The pair of Sony MDR V500DJ headphones that I’ve been using for the past 10 years finally fell apart last week, so I’m in the market for a new pair. Though I was generally quite happy with them on account of them being very comfortable and putting out fairly good sound quality (to my non-audiophile ears at least), my needs have changed since I first got them:
-
I use this pair of headphones at work and it’s a relatively noisy environment. Something that’s going to block out noise better than my old pair would be ideal - I’m guessing a circumaural designs what I’m looking for? That being said, I’m not fond of overly heavy headphones; I’ve tried out a co-worker’s Sony MDR-V900HD headphones for a while and find their weight makes my neck sore after an hour or so of use.
-
Ideally, I’d like a pair with a built in mic for occasional post work gaming.
So that being the case, two candidates I’m considering are the Steelseries 5H V2 and the Sennheiser PC161, both for about $100CAD. The former’s build quality appears to be a little higher and I like that mic retracts when not in use, but I’ve generally read that the Sennheisers have better sound quality (though since I’m only going to be listening to MP3s and game audio perhaps that difference won’t matter).
Do any of you have experience with either of these models, or alternatively have something else to recommend? I would be fine with spending a little more, although $150CAD is my ceiling.
Thanks QT3 hivemind!