[Music] Headphones 2022... State of The Nation

[1066familyman]

Zenheisser end of chat.

How so? Have you listened to any other headphones other than Sennheiser?

Or are you a HE-1 owner

 

[Greg Bobkin]

Zenheisser end of chat.

Is that what you get when you try to order Sennheiser from Wish?

 

[Happy Exile]

Ooooh. I've not seen this thread before but by AMAZING COINCIDENCE I've been browsing headphones this morning. I need a wired pair for an old electric piano - ideally a reasonably long cable and decent sound across all tones. I've played it a bit with in-ear ones and the sounds sometimes get a bit 'mashed'. Any suggestions very gratefully received!

 

[pb21]

Weird, some Fiio FT1s just arrived at pb21 towers.

Relatively budget (£140), but meant to be excellent value, will report...

 

[pb21]

Ooooh. I've not seen this thread before but by AMAZING COINCIDENCE I've been browsing headphones this morning. I need a wired pair for an old electric piano - ideally a reasonably long cable and decent sound across all tones. I've played it a bit with in-ear ones and the sounds sometimes get a bit 'mashed'. Any suggestions very gratefully received!

For music playing you want something pretty neutral sounding. Not an expert in this field but I think the Sony MDR-7506 would be a sound choice and meet your criteria.

https://www.sony.co.uk/store/product/mdr7506.eu/MDR-7506-Professional-Headphones

 

[1066familyman]

Weird, some Fiio FT1s just arrived at pb21 towers.

Relatively budget (£140), but meant to be excellent value, will report...

I'm very very keen to hear what you make of these! They are getting rave reviews as a budget closed back 'giant killer'.

I hope to hear a pair myself at this year's Canjam, all being well.

 

[1066familyman]

Ooooh. I've not seen this thread before but by AMAZING COINCIDENCE I've been browsing headphones this morning. I need a wired pair for an old electric piano - ideally a reasonably long cable and decent sound across all tones. I've played it a bit with in-ear ones and the sounds sometimes get a bit 'mashed'. Any suggestions very gratefully received!

Do you need to block out other sounds, or have your playing not leak out for others to hear? If yes, then go for closed backs.

If no, then go for open backs.

Tbh, if they're just for playing on your electric piano then comfort and cable length/feel should be your top priority.

Generally, in the budget end you have lots of good choices from the likes of AKG, Sony and Sennheiser. Also, very generally speaking, Sony's house sound tends to favour 'warm', whereas Sennheiser tend to go for more detail and a more open sound with less emphasis on the bass.

Also worth exploring what Beyerdynamics have to offer. They're a favourite make of studio engineers and musicians I believe.

Good luck.

Edit: I forgot to add to look for low impedance headphones for your use case. I would stick with 80ohm and below. Anything higher needs more power to drive them to their best, which your electric piano might not excel in. You'll have plenty of options of 32ohm headphones I reckon.

 

[Happy Exile]

Do you need to block out other sounds, or have your playing not leak out for others to hear? If yes, then go for closed backs.

If no, then go for open backs.

Tbh, if they're just for playing on your electric piano then comfort and cable length/feel should be your top priority.

Generally, in the budget end you have lots of good choices from the likes of AKG, Sony and Sennheiser. Also, very generally speaking, Sony's house sound tends to favour 'warm', whereas Sennheiser tend to go for more detail and a more open sound with less emphasis on the bass.

Also worth exploring what Beyerdynamics have to offer. They're a favourite make of studio engineers and musicians I believe.

Good luck.

Fabulous, thank you. It's more so others can't hear - space and logistics mean the piano is in the same room as the TV at the moment. I'm kind so wouldn't play even with headphones while others are watching TV because of key noise, but it means I'll often only play when the rest of the family is in bed. I've got a vague idea to hook up my laptop via the midi sockets and record some stuff maybe so I'd like them to be good enough to avoid the 'mush' that I get with in-ear phones so I know at point of recording what it might sound like, but they don't have to be particularly amazing.

 

[1066familyman]

Fabulous, thank you. It's more so others can't hear - space and logistics mean the piano is in the same room as the TV at the moment. I'm kind so wouldn't play even with headphones while others are watching TV because of key noise, but it means I'll often only play when the rest of the family is in bed. I've got a vague idea to hook up my laptop via the midi sockets and record some stuff maybe so I'd like them to be good enough to avoid the 'mush' that I get with in-ear phones so I know at point of recording what it might sound like, but they don't have to be particularly amazing.

Some open back, low impedance headphones should be ideal then.

Have a search around the four brands I mentioned above, decide on budget and then just make sure the cable is long enough and doesn't have crap reviews around the cable being microphonic or unmanageable and poor quality.

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

Powerbeats Pros for the train (wireless) - I love them
Sony Professional MDR-7506s for podcasting and work calls (wired) - brilliant quality but I can't compare the others.

 

[PTC Gull]

Just got a pair of Lytmi Cozy Fit wireless open ear. $40/GBP33 on Amazon. Nice sound for the price. They have a newer model at $80/GBP64

 

[PeterOut]

I don't claim any expertise myself, but this is what a bunch of professional DJs think - https://www.theguardian.com/thefilter/2025/feb/20/best-dj-headphones