Around-ear headphones for around £100

[ChaoticMan]

Hey there, I'm a newbie when looking for headphones and have been slightly daunted by the sheer choice of headphones, and their various technical details.

I would also like a pair of closed-back, around ear (Circumaural?) headphones. The thing is, I don't know which pair would be best for myself. The first and only pair of non in-ear headphones I had were the Sennheiser HD201, but unfortunately they hurt my head after wearing them for 10 minutes, plus the cable was way too long for portable use.

So, in short I'd like to spend around £100 (can go above if necessary by around £30-50) for Circumaural headphones that would be used with a 5th gen iPod, and potentially the FIIO E5 amp. I would be using it for travelling, i.e on the train and tube, so it would have to be good at cancelling out the noise and minimal, if at all, noise-leakage and a short length of wire (i.e 1.5m). I listen to different genres of music, i.e I'd listen to Linkin Park, Ne-Yo, then I'd listen to the Prodigy etc, so a pair of headphones that would be able to cope with a variety of different genres would be good. Plus it'd would have to be comfy as I would be using it for a prolonged period of time, so something unlike the Sennheiser HD201

I was looking at the Denon AH-D1001 but I heard the bass wasn't great at all. Also, I was looking at the PL11 SoundMagic in-ear headphones as an accompanying pair of headphones for the circumaural headphones, but again I heard the bass was poor. I realise a lot of this would be subjective, but any help would be greatly appreciated!

[ShaunG]

Hey Chaoticman... welcome to the forum.

Yep, there is plenty of choice with headphones. You can get headphones for just about any musical tastes and application these days.

It's funny you mention the Denon AH-D1001 and SoundMAGIC PL11 as lacking in bass, as they both have really quite chunky bass response in my opinion. In fact I would go so far as to say that the PL11 is actually a bit of a bass monster - lots of fun though.

I would say both of those models are worth reading up on more.

As you may know, with headphones the seal is critically important to getting good bass response. If the headphones or earphones do not seal around/in the ear then bass will be lacking.

If you can stretch upto the Ultrasone HFI-580 I would seriously consider this headphone. Lots of powerful bass and excellent clarity. The cable is a bit long.

Another headphone with lots of fun bass is the Klipsch Image One. This is more practical than the Ultrasone HFI-580 and comes with an iPod/iPhone/iPad control on the cable.

[ChaoticMan]

Hey ShaunG, thanks for the quick response Oh ok, well there's many more positives mentioned for the Denon AH-D1001 and the PL11's, so I think I'll take a closer look. Well, I could stretch to the Ultrasone HFI-580, but the cable is just too long as 3m isn't really practical for using it on the move. Do you know what the sound is like in the Denon's? Does it block noise well, and does it leak out noise? Thanks for your help

[ShaunG]

Sorry my response this time hasn't been so rapid. I've been out of the office.

The sound with the Denon AH-D1001 is warm and fun. The designers where definitely aiming for a Hi-Fi, rather than studio sound. I'd say they suit the styles of music you mentioned.

Sound isolation is pretty good. They enclose the ears completely (assuming you have 'regular' size ears!) and have soft pads to reduce noise leakage.

[beekeeper]

It you want to waste your money on cheap Chinese tat go for Denon. The build quality is so bad using them as traveling cans is just not on.
As for a long cable 'problem', roll-up the excess bind it with tape and put it in your pocket.
Ultrasone is a far better bet.
Good luck,
Beekeeper