Headphone suggestions

[Yusunoha]

for a few years now I've been using the SHP2000 headphones from Philips. through the years I kept buying them when my old ones broke because I knew these fitted pretty good for me, but overall the break pretty fast, so I always ended up covering them completely in tape to get the damn thing to stay together.

so I was looking for a new headphone and decided to try out the Razer Electra, as I wanted a headphone that goes over the ears
http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-audio/razer-electra/

while it's not a bad headphone, it isn't really a headphone that completely goes over my ears, and with my SHP2000 headphones I was still able to hear other things around me, but the Electra completely blocks out any sounds from my surroundings. while most people probably like that, I rather like to still hear things around me.

so once again I'm looking for some new headphones. to sum up the things I'm looking for in a headphone is one that goes over the ears, but because the Electra didn't completely went over my ears, it probably needs to be quite a big headphone. I also still need to be able to hear some sounds around me, so the headphone shouldn't block out any surrounding noises. I really prefer a headphone that's not wireless, as I don't really like wireless. it'd also be nice if the headphone had a microphone, but only if you're able to either take off the headphone, or hide it somewhere inside the headphone, as I don't like having a microphone out all the time...

so I was hoping if anyone had some good suggestions for me for a new headphone...

 

[Tristam Izumi]

So it sounds like you want some circumaural open-backed headphones. Definitely doable. I'm fairly happy with my Audio-Technica ATH-A500's, though those are close-backed; they make an open-back version (AD500) that should cost about the same (I got mine for ~$100 for mine).

 

[Yusunoha]

So it sounds like you want some circumaural open-backed headphones. Definitely doable. I'm fairly happy with my Audio-Technica ATH-A500's, though those are close-backed; they make an open-back version (AD500) that should cost about the same (I got mine for ~$100 for mine).

they look pretty nice... how durable is your headphone? as with the new headphone I'm looking for I'm not really planning on having to wrap it full of tape to be able to keep using it like the damn philips I've now...

 

[Tristam Izumi]

they look pretty nice... how durable is your headphone? as with the new headphone I'm looking for I'm not really planning on having to wrap it full of tape to be able to keep using it like the damn philips I've now...

Pretty durable so far. The cord is extra long and braided, the plug and where the cord connects to the headphones are reinforced, and is generally of a sturdy build. It does have two separate padded "arms" that brace against your head; they do seem to the the least sturdy thing on the AH500's, but I wouldn't call them flimsy by any strech, and they do allow the top of your head to breathe (some headphones have a solid strap across this area to provide a snug fit.

Also since they're circumaural, they can get a bit warm under the ears after extended use, and if you're a glasses wearer like myself, you may find it adds pressure to the arms, but this will be true of any circumaural headphone you get.

I've had it for about a month now, and the only other warning I can give is that if you're a big heavy bass kind of person, these aren't the cans for you. They're very flat across the audible spectrum, and provide a wonderful sound stage for a broad spectrum of music. I actually played around with my equalizer in Winamp the other day and came to the conclusion that the Flat and Classical presets sounded best, even when listing to the very varied selection of music I have (from hip hop to classical to dissonance to ambient to metal to ramble rock to... well, almost everything).

 

[Yusunoha]

Pretty durable so far. The cord is extra long and braided, the plug and where the cord connects to the headphones are reinforced, and is generally of a sturdy build. It does have two separate padded "arms" that brace against your head; they do seem to the the least sturdy thing on the AH500's, but I wouldn't call them flimsy by any strech, and they do allow the top of your head to breathe (some headphones have a solid strap across this area to provide a snug fit.

Also since they're circumaural, they can get a bit warm under the ears after extended use, and if you're a glasses wearer like myself, you may find it adds pressure to the arms, but this will be true of any circumaural headphone you get.

I've had it for about a month now, and the only other warning I can give is that if you're a big heavy bass kind of person, these aren't the cans for you. They're very flat across the audible spectrum, and provide a wonderful sound stage for a broad spectrum of music. I actually played around with my equalizer in Winamp the other day and came to the conclusion that the Flat and Classical presets sounded best, even when listing to the very varied selection of music I have (from hip hop to classical to dissonance to ambient to metal to ramble rock to... well, almost everything).

I'm not really and audiophile, so I'm not that picky about the sound, though I don't really like if I have to set the volume to like 50% to barely hear what's going on.
it's always pretty difficult to find the right headphones because everyone is different, so it's hard to go by the opinions of others