Hey fellow Lemmyranians, thought I’d share my favorite of each kinda headphone I got. Forgive me when I don’t share links. I’m just telling what I paid in EUR to give you a idea whether you should wait for a sale , and leave the where to buy research to you. :)
Over Ear Monitor:
39€ - Superlux HD 660 Pro - Closed - This is a obvious Beyer clone, but it gives me all of the neutrality and comfy I seek. It only(?) sells in Germany at Thomann, which leaves a alternative I highly regard as well:
40€ - Samson SR850 - Open - The same as above, except these are open and let you hear some of the environment. I lean towards open because i prefer to hear what i say but closed is fine too because i would just flick microphone monitoring on.
Over Ear Headset:
50€ - HyperX Cloud Alpha - These are super sturdy for the price and feel premium. A bit bassy, but surprisingly neutral enough you otherwise won’t experience with gaming headsets. Mic quality depends on your soundcard, which in my case is fine. 4-pin for Phone/Laptop/Controller and a 3/2-pin splitter for Tower PCs. I swapped the pleather cups for velours, keep that in mind if you hate pleather as well.
In Ear TWS:
21€ - Soundcore Life P2 mini - What I expected to be just a toy, they’re damn good for the price and the mic is useable too.
In Ear ANC TWS:
66€ - Soundcore Liberty 4 NC - Incredible sound, incredible noise cancelling, just great for TWS margins. Not really surprising since it cost 3 times more than the above.
In Ear wired:
15€ - Earpods - Old but gold, this is argueable the sanest Apple product there is. Incredible mic quality compared to TWS but the sound is just fine for 15€. Sometimes I plug these into my USB mic to cosplay as Moistcritical.
And that’s it. I’ve been window shopping for a Bluetooth Over Ear with ANC and all, like the Edifier WH950NB. But I found 150€ a little steep which I actually want to spend into Beyerdynamic first. Anyway, feel free to share your favorites and have a nice day.
Addendum 8.8.23:
IEM:
26€ - Kiwi Ears Dolce - I didn’t think i would go for another in ear wired or IEM as a whole and I’m glad i did. Great, not overwhelming bass, overall dynamic mids and highs. Fun little buds for when I need compact and 0 latency. I might go for a IEM to TWS adapter such as the KZ AZ15 eventually.
Almost. KZ has proprietary connectors that mostly work with their own IEMs. TRN has a number of offerings that also has swappable connector. Those can be had for like 30 bucks a pop for the cheaper ones.
A little late, but thank you for (although indirectly) leading me to the Kiwi Ears Dolce. This is definitely something I’ll plug to a TRN or KZ adapter.
It just sucks that I’d have to order the 30 dolls TRN across the pond, shipping and import duties are expensive. Hell, I’m glad something niche like Kiwis happen to be readily available next doors on Amazon de without much markup. However they have the KZ AZ9 Pro and AZ15 for 50€ and 62€ each. Not really a great buy as there ain’t any ANC and Transparency, don’t you think? I’m happy with my Dolce wired. :)
30$ is a perfect price for a lower-end TWS module and aliexpress has taxes included with free or minimal shipping as far as I know. A more well known brands adapter like the lower end Fiio UTWS3 is 70€ locally.
If you want power (and qualcomm chip) for cheap, you might want bluetooth wired adapters.
Happy that you are happy.