I seem to destroy headphones very quickly, I like big, over the ear cup headphones…the last pair didn’t last long and they sucked anyway.
What are some budget friendly Headphone options?
P.S. Imagine if Naim made a pair of headphones with an amp in them or something…
Well they wouldn’t be the cheapest and you’d still destroy them anyway! 
One person’s ‘budget’ is another person’s ‘reckless extravagance’. If you can put a price window on what you mean by budget in this context, you’re more likely to get helpful responses.
Mark
It depends on your needs and jut how cheap is cheap.
Ultimately, the cheap headphones that have impressed me the most are the Sennheiser PX100s. For under £50 you had a beautifully designed pair of lightweight, fold-up headphones with a sound that was very much in the mould of Sennheiser’s bigger open models. They fold up into a tiny little hard case which easily fits in a jacket pocket. However, big and over the ear they are not…
So, if you’re talking something more serious, with big comfy over ear cups, then it’s hard to ignore the performance and value of some of the Hifiman offerings. The HE-400i and Sundara are the sweet spot. Note though that they use angled pads and I have found I prefer them with the pad angles reversed. Also, build is perhaps not their primary forte…
$150-350
Looked at the HE-400i, and I’m in a situation where closed back is best…I have my eye on these for $129
SENNHEISER HD 569 Closed Back Headphone
Sennheiser are usually very reliable so well worth a listen. I haven’t heard the HD569s though.
One of my favourite inexpensive closed back phones are the Focal Spirit Pros (IIRC they are now the Listen Pros). Also consider the Shure SRH1540s or maybe something from Beyerdynamic such as the DT770.
I’ve long been a fan of Beyer headphones - I would +1 Richard’s suggestion of the DT770, but also suggest the DT990 as still being within budget but sounding even better.
Mark
agree with Richard, yes PX100, this model is forever design.
mine is still working fine even though the foam has fallen out
Can’t find these, do they have a different model number now?
Wish I still had mine, great for on the move. I suppose the HD100 are today’s equivalent.
Sadly, I don’t think they’re made any more. Every now and then some New-Old-Stock pairs appear (I bought one such pair a couple of years back as my originals had seen better days after so much travelling) or else look on somewhere like eBay. The MK1s are better than the MkIIs in my opinion…
Agreed about Sennheiser durability
I still have a 40 year old pair of HD414s. Ok, they are not great by today’s standards but they are light and comfortable. I use them when working. You can even by replacements for the iconic yellow pads.
SRH 1540s here. Picked up within the OPs budget off an auction site. Spotless too. I looked for a reasonably priced pair of closed back headphones and they seemed to be broadly well regarded. I’ve been happy with them, though I bought them without auditioning.
They meet the “big, over the ear cup headphones…” criteria too
And, Sennheiser can sell you most of their spares. And, at reasonable money.
For all that, I’m having difficulty in finding a proper replacement headband pad for my HD600s…
That’s a bugger? I replaced mine 5? Years ago, then promptly sold them! Costing me £20 for 17? years of use. Perhaps even Sennheiser are loosing their touch.
Had to buy non Sennheiser foam bits for my px100s.
Yes, I may be forced to do the same. Plenty of 3rd party bits available.
I have 2 cheap headphones myself - believe they were below €100.
Pretty good comfortable cans and work with no extra amplication.
Takstar Pro82
AKG K240 studio
