Decently cheap (<$160) headphones for office use

[istir]

Hello,
I've noticed that my old $60 headphones tend to make my head hurt after some use. It's become a problem, because I leave my job with a headache even though I actually like what I'm doing. This doesn't happen when I'm not using headphones, so I think it has something to do with them.

What I'm looking for:

• closed-back, over-the-ear headphones,
• decent sound quality, I'm not expecting anything extraordinary for this price, but I expect it to sound decent while listening to music from Spotify,
• very comfortable, this is extremely important as I want to avoid a headache,
• decently portable, I want to put it in a case in my backpack and carry it from and to office. NOTE: they don't have to FOLD, just be case-able,
• usable with my work Macbook Pro 2016 and a PC without DAC or anything,
• no headsets, I'm interested only in decently normal looking headphones.

They don't have to be wireless (and if they are they NEED to also work with cable).

My budget is $160, could be raised to $220 if there's something significantly better in the price range.

[BiotechBen]

I have a pair of Anker Soundcore Q20 headphones that fit that description perfectly ($60) the Q20+ have type c and are $70. They also have pretty good noise cancellation while content is playing, and they have memory foam ear cups so they are very comfy on your ears and have a memory foam padded band so it's soft on your head too. Pair well over Bluetooth or with standard 3.5mm cable.

 

The sound cancelling may or may not work while wired, some people say it doesn't work, it's worked every time for me

 

[Dedayog]

I use these and find them very comfortable for hours, wireless and with a removable microphone...

 

https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Virtuoso-Wireless-Gaming-Headset/dp/B07VTGSC3B/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2ZMWTNZKCS652&keywords=virtuoso+headset&qid=1663001365&sprefix=virtuoso+head%2Caps%2C86&sr=8-3

 

[IPD]

I got a pair of Sennheiser GSP300's for my wife to use at her job.  She loves them.

[istir]

Something I didn't explicitly mention in my initial post is that I don't want headsets. Fixed this now, but thanks for suggestions!

  

14 minutes ago, BiotechBen said:

I have a pair of Anker Soundcore Q20 headphones that fit that description perfectly ($60) the Q20+ have type c and are $70. They also have pretty good noise cancellation while content is playing, and they have memory foam ear cups so they are very comfy on your ears and have a memory foam padded band so it's soft on your head too. Pair well over Bluetooth or with standard 3.5mm cable.

 

The sound cancelling may or may not work while wired, some people say it doesn't work, it's worked every time for me

 

Unfortunately, the reason I mentioned $60 was because of my old headphones. My actual budget is highlighted in the title at $160.

[istir]

I thought about Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro, they look decently portable, are closed-back, look... decent if you swap the earcups and got the DankPods recommendation. What do you guys think?

[BiotechBen]

2 hours ago, istir said:

Something I didn't explicitly mention in my initial post is that I don't want headsets. Fixed this now, but thanks for suggestions!

  

Unfortunately, the reason I mentioned $60 was because of my old headphones. My actual budget is highlighted in the title at $160.

And? If you want to pay a ton for headphones, go ahead. Following the "anything under 100 is cheap crap" just means you are going to spend more money. What are the "$60 headphones" that you have? Just because something is more expensive doesn't necessarily mean it's better.

 

You asked for a rec on very comfy headphones and they are extremely comfy (albeit a bit warm after a few hours) and that is what I recommended. If those are too pleb for you, I completely understand.

[GamerDude]

@IshtarWhat is your sound preference? That is, what kind of sound do you enjoy? Bassier? More treble?

 

Offhand, I can think of the Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro as one of the cans to look at....

 

For me, while I'm overseas, I'm gonna use a Creative Aurvana Live SE with my laptop, it's an on-ear/supra aural which I find tolerable (though I'm an over ear/circumaural guy), will be testing it with laptop headphone port and a Nu Force uDAC3 before deciding which to go with.

[Guest]

Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro. I have the dt 990 pro which are basically the same except theyre open back, and theyre VERY good. I expect the 770 pro would be similar quality.

 

Also get the 80 ohm version and not the 250, you may have trouble with the 250 ohm since that one requires an amp.

[Psittac]

Rode NTH-100 is like the miata of the semi-budget headphone world, it's always the answer.