I came across the AKG K240 for $54, but its top Amazon review says it’s for studio purposes so don’t get them for “any kind of audio entertainment”. I want headphones for movies/anime/music so I’m looking for open or semi-open circumaural / around the ear headphones around $50 or less that’re long lasting, so need a detachable cable or an easy way to make it last.
I tried the Sennheiser HD202 before, but I prefer how much brighter, clearer, and wider open my Koss KSC75 / UR40 sounds. I’m fine with heavy or light bass and my favorite genres are dance/EDM and pop, like Zedd - Clarity.
The only real cheap things I can think of is the shp9500 for about $65 maybe if you want to buy used you could try looking for an hd560s or hd58x jubilee and last dt990.
I only know of 1 thing that will fit your requirements, and you are in luck, because there is 1 of them left for sale on amazon.
Here is a video that will tell you why you should buy them.
Here is the link to go buy them.
I suggest buying them, and if you don’t like them, send them back for free and get your money back (amazon’s return policy is a great insurance policy)
And I do not suggest waiting long to buy them. That’s a very good price on those headphones. And since the last set is up for sale now, you should snag it before someone else does.
You can always cancel your amazon order if you think it was a mistake. But Zeos is trustworthy. And this is a good bargain on those headphones.
(ah, I just noticed that you specified open backed, I do not have a great suggestion for open backed headphones, I focus almost exclusively on closed back)
The microphone and the cable are entirely removable.
At very low prices it is difficult to get all things in headphones, and sadly durability is one of the first things that goes at the very low price tiers.
Speaking of that however… Did I mention the ones I talked about previously are 51 dollars right now? I feel like I should have mentioned that earlier…
But back to the main topic, the best headphones I can think of that offer great sound, durability, and the sort of longer lasting experience you are after tend to start over 100 dollars, and even then, there are many pitfalls in that price range where the products are still of low quality.
I know you are interested primarily in open-back headphones, but sadly my focus is only on closed back, so I can only really speak with experience about those.
But don’t despair! There are many folks around here who will likely hop in and have suggestions for you too!
I will offer 1 more suggestion as an example of what I mean. I recently bought the Meze 99 Noir as a christmas present for a family member, and I have tested them out, and I can report that they are quite good headphones for the price. Good build quality, light, and even though they say they are closed-back, they still have some sound that you can hear, so you are never entirely unaware of what might be going on around you. - The price listed for them is actually quite reasonable for this particular level of headphone at 180 dollars for the wood cup version - these are normally around 200 for the cheap plastic versions and 300 for the wood.
*click the little down arrow next to this so you can expand and read the whole post in this thread.
Hmm… Here is a z reviews video on that topic. it’s an old video now, but he seemed to like them.
After watching the video and checking up on things a bit more, it appears they are a good choice. Replacing the pads may be tricky if you ever need to do that, but they should hold up decently well, judging from the materials used.
Wow, wish I could express how much I appreciate you taking the time to send me so much information! The MH751 definitely does seem like a great deal, but open sounds better than closed to me and big closed headphones get hot. But I wrote it down if I do ever need great closed headphones, thank you so much!
Thank you too for the Meze info and link, enjoyed the read! Guess that would be the next step up from the MH751 if I need closed headphones later.
the best headphones I can think of that offer great sound, durability, and the sort of longer lasting experience you are after tend to start over 100 dollars
Darn. Someone here mentioned the $65 Philips SHP9500, guess those aren’t durable then? I’ll only use them at my desk so they’ll be indoors without much movement. Would you know how I can find how long they’d probably last, or should I just go through Amazon reviews or something?
Oh wow, you’ve already linked a review for this! And even watched the review and checked up on it So incredibly nice and helpful of you! Checking your vid now, thank you so much!!
So, durability is a compilation of many factors. If you are gentle with them, the SHP9500’s should last a good long time. Just don’t throw them around, if you take them off your head, lay them down gently instead of dropping them. Try not to sit or step on them. Things like that.
The wire is removable by default, that is good because it means you can easily replace the wire, or get microphone boom arms added fairly easily (the v-moda boom pro as mentioned in the video for example).
The weak point of this will be the pads. And that comes down to us being people with skin, and that skin has oils that will eventually get into the pads and cause them to wear. This is unavoidable. But pads can often be replaced, and if you are willing to get a bit ‘crafty’ you can buy pads that would fit, and rip off the old pads and glue another set of them on.
more expensive headphones have pads that are intended to be easily replaceable, the SHP9500’s are glued on, but this doesn’t mean you can’t replace them! It just means it will take more work to do so.
From experience, pads tend to last a decently long time, you are looking at around 1-4 years of use on those pads, (likely even longer) depending on how much you use your headphones - how much you sweat while wearing them, etc… When they start to wear you will know, because the cloth will start separating from the foam underneath. But you can stretch that out by gluing or sewing it back down. Having a strap for the top is useful, because it will keep the metal that holds the headphones together from resting directly on your head, this adds tremendously to comfort, (the same danger as I mentioned for the pads will also be a risk for the top strap, but that should be manageable and repairable, you can probably even sew cloth on to repair things if you really need to.
For your budget, i would say that is probably about the best you will find for any new products.
Do not buy the ‘extra warranty’ on amazon - it’s a rip off. If you don’t find any problems with the headphones in the first month, then they will likely last you for many years. Of course treat them gently and that will expand their lifespan significantly.
I’m happy to help! I was digging into the rabbit hole of audio some more. … and I found another great choice for 150$. (yes I know it’s more than your budget, and it looks like it’s a closed back, but it’s still worth watching.)
The hilarious part is they have cooling gel in the pads.
But back to what you are really after.
Even after all the random research i’ve continued to do - the SHP9500’s still seem like the best choice for new headphones that are close to 50$, I can’t find anything better than those which even comes anywhere near what you are after. So I can say with a decent amount of confidence, that if you want to go ‘new’ and don’t want to tackle the used market, then go with the SHP9500’s.
And don’t worry about my taking time to do research, I like researching audio equipment… so this is fine!
So incredibly nice and helpful of you! Checking your vid now, thank you so much!!
