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Recommended headphones for travelling?

L

locky

pfm Member
I'm after some recommendations for some budget headphones for travelling as my Shure 1840s are unsuitable. Can be closed external or even earbuds but not too big and wired. Anything under £100?
 
I currently use Sennheiser Momentum II on ear and like them in this context, but they are over budget unless you stumble on a really good deal. Prior to that I used and really liked AKG K450, which fold-up much better than the Senns, but are no longer made. These wireless AKGs, again over budget, do look very similar to the old K450 (wired) and seem to fold-up the same way.

For me the requirements are that they are closed-back so as to block-out ambient noise and not annoy other passengers, they should fold up fairly small and be robust, and ideally not look so ostentatious that you run the risk of being mugged. The Momentum II only pass a few of these criteria, whereas the old AKG K450 was a clean-sweep.
 
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Having tried a host of IEMs and various enormo closed back phones, I’ve come back to Sennheiser HD 25s for travel and other scenarios where open back phones are not an option. Available for a little over £100.
 
foxwelljsly said:
Having tried a host of IEMs and various enormo closed back phones, I’ve come back to Sennheiser HD 25s for travel and other scenarios where open back phones are not an option. Available for a little over £100.
Click to expand...
...curious so looked them up, there is a cheaper (£83) HD25 'light' version using a single band head strap - might go for them if they really are light but the same driver ;)

www.gear4music.com

Sennheiser HD 25 Light Headphones at Gear4music

Sennheiser HD 25 Light Headphones at Gear4music
www.gear4music.com www.gear4music.com

How 'closed' are they? - need an alternative pair when the missus is WFH in the same room.
 
I still use AKG K450 wired for very occassional rail trips and they always come on holiday with me. One of the best VFM purchases I've ever made.

Cheers BB
 
If S/h is an option pair of Bose QC25. Wired, closed, excellent active noise cancelling. Use an AAA battery and still work if it runs out (without ANC obviously). Can be easily and cheaply 'converted' to BT with an adaptor if needed.
They're a few years old now, but you should find a good pair for £50 or so.
 
robs said:
Or these Sennheiser HD 450SE look good value for £75 new if you are on Amazon Prime:


Haven't heard these, but include a wired cable as well as BT it says...
Click to expand...


I have a pair of the Sennheiser HD 4.50 which are basically the same headphone but with the BT Ver 4.5 chipset rather than the 5.0 that these have. For the Price they aren't bad, reasonably comfortable for average sized heads, but the ear-cup can be a little claustrophobic with larger ears.

They sound quite good for the price, not audiophile levels of detail, but there is only so much a small 32mm driver can do. It is an easy listen with no real response aberrations, and yes, they can do audio over wired cable (supplied), and this is when they sound their best. A good point is that in wired mode with Noise cancelling turned off they become truly passive; the electronics shut down thus connection the cable socket directly to the drivers, not all NC phones do this. Noise cancelling mode does impinge on the music a little by sucking out a small region in the mid bass section of the response, but this is typical of most noise cancelling algorithms, the passive isolation is still quite good though and I have used them passively on a few flights.

The connectivity is actually quite reliable with no dropouts or connection issues over Bluetooth and the internal microphone is quite good on phone calls and zoom calls when using them for computer conferencing. Sennheiser use genuine Qualcomm chipsets in their phones, and this generally means much more reliable performance over some of the generic Chinese Bluetooth chipsets that can be quite variable in both sound and connectivity performance.

LPSPinner
 
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I have a pair of the HD 450SE. I normally use them on Bluetooth but a wired connect works as well. Replacement cables are easily available, a point I checked before purchase as a previous pair of IEMs had to be thrown out due a wiring issue.

I'm very happy with them for travel. There's a very noticeable reduction in background noise when traveling by train or plane. I find them reasonably comfortable. I found the headband was a bit tight initially but it eases off after a while of use. I'm pleased with the sound quality for the price.

The SE has built in Alexa and the £74.99 price seems to be available on occasion through Amazon. The recent offer for Prime subscribers has just ended but I wouldn't be surprised if that deal comes back during Black Friday as I bought mine during the event last year.

Doing a quick search shows them available today direct from Sennheiser at £74.99!
 
Refurbished for £59 delivered from Sennheiser:

HD 450SE Refurbished | Sennheiser

Sennheiser’s HD 450SE Refurbished delivers great wireless sound. It comes with built-in Amazon Alexa functionality and 30 hour battery life. Learn more.
www.sennheiser-hearing.com www.sennheiser-hearing.com
 
I think it’s worthwhile making sure they have an optional wired connection, this is great for plugging into in flight entertainment while keeping the nc active. Makes a big difference on long haul.
 
I wore my Sennheiser HD 450 SE headphones yesterday on a train trip. They are becoming more comfortable every time I wear them. I'm happy with the sound, especially for the price I paid, keep an eye on Amazon during the Black Friday event.

I only wear them occasionally. It is worth allowing a breaking in period.
 
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