What headphones for under £40

[Elfrasho]

Looking to get a new pair of headphones for general round the house usage. I will play bass and guitar through them no doubt but its more for general fannying about on YouTube type thing. I prefer flatter response rather than mega bassy but sound quality is the key for me. Ie I'm willing to wriggle on comfort (I'd only be using them in short bursts) and build quality (to an extent) if it means I get a good sounding nset. They need to be over the ear rather than in ear.

I'm looking at sennheiser hd206.. However at this price point there seems to be about a million models to chose from.

What are you all using?

Fraser

[naxos10]

Sennheiser HD201 low cost but good quality

[Elfrasho]

[quote name='naxos10' timestamp='1497166759' post='3316180']
Sennheiser HD201 low cost but good quality
[/quote]

I originally looked at them but looks like theyve been discontinued? Maybe replaced by the 206's? They look very similar.

[backwater]

I had a look at Sennheisers website and it looks like the 201s are discontinued but the 206 looks very similar spec.

I use the 201s for pa monitoring and they are good for the price.

Andy

p.s. Richer Sounds are doing the 206s at £24.99 : [url="https://www.richersounds.com/product/headphones/sennheiser/hd206/senn-hd206"]https://www.richersounds.com/product/headphones/sennheiser/hd206/senn-hd206[/url]

Edited June 11, 2017 by backwater

[Skybone]

Yup, can't go wrong with a pair of Sennheiser's. Have an old pair of HD200's that are still going strong after a lot of years.

[Dad3353]

I've had entire satisfaction from the Superlux range, available from Thomann (other sources exist...). Excellent 'bang for buck'; I use, intensively, the HD669, at £23 or so. I've had 'em several years now, and no sign of deterioration, either physically or sonically. There are other models; worth a look..?

[url="https://www.thomann.de/gb/superlux_hd_669.htm"]Superlux HD669 ...[/url]

[Elfrasho]

So been into richer sounds and got a set of the hd206. Firstly the sound is great. Balanced and not bass heavy. Secondly I dont think they are particularly loud. On my mobile phone the volume needs cranked to get anywhere near my in ear ones.. shouldn't be a problem for my application , they will pr0bably never leave the house!

As a bonus they seem to be pretty well made with a decent jack.

Thanks for your help guys, I'm happy with the purchase!

[Dad3353]

[naxos10]

There's a pair of HD202 in the 'Other music related....' section of he classifieds.

[ProfJames]

Gear4music.com have a range of headphones around that price

[Ziphoblat]

The AKG K series is worth a look. Generally fairly unbiased frequency response (definitely not over-hyped bass), and very reliable in my experience. They do models across most price brackets. I've had a pair of AKG K77s for years that are still going strong. Have recommended them to several people who have bought them and been happy, including recently a pair of K44s which I believe or only in the £20-30 bracket, I was quite impressed for the money. I now own the K550s and absolutely love them.

The only downside is that they're not massively portable or appropriate as a fashion accessory if that's your thing (though IMO they look good in their own right).

Edited June 12, 2017 by Ziphoblat

[CliveT]

I've been looking at the Sennheiser HD 206 headphones too for home hi fi and bass practice.  Are they as good as anything else in this price range?  

[Rageofklugman]

I picked up a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-M20x headphones a few months back for a bit under £40 and have been very pleased with them.

Edited April 29, 2021 by Rageofklugman

[CliveT]

2 hours ago, Rageofklugman said:

I picked up a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-M20x headphones a few months back for a bit under £40 and have been very pleased with them.

I looked at those too and they are on my shortlist.  

[NickD]

2 hours ago, Rageofklugman said:

I picked up a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-M20x headphones a few months back for a bit under £40 and have been very pleased with them.

I use a pair of these, for pretty much everything. The Mrs has a set of HD280 Pro, and particularly for mixing I much prefer the much cheaper ATs, as I find them more neutral and realistic. I wear them for hours at a time too, with no discomfort.

[tauzero]

On 29/04/2021 at 09:35, Rageofklugman said:

I picked up a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-M20x headphones a few months back for a bit under £40 and have been very pleased with them.

I bought a pair recently on the basis of a recommendation in an earlier thread on the same subject. Very pleased with them. I bought them because I'd got my home office set up with sound system and wanted to put the Sennheiser HD20somethings (now obsolete) in there, and I'm very impressed by the ATs.

[El Capo]

Another vote for Superlux here. I can’t kill mine!

[Waddo Soqable]

Thanks for the Sennheiser 206 suggestion ( my knackered cheapo crackly Sony ones have been an annoyance for ages now )

 I just grabbed a new 206 set for £15.99 from evilbay... looking forward to plugging them in without having to wiggle the lead each time !

[CliveT]

10 hours ago, Waddo Soqable said:

Thanks for the Sennheiser 206 suggestion ( my knackered cheapo crackly Sony ones have been an annoyance for ages now )

 I just grabbed a new 206 set for £15.99 from evilbay... looking forward to plugging them in without having to wiggle the lead each time !

Look forward to your thoughts on them 

[Waddo Soqable]

1 minute ago, CliveT said:

Look forward to your thoughts on them 

I'll let you know when they arrive and I've played with them a bit !... I mainly want them to play bass, and very occasionally guitar, "silently"  rather than listening to music generally.

[CliveT]

15 minutes ago, Waddo Soqable said:

I'll let you know when they arrive and I've played with them a bit !... I mainly want them to play bass, and very occasionally guitar, "silently"  rather than listening to music generally.

Cool, I want them for mainly bass practice but occasionally hifi and TV use so be interested to see how they work for that too

[Chienmortbb]

On 12/06/2017 at 17:45, Ziphoblat said:

The AKG K series is worth a look. Generally fairly unbiased frequency response (definitely not over-hyped bass), and very reliable in my experience. They do models across most price brackets. I've had a pair of AKG K77s for years that are still going strong. Have recommended them to several people who have bought them and been happy, including recently a pair of K44s which I believe or only in the £20-30 bracket, I was quite impressed for the money. I now own the K550s and absolutely love them.

The only downside is that they're not massively portable or appropriate as a fashion accessory if that's your thing (though IMO they look good in their own right).

I have a couple of pairs of their in ears and they are great. However I would be happy using any of those liste above.

Edited May 3, 2021 by Chienmortbb

[Waddo Soqable]

1 hour ago, CliveT said:

Cool, I want them for mainly bass practice but occasionally hifi and TV use so be interested to see how they work for that too

When they arrive I'll bung a few CDs in the laptop etc and see what they sound like for general music too !  ...It'll be a joy to have a set of headphones that just work without a load of fiddling for a change !  I did get a real cheapo pair named JVC a while back, I literally threw them straight in the bin after one listen, the sound was utter rubbish, I just soldiered on with the old dodgy wiring set...

[CliveT]

Anyone got experience with the OneOdio Studio Pro 10 from Amazon?   They say they are for studio monitoring and sell for £34.99.  Get good reviews on Amazon and Youtube 

Edited May 5, 2021 by CliveT

[Elfrasho]

On 02/05/2021 at 23:29, Waddo Soqable said:

Thanks for the Sennheiser 206 suggestion ( my knackered cheapo crackly Sony ones have been an annoyance for ages now )

 I just grabbed a new 206 set for £15.99 from evilbay... looking forward to plugging them in without having to wiggle the lead each time !

Aye, I'd be keen to hear your thoughts too. Mine are still going strong.. With Almost daily use and abuse. They sound lovely for bass practice and general purpose, however I've actually recently been considering changing them for something with a more flat response for audio work. 

 

16 quid though is a no brainer!