[SeneBase]

When Buying a Pair of Headphones, what are the main things you take into consideration?

Design?
Brands?
Sound Quality?
Size - Bigger or Smaller?

Please place in order of importance e.g. number 1, most important?
Thanks.

[A.sniper]

depends what you want more, i always get dj headphones as they strike a good balance between everything.

sony mdr-v700

shure 750dj

are both really good

[jLou711]

Don't buy the beats.. i bought em and I rarely use them, probably on par with my £40 sennheisers. (although if you want em i can sell em to you)

I've heard the studios though and theyre pretty good, but you can get better for £180

[sulpicia]

One thing I've found is that headphones degrade over time. A good pair of headphones now won't necessarily be a good pair of headphones after months of heavy use. Plus they can get damaged. I'd suggest you only buy what you can afford to repace every 6 months.

[Futurism]

(Original post by SeneBase)
When Buying a Pair of Headphones, what are the main things you take into consideration?

Design? 3
Brands? 4
Sound Quality? 1
Size - Bigger or Smaller? 2

I currently use Audio Technica ATH M50 headphones for home use and Grado sr 60 when on the move/in public and i highly recommend both pairs.

The thing i cannot stand are people buying beats as a fashion accessory and keeping them around their neck the whole time instead of using them to listen to their music with.

[rokru]

(Original post by SeneBase)
When Buying a Pair of Headphones, what are the main things you take into consideration?

Design?
Brands?
Sound Quality?
Size - Bigger or Smaller?

Please place in order of importance e.g. number 1, most important?
Thanks.

Imho, sound quality is most important, followed by comfort, and, if necessary, shielding from the outside environment.

This guide is a good place to start.

Larger headphones tend to be more comfortable, because they sit around your ears rather than pressing upon them -- this is known as circumaural. Also consider the material of the earpads and headband if you'll be wearing them for a long time.

As with most other technology purchases, the adage "you get what you pay for" really does apply here.

[Iqbal007]

(Original post by sulpicia)
One thing I've found is that headphones degrade over time. A good pair of headphones now won't necessarily be a good pair of headphones after months of heavy use. Plus they can get damaged. I'd suggest you only buy what you can afford to repace every 6 months.

You can trust me, depends on the make and how you store them, so no wrapping round anything and use the little case they give to put it in, a nice bundle, as the wrapping stresses out the wires and stuff.

(Original post by SeneBase)
When Buying a Pair of Headphones, what are the main things you take into consideration?

Design?
Brands?
Sound Quality?
Size - Bigger or Smaller?

Please place in order of importance e.g. number 1, most important?
Thanks.

People buy headphones to get good sound quality, than it's about whether they want in-ear, over ear, etc............after that it's probably design and brand.
But with good sound quality, as a result you'll pick known brands in the world of sound.
And obviously Dr.Dre isn't a known brand in the world of sound, but the world of people who are willing to pay crazy amounts of money for a name.

[Bellissima]

whatever is cheapest and also red.

[Inverse]

(Original post by Bellissima)
whatever is cheapest and also red.

That's silly.

[Bellissima]

(Original post by Inverse)
That's silly.

don't question the power of red headphones!!

[SpanishInquisition]

Most people know that with Beats, you're just paying for the brand. They're just another accessory for the designer-bodywarmer-and-sunglasses-when-it's-dark crowd. Personally I've been using a pair of red Skullcandys which were the only option in the shop when my last pair broke on the Hull-Zeebrugge ferry. As for my preferred headphone choice:

Design- not really an issue as long as it's not too striking. Function over form and all that. Regretting buying the red headphones, the amount of people who've said "OMG ARE DEY BEATS??" now is shocking.
Brands- Would love some nice Sennheisers but I've been using a pair of Sony in-ears with the iPod remote. More for convenience rather than sound quality.
Sound Quality- I haven't got much of an ear for sound quality as long as they're not Poundland earphones or something.
Size- In public, I use in-ear headphones. Feel a bit silly with 'cans' on personally. This one guy in the canteen queue, constantly headbanging with massive cans on puts me right off

[Inverse]

(Original post by Bellissima)
don't question the power of red headphones!!

Ugliness *

[Inverse]

(Original post by SpanishInquisition)
Most people know that with Beats, you're just paying for the brand. They're just another accessory for the designer-bodywarmer-and-sunglasses-when-it's-dark crowd. Personally I've been using a pair of red Skullcandys which were the only option in the shop when my last pair broke on the Hull-Zeebrugge ferry. As for my preferred headphone choice:

Design- not really an issue as long as it's not too striking. Function over form and all that. Regretting buying the red headphones, the amount of people who've said "OMG ARE DEY BEATS??" now is shocking.
Brands- Would love some nice Sennheisers but I've been using a pair of Sony in-ears with the iPod remote. More for convenience rather than sound quality.
Sound Quality- I haven't got much of an ear for sound quality as long as they're not Poundland earphones or something.
Size- In public, I use in-ear headphones. Feel a bit silly with 'cans' on personally. This one guy in the canteen queue, constantly headbanging with massive cans on puts me right off

Every Skullcandy headphone is abysmal bar one; the mixmaster. These are pretty decent, and although their build quality isn't that great and they're still not worth the common £250 price tag, they are definitely the best "celebrity" headphone of them all and can be bought for £100 from Amazon.

Generally speaking, sennheisers offer good soundstages in their open back headphones, although you have to like their "cold" sound signature.

Once you try some higher end headphones, assuming it is set up properly, you will see a whole world of difference in terms of audio quality.

[scherzi]

1. Go to head-fi.org
2. Do research

[Inverse]

(Original post by scherzi)
1. Go to head-fi.org
2. Do research

Innerfidelity is also very good.

[Gofre]

(Original post by sulpicia)
One thing I've found is that headphones degrade over time. A good pair of headphones now won't necessarily be a good pair of headphones after months of heavy use. Plus they can get damaged. I'd suggest you only buy what you can afford to repace every 6 months.

This is something I've never experienced or ever even heard of. Assuming theyre cared for properly headphones can last years on end without sounding worse, nobody would ever buy from the likes of STAX otherwise.

[sulpicia]

(Original post by Gofre)

This is something I've never experienced or ever even heard of. Assuming theyre cared for properly headphones can last years on end without sounding worse, nobody would ever buy from the likes of STAX otherwise.

Well I've only experience of using small strolling around headphones / in ear buds. I get a definite reduction in sound quality over time. I'm not prone to stretching the cable / dropping them either.

Perhaps 'proper' headphones hold up better.

[Gofre]

(Original post by sulpicia)
Well I've only experience of using small strolling around headphones / in ear buds. I get a definite reduction in sound quality over time. I'm not prone to stretching the cable / dropping them either.

Perhaps 'proper' headphones hold up better.

Sounds like you've just had some bad luck tbh, the only anticipated change over time is a slight improvement as the drivers burn in. There's really nothing stopping audio gear from lasting decades without deteriorating.