My current pair of headphones is the Sony MDR-7506. They are hugely uncomfortable when they rest on the harder cartilage areas of my ears for even a short while.
Here’s what I’m hoping to find:
Looking to purchase a pair of both open back and closed back.
Uses are general purpose and gaming (casual or semi-casual/semi-competitive).
Ideally under $100 but I’m okay if it goes up to $200 or bit more (on or off sale).
Not crazy hard to drive.
Secondary Concerns but not Deal Breakers: * Prefer the feel of velour or similar. * Detachable cable would be 3.5mm on both ends.
For closed, I think the beyerdynamic dt770 250 ohm (or 80ohm) would be a good choice imo, but they don’t have a detachable cable unfortunately
For open, the he4xx might be up your alley imo. They are comfortable and sound great, and also have detachable 3.5mm cables. I also really like the hd58x as well if you want a warmer sound signature compared to the more v shaped 4xx
I think the shp9500 might be something to consider, although it’s not my favorite, a fair amount of people like it and it is very comfortable and has a 3.5 mm removable cable. It also has some nice cloth pads
I probably could have left off the whole velour and wanting the 3.5mm to be on both ends. Feel free to ignore those parts completely. For example, I’ve considered the Status Audio CB-1 which don’t appear to be velour.
The DT770’s are something I would very much like, but that lack of a detachable cable is a real bummer.
The one thing that gives me pause about the CB-1’s are the build quality that I keep seeing everyone mention. That said, they’ve been around $47 this weekend on Amazon.
That’s good to hear. I keep hoping to find more options
I saw Z’s review of the Fidelio X2HR’s - looks interesting and perhaps earpads / earcups might be deeper? Given the sale price they seem quiet tempting for the open backs.
They are fairly comfy but I am not a big fan of the sound. I think they are kinda unrefined and the overwhelming in the bass region which kind of intrudes on the mid-range, kinda giving them a muddy sound. I do know people who enjoy it but personally it’s not for me
Being so new to learning about headphones, it’s hard to know where to start when making a first real purchase (outside the Sony’s I purchased ages ago). I appreciate Z’s reviews and the forums here, but I’m still in over my head. Having your input is super helpful.
Not to distract from the main goal of my post, but do you have any recommendation for a brand or specific replacement cable that include an inline volume control?
Good question - apologies for the vagaries. To be honest, I don’t know / I’m ignorant and hadn’t considered this as an option (not sure the advantages/disadvantages).
For instance, let’s say were’ talking about the CB-1’s.
Hmmmm, I haven’t heard anything about them changing that. They specifically list it on the page for the 35X and Edition XX, but don’t have any mention of it for the 4XX.
Received the CB-1’s. They’ve changed the pads since Z’s review - they’re now slightly less deep. While this might not be an issue for some, it was for me. Thankfully Status Audio was willing to send me a pair of the old pads, though I’m not 100% sure that will be the case with others looking for the same. Headphones are doing fine for me now. Just need to replace the stock cables, as they’re a bit unwieldy.
A question about the cable you linked to - what’s the advantage or disadvantage of using a digital control vs potentiometer?
So a digital control on the cable just interfaces with the phone and adjusts the phones volume. A potentiometer will physically adjust the signal independent of the phones volume. A digital control can be nice if your phone works with it. A potentiometer will work no matter what you have it plugged into, but you might have some issues with channel imbalance or quality loss if you have a bad pot for the volume wheel in the cable
