So almost 2 years ago I asked about upgrading my plantronics backbeat pro 2’s and people suggested I hold them until the wheels fall off
https://lemmy.world/post/23922174
Well, now the wheels are falling off. Headband is coming apart.
What would be a modern day upgrade you’d recommend?
Based on what I’ve seen… It would seem the momentum 4 (I’ve seen them regularly under 200 usd new on reseller sites) or momentum 5 from sennheiser would be a good choice but curious to know if this community has a different or better recommendation.
Sony MDR 7506 or similar are the best headphones I’ve ever owned. They are modular, designed to be repairable, and have great build quality. They’re wired and have no microphone, but they retail for a third the price of a bluetooth set that can match the sound quality. (~$100)
They are designed to be repairable, but iirc the parts cost enough to make it hard to justify repairing over just buying a new pair
Just hope that a different part breaks on the second pair and then you can put off ordering a third.
I loved mine but the membranes aged quickly
The replacements from brainwavz last a lot longer.
I have a similar approach. Keep the headphones basic for repairs. I have a fiio Bluetooth receiver and a Zen DAC at my desk. I then have a series of custom made cables for different headphones and jacks (balanced 4.4mm, stereo 3.5mm and balanced 2.5mm).
I can run any headphones with this setup, I might need a new cable made up depending on what pair I next buy.
These are basically the lowest price good headphones worth actually getting. They’re the Toyota Corolla of headphones.
I like my Sony XM4s
Had an XM3 and now an XM5, these are top notch head phones indeed!
I haven’t tried the XM3, XM4 or XM5 but I would recommend the XM6.
I’m still on my xm2 from almost a decade ago, if that helps anyone with the decision. Just had to buy new earpads from AliExpress a few years ago.
XM5 have hinge problems I hear, but my 4s have been great
MX2 was great, broke mine. Just recently realized how much better mx3 is to mx4. MX4 dropped aptx support and the mics refuse to work with macOS, mx3 hums(less) along working great (aside from the bent wired jack from more stumbling)
They’re a little bassy and have that proprietary app. Good contender for wireless headphones though, but a cheaper wired will outperform instantly
Well sure, it’s wired.
If that’s an option for you, it’s still worth it to buy some quality wired buds too though. There’s some really great repairable ones for under $100 out there!
With IEMs, I don’t like them as much as they always fall out and feel uncomfortable.
Anything on this list, its a list of high quality eq curves for tons of different headphones ranging from very cheap to very expensive, its also available on github and available to be accessed by a lot of different software.
Probably gonna get hate, but why not Quietcomfort? If you’re an audiophile and your phone is actually playing lossless high res audio, of course go for Sennheiser. If you wear your headphones everywhere often, prioritize ANC and don’t mind the Bose sound, I’d go Bose every day and save the hifi listening for at home.
Agree. There are some things that annoy me but my QC35 II are the most comfortable headphones I’ve ever had. I don’t like anything touching my ears and I am very very sensitive to pressure, so if this matters to you then look at the quiet comforts.
How big are your ears? I’m on Sennheiser 598 because it’s good stuff but also because they accept my big ears ☺️. They are definitely home only though so I’m looking for some sturdy nice ones for outside.
QC35 II
Can you even still buy those? I’ve been using mine for 4-5 years now and they work great. I had to buy bunch of replacement cushions over the years but other than that 0 issues. Super comfortable, great noise cancellation, physical buttons instead of some gimmicky gestures… When they die I would happily just get same model again but looking in the stores I don’t see QC35 II anymore. There are bunch of other QC models with cryptic names like SE, SC, Ultra but I don’t see 35 II anywhere.
I completely agree with this. If I want noise cancellation, the quiet comforts are good, I am mostly playing music to mask sounds anyway, so the main exception is comfort, non-obtrusive sound, and good ANC. I also use them on flights, for podcasts when awake or background music when trying to sleep- so again, sound quality is secondary. My only problem with them is the faux leather cover of the ear cup flakes easily, needs replacing about every 2 years. For listening to music at home, I use open headphones.
Adding another +1 from personal experience.
I’ve happily used the same wired, over-ear Sennheisers as my daily drivers for 15 years, but tried switching over to Sennheiser’s wireless noise-canceling line a few years ago. Horrible mistake: the sound quality was acceptable but the firmware, the fit, and the ANC were atrocious.
Couldn’t believe the two products were made by the same company.
What is the Bose sound?
There’s a specific space or soundstage that it produces and lower mid punch with a little dullness in the mids and highs but still good color.
Looks like somebody mapped the sound profile. Not sure if it fits how I hear them.
People like to say stuff like “no highs, no lows, must be Bose”.
Bose has earned a reputation for selling high-priced devices that don’t always live up to the hype. That doesn’t mean they’re bad, but the fancy audiophile people like to piss on them.
Most people who don’t own $30k stereo systems are pretty happy and they still lead the pack with their active noise cancelling.
It would be more accurate to say that most people are happy with Bose that haven’t used better sounding speakers/headphones. You can spend less and get better sound, Bose isn’t cheap.
I have a pair of QC 35’s that i bought in 2015 that still work. They’re at the end of their third battery and just had their 5th set of ear cups.
ANC no longer works.
I really like my QC35, but man these components are not built to last. I’ve had to replace my ear cushions and cable a few times now to the point where I wonder if I should be looking at other options. I respect that you can replace individual parts but I never have had issues like this with the ATH-M50 for instance.
Beyerdynamic DT 150.
They are designed to be fixed and are built like a tank. I fully expect them to keep working for the rest of my life
I recently bought Senheizer HD-650’s. I’m very happy with them.
I was gonna recommend the same. Have been using them for 2 month and absolutely love them.
It depends on your requirements.
Do not buy Jabra products. I use them for work (work pays for them) and have had multiple models. They have all failed for various reasons. They do replace under RMA but it’s annoying as they should not break someasily, especially the upper premium models. I wouldn’t touch a pair of I was personally paying for them.
No particular model to recommend, but if you use it primarily for music/movies at home and don’t have anyone around you to bother, go for open-back or half open-back headphones.
I’ve heard Ploopy headphones are good, and since they’re open source you can easily fix them yourself if you have an issue
I think those are usb only :(
Nah, they just come with their own external dac that plugs in with usb. The headphones themselves are 3.5mm.
They are super high impedance though so it’s probably safe to… pretend they are usb only unless plugged into some decent audio equipment. I wouldn’t expect much success plugging directly into a phone or something.
Oh ok! Maybe they’d actually work well for me then, since I’m mostly plugging headphones in to my Focusrite.
I use Panasonic ergofit everyday, good luck
Audiotechnica ath-m50x. I bought it for 100€ in 2019 and they still make it, cord is replacable. They are super popular, tons of units sold, so there are parts everywhere.
I bought earpads replacement for them from aliexpress, theres headband too, they were not original but they fit perfectly. Maybe you should check for replacement, sometimes they go for under 10$
The original pads on the ath-m50(x) suck IMO. Most of the other brand replacements are much more comfortable. My friend swears by the Shure pads that are compatible.
https://www.technics.com/ca/products/headphones/eah-a800.html
I don’t know exactly where they stack up, but when using a headphone jack the audio quality and volume are much better than just bluetooth. I’ve been very happy with them, also have a set of earbuds from them I use everyday and they’ve been around for about 3 years and are holding up very well compared to Sennheiser earbuds I had. I also only really bought them because it’s what a local shop sells.
Sennheiser HD 650 with a good DAC and your all set
I second these as well
I had a pair of Beyerdynamic DT231 in the late 90s, my first decent sounding headphones.
So I looked up last year what is their best, reasonable price, current model:
( Edit: A day after this post, I researched more and ended up getting the DT 770 PRO X. 48 Ohms and can play from any source with no amp required. Also got a Beyerdynamic PRO X USB-C Cable, for phone use. Inbuilt DAC in the cable, wild. Original recommendation follows:)
Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO 80 Ohm
–
Own an ATH-M50 too, solid sound, no issues.
I have a pair of DT-770 Pro 80s that are 20 years old and still rocking. I just had to replace a few mounting pieces a couple of times for a few bucks and get a new pads every several years.
They sound sturdy as.
I blew up my 231s with DnB.
There’s only so much the budget model could handle.
Yeah, the 231s always looked kinda flimsy, but I’ve never used them so I can’t really say.
