Helping a friend find a new pair of headphones (+- 200€)

[Lucaxr]

Hi, I'm posting this request for a friend who isn't on the forum, and he would like to ask for your advice on the following matter:

I am looking for a pair of headphones that have an accurate response without breaking the budget to use at work, so I would be wearing them while sitting down and using them for 6-8h straight, so for me, comfort and lightweight are the most important features. I have big-ish ears.

My budget is around $200, preferably lower, but could go a bit higher for extra features such as noise-cancelling (not a priority).

I would prefer them to be closed back to isolate myself from the office noise and also to not bother my peers.

I don’t care if they are wireless or wired as long as they have a 3.5 mm jack and have a low enough impedance to be used with a smartphone.

I am currently using a pair of Sennheiser HD569 and I like them a lot because my ears don’t touch the padding and they sound well enough. Furthermore, I would prioritize an improvement in comfort over sound.

In the past, I had a pair of Shure SRH-440 which I had to mod because the headband was destroying my head, but they sounded well, however, I would rank them lower in every department in comparison to my HD569.

The plan is to use at work the new ones you guys recommend me because that’s where I am going to be using them the most by far, and take the HD569 back home.

TDLR:

$200
Comfortable for someone with big ears
Lightweight
Closed back or noise-cancelling (+$50 budget)
Wireless or 3.5 mm jack and low impedance

 

[staticV3]

The DT 700 Pro X would fit the budget, can be used from a smartphone, but the ear pads are rather small.

The DT 150 would fit the budget, has huge ear pads, but would require a dongle like this to play loud:

Also has a big bass boost with the stock ear pads:

Which can be fixed by replacing them with the EDT 100T pads (green):


The Austrian Audio Hi-X60 can be used from a smartphone, has huge ear pads, great tuning out of the box, but it's definitely over budget.

 

[rentaclaus]

The Austrian Audio Hi-X60 can be used from a smartphone, has huge ear pads, great tuning out of the box, but it's definitely over budget.

I recently purchased a slightly used one (almost new) for 240 €. It is worth every cent.

 

[Joe Smith]

AKG K361 or AKG K371 would be very good choices in my opinion. No muss, no fuss. Comfortable ear pads even with glasses.

 

[Dunring]

The AKG K371Pro is my favorite for what your looking for. Easy to drive, no eq required, and 3 different cables. Just don't get the standard or Bluetooth, they don't sound as good as the Pro version.

 

[staticV3]

The AKG K371Pro is my favorite for what your looking for. Easy to drive, no eq required, and 3 different cables. Just don't get the standard or Bluetooth, they don't sound as good as the Pro version.

There is no K371 Pro. Only the regular K371 and K371-BT.