Best wired headphones for about £200?

[Cromulent]

I'm looking for a pair of quality headphones to use mainly to listen to Spotify. With Spotify releasing lossless audio later in the year, I thought I'd like to have some decent headphones to get the most out of it.

I'm pretty clueless when it comes to headphones, so any advice would be really welcome.

Thank you.

 

[rousetafarian]

I'm looking for a pair of quality headphones to use mainly to listen to Spotify. With Spotify releasing lossless audio later in the year, I thought I'd like to have some decent headphones to get the most out of it.

I'm pretty clueless when it comes to headphones, so any advice would be really welcome.

Thank you.

Are you going to be listening at home, alone or with others in the same room or alternatively out and about/commuting?

 

[iFi audio]

I'm looking for a pair of quality headphones to use mainly to listen to Spotify. With Spotify releasing lossless audio later in the year, I thought I'd like to have some decent headphones to get the most out of it.

I'm pretty clueless when it comes to headphones, so any advice would be really welcome.

Thank you.

What kind of music do you usually listen to?

 

[Cromulent]

Are you going to be listening at home, alone or with others in the same room or alternatively out and about/commuting?

Ideally, I'd like noise-cancelling headphones. I'll mainly be using them at home though.

What kind of music do you usually listen?

Metal is my favourite genre but I listen to a wide range of musical genres.

 

[ostewart]

Ideally, I'd like noise-cancelling headphones. I'll mainly be using them at home though.



Metal is my favourite genre but I listen to a wide range of musical genres.

Why noise cancelling if they are mainly going to be used at home? Noise cancelling tends to have a negative effect on audio quality.

Also ANC tends to be featured on wireless headphones more as they are designed for portable use where ANC is likely to be more beneficial.

Personally I'd recommend the Shure SRH840 - way below your budget, fairly easy to drive and really impressive sound quality.

 

[Cromulent]

Why noise cancelling if they are mainly going to be used at home? Noise cancelling tends to have a negative effect on audio quality.

Also ANC tends to be featured on wireless headphones more as they are designed for portable use where ANC is likely to be more beneficial.

Personally I'd recommend the Shure SRH840 - way below your budget, fairly easy to drive and really impressive sound quality.

Thank you for your reply. I guess you are right about noise cancelling stuff.

I've looked at the Shure model you mentioned, and they look good. Nice price as well.

 

[iFi audio]

We had a conversation about the £200 headphones recently. Maybe, you'll find it interesting. Headphones

ANC is a fantastic solution for commuting, noisy office, etc., - a loud environment. If it is mainly for the listening sessions at home, I'd try something without the ANC.

If you are in a peaceful environment and a cable would not bother you, I would not go for the wireless headphones as your first 'audiophile cans'.

It all comes down to the purpose. Commuting, exercising, indoors, outdoors, quiet or noisy environment - they all require different types and sizes.

In an ideal world, I would highly recommend trying your local brick-and-mortar audio store first. You'll be able to compare the size of cups and weight. The sound quality is the key, but they also need to be comfortable. You'll appreciate the difference between very comfortable and 'relatively-comfortable' cans over the longer sessions. In the shop, they may also have a listening room, so that you could arrange a session with the headphones you selected.

 

[Ruffuz]

Thank you for your reply. I guess you are right about noise cancelling stuff.

I've looked at the Shure model you mentioned, and they look good. Nice price as well.

Think you should decide your priorities first.

I was using Momentum 2 wireless for quite some time and being free of wires is amazing.
That said, wanted better audio quality so went for MSR7b and while they sound noticeably better I'm still not fully used to wire again, plus ANC is useful feature even at home(noisy wife).

 

[Cromulent]

We had a conversation about the £200 headphones recently. Maybe, you'll find it interesting. Headphones

ANC is a fantastic solution for commuting, noisy office, etc., - a loud environment. If it is mainly for the listening sessions at home, I'd try something without the ANC.

If you are in a peaceful environment and a cable would not bother you, I would not go for the wireless headphones as your first 'audiophile cans'.

It all comes down to the purpose. Commuting, exercising, indoors, outdoors, quiet or noisy environment - they all require different types and sizes.

In an ideal world, I would highly recommend trying your local brick-and-mortar audio store first. You'll be able to compare the size of cups and weight. The sound quality is the key, but they also need to be comfortable. You'll appreciate the difference between very comfortable and 'relatively-comfortable' cans over the longer sessions. In the shop, they may also have a listening room, so that you could arrange a session with the headphones you selected.

Unfortunately, I won't get to a local store even though I'd love to try some and get some advice. It just isn't possible for me at the moment.

I'll read the other thread. Thank you for the link. I think I'll go with a pair with a wire because I assume they produce better sound quality?

 

[Cromulent]

Think you should decide your priorities first.

I was using Momentum 2 wireless for quite some time and being free of wires is amazing.
That said, wanted better audio quality so went for MSR7b and while they sound noticeably better I'm still not fully used to wire again, plus ANC is useful feature even at home(noisy wife).

I live in a shared house, so having ANC block out their voices would be great and wireless is more convenient. But at the same time, I want to make the most out of lossless music files when Spotify release the service later this year so I'm starting to think wires are the way to go without ANC.

 

[Ruffuz]

I live in a shared house, so having ANC block out their voices would be great and wireless is more convenient. But at the same time, I want to make the most out of lossless music files when Spotify release the service later this year so I'm starting to think wires are the way to go without ANC.

It's a tough choice, agreed.