Best headphones for commuting?

Chewabacca

Hi guys, I'm just wondering if you have any recommendations for a pair of on-ear headphones that would mainly be used during commuting and while at college.

I've been using decent quality sony and phillips pairs but lost 1 and the other's been through hell and back. I'd like to buy a pair in the region of €30-€50, no more because they'll probably be broken/lost in a year like my others. They'd mainly be for use at college and on the bus. Play.com are charging only €28 on play.com (link at bottom). I've heard they're a very good pair of headphones but they're open cup music a lot of sound is leaked. This makes them a bit unsuitable bus journeys, college etc.

Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations of headphones which would be suitable or has experience with sennheiser px 100's?

Thanks for reading.

http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/587384/Sennheiser-PX-100-Mini-Headphones-Black/Product.html

yimrsg

Never had the px100 but they're well rated. An alternative would be Koss portapros (never had them but again their highly rated) as they have a lifetime warranty but like the sennheiser's leak sound. Neither are good if you want to keep your music to yourself and let sound from outside in. They wouldn't be useful in a library.

Maybe the JVC HA-RX700 but it is fairly big and mightn't suit you portability wise. It's also a bit hard to source, think Amazon or mymemory might be the only places. Another thing to consider is that you can get earphones which give you better isolation for your price range than similarly priced headphones. Have you a particular genre of music that you like as some headphones don't work well with certain styles?

Finally, (I think) play.com don't ship headphones or electronics to Ireland so you might have to look at the where to buy sticky for places to buy.

TPD

I have Koss portapros and they sound great, but as mentioned they leak a lot of sound. And on a bus you'd need to turn them up quite loud to block out outside noise, which would be bad for your ears and annoying for everyone around you.

Brian

PX100/PortaPro are unsuitable for commuting as they do not isolate. Try something like the Meelectronics HT21 (meelec.com) or Fischer Audio FA004 (zococity.com).

Chewabacca

yimrsg wrote: »

Have you a particular genre of music that you like as some headphones don't work well with certain styles.

Sorry I really should have put that in the original post. I listen to a lot of electronic, house and hip-hop, so lot's of bass would be nice. I do, however, also listen to a lot of rock, punk and metal so something with nice bass but not all about the bass would be nice.

I actually don't like earphones as I'm one of the few with ears that just don't suit them. I find them very uncomfortable. I've started to prefer on ear headphones rather than over ear because of portability issues.

I've had a look at the meelectronics and I'm seriously considering giving them a go.

Thanks for the replies lads.

practice

Before you decide have a look at.
Sennheiser HD 800 cost about 1,102.22 euro

F00t13f4n

I have a set of AKG K450 which I use for commuting. Never had any issues with them, they have plenty of bass and I've never noticed any sound leakage - certainly not getting frowns on the train!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/AKG-K450BLU-K450-Headphones-Navy/dp/B001F6M5DI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1295962043&sr=8-1

I presume you've tried the different sized tips that come with most earphones now, but if you wanted to try them again I'd recommend the Creative EP-650. Good solid sound, a surprising amount of bass and capable of taking plenty of abuse.

http://en.store.creative.com/products/product.aspx?catid=437&pid=18644

Brian

Everyone says that their ears don't suit in-ears the first time they try them.

yimrsg

Here's a link that could help you get a few more names for you to search:

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/433318/shootout-65-portable-headphones-reviewed-tdk-wr700-akg-k430-added-01-08

Go look at the bottom of post 2 for a summary and have a read of the ones that are ~$50 dollars as they're closest to your price range.

Just be thorough reading up on them as some of them aren't strictly what you're looking for, either because they've a long cable (MS1, ath m30) or are open and leak sound or something else.

Also U.S. prices in dollars tend to be 1:1 with the euro when looking at headphones. Here's a few to start with:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/JVC-HA-M750-Monitor-Integrated-Headphones/dp/B002KQ7ISO

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-RP-HTx7E-R-Retro-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B00392338C

OctavarIan

Sennheiser PX200-ii

Bought a pair last month and have fallen in love. They're a bit outside your budget (€57 I paid with shipping) but worth every penny. They're light, they isolate well, they don't leak much sound and they're comfortable. They really come into their own after around a couple dozen hours of use; mine are sitting at around 40 hours now and I'm surprised at how open they sound. Also usually with cheaper headphones the bass is overpowering or non-existent but with these it's perfectly balanced; tight and responsive. They also fold up nice and compact as an added bonus :pac:

You mentioned the px100s, I wouldn't recommend those as they'll leak sound. You'll hear environment noise around you and annoy people around you with leaked music. You'll also end up turning up the volume more than normal, damaging your ears in the process.

Just my 2c. The AKG's previously mentioned in this thread popped up all the time while I was researching headphones so they're another solid bet. I've no personal experience with them however.

Have a search around the Head-Fi forums as well, there's some very knowledgeable people on there.