Over-ear headphones that are comfortable for long periods?

MavericK

MavericK

Zero Cool
Joined
Sep 2, 2004
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So, I have several pairs of headphones and so far I haven't been having good luck with finding any that are comfortable to wear for over an hour or so. I dunno if my ears are abnormally large, or what, but I have a pair of Logitech G533s and some Hifiman HE-4XXs and both of them fatigue the crap out of my ears over a longer period. It's not the weight on my head or anything, it seems to just be how they sit on the ears, because after awhile my ears start to hurt, like they are being pressed on.

I also have a couple other pairs to try, but has anyone else had similar issues and have any recommendations for similar sound quality?
 
My beyerdynamic dt-880s are super comfy. I have big ears and the pads go around them and dont press on them at all.
 
Darunion said:
My beyerdynamic dt-880s are super comfy. I have big ears and the pads go around them and dont press on them at all.
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I'll have to check those out, I've never tried Beyerdynamic but I've heard good things. What impedance version did you get? I do have a couple of amps available (SB X3 and Fiio K3)
 
MavericK said:
I'll have to check those out, I've never tried Beyerdynamic but I've heard good things. What impedance version did you get? I do have a couple of amps available (SB X3 and Fiio K3)
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I have the 600 ohm and have powered it well from a sb AE-5, schiit hel/magni, fiio x3. I got the 600 because i already had the amps to handle it, but probably would be fine with 80 or 250 as i am not too much of a snob yet lol.

I use these for music on pc and i have a modmic connected to it for headset mode when gaming.
 
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I like the Philips SHP9500. I wanted to go wireless after I tried walking away with them on a few times. So I tried the Logitech 933 which is similar to what you had, but I would get sore ears wearing it too long and went back to the SHP9500s.
 
chameleoneel said:
Problem is headphone makers seem to think we are all OK we putting our head in a vice. It's ridiculous how tight a lot of headphones are.
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I bought a pair of these and wish it had a bit more clamping force, but I do know what you mean about other headphones just crushing your head, lol.
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I have pair of Sennheiser 558's which are real comfortable. After a few minutes I forget that I am wearing them.
 
Sen HD 595 and 598's love them, comfy as hell. And the wife who hates anything on her ears, even wore them and liked them, light, soft...
 
Zepher said:
I bought a pair of these and wish it had a bit more clamping force, but I do know what you mean about other headphones just crushing your head, lol.
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I have pair of Sennheiser 558's which are real comfortable. After a few minutes I forget that I am wearing them.
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How do you like those Corsairs? The ability to have wired or wireless seems pretty nice. I just wonder what the quality is like versus something like Sennheiser.
 
GoldenTiger said:
I love my sennheiser HD 485 set... Discontinued for ages now. :( I'll have to try the 595 or 598 sometime.
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I was lucky with my HD598's they were one sale one day, thought it was a mistake, something like $120 or some ridiculous low price years ago, so i eventually managed to snag 2 pairs. Gave one to a friend and still got mine, going strong, only replaced the cable couple years ago on it.
 
MavericK said:
How do you like those Corsairs? The ability to have wired or wireless seems pretty nice. I just wonder what the quality is like versus something like Sennheiser.
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My Sennheiser's do sound a bit better but I bought these for wireless to the PC and simultaneous Bluetooth so I can listen to my Apple TV4k at the same time I am gaming.
they are pretty expensive, so unless you need dual wireless at the same time, I'd get the cheaper ones that only do one wireless at a time.
 
Audio Technica AD700 or AD900. Their design is the closest to not feeling anything that I have had.

Just fyi I have tried almost every headphone south of $1000. Beyer, sennheiser or audio technica are all comfy.
 
spaceman said:
Audio Technica AD700 or AD900. Their design is the closest to not feeling anything that I have had.

Just fyi I have tried almost every headphone south of $1000. Beyer, sennheiser or audio technica are all comfy.
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Would you say the AD900 or the DT990 Pro are better for gaming? Those are kind of the two I am looking at currently. I tend to prefer a more bass-heavy headphone as well, but I'm not listening to EDM or anything regularly, I just like it to have some impact.
 
Meze Empyrean, comfortable as f'k with superb bass.
 
I'm able to wear my Drop/HiFiMan HE-5XX's all day. Not sure if they are looser or tighter than HE-4XX's though :)
 
MavericK said:
Would you say the AD900 or the DT990 Pro are better for gaming? Those are kind of the two I am looking at currently. I tend to prefer a more bass-heavy headphone as well, but I'm not listening to EDM or anything regularly, I just like it to have some impact.
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AD900. The Beyers usually have more bass slam but it isn't a huge difference. With the AD700 the bass is lighter. The AD900 is pretty well balanced and has a larger sound stage than the Beyer.

In the $200 and under price it's the AD900 and the Senn 598. I like the AD900 better. Especially it's comfy design and larger sound stage. AKG 700 are awesome in terms of detail and sound stage but have no bass impact and lately have terrible solder points. So the left ear cup goes out constantly.
 
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MavericK said:
Would you say the AD900 or the DT990 Pro are better for gaming? Those are kind of the two I am looking at currently. I tend to prefer a more bass-heavy headphone as well, but I'm not listening to EDM or anything regularly, I just like it to have some impact.
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One thing about the DT990 headphones is that they are open. That is nice for giving you more of an open, airy sound but they also let other sound from the room in. Not ideal for gaming unless the room where you game is perfectly silent. The DT770 is very similar to the DT990 but closed, providing much better isolation from ambient noise. The DT770 also has better bass than the DT990. More specifically, I'd recommend the DT770-Pro 80ohm model for most situations.
 
GotNoRice said:
One thing about the DT990 headphones is that they are open. That is nice for giving you more of an open, airy sound but they also let other sound from the room in. Not ideal for gaming unless the room where you game is perfectly silent. The DT770 is very similar to the DT990 but closed, providing much better isolation from ambient noise. The DT770 also has better bass than the DT990. More specifically, I'd recommend the DT770-Pro 80ohm model for most situations.
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Thanks - I was trying to determine the difference between the two, the model numbers make you think the 990 is strictly better.

I'll probably look at either the AD900 or the DT770 Pro at this point.
 
Only problem I had with my old audio-technicas before they started selling them here in the US was it was too loose on my head, not sure if the new ones are any different in that regard. Some people also don't like the 2 pressure points from their 3d headband thing.

The headband pad on my hd600/hd6xx series causes my head to get irritated faster than on my dt990 but as with anything ymmv. I don't have any a-t headphones anymore. The DT1xx0 series are also super heavy so definitely don't get those lol.
 
D-EJ915 said:
Only problem I had with my old audio-technicas before they started selling them here in the US was it was too loose on my head, not sure if the new ones are any different in that regard. Some people also don't like the 2 pressure points from their 3d headband thing.

The headband pad on my hd600/hd6xx series causes my head to get irritated faster than on my dt990 but as with anything ymmv. I don't have any a-t headphones anymore. The DT1xx0 series are also super heavy so definitely don't get those lol.
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I'm not super worried about them being too loose, I have a pretty big head which is part of the reason why I think several of these are uncomfortable.
 
Budget?
I would probably recommend something like Sennheiser HD-600 HD-650 6XX
Any over-ear headphones should at least get you in the vicinity. I'd recommend either open-back or semi-open if you're sensitive in general to headphone pressure (as opposed to closed-back). It should help at least a little bit. I'd also recommend against noise cancelling headphones for the same reason.
Certain brands also tend to make 'tight' cans. I'd probably stay away from Grado as an example for this reason.
 
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UnknownSouljer said:
Budget?
I would probably recommend something like Sennheiser HD-600 HD-650 6XX
Any over-ear headphones should at least get you in the vicinity. I'd recommend either open-back or semi-open if you're sensitive in general to headphone pressure (as opposed to closed-back). It should help at least a little bit. I'd also recommend against noise cancelling headphones for the same reason.
Certain brands also tend to make 'tight' cans. I'd probably stay away from Grado as an example for this reason.
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I think I mentioned above, in the ~$200 or under range. Drop had the AD900X back in stock recently for around $100 so I decided to jump on that, won't ship until sometime in June though. Might still keep an eye out for other deals and sell some of the more uncomfortable pairs I have.
 
MavericK said:
I think I mentioned above, in the ~$200 or under range. Drop had the AD900X back in stock recently for around $100 so I decided to jump on that, won't ship until sometime in June though. Might still keep an eye out for other deals and sell some of the more uncomfortable pairs I have.
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I came in late. I didn't see info in the OP. Best of luck on your new set of cans!
 
UnknownSouljer said:
I came in late. I didn't see info in the OP. Best of luck on your new set of cans!
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No problem! If you have any other recommendations I'm open to hearing them still. It's not like I've only ever owned one set at a time (I think I have like half a dozen at this point...)
 
Zepher said:
My Sennheiser's do sound a bit better but I bought these for wireless to the PC and simultaneous Bluetooth so I can listen to my Apple TV4k at the same time I am gaming.
they are pretty expensive, so unless you need dual wireless at the same time, I'd get the cheaper ones that only do one wireless at a time.
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I just got a pair of these. Which connection do you prefer? Bluetooth, wired, or the wireless XT Adapter?
 
I wear my HD650 Sennheiser's all day at work. Really comfortable.
 
My wife's Beyerdynamic DT-770s (80 Ohm) are very comfortable, more so than my Sennheiser HD 630 VBs. Since my head is more oval shaped the headband rubs the top of my head and I can't listen to them for more than two hours at a time. There's not enough headband pressure to keep them from sliding around if I set the headband to not touch the top of my head.

Each one has strengths and weaknesses. I feel the beyers are better with bass and low midrange. The senns seem to be better at upper midrange and treble. Then again, I have several hundred hours of listening on the senns and it took them a long time to open up... The beyers are still new and will likely improve with time.
 
sharknice said:
I like the Philips SHP9500. I wanted to go wireless after I tried walking away with them on a few times. So I tried the Logitech 933 which is similar to what you had, but I would get sore ears wearing it too long and went back to the SHP9500s.
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I second this. I've tried quite a few (Senn 555, HD 280, etc) and the Philips SHP9500 are (at least for my head) the most comfortable of the bunch. I also have a pair of Sony MDR10Rs that are very comfortable- but much more bass forward/etc- whereas the SHP9500 is more balanced in sound. Love them both though and go back and forth depending on what sound I want (bass-heavier/closed-back vs. open back)

I wish the HD 280s were more comfortable because they are one of my favorite sound signatures (not to mention the incredible isolation). But the clamping force (even after stretching for hours) is incredible on these. They are like a vice on my fat head.
 
I purchased a set of Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80 Ohms and I'm returning them after 2 hours, for two reasons.

1. My ears get stupid hot with them after 5 minutes.
2. Audio sounds like trash with any equalizer adjustment at higher volume with the Sound Blaster AE-5. This may not be a problem for most but I love my bass, it gets distorted where as the Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2 has zero issues and can take even more at a louder volume (more than I want to listen to, I still want my hearing). The problem with the TB Pro's is the cheap plastic, you are lucky to get a year out of them before they physically breaks. (My 2nd pair just broke earlier this week at the spot as the first set, and I been looking for a replacement)

Which is a shame because they are comfy around the head and ears. The audio quality at lower volume (or no equalizer enabled) is fantastic, the build quality over the TB's is night and day. If you're not going to 'overdrive' them with massive amounts of bass, then IMO the DT770 pretty good option.
 
LOCO LAPTOP said:
Audio sounds like trash with any equalizer adjustment at higher volume with the Sound Blaster AE-5. This may not be a problem for most but I love my bass, it gets distorted where as the Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2 has zero issues and can take even more at a louder volume (more than I want to listen to, I still want my hearing). The problem with the TB Pro's is the cheap plastic, you are lucky to get a year out of them before they physically breaks. (My 2nd pair just broke earlier this week at the spot as the first set, and I been looking for a replacement)

Which is a shame because they are comfy around the head and ears. The audio quality at lower volume (or no equalizer enabled) is fantastic, the build quality over the TB's is night and day. If you're not going to 'overdrive' them with massive amounts of bass, then IMO the DT770 pretty good option.
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Are you sure that this is a headphone issue and not an amplification issue? You have the headphones connected directly to your sound card and not using a separate headphone amplifier, correct? The Turtle Beach headphones you mentioned are, I believe, 32-ohms. That will be a lot easier to power directly from a soundcard or when connected to a phone, etc. 80-ohms is still pretty low impedance and should still work well with most sources but when you use EQ to boost the bass that increases the power demands considerably. The higher the impedance, the more voltage you need for high power output. A soundcard is handycapped at higher impedance because the soundcard is powered by a low-voltage source (12v at most). I consider bass output to be one of the most important aspects of a headphone, and I'm not shy about using EQ to get the bass I want either. The DT770-Pro 80ohm headphones have no lack of bass when paired with proper amplification. The few times that I've had to power them directly from the sound card they did sound a bit lean. Thankfully there are plenty of low-cost headphone amps available that would do the job nicely. I personally use a Little-Dot I+
 
GotNoRice said:
Are you sure that this is a headphone issue and not an amplification issue? You have the headphones connected directly to your sound card and not using a separate headphone amplifier, correct? The Turtle Beach headphones you mentioned are, I believe, 32-ohms. That will be a lot easier to power directly from a soundcard or when connected to a phone, etc. 80-ohms is still pretty low impedance and should still work well with most sources but when you use EQ to boost the bass that increases the power demands considerably. The higher the impedance, the more voltage you need for high power output. A soundcard is handycapped at higher impedance because the soundcard is powered by a low-voltage source (12v at most). I consider bass output to be one of the most important aspects of a headphone, and I'm not shy about using EQ to get the bass I want either. The DT770-Pro 80ohm headphones have no lack of bass when paired with proper amplification. The few times that I've had to power them directly from the sound card they did sound a bit lean. Thankfully there are plenty of low-cost headphone amps available that would do the job nicely. I personally use a Little-Dot I+
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After I posted I was thinking for a minute, that maybe it was my sound card, and yes it's directly connected to the AE-5. As for the EQ, I had an audio engineer tell me to never raise the EQ levels, lower them instead, if want higher bass, lower the treble/mids a bit but leave the bass at 0db, that it's better that way and doesn't require as much power, not sure if that's accurate but seems reasonable.

I use a Fosi Audio Q4 with my laptop when I travel, the audio was the same there but it's also a pretty weak one in comparison to the Schiit Magni Heresy I use at work (along with Sennheiser HD 280 Pro that's already falling apart), so ill try it there tomorrow.

The problem is it doesn't lack bass, it sounds fine. it just the audio gets all muddy/distorted with the bass drops but not in the same way as using an onboard sound card where just everything sounds like distorted mess. The bass is all there is just the vocals and instrumentation get distorted, it also seems to happen more on the left, I checked for hair as other comments on reddit said theirs did the same because it, nothing. Maybe I got a bad pair, who knows but I'm disappointed so far.
 
The Sennheizer HD 350BT I got are pretty comfortable on the ears, but the band isn't super comfy, and likes to slip off if you tilt forward or backward, or if they get bumped. The latter may not be an issue if you have hair on your head, where it belongs.

You do have to adjust the cup angle a bit sometimes -- it likes to rotate the wrong way occasionally.
 
If you go the headset route, I'm quite please wearing my Sennheiser GSP 500's for literally an entire day without any discomfort.
 
Beyer dt770 are bass monsters. If they are distorting then something is wrong. I would skip the sound card entirely btw. Sound blaster is ok but there are really good amp/dac combos for the same price or less these days. I would try the 770s with a different source. A reciever or friends gear. Just to see if it is the headphones. I used to have Darth Beyer's which were modded 770s and they sounded best out of a real headphone amp.
 
spaceman said:
Sound blaster is ok but there are really good amp/dac combos for the same price or less these days.
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Most USB DACs use a barebones implementation of USB audio that has exactly zero useful features (positional audio, etc). There is nothing wrong with getting an amp and continuing to use the sound card as a DAC, or even getting an external DAC and running digital from the soundcard to the DAC so you can still use the soundcard's features. Price of DAC vs soundcard is irrelevant if you already own the soundcard.
 
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