Currently have a pair of Philips Fidelio X2HR, which I'm actually quite happy with, but the earpads have started to disintegrate, making them very uncomfortable to wear.
I've tried looking for new earpads, but it's a choice of cheap and poorly reviewed, or 50% the price of a new pair of headphones!
I did order some Brainwavz ones (have had good experience with them in the past) which fit according to their compatibility charts, but they arrived today, and it looks like there's absolutely no way they're going to fit, they're about 8mm too small, which doesn't sound a lot, but looking at how much they'd need to stretch to fit around the clip on rings the original earpads have, it's not going to happen without a good chance of damaging them, so I've contacted Brainwavz to have a moan and send them back
.
I've managed to temporarily fit a set of pads from a cheap and nasty set of headphones I had in the attic, so they're useable, but they sound like **** and I need a permanent solution of some kind!
Options so far:
My use is mostly gaming & listening to music, although I do use them for music production as well.
Need to be wired, or at least have a wired option, as they will be running either through a Soundblaster GC7 (when connected to the PC), or through an audio mixer (Behringer QX1002USB)
Preferably open backed, so I can hear the kids/baby monitor/doorbell/cats being sick on the carpet/etc. while wearing them
No need for a mic, as I have a modmic (would be nice if the case was metal, one nice thing about the X2HRs is the mesh is magnetic, so I can just stick the mic straight onto them without the mount).
Removable/replaceable cable, as I use different cables for my PC and mixer
Budget wise... I wouldn't really want to spend more than £300 if possible, preferably closer to £200
I've tried looking for new earpads, but it's a choice of cheap and poorly reviewed, or 50% the price of a new pair of headphones!
I did order some Brainwavz ones (have had good experience with them in the past) which fit according to their compatibility charts, but they arrived today, and it looks like there's absolutely no way they're going to fit, they're about 8mm too small, which doesn't sound a lot, but looking at how much they'd need to stretch to fit around the clip on rings the original earpads have, it's not going to happen without a good chance of damaging them, so I've contacted Brainwavz to have a moan and send them back
.I've managed to temporarily fit a set of pads from a cheap and nasty set of headphones I had in the attic, so they're useable, but they sound like **** and I need a permanent solution of some kind!
Options so far:
- Dekoni suede pads (which should be an upgrade from stock from what I can find online) - ~£45
- New set of X2HRs - ~£97 (or a "Used - Like New" pair for ~£78)
- Hifiman Sundara - seem to be recommended as a good upgrade/similar sound to the X2HR - ~£196
- Beyerdynamic DT990 - get good reviews, but harder to drive
- Unknown option??
My use is mostly gaming & listening to music, although I do use them for music production as well.
Need to be wired, or at least have a wired option, as they will be running either through a Soundblaster GC7 (when connected to the PC), or through an audio mixer (Behringer QX1002USB)
Preferably open backed, so I can hear the kids/baby monitor/doorbell/cats being sick on the carpet/etc. while wearing them
No need for a mic, as I have a modmic (would be nice if the case was metal, one nice thing about the X2HRs is the mesh is magnetic, so I can just stick the mic straight onto them without the mount).
Removable/replaceable cable, as I use different cables for my PC and mixer
Budget wise... I wouldn't really want to spend more than £300 if possible, preferably closer to £200
