Traditional Over-The-Ear Headphone Question

[LowTech]

I don’t see the topic being discussed here much but IMO it is appropriate.  Even though I’ve followed some of the threads over at the AVS forums I’d still like to hear what this community’s opinions are.

My trusty old JVC HA-D990s have deteriorated to the point that they’re practicably unusable.  I have had many different headphones throughout the years and have always preferred the over-the-ear, closed back designs like my JVCs.  The biggest problem with this design is finding a set that is comfortable.  In the world of headphones comfort is extremely subjective.  More often than not, it seems, the over-the-ear designs always had some sort of shortcoming (weight, excessive squeeze, ear discomfort, etc.).  Nonetheless the HA-D990s were without a doubt the most comfortable headphones of this design that I have ever owned or tried for extended periods and for my purposes sounded great (or maybe I’m just used to them, another subjective trait).  I could wear these things endlessly, they were that good for me but it’s time for a replacement set.

It seems like anymore local shops do not have open samples to try on and/or listen to.  Everything is either in a blister pack, box or available only online.  That makes it tough to even get the slightest indication of the set’s comfort and sound.  That leaves me with basically two ways to come to a decision about which of the many headsets out there that I will select as the most likely to succeed. 

One way is to look at a picture of the set on either the package that it comes in or on the web and choose one that looks like it could stay on my head for more than an hour without trying to kill me.

The second way to base a decision on is to solicit the opinion of other headphone users.  As I stated I’ve followed some of the threads on AVS forums but haven’t actively jumped in with a question as there are so many responders that if the thread were to go on long enough every set available out there would receive at least one shout-out from somebody.  Trolling the Head-Fi forums you’d think that only Grado, AKG are acceptable brands. 

For my purposes I’m don’t need a $1K pair of esoteric headphones.  What I’m really looking for is a “blue-collar” set that is adequate for a variety of music (from classical to Puddle of Mudd) and some gaming.

My criteria:

Over-the-head, closed back.

$50 to $150 range.

The bigger the driver the better (I do get a wild hair every now and then).

Prefer wired but just because I haven’t had any experience with wireless and I have been known to wear these things for hours on “rainy days” so battery life is a concern.

Right now candidates are (in no particular order): Sennheiser HD280, Sony MDR-V700, JVC HADX 1, Koss Pro4AAT, and Audio Technica ATH-Pro5V.  These have been selected purely on their appearance as I have no idea what they sound like or how comfortable they might be. 

Again I realize that this is a very subjective subject but one that is rarely discussed here on MR.  Your thoughts and comments are appreciated.

[Author]

Posts