Best headphones for sound quality

What are the best over-ear headphones for sound quality that's like around £250 or less. I listen to mainly classic rock and indie, if that makes any difference. :tongue:

Thanks in advance! ^_^

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 1

DiddyDec01

3

https://www.bose.co.uk/GB/en/home-and-personal-audio/headphones/wireless-headphones/soundlink-around-ear-wireless-headphones-II/

Something like that would do the trick.

Reply 2

A lady

OP

4

Original post by DiddyDec

https://www.bose.co.uk/GB/en/home-and-personal-audio/headphones/wireless-headphones/soundlink-around-ear-wireless-headphones-II/

Something like that would do the trick.

But you have to charge those?

And btw, do you know if the Sennheiser Momentum's are any good?

Reply 3

DiddyDec01

3

Original post by A lady

But you have to charge those?

And btw, do you know if the Sennheiser Momentum's are any good?

Yes, but they have a 15 hour play time.

Not a clue. I generally just use online reviews.

Reply 4

username612415

21

Original post by A lady

What are the best over-ear headphones for sound quality that's like around £250 or less. I listen to mainly classic rock and indie, if that makes any difference. :tongue:

Thanks in advance! ^_^

Are they for home listening or on the go?

Original post by DiddyDec

https://www.bose.co.uk/GB/en/home-and-personal-audio/headphones/wireless-headphones/soundlink-around-ear-wireless-headphones-II/

Something like that would do the trick.

Bose are getting better with every set of headphones they make, but if audio quality is the number one priority then they don't win. There are pairs from many brands that sound significantly better. Making a headphone wireless also puts a bottleneck on sound quality, and cannot match similarly priced wired options.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 5

A lady

OP

4

For both I guess, but mainly on the go.

Reply 6

Siberiaan

21

I got sennheisers , and there pretty damm good :smile:

Reply 7

uberteknik

21

Original post by A lady

But you have to charge those?

And btw, do you know if the Sennheiser Momentum's are any good?

All headphones have their own characteristics and the shape / size of your head will determine which are the most comfortable for you.

It's impossible to say if you will love (a) and hate (b).

Momentums have good reviews, but the reviewer does not have your ears. i.e. The reviewer may love eating lemons but you may hate them.

Then there is the question of diminishing returns. A set of £250 headphones may not have any noticeable difference in sound quality to your ears than a £100 set.

When you are paying this much for a headphone, I would suggest seeking out a good store where you can try them out first. It's far better to pay a little bit extra and make an informed and tried out choice than end up paying less mail-order for something you hate.

Also if you buy in-store, the good ones will exchange the headphones for another model after you have trialled them for a day or two.

Bose are simply overpriced like Beats Dr Dre etc. You are paying a premium for the style and name more than sound quality and comfort.

Definitely audition:

Sennheiser Momentum 2
Grado SR325e
Audio Technica ATH MSR7
Sony MDR1a
Philips Fidelio M1 mkii
AKG K550

Take your portable device with you and try different makes out. Make sure you buy from the store and not via Amazon etc. We need to support the independent retailers or we lose the customer service and ability to try these devices out when they go bust and people lose their jobs.

Good luck, hope you find what you are looking for. :smile:

Reply 8

username612415

21

Original post by A lady

For both I guess, but mainly on the go.

The NAD VISO HP50 are the best sounding portable headphones for under £250, and have tonality that's very well suited to your tastes in music. They also have some of the best soundstage and imaging of any sealed headphone, which is especially nice to have for instrument-driven genres like rock. If sound quality is the top factor, they win hands down.

Also worth considering are the Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 and the Audio Technica ATH-MSR7. The Sennheisers offer a richer and warmer sound (which means more emphasis is put on the mid-bass region) than the fairly neutral HP50, while the MSR7 are a bit more analytical with the least bass emphasis of the three pairs. Neither of these are as technically good as the HP50, but if you find you like the look of one pair a lot more than the others then they will still satisfy you sound-wise.

Reply 9

So Instinct

20

Would give input but my preferences lean towards deep sub-bass lines and sharp high hats. Gofre's advice is always solid though. Someone who actually knows what he's talking about so I'd endorse most/all of his suggestions.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 10

Plagioclase

21

I'd probably suggest the Sennheiser HD598s.

Reply 11

chidchilli

10

Beats all day long...

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 12

A lady

OP

4

Original post by uberteknik

All headphones have their own characteristics and the shape / size of your head will determine which are the most comfortable for you.

It's impossible to say if you will love (a) and hate (b).

Momentums have good reviews, but the reviewer does not have your ears. i.e. The reviewer may love eating lemons but you may hate them.

Then there is the question of diminishing returns. A set of £250 headphones may not have any noticeable difference in sound quality to your ears than a £100 set.

When you are paying this much for a headphone, I would suggest seeking out a good store where you can try them out first. It's far better to pay a little bit extra and make an informed and tried out choice than end up paying less mail-order for something you hate.

Also if you buy in-store, the good ones will exchange the headphones for another model after you have trialled them for a day or two.

Bose are simply overpriced like Beats Dr Dre etc. You are paying a premium for the style and name more than sound quality and comfort.

Definitely audition:

Sennheiser Momentum 2
Grado SR325e
Audio Technica ATH MSR7
Sony MDR1a
Philips Fidelio M1 mkii
AKG K550

Take your portable device with you and try different makes out. Make sure you buy from the store and not via Amazon etc. We need to support the independent retailers or we lose the customer service and ability to try these devices out when they go bust and people lose their jobs.

Good luck, hope you find what you are looking for. :smile:

Very true and thanks, I'll check them out!

Thank you! I'll check those out. Is there a way to try them before buying them?

Reply 13

Alexion

17

Original post by A lady

What are the best over-ear headphones for sound quality that's like around £250 or less. I listen to mainly classic rock and indie, if that makes any difference. :tongue:

Thanks in advance! ^_^

Try checking out some of the smaller, niche companies if you're really looking to splash out on some great cans.

I've heard some amazing things about the companies Klipsch and Grado...

I'd love to get some Grado GH1 headphones if I had more money :rolleyes:

Reply 14

username612415

21

Original post by A lady

Very true and thanks, I'll check them out!

Thank you! I'll check those out. Is there a way to try them before buying them?

The Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 are available to demo in most electronics stores, department stores, and other shops which have a headphone demo stand of some description. The other models I mentioned, however, are all less likely to be found on the shelves of generic high street stores. Your best bet to try these headphones will be to try and track down local independent audio stores, which often have a wealth of headphones popular among audiophiles ready to try (if they cater to headphone users, some may deal exclusively with speakers). It may take a bit of sleuthing on Google, but I've found a decent audio store in most of the towns and cities I've lived in over the last few years with solid headphone selections.

Sennheiser hd 25.

I have AKG k451 and got them for £40 of amazon and the sound quality is so good

Reply 17

Profesh

20

Original post by DiddyDec

https://www.bose.co.uk/GB/en/home-and-personal-audio/headphones/wireless-headphones/soundlink-around-ear-wireless-headphones-II/

Something like that would do the trick.

Christ, no. Whatever their frankly undeserved pre-eminence among the affluent dilettante crowd, Bose are ultimately a hollow triumph of lifestyle-marketing over substance.

OP, start here:

http://www.head-fi.org/products/category/over-ear

Reply 18

i.am.lost

18

Original post by Alexion

Try checking out some of the smaller, niche companies if you're really looking to splash out on some great cans.

I've heard some amazing things about the companies Klipsch and Grado...

I'd love to get some Grado GH1 headphones if I had more money :rolleyes:

I'm really disappointed to see no other mention of Klipsch. They blow out Bose and Sennheiser models that cost 2-3x as much as Klipsch. I'd attribute a good chunk of their sound performance to the patented earbuds - I just couldn't go back once I started using Klipsch, they're super comfortable and isolate the music completely without annoying active noise cancellation. I've convinced so many of my friends to buy a pair (they all seem to be great at every price point, certainly the S4/R6/X10s I can vouch for) and no one has yet been disappointed with them.

Reply 19

howtobealady

9

iphone earphone is okay lol

Best headphones for sound quality

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you