I need to get a new pair of headphones for the work I will soon be doing.
Right now, on my desk, I have three pairs. I hate them all. The ones I have on at this moment are Sony MDR-W14, which came with a Walkman. The external volume control I have for my speakers doesn’t work with these headphones. They are the kind that have prong-y sort of things that go into the ear, with a flexible metal band that goes over the top. Also, probably because they are from a Walkman, the cord is really really short.
Beside me is a Logitech Premium Stereo Headset. The sound is much better, but the ear thingies crush my ears around my glasses and hurt like the devil.
And I also have a Labtec C-324 headset with slightly less ear crushing power.
The latter two both work with the external volume control.
I need to be able to control volume easily, to hear voices, to wear them for a long time, and to have a long enough cord that I can lean back in my chair.
I wear glasses, and find these and similar over-the-ear, no-headband styles to be very comfortable. Sinde they have no band, they can’t squash your ear, and the little clip arm usually does not insterfere with my glasses stem, as it sits further out on my ear.
I use the Sony MDR-G42LP for when I’m out and about. There’s a loop that comes off to accomodate glasses. The cord is fairly long (5’), but you can always get an extension.
I use the AKG 240M that fishbicycle mentioned for the home. I have two pairs, one in use for 15+ years. They sound great, are as comfortable as can be (they practically disappear), and are bombproof. I don’t know how many times I’ve stood up and yanked the phones off because the cord was stuck somehow. They’re still holding up.
I too had a hard time with my glasses, a solar hat, and headphones. After about the fifth pair, I finally got a set of Phillips SBC HS500. They are the kind that go around low on the back of the head and then arch up to come over your ears from behind.
My assumption had always been that this type would never be comfortable, but I was wrong…in desperation I tried a pair, and have worn only this type since.
I’m going to complicate matters, now. My husband has some Kenwood ham radio headphones that are supposed to help hear speaking voices, and they work like a charm. We had to get an adapter to use through the headphone jack, but these things make this audio (I’m doing transcriptions) crystal clear.
I wear glasses and I have a pair of Sony MDR-v250s that I love to bits. I use them to listen to audiobooks (on the bus, no less, so there’s a lot of background noise) as well as music, with great clarity on both. The cord is a little over 6 feet long, and it has an in-line volume control on it.
I swear by Koss Porta-Pros (available cheaper than that). I wear glasses and they have never given me a problem. They have an adjustment on the side for how much pressure you want on the earpieces, and even set to the heaviest level they have never bothered me. They also have this foam pad that presses on the skull above the ear that seems to take some pressure off. They are standard kind of headphones though. They have a lifetime guarantee (send them back to Koss with $6 and you get a new pair), they are very hardy, and they sound incredible.
How much are you willing to spend? Sennheiser HD600 headphones are comfortable enough for me to wear for hours, but are toward the higher end of the price range.
Also note that they wouldn’t be suitable for an environment with a high ambient noise level, since they’re open rather than sealed.
Speaking of Sennheisers, Asimovian and I both wear glasses and use the Sennheiser HD202s. I was a little worried because a lot of reviews commented on how they ran small and pinched ears, but I don’t have that problem at all. They sound quite nice for the price and have a HUGELY long cord. They are a closed design, so if you want to hear ambiant noises with these on, you’re outta luck.
