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Looking for Over-Ear Headphone Recommendations

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So I'm fairly new at this as most of the headphones / headsets I've previously owned have been bought and used with gaming in mind but that is more of a secondary factor for me now. I currently have a pair of Steelseries H Wireless headphones which I believe have since been renamed to the Steelseries Siberia 800's. These worked great for me while they lasted but after a couple years the plastic swivel has begun to crack which makes wearing them uncomfortable as the ear cups are no longer held into place properly.
Rather than just buying another pair I've been looking to see if there is anything else out there that I would like better. Comfort and sound quality would be my main concerns as I enjoy listening to music, watching TV and relaxing in my free time. Wireless would be nice but that would be secondary to comfort and audio quality. Closed back headphones would be highly preferred over open back because I live in a sometimes noisy environment and I want to avoid disturbing those who live with me. I've seen what appear to be many very good headphones but most of them seem to be open back so I'm just looking to hear what others have to say. As for a budget I would prefer to keep it at or below $300. I do plan on using these on a daily basis for the next few of years at least, hopefully longer. Any recommendations or advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Darphypoo
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RyCan
144
Jul 6, 2018
Sennheiser Game Zero. They are similar to the PC37X set sold on MD but are closed back
Sloblo
409
Feb 23, 2018
Akg k7xx sold on here are godlike for gaming and music at their 200$ cost. add a modmic for 40$ and you‘re hifi headset land. Only weakness is the cable is mad long and they are open backed so everyone in the room gets to listen as well.
Angra
54
Jan 19, 2018
AKG K553s are amazing for closed phones. Super wide soundstage, comfort for days, somewhat viable for portable use (you can drive them with a phone) although they are huge. Amazing mids, accurate and detailed but lean bass (read non-bloated). Great overall balance. Price is only around $130 or so on Amazon currently so you can't go wrong. When they came out, some reputable reviewers said they sound better than the open AKG K702s. (Original k550s were more like $300 MSRP and they sound pretty darn identical so don't need to worry about them being so cheap)
If you want something that you can use in transit as well the PSB M4U2s are pretty darn good sounding and more isolating (punchier bass than the K553s, but more compact soundstage). They also have a built in amp mode and active noise cancelling and come with a mic cable so you can use them with your phone or for pc gaming (need an adapter if you have seperate mic and headphone in/out on your desktop but not if you have a laptop with 1 out/in). It comes in at $250 on PSB's website. The M4U1 which doesn't include the amp and noise cancelling functions is only $179 as well.
Overall closed headphones imo don't come anywhere close to open headphones in terms of sound quality so I'd say don't try and max out your budget. You could get a good pair of IEMs or put that money towards an open pair later.
DaBigBoom
8
Jan 19, 2018
If you travel more often, you might want to try the Sony MDR-1000x. Notice that i didn't say the WH-1000xM2s, because they just offer better touch controls and small upgrades to the original. Other headphones i like are the Audio-Technica ATH dsr7bt and msr7bk. They both are very nice Bluetooth headphones. If you want to do wired, the best i can recommend are the ATH m50x. (Im an Audio-Technica fanboy btw)
DaBigBoomAlso the M2's add AptX HD along with the things you mention.... I know because it's a feature I wish the 1000X's had... at least until my V20 gets Android 8.0 and LDAC
MXRC
261
Mar 10, 2017
This is gonna sound crazy, but you can grab a pair of Koss Porta Pro for $50. It's considered by most to be the gateway drug to hifi. It's got a warm sound signature. The sound stage isn't super wide, but I've found the thing to be amazing for gaming. It's light so you can wear it for hours. The mic is awesome (don't buy the KTC version). You won't find any bad reviews of these headphones.
Also, if your goal is to have start delving into a higher quality sound, my recommendation is not to go wireless, since Bluetooth compresses audio. You don't want that if you're paying upwards of $300 dollars. Get a good pair of light, wired headphones.
If if you don't get the Porta Pro, my other choice is B&O H6. It's awesome! I got mine for $169 in amazon for the 2nd gen. They're usually $299. The 1st gen is really good too. The only difference is 1st gen has a punchier mid. The first gens are cheap. The way to tell is 1st gen has green inside the ear cup.
adw108
0
Mar 10, 2017
@Darphypoo - I'm not much of a wireless over-ear guy but I just upgraded from my Beyerdynamic DT-990-Pro-250 to something a little more pricey. However, I genuinely miss my 990s. They are incredible wired headphones. Not only do they sound great but they're very, very comfortable for longer listening sessions. I occasionally pull off my current reference headphones and go back to my 990s just for kicks. They really are one of my favorite headphones.
For your reference - https://www.amazon.com/Beyerdynamic-DT-990-Pro-250-Professional-Acoustically-Applications/dp/B0011UB9CQ?th=1
I wish you the best. There's nothing quite like the right headphones. Best of luck.
jefe32
149
Oct 9, 2016
BI have the AKG k7xx and they are awesome. Open back headphones so no late night listening without disturbing people. They require more power than a phone or computer headphone jack can provide, though. I pair it with the DACport slim from Centrance ( bought both here on Massdrop). Buying both puts it right at 300$ mark you spoke of. If you want easy to drive headphones (no headphone amp) The M4U1 (roughly 250$) and the B&O h6 2nd gen (299$) have gotten great reviews.
If you can squeeze another 100 to 200, you may be able to get the HiFiman 400i for $400 or even less on Ebay or if you can get a hold of an older model 400 for about $200...
Heefty
1387
Sep 13, 2016
For sealed at less than $300, Vmoda M100 is hard to beat. They are a lot of fun and have a lot of options for personalizing. In general, if you're looking for audio quality, you stay away from wireless. I have heard good things about the new Bose QC35 though, but they are a little above your price range.
Darphypoo
7
Sep 15, 2016
I'll check them out, thank you.
Heefty
1387
Sep 15, 2016
I suppose the difference going to be dependent on the wired source too. If you have a weak amp driving them wired you could find that you get better sound wireless for example.
You might never notice the difference depending on how you're using them.
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