Looking for advice about headphones

[robkelk]

My Panasonic DJ120 headphones broke. The electronics are still good; it's the joints holding them to the headrest that broke (left side first, then the right side a week later). My first thought was "Well, they still work, but I have to hold them together. I've had then for a while - can I get parts to repair them?" A look online shows that the DJ120 is long out-of-production - even the "factory overstock" stores don't have any left. So, no chance of replacement parts.

Then I thought, "I'm not retired yet; maybe I should buy a good pair of cans." So I checked out what's available. I've never heard of most of the brands that show up in searches. (And the variation in prices is insane! At least two orders of magnitude between the cheap break-and-throw-away cans and the highest-end sets - part of those high-end prices has to be the sucker audiophile paying for a brand name.)

As far as my ears go, I can easily tell the difference between Sony and Koss, but I have to concentrate to distinguish between Koss and Denon. (Yeah, those three were the brands I recognized.) And as I implied above, I prefer the over-ear style ("cans"), not pads or buds.

What's good nowadays, what should I stay away from, what's "okay I guess"?

[ECSNorway]

Dad's a big audiophile and he swears by Bose. I can't tell the difference.

[Shader]

Before grabbing a pair of headphones, my brother always checks out Goldenears. Personally I just go to the local computer store with a budget in mind and find a pair that match the price from a name that I know or that are actually comfortable when I put them on.

There is only so much sound and tricks you can do with headphones... and you need to be careful with your hearing.

Currently I have a pair of Skull Candy that I got on sale. Its served me well over the last 5 years. Just starting to think about replacing it myself as well as one of the foam pads on the cans came off after a cat knocked it off the table. It still works, just not as comfortable as before.

[Bob Schroeck]

While outside of airline headsets I haven't used any over-the-ear designs in years, I'll second Skullcandy. If they make headsets with the same quality that they make earbuds, they should be a good choice.

[ECSNorway]

Most quality audio shops will let you test a set before you buy. Ask if you can.

[Dartz]

Avoid anything endorsed by a Celebrity.

Especially Beats. Or, 'We put lead weights into them to make them feel like they're better built' Beats. The Chinese knockoffs were higher quality....

OTOH, a decent set of Sennheisers can be fairly good if you can get them. It's most important that they're comfortable on your head for longer periods though.