What are the most comfortable headphones or earbuds you've used?

GotMetalBoy

GotMetalBoy

Power User
I need to get some really comfortable headphones or earbuds. They don't have to sound pro and hopefully not expensive. They just have to be comfortable to wear for a couple hours a night. Most headphones don't touch the top of my head to hold them up, so they're held up by the tops of my ears, which makes them very sore and affects my hearing. Also, many headphones press against my jaw and makes it hurt and gives me a headache. I don't mind earbuds but I'd rather not have to put them in my ear canal because that also affects my hearing. I don't mind the earbuds that go in your ears as long as they don't have to be pushed in.
 
Believe it or not, the Skullcandy Ink'd (without the mic) sound incredible and are very comfortable. I used them for a few of years with our IEM system. They sounded better and were more comfortable than the Shure SE215's that came with it. I still have them as a backup to my custom molded in-ears and use them for casual music listening.

If you want better sound and comfort, the Aurisonics Eva, which are now the Fender FXA2, are hard to beat. They are in the $150-200 range. If you choose the Aurisonics I'd recommend purchasing through Amazon.
 
The ones that apple came out with a few years ago and have been using ever since, actually. Now I use airpods but the buds are the same shape.

Second (or equal, depending on my mood/use I guess) are from Bose. I can't remember the exact model I have, I've had them for a few years now, but I think today they're all called SoundSport of various types. You might like these...they have the little wing tip that rests in the upper part of your ear, and then the sort of rests gently against your ear just outside the ear canal. Sometimes I'll rotate them a bit to get them more directly in the ear canal...get a little more bass and sound isolation out of them them that way.

Both of these headphones I'm able to leave in for hours without really noticing...often times the airpods I forget they're even in until I go to do something and knock one out.
 
For cheap headphones, Sony MDR-7506. For better sounds but more $ Sony MDR-7520. Never really like earbuds. I use AT’s for live performance but not the best for sound quality.
 
Sonofiam said:
Believe it or not, the Skullcandy Ink'd (without the mic) sound incredible and are very comfortable. I used them for a few of years with our IEM system. They sounded better and were more comfortable than the Shure SE215's that came with it. I still have them as a backup to my custom molded in-ears and use them for casual music listening.

If you want better sound and comfort, the Aurisonics Eva, which are now the Fender FXA2, are hard to beat. They are in the $150-200 range. If you choose the Aurisonics I'd recommend purchasing through Amazon.
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Just to clarify, these 2 are the most comfortable earbuds I've used before getting custom molded in-ears. I've used both for hours without any issues with discomfort.
 
I've always used Bose AE2 for comfort- great for studio work/tracking

But they've been long discontinued and hard to find

To me the only purpose of headphones in recording is to not have sound bleed, and comfort for long periods is my number 1 priority- you shouldn't mix with headphones- just track... on a side note they're also super awesome for airplanes/travel/etc which is why i wore the hell out of the two pairs i had...

I've replaced them with the Sony MDR's mentioned above but next on my list is some BLUE's or Beyer770s
 
My Sennheiser HD 280 pro were $100 and they sound pretty good and are super comfortable over-the ear (why anyone would buy anything else is beyond me).
 
USMC_Trev said:
My Sennheiser HD 280 pro were $100 and they sound pretty good and are super comfortable over-the ear (why anyone would buy anything else is beyond me).
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Actually, they're around-the-ear (which I think is what you meant) rather than over-the-ear. I have the HD555's, and they are indeed the most comfortable cans I've owned.
 
Cost aside Senn HD 650 is the most comfortable ear 'anything' I have ever used. I haven't tried all of them but I've tried a bunch of both headphones and earbuds.
 
Rex said:
Actually, they're around-the-ear (which I think is what you meant) rather than over-the-ear. I have the HD555's, and they are indeed the most comfortable cans I've owned.
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Yeah that's what I meant. They completely cover the ear.
 
mwd said:
Cost aside Senn HD 650 is the most comfortable ear 'anything' I have ever used. I haven't tried all of them but I've tried a bunch of both headphones and earbuds.
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I've not had mine too long, nor used them for long periods of time yet. They are pretty comfortable, although a bit tight. Maybe I have a fat head?
 
Thank you everyone for all the great recommendations! I'm going to try out the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro at my local Guitar Center because they're the only headphones they have in stock that were mentioned here. I'm also going to buy the Skullcandy Ink'd 2 because they're only $10.
 
Sennheiser HD 540 Reference ... bought them around 1991 I guess. Still going strong. I have replaced the foam once during that time.
 
unix-guy said:
I've not had mine too long, nor used them for long periods of time yet. They are pretty comfortable, although a bit tight. Maybe I have a fat head?
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Smack... they called me 'heavy head' and 'lead head' when I was a kid cuz' my head was so big I couldn't do sit-ups...lol. I told them it was because it was packed with brains. I doubt your head's any fatter than mine. It does take some break in time... both for sound and comfort.
 
On-ear headphones are never comfortable for extended periods of time, ever. Too much pressure on ears and jaw.

My Senn HD600s are incredibly comfy for open ear headphones. But I've found that when you start reaching into the 6+ hour range, the weight of any over design starts to bear on my neck and shoulders a bit, particularly over successive days. So I've largely moved to in-ears and I can't say I've found any that really truly feel comfortable. But I'm wearing Bose QuietComforts or iMore Triple Drivers for 8+ hours a day and not minding it so it's not too bad. My SE215s are abysmal for comfort and I use them only for isolation in recording situations.

Some day I'll find truly comfortable in-ears though. Meanwhile, my HD600s are on sale, feel free to PM me if you're interested.
 
I noticed that most Sennheiser headphones have extra padding on the headband, so I attached some foam to my current headphone's headband and it made them a lot more comfortable. It took most of the pressure off the tops of my ears and feels more like they're floating on my head instead of clamping down on my jaw and pushing down on the tops of my ears. I also noticed that when my headphones are adjusted to the smallest head size that they put a lot more pressure on my ears and jaw, so I'm going to experiment more with different foam heights until I find the perfect balance of comfort.
 
+1 for the Sennheiser around-the-ear headphones. I have the HD600.
It's held up on the head with even pressure by the top cushion and the oval ear-pads (headphones with circular ear-pads are dumb, ears don't fit). No physical fatigue, very comfortable.

I also feel that closed-back headphones and sealed earbuds are fatiguing to the ear/brain. Losing perception of the reverberant space around you is unnatural, becomes fatiguing after a while. Open-back headphones don't have this problem.
 
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