Best Bang For Your Buck
With so many good quality over-ear wired headphones on the market, we thought we'd sift through a whole bunch of them and give you our picks for the best value for money headphones in the wired over-ear headphone category. We judged them on sonic performance and comfort over a long period of having them on your head.
So here we go! For our first pick, we went with:
Meze Classic 99 - $550
These have to be one of our favourite headphones - we really think Meze nailed these. For their price point, the sound quality is incredible - balanced, controlled and with excellent bass extension. As they are a really efficient headphone, you can drive them comfortably from your smartphone or tablet without the need for an external amp.
Even after long periods of wearing them on our heads, the comfort factor is excellent. They have a leather suspension band that will evenly disperse the weight across your head, and sometimes you even forget they are on your head. Clamping force is not overly tight - we've got average size heads, and they never once felt like they were going to fall off.
The Classic 99 comes with three cables all with a 3.5mm connection - a microphone cable, a 1.2m cable and a 3.m cable. Also supplied in the box is a 6.35mm adaptor.
Audio Technica AT MSR7B (Balanced) - $399
The creators of the Classic AT M50x have a somewhat overlooked model that builds on the M50 heritage. The MSR7B produce excellent detail and dynamics perfect for music production or media work. They'll comfortably drive off your smartphone or computer. Where these headphones really shine is using the balanced cable, so for this reason we'd recommend that they perform their best when driven with a Digital Audio Player or DAC amplifier with balanced output. When you connect them up via balanced, even more detail and bass extension will come through.
The headphones have a slim design and they are supremely comfortable for long listening sessions.
In the box comes a balanced 4.4mm and standard 3.5mm balanced cable, as well as a nice carry pouch. They also fold flat, making them great for resting around your neck without feeling like you can't move your head around.
Dan Clark Audio Aeon Noir - $1595
Built on the original Aeon headphone design, the revised version Noir have a beautiful gloss black and carbon finish. The sound quality is what you'd expect from Dan Clark Audio. They utilise planar drive technology to create a very detailed sound, especially in the bass extension. One of the technical revisions the Noir features over its predecessor is an improved frequency response.
The closed back design is perfect for the daily commute or audio enthusiast. These headphones can be driven from your smartphone or laptop, but we'd really recommend connecting them to a headphone amplifier for their full potential. A great pairing is the Chord Mojo 2 - use one of these and you'll bring the Noir to life.
They fold into a small carry case making them perfect for the daily commute. The Noirs connect using a push-pull connector, and Dan Clark have plenty of cable options for you to pick from, including 3.5mm (with a 6.35mm adaptor) or XLR. An excellent offering from Dan Clark Audio!
So there you have it, our picks for the three best wired headphones we play with on a daily basis. We have all these available in the showroom for you to listen to and compare, just get in touch to make an appointment.
