Wired Over-Ear Headphones for iPhone Recommendations? (connect, reviews, CDs, conversion)

[bale002]

Hi Friends.

Can anyone recommend a wired over-ear headphones? (No wireless and no earbuds please.)

PC magazine, or whatever it is, reviews nine of them, dated August 10, 2020, so relatively recently. Prices range from $700 to $59.

https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best...ear-headphones

In my case, they would be for mostly home use, listening to MP3 conversions of older music (recorded in the 1960s-1980s period), in some cases bootlegs, on an iPhone.

A $700 pair might be overkill, $59 might be too cheap.

Any recommendations?

Thank you.

[gguerra]

Here are some suggestions, all at sale prices. This page changes on a regular basis as new deals come up. This includes all kinds, wired and wireless.

https://www.dealnews.com/c155/Electr...ts/Headphones/

or this. You can set the filter on the left.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=headphone...l_6psrayilrc_e

IME, you can compensate for just about any headphones or speakers with a good EQ. I am sure you can get one for the iphone.

[davebarnes]

Start here
https://www.whathifi.com/us/features...irs-headphones

[bale002]

Thanks, guys.

I wound up ordering this through Amazon: Sony MDR1AM2 Wired High Resolution Audio Overhead Headphones, Black (MDR-1AM2/B) $198.00

In my experience, all types of headphones have defects: earbuds are painful and easily lost, blue tooth has poor quality and then technical problems, wired the connection point goes bad after a few weeks, even a brand like Sony, though last model I had was priced around $20.

Supposedly this Sony has a high quality connection point. We'll see if it lasts past the year-end holidays.

I have until January 31st to return it.

[gguerra]

That's a bit pricey for headphones but I guess it depends on what you listen to.

If it's streaming or MP3's, that's like watching VHS on a 4k OLED. Maybe I'm exaggerating, lol. You just can't improve that much on the source material because it's just not there anymore. All of the "hifi" parts of the music have been stripped out, even at 320k. That's why it's called "lossy". FLACs are another story and CDs of course sound the best. You can however compensate with an EQ as I mentioned.

I've always been a bit of an audiophile and have actually spent that much or more on a pair of headphones back in the analog days. I think they were Audio Technicas, about $200 at the time, maybe late 70s or early 80s.

It's all subjective anyway, if your ears are happy is what matters.

[bale002]

Originally Posted by gguerra

That's a bit pricey for headphones but I guess it depends on what you listen to.

If it's streaming or MP3's, that's like watching VHS on a 4k OLED. Maybe I'm exaggerating, lol. You just can't improve that much on the source material because it's just not there anymore. All of the "hifi" parts of the music have been stripped out, even at 320k. That's why it's called "lossy". FLACs are another story and CDs of course sound the best. You can however compensate with an EQ as I mentioned.

I've always been a bit of an audiophile and have actually spent that much or more on a pair of headphones back in the analog days. I think they were Audio Technicas, about $200 at the time, maybe late 70s or early 80s.

It's all subjective anyway, if your ears are happy is what matters.

I appreciate your comments. I have a friend who would tell me the same thing, especially about CDs.

After discarding or otherwise losing almost a dozen head/earphones of varying kinds over just a few years for various reasons, already amounting to well over $200, the main objective is durability.

But in the past, I've bought bottles of wine ranging from $10 to $100 and, yeah, they all taste the same and lasted around the same amount of time.

We'll see by the end of January if these have staying power.

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving!

[gguerra]

Originally Posted by bale002

I appreciate your comments. I have a friend who would tell me the same thing, especially about CDs.

After discarding or otherwise losing almost a dozen head/earphones of varying kinds over just a few years for various reasons, already amounting to well over $200, the main objective is durability.

But in the past, I've bought bottles of wine ranging from $10 to $100 and, yeah, they all taste the same and lasted around the same amount of time.

We'll see by the end of January if these have staying power.

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving!

You mention the connection point. Is that what you've had problems with?

That does seem to be common especially with the 3.5mm connector.

It may help to get a right angle connector and extender. Something like this. It will relieve the stress on the connector on your Sonys. It's better to damage a $7 part than your $200 headphones. The shortest length available will add only 1.5ft to the total plus it's braided for extra durability.

https://www.amazon.com/CableCreation.../dp/B06XPJKPZY

You also mention the quality of wireless. Bluetooth version 5 is 2mbps (2000k) bitrate. The best MP3 is 320. There is no loss of quality there. That is by the numbers. Even older BT 4 is 1mbps or 1000k, 3 times the bitrate of the MP3. For portability, wireless rules. Just an FYI.

[Serious Conversation]

For wired headsets on mobile, I've always used mid-grade Sennheisers that don't need amplification. Years ago, that was the HD 212 Pro. Today, I use the HD 280 Pro with a lightning to 3.5mm adapter for the headphone connection.

https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD...6-05ac39e80cc0

I'd advise something other than Sennheiser for over-the-ear wireless headphones. I haven't seen many well-regarded Sennheiser bluetooth models under $300 or so.