Need some new headphones for work

nails666

nails666

nails666

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Hi, I'm looking to get a new set of headphones for work and I'm looking for some recommendations.

I'm currently using some SoundMagic E10s and they are ok but in general my ears aren't liking the in-ear style buds as much now (I blame getting old!) so I'd like to get some proper headphones instead.
My list of requirements is as follows: -

  • They will be driven directly from my phone (Nexus 5) so can't need an amp to get decent performance from them.
  • I will mainly be streaming music from Google Play so I'd like them to sound good but there's no need for anything reference quality.
  • I work in an open plan office so they must be closed back and leak very little if any noise when used at decent volume as I don't want to annoy anyone else with my music.
  • Sometimes I will be wearing them for multiple hours so they need to be comfortable for long sessions, noting especially that I wear glasses.
  • I will probably end up taking them to and from work each day in my rucksack so a decent travel case included would be a bonus and in general just being fairly durable would be good.
  • As they will be used at work I'd like them to look fairly discrete so nothing too big or flashy.

Budget wise about £50 would be good but could possibly justify a bit more if there was a big step up in quality available.

So is there anything out there that covers all those bases for that budget or am I hoping for a bit much?

Many Thanks,

Ross
 
Creative Aurvana Live! is the best at this budget. You'd have to go up to £80 and grab a decent portable/mobile amp to get substantially better (AKG K612 and a FiiO amp if you were wondering).
 
Thanks guys, I've always been tempted by a portable amp as well but not sure I can really justify the cost. Out of curiosity which of the various FiiO models would you suggest as the best worthwhile entry level one?

Those Creative headphones look pretty decent though so could well be tempted by them.
 
rids57 said:
^
OP specified closed back, so AKG K612 is not an option
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Well yes but I interpreted that more as him/her being worried about substantial sound leakage - which isn't really an issue with the 612s, can easily cope with office environments.

nails666 said:
Thanks guys, I've always been tempted by a portable amp as well but not sure I can really justify the cost. Out of curiosity which of the various FiiO models would you suggest as the best worthwhile entry level one?.
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E10K or an E07K.
 
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Cookeh said:
Well yes but I interpreted that more as him/her being worried about substantial sound leakage - which isn't really an issue with the 612s, can easily cope with office environments.
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You are joking I hope :eek:

I just tried my AKG K702s for leakage, which are fairly close in chassis design. I adjusted them to normal volume, fitted them over one of my speakers in order to remove direct sound radiation and only allow sound to leak from the rears and could clearly hear them from 20ft away.
 
Q701s are pretty much inaudible from more than 2ft - K612 Pros I demo'd were almost the same. I have some PortaPros which are arguably as open and as leaky as headphones go and even those couldn't be heard from more than 6ft away... Lord knows what volume you listen to music at!
 
The Q701s are identical to the K702s and I can hear them very easily even with my worn out old ears :D

I'm listening at about 30% on my Schiit Vali or 35% on my STX set to high gain (64~300ohms).
 
Well I think looking at the prices of the amps that at the moment it's not worth it for me, maybe sometime in the future.

In the absence of any other suggestions I'm going to give those Creative ones a try see how they feel.

Thanks for the help,

Ross
 
Hmm, might be worth a play for that price. I've ordered the Creative set for now but might think about upgrading later. Would a cheap amp like that be ok for driving a better set of headphones, say around the £100 level?
 
Cambridge audio DacMagic XS from RS on offer for £49 if you can wait for the offer to come around which it does quite regularly.
 
rids57 said:
The Q701s are identical to the K702s and I can hear them very easily even with my worn out old ears :D

I'm listening at about 30% on my Schiit Vali or 35% on my STX set to high gain (64~300ohms).
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35% on high gain through Q701's is LOUD!

Are you deaf? :p
 
Precisely my thinking - my Q701s sit on around 10% max volume (through E07K and a SA770 stereo amp) and that's MORE than loud enough for me. Even when using the E07k as an amp by itself I never need more than 15% (and its not nearly as powerful an amp as the STX).
 
my ears are a lot older and worn than yours :D

I did manage to "almost" get through the Golden Ears test though (failed one test) and achieved Silver Ears, so they can't be that bad.

What can I say, I like my music to be fairly loud. If I'm listening to music then I'm listening to it, I don't use it as background noise.
 
Just trying a bit of Metallica (Enter Sandman) on the STX at High Gain (64~300) through my HD650s

10% - I can hear it just fine but it's too quiet for my liking
15% - Better but still a little quiet and I can hear my keyboard switches (cherry blue) while I type this.
20% - Much better but I'm still craving some extra "oomph" from the music.
25% - Now we're talking :D
30% - :) :) :) :) :)

Yes, I think 30% is about right for some serious listening - head's going, feet are tapping and my ears are definitely happy :D

Switching to K702s and they need another 5% above the HD650s for the same volume but I would have to listen to them at a lower volume or EQ those peaks as they are much more aggressive than the Senns.
 
Ah, giving them a proper workout. Generally when I'm at work I don't have the volume that high otherwise I have a tendency to start head banging at my desk and that gets me lots of odd looks :)
 
nails666 said:
Hmm, might be worth a play for that price. I've ordered the Creative set for now but might think about upgrading later. Would a cheap amp like that be ok for driving a better set of headphones, say around the £100 level?
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Yes, it's actually a very good, neutral sounding amp despite it's ridiculously low price. It's main competitor is the FiiO A3 (used to be E11K) which goes for around £45.
 
rids57 said:
What can I say, I like my music to be fairly loud. If I'm listening to music then I'm listening to it, I don't use it as background noise.
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Probably explains the difference is audible leakage then :p

rids57 said:
Yes, it's actually a very good, neutral sounding amp despite it's ridiculously low price. It's main competitor is the FiiO A3 (used to be E11K) which goes for around £45.
Click to expand...

Rids is spot on here, really. NX1 is very good value for money and offers good performance at its price.
 
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