[EagleWings]

Hello,
 
I want to buy my wife a nice pair of on-ear headphones.
 
Style: On-Ear Closed Back
 
Budget: $100
 
Sound: Warm, Smooth, Fun and Good SQ
 
Comfort: The most IMPORTANT aspect. The only kind of ear-pads she finds comfortable is the flat pads like the one on the Grado SR60s and SR80s. Nice, soft and plush sponge pads. I know SR80e is a good choice but she may not like it for it's design and looks.
 
So I want to see if there are other choices with good sound that look modern or cool. 
 
Thanks for your help!

 

[Ancient.Dream]

Hi there,
I've no real experience with on-ears, but some general advice:

1. You could start by checking top rated and popular on-ear headphone reviews on the internet, namely (but not limited to) head-fi and specifically innerfidelity's hall of fame. Then narrow it down by sound reviews, looks/design and price/deals.
2. Look above your target price as there's always a chance for some crazy deals (like this one).
3. Concrete suggestions (can't advice on their comfort though..):
   1. How about a Sennheiser momentum on-ear (1st gen) which look classy and should sound nice?
   2. Or a slightly more modern (but plastic looking) Sennheiser Urbanite?
   3. Or, if looks are not that important, Sennheiser HD239?
      
       

Best of luck

,
M.

 

[Makiah S]

  Hello,
 
I want to buy my wife a nice pair of on-ear headphones.
 
Style: On-Ear Closed Back
 
Budget: $100
 
Sound: Warm, Smooth, Fun and Good SQ
 
Comfort: The most IMPORTANT aspect. The only kind of ear-pads she finds comfortable is the flat pads like the one on the Grado SR60s and SR80s. Nice, soft and plush sponge pads. I know SR80e is a good choice but she may not like it for it's design and looks.
 
So I want to see if there are other choices with good sound that look modern or cool. 
 
Thanks for your help!

Vish that's awesome that your buying your Wife a Pair of Headphones! I think she'll love the Logitech UE 6000. It has two listening modes, active and passive. Your Passive mode is more warm an transparent, an your active mode features a darker sound. An I personally think it's very stylish my self, an It's much more comfortable than any of the Grado Style Pads so comfort's no issue. 

Price wise they range any where from $60 to $90

 

[EagleWings]

Thank you for your recommendations. I did look at all these places for the on-ears. The problem is all modern and cool looking headphones like the urbanite and momentums have a cup design and not a flat pad like the Grados. The typically high rated on-ears have the cup design too. The flat pad designs look boring. UE6000 is a Over-Ear design. Or is there an on-ear design too?
 
 
Sennheisers with the Cup design

 
Grados with Flat Pad design

 
 
Thanks.

 

[Ancient.Dream]

I now get what you mean by flat.
 
How about the Philips Fidelio M1 (white/black-orange/black)? They seem to fit.
 
You should read some reviews (just keep in mind that there are M1MKII now as well which look similar, but are a new and more expensive model), but in general the fidelio line of products has received a very positive response (I personally own the X2 over-ears and they're incredible for their price - not sure how the on-ear counterparts fare though).
 
M.

 

[EagleWings]

Originally Posted by Ancient.Dream /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
How about the Philips Fidelio M1 (white/black-orange/black)? They seem to fit.

 
I think she will like either the white/black-orange. Thank you for your help!

 

[Ancient.Dream]

Glad to be of help, I hope she likes them (if you decide to get them)

.
 
I assume you've read the reviews around the web.
 
One of the reviews here on head-fi suggests that the stock cable is problematic and may need to be replaced.
I'm not a cable guy and find most cable talk laughable (no offense), but in this particular case I suggest to keep this in mind and experiment replacing the cable with any other you have - as fidelio X1 featured a slightly higher impedance cable that affected the signature of the phones in a mostly negative way (this was fixed in fidelio X2 - you can find more info about this issue in the X1 threads).
 
M.

 

[Me x3]

The M1 is comfortable among On-Ear headphones. They are also pretty solid.

 

[EagleWings]

 
I'm not a cable guy and find most cable talk laughable (no offense), but in this particular case I suggest to keep this in mind and experiment replacing the cable with any other you have - as fidelio X1 featured a slightly higher impedance cable that affected the signature of the phones in a mostly negative way (this was fixed in fidelio X2 - you can find more info about this issue in the X1 threads).

 
Well, I don't think the cable should be a problem initially, as this will be her first good pair of headphones. May be as time goes by we can find a replacement. 
 

  The M1 is comfortable among On-Ear headphones. They are also pretty solid.

 
That's reassuring. Thank you. 
 
 
I think I am going to go ahead with the M1 then. Thank you all for your help!