Hello, I am looking for a quality and durable headphone with high audio quality on a budget around $200, I want it to last long and be comfortable when I wear it for hours, I primarily listen to music and audio-books and do some casual gaming like story games and Minecraft, I don’t usually carry headphones around but portability would be nice, preferably it’s not from a niche brand since the availability of brands is low in my country does anyone have any recommendations?
Durability whise I can recommend Beyerdynamics, they should have some good (wired) options at your budget like the DT 770. Or the 990 pro
I think you really have to consider whether you want wireless or not, because wired will give you much better sounding options
You can also take a look around this website, they are quite thorough https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/best/music
A bit less than $200, but the Audio-Technica ATH M50Xs are a durable and quality workhorse. I’ve been using mine going on 10 years now and the only thing I’ve needed to do is replace the ear pads and add a protector around the head cushion. Highly recommend. Plus it has detachable cables of varying lengths and coils.
Side note: they do fold up for portability.
Ploopy makes an open source headphone that could be repairable https://ploopy.co/headphones/
I can recommend against getting the Shure SE215s durability wise, mine went back to the factory twice for cable/connector/monitor issues.
I can also say the same about my Isotunes free aware bluetooth ones. They died about a month out of warranty.
Sound wise, I prefer the foam ear tips vs the silicone because I listen in a loud environment. They are both pretty good in that regard. The Isotunes tips fall off after a couple months and need replacement though. They are both noise isolating and the free aware has mics that can allow limited sound through but I turn that feature off because I have not found it to be a quality implementation at all.
I’ve had the same bose quietcomfort headphones for at least 8 years now. I’ve replaced the ear pads a couple of times over the years. They were on every day during my commute before I was WFH, almost constantly at the office so I could concentrate, and now indoors every weekday and outdoors several days a week where I do farm work. Still no issues and great battery life. If you can find new old stock or used but well-cared-for, that would be great.
I have had my paid of Sony wh1000xm2 for about 7-8 years now. They still sound incredible but the leather is peeling a bit on the replaceable ear covers, I have never got around to it cause they are still comfy. Some of the best noise cancelation ever, wireless and wired operation and controls on the headphones.
Essentially I am saying, a good option would be picking a headphone in that line. Honestly any newer generation is likely to still be incredible and durable.
Just recently I had seen the 5th generation of those headphones on sale with a pair of wireless earbuds as a combo for around $200 and you can get just the headphones for cheaper than that. Or just spend $40-50 and get an old pair of wh1000xm2 and be happy.
