I am about to buy a Sony Vaio CB15 laptop in the next few days. When I’m buying that, I’ll also buy a USB 3.0 16GB pendrive. I can’t speak in specifics, but I suppose the total cost for these two items will comes to ~53K, or maybe less. Now, I have a total budget of 55K and I also want to purchase good-quality headphones in this amount. Which is why I have specified a budget of 2K in the topic title although I’m pretty sure you can go a couple of hundred bucks higher if you wish so.
Now, my primary usage will not be to listen to music. I listen to that on my mobile and have Sennheiser in-ear headphones for that which I like a lot. The headphones I’m about to buy I’ll use mainly by plugging into my laptop while I’m watching movies, TV shows or any videos and while playing games. I’m not much of an audiophile and don’t get a lot of the jargon of the field. I’m also not one for excessive bass. What matters to me the most is immersion, surround and crispness.
Since I’ll be wearing these headphones for long stretches at a time (2-3 hrs for a movie, little less for a game), comfort and build quality is of the UTMOST importance to me. I have always used the huge ones that cover your entire areas… which type would you suggest? Also, I’m willing to sacrifice a little on brand name & sound quality (since I don’t understand much of it anyways) in exchange for great build quality & comfort. And by the way, I’m not a fanboy of any or a hater of any brand… so include anything and everything in your suggestions.
And finally, I live in Mumbai. Lamington road is quite close to my place and I have no aversions to buying online either.
Umm keeping the budget strictly under 2k . The options are Sennhesier HD 201/202 , Sony MDR-XD200 , Philips SHP 8500/8900 and Audio Technica M20/ T-500 .
Wouldn’t really suggest the HD201 as they don’t work best with onboard soundcards . The HD202 is not so comfortable for long hours . The Sony MDR-XD200 are pretty fun sounding headphones with good thumpy bass , good comfort as well . The M20 and T200 from Audio-Technica are both VFM headphones . The T200 was recently reviewed by Brendon along with comparisons with M20 .So this review should help you to check if any of them suit your needs.
The Philips models are usually more of bright treble and slightly flat bass response . They have a nice not so tight fitting and comfortable for watching movies .If you have a very small head , they can tend to slightly slip down after sometime .
I would suggest chose from the Sony,Philips or Audio-Technica models .Since you mentioned you are not very familiar with all the audiophile lingo , it would be best if you decide which one to buy after trying them out personally .The Sony and Philips are usually available for audition at big retail stores like Croma,Hypercity etc .Audio Technica should be available with Pristine Note based out of Navi Mumbai . I know it’s too much for a 2k purchase but will be worth it in the end. If its not possible to audition , to give you an idea - if you want lots of bass ,I would suggest Sony .More close to balanced/ neutral sound then Audio Technica T200 and M20 for a bit relaxed and darker sound signature ;).
What would you say about the Sony XB300? Regarding sound, suitability for games & movies, comfort? I auditioned them with music and they were nice. I could get them for 2.35K.