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Looking for New, Durable Headphones?

A Kobold's KoboldA Kobold's Kobold He/HimMississippiRegistered User regular
My old headphones have had enough. After battling for years in the dark depths of my backpack, a hell dimension unto itself, my old pair of Sennheisers (4.20s I think?) have finally been rent asunder. While they haven't technically given up the ghost, they're currently being held together by tape and a dream and are basically unusable at this point. Thus, my search for a new pair begins in earnest. Since I am not an expert in this field by any means, I will ask y'all, my fellow forumers, to point me in the right direction. Which headphones would be suitable for my purposes?

Requirements:
- The new pair of headphones need to be decently durable; I do not have the good graces to handle my backpack with care
- They need to be closed; a big reason why I have headphones in the first place is that I can listen to music and not bother other people
- They need to be over-ear as opposed to on-ear; just not a big fan of on-ear headphones
- Not too expensive? I don't have a hard-and-fast budget for these things, but I think that I'd have a real hard time justifying a pair of headphones that are $275 or more. I'd like for them to be less than $100, but perhaps that's not going to be in the cards.

Things I don't need:
- The BESTEST sound quality; I do not have an audiophile's hunger for this shit, I'm just a guy who wants have the pretty music play in his ears when I need to concentrate. While I would regret buying headphones that sound like absolute garbage, I'm not going to be picky about this.
- Noise cancelling; Not interested one way or the other by this, to be honest. Most of the places where I used my headphones were pretty quiet
- Bluetooth only; no just no

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    davidsdurionsdavidsdurions Your Trusty Meatshield Panhandle NebraskaRegistered User regular
    Might try this thread for your question to get more knowledgeable eyes on it:

    https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/142270/audiophilia-headphones-amps-daps-and-empty-wallets/p75

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    Iceman.USAFIceman.USAF Major East CoastRegistered User regular
    I use these when traveling and I love them. You can find them typically on sale for $300, and non-typically for $250-275.

    https://www.amazon.com/Sony-Noise-Cancelling-Headphones-WH1000XM3/dp/B07G4MNFS1/ref=sr_1_3?crid=HGESZXDCEK3E&keywords=sony+wh-1000xm3&qid=1577739759&sprefix=sony+wh,aps,163&sr=8-3

    They also have some step-down models which some friends use and I'm told are great as well. The case should be durable enough to survive anything short of being stabbed, it's pretty rugged.

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    WiseManTobesWiseManTobes Registered User regular
    edited January 2020
    Are these for like gaming at home or for like travelling/portable ?

    (guessing portable from backpack but unsure), also do you need a specific port?

    WiseManTobes on
    Steam! Battlenet:Wisemantobes#1508
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    jjae2123jjae2123 Registered User regular
    I have the XM3s that are mentioned above and they are great for me, however if you don't care about noise cancelling you might want to look at a model a step down since the amazing noise cancelling is a big part of the asking price. I will say they are extremely comfy, have great sound, and excellent battery life. I've had mine for over a year now and they haven't missed a step as my everyday headphones for work. I toss them in my backpack for transport in their case and it's been good.

    Only downside I have is that I cannot connect to two devices at once, if I could connect to my computer and phone at the same time it would be awesome, right now I manually disconnect from the computer to switch to the phone and that's a minor thing, but it's my main con.

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    Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    If you're otherwise happy with the 4.20s, why not replace them with a newer model of the same? Or maybe the 400S for a few dollars more?

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    A Kobold's KoboldA Kobold's Kobold He/Him MississippiRegistered User regular
    Are these for like gaming at home or for like travelling/portable ?

    (guessing portable from backpack but unsure), also do you need a specific port?

    Portable. I'd like to be able to use them when out and about and I'd like a headphone jack.
    If you're otherwise happy with the 4.20s, why not replace them with a newer model of the same? Or maybe the 400S for a few dollars more?

    They were serviceable, but I never really liked them. I didn't like to wear them for too long - it felt weird to put them where they were the most comfortable and they irritated my ears to put them where it seemed like they naturally fit.

    Sorry for not putting this in the OP.

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    BurtletoyBurtletoy Registered User regular
    edited January 2020
    If you don't want wireless/noise cancelling, and don't want audiophile quality, you can absolutely find what you want for less than $275 and even $100.

    I think sennheisers are comfy as hell, but if you didn't like them, maybe try going into a store and try some other companies out?

    Also you could look into something like this

    https://www.amazon.com/LTGEM-Headphone-Compatible-Sennheiser-Headphone-Black/dp/B01IBH53SC

    Burtletoy on
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    Fuzzy Cumulonimbus CloudFuzzy Cumulonimbus Cloud Registered User regular
    jjae2123 wrote: »
    I have the XM3s that are mentioned above and they are great for me, however if you don't care about noise cancelling you might want to look at a model a step down since the amazing noise cancelling is a big part of the asking price. I will say they are extremely comfy, have great sound, and excellent battery life. I've had mine for over a year now and they haven't missed a step as my everyday headphones for work. I toss them in my backpack for transport in their case and it's been good.

    Only downside I have is that I cannot connect to two devices at once, if I could connect to my computer and phone at the same time it would be awesome, right now I manually disconnect from the computer to switch to the phone and that's a minor thing, but it's my main con.
    XB900 are noise cancelling and a pricepoint lower and still great headphones.

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    Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    XB900N are noise cancelling, regular XB900 are not.

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    DoctorArchDoctorArch Curmudgeon Registered User regular
    Any thoughts about the Bose Quietcomfort 35? I picked them up on sale for $250 and I like them so far, but I'm wondering if I jumped in too soon. I have a long plane flight coming up in a few weeks, so that will give me a good trial by fire.

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    SixSix Caches Tweets in the mainframe cyberhex Registered User regular
    DoctorArch wrote: »
    Any thoughts about the Bose Quietcomfort 35? I picked them up on sale for $250 and I like them so far, but I'm wondering if I jumped in too soon. I have a long plane flight coming up in a few weeks, so that will give me a good trial by fire.

    Been using these for years and they’re great. I’m wearing them right now on a plane, actually. I have no trouble sleeping in them or listening for really long stretches (15+ hour flights).

    I’d recommend them for air travel because the noise cancelling is really good, but if you don’t need or want NC, there are probably better options out there. Even if you do, there might be better options out there. But these are good and I’ve been really happy with them.

    can you feel the struggle within?
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    DelzhandDelzhand Hard to miss. Registered User regular
    Go to Target and get the Heyday over-ear headphones. They're incredible quality for the price point.

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