so if a wire gets catted OP can easily replace it for a relatively small handful of $currency.
You did always used to be forced to use Sennheiser's weird size jack housings which meant buying their own branded cables but they were never stupid expensive - which is a nice change for Sennheiser stuff.
My Sony WH-H900N would fit the bill perfectly, with the exception of 2.4GHz connectivity. They're comfortable over the ear with good sized ear cups, on-ear controls, Bluetooth, wired connection (thin, cat attractive cable included so you would need to add your own cat proof one - I nylon braid wrapped mine), the microphone is so bad it might as well not even exist, decent ANC despite that, and when I got them... 8 years ago? they were around 200USD.
Not sure if they're still around or what the equivalent model is, but it's possibly worth a look.
Although the Sennheiser mentioned elsewhere is also very very attractive - I might even look into a pair for myself...
FYI Active noise cancellation and no mic are strictly impossible. ANC works by using a microphone and playing the inverted waveform through the headphones. ANC without a mic is impossible.
I guess it is possible to make headphones where the ANC mics aren't sent through Bluetooth or the audio jack. But I don't see why a manufacturer would bother. For $0 extra, they can enable the mic that some people will use.
Edit: Cat resistant cables do kinda exist. Just buy headphones where the cable can be replaced and get a new one whenever it gets destroyed.
I personally have been really happy with Anker's Soundcore options. Pretty solid stuff for the low price.
I have also been using Soundcore for a few years, quality for price point is certainly good and I was pleasantly surprised when one of my earphones died early and they replaced the whole thing with minimal questions. But I'm becoming increasingly disgruntled the more and more ads and junk they put into their app. But I only need the app to check battery/charging status of the other earphone when wearing just one (and occasionally to check whether ANC turned on accidentally or I'm just crazy), so maybe OP can entirely avoid the app.
I don't use wireless headphones, else I would try to help. If you don't find answers here, try this subforum at Headfi. https://www.head-fi.org/forums/introductions-help-and-recommendations.7840/
Headfi is dedicated to audio, mostly headphones, and they will know the subject.