Headphone Recommendations

[PizzaTacoCat]

I have been looking to get a new pair of headphones as the last one I bought weren't working out with my phone. I was looking at the V-Moda Crossfade 2 Wireless with the XL earpads but wanted to know what other peoples thoughts were. I'm looking to get an over ear closed back pair that doesn't leak sound too much as I will be using this in the office at work. It's going to sit at my desk at work so it doesn't need to be wireless but being able to take calls with it would be a plus. I'm trying to stay under $350. Let me know your thoughts? 

[Datrat]

One of my fellow HS classmates has the V-Moda Crossfade 2s. (Not sure if they are wireless) He says they are awesome. Those seem pretty good for quality and sound. 

[Crunchy Dragon]

-Moved to Audio-

[TophatFire]

The V-moda Crossfade are somewhat hilariously bass-heavy to compete with Beats; unless that's what you really want they're best avoided.  They sound like lumpy ass and you can do a lot better at that price point.  Both of these below are closed-back, over-ear, noise-cancelling wireless designs but have wired connection as an option, and both can take calls just fine.  And both are DRASTICALLY better quality than V-Moda which is essentially designed to compete with the Beats Audio teeny-bopper market that values fashion over quality and thinks bass=quality.

 

Sennheiser HD-1 (formerly known as the Momentum Wireless 2.0 before a trademark dispute) are still a little bass-emphasized, sound much better in general and can be had at ~$350 new or $270 "certified refurb" depending on your tolerance for open box buys.  Amazon offers a 3-year SquareTrade warranty on refurbs for $10 that is worth it my opinion to extend the 90-day warranty even though I'm mostly otherwise morally opposed to extended warranties.  These are what I bought and were like $500 headphones last Xmas.  If you're really bargain-hunting, the wired non-noise-cancelling version can be had for $149 now too.

 

Bose QC-35 Series II don't sound  or look quite as good, but are very comfy and have best in class, industry-leading noise cancellation which makes them OUTSTANDING for office environments; I got a pair for my girlfriend for just this purpose and she loves them.  They're about $350 new, but the best way to buy is "factory renewed" for about $229 in person at Bose outlets if there's one near you, which is even cheaper than most of the used listings I found on eBay.  Bose keeps a pretty tight grip on their pricing and brand management, so as far as I'm aware there's not an online option for this but you might be able to call them up and talk them into a phone sale.

 

 

Honorable mentions:

Sony WH1000XM3: OK-ish at most things in a nicely balanced design, USB-C charging (nice!), meh black plastic styling

Sennheiser PXC 550: More neutral sound compared to the HD-1 above, some new features like earcup gesture controls, meh black plastic styling

[PizzaTacoCat]

13 hours ago, TophatFire said:

The V-moda Crossfade are somewhat hilariously bass-heavy to compete with Beats; unless that's what you really want they're best avoided.  They sound like lumpy ass and you can do a lot better at that price point.  Both of these below are closed-back, over-ear, noise-cancelling wireless designs but have wired connection as an option, and both can take calls just fine.  And both are DRASTICALLY better quality than V-Moda which is essentially designed to compete with the Beats Audio teeny-bopper market that values fashion over quality and thinks bass=quality.

 

Sennheiser HD-1 (formerly known as the Momentum Wireless 2.0 before a trademark dispute) are still a little bass-emphasized, sound much better in general and can be had at ~$350 new or $270 "certified refurb" depending on your tolerance for open box buys.  Amazon offers a 3-year SquareTrade warranty on refurbs for $10 that is worth it my opinion to extend the 90-day warranty even though I'm mostly otherwise morally opposed to extended warranties.  These are what I bought and were like $500 headphones last Xmas.  If you're really bargain-hunting, the wired non-noise-cancelling version can be had for $149 now too.

 

Bose QC-35 Series II don't sound  or look quite as good, but are very comfy and have best in class, industry-leading noise cancellation which makes them OUTSTANDING for office environments; I got a pair for my girlfriend for just this purpose and she loves them.  They're about $350 new, but the best way to buy is "factory renewed" for about $229 in person at Bose outlets if there's one near you, which is even cheaper than most of the used listings I found on eBay.  Bose keeps a pretty tight grip on their pricing and brand management, so as far as I'm aware there's not an online option for this but you might be able to call them up and talk them into a phone sale.

 

 

Honorable mentions:

Sony WH1000XM3: OK-ish at most things in a nicely balanced design, USB-C charging (nice!), meh black plastic styling

Sennheiser PXC 550: More neutral sound compared to the HD-1 above, some new features like earcup gesture controls, meh black plastic styling

Is the V-Moda Crossfade you are talking about the original or the new one?

[TophatFire]

7 hours ago, PizzaTacoCat said:

Is the V-Moda Crossfade you are talking about the original or the new one?

Either one really.  The newer version is better, but still underperforms relative to comparable offerings at its price point.  If you prefer the V-moda styling or such then fine, but objectively speaking they're kind of non-great from an audio standpoint when there are offerings from other makes at or below your stated budget.