Must haves:
- Strain relief on the wire. If it doesn't have this, it's a garbage headset.
- Can get loud enough to be very uncomfortable. If it doesn't have this, it's a garbage headset.
- Wired connection
- Good sound quality (Not studio-grade, but no obvious defects. Something that can be easily EQ'd to perfection.)
- <$250 with a non-extended warranty (or widely known durability of) over 2 years, OR <$120
- On-ear or over-ear. No earbuds.
- Size adjustable.
Nice to haves:
- Wireless connection,
- With <50ms latency,
- That isn't Bluetooth.
- No extra features, like LEDs, noise cancellation, or proprietary drivers.
- Closed back.
Don't care:
- Built-in microphone (I won't use it.)
- Lots of extra buttons (I won't use them.)
To note:
- I have long, tangly hair. It's likely to get caught on headphones with hooks and loops in the exterior design.
- I'm not using an amp.
- My current and previous headset are Bengoo G9000s. It's cheap trash that sounds good enough, has zero QC, and has been cursed by a necromancer to live an unnaturally long life.
10Ṁ for each suggestion which adheres to the requirements, paid when I am not actively purchasing or testing a set of headphones.
Remaining bounty goes to whomever points me to a headset that I decide to buy and use for at least a week.
1,000Shure SRH440s are a really cost-effective choice, IMHO.
Strain releif: looks like they have it
Loudness: definitely
Wired connection
Good sound quality: for sure. I like that they aren't too heavy on the bass
Price: $99, same since as 2015. I wore my pair every day for 6 or 7 years. Replacement parts are cheep and easy to install, not that I needed to do that until year 8.
Over-ear
Size adjustable
---
No wireless connection, but
No extra or proprietary anything. Just good old-fassioned analog cans
Closed back
I've had the Sennheiser HD598Cs (closed back) for over 5 years (and not been very nice to them) and they still work flawlessly and I love them.
I don't think Sennheiser makes them anymore, but you can still get them I'm sure.
I believe they were superceded by the 569. Neither the 598Cs nor the 569 have noise cancelling or any weird unnecessary features and they are both closed back.
Regardless what you go with, in your price range of $100-$250, Sennheiser is definitely going to be one of the best brands. They have consistently provided some of the best price-to-performance headphones for years in my (and many others') opinion.
I have some Sony MDR-7506's I've had them for 8 years and they work great. I've had to replace the ear pads twice because they got worn out but that was pretty cheap. The wire cutter names them the best wired headphones under 100 bucks.
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/sony-mdr-7506-review/
Here's what I have, not sure of the warranty off the top of my head: https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-Urbanite-XL-Wireless-Black/dp/B00QKJ3UA2/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1UTXQYGECICAP&keywords=sennheiser+urbanite&qid=1705103324&sprefix=sennheiser+urbanit%2Caps%2C113&sr=8-3
Under $120 recommendation I found: https://www.amazon.com/AKG-Pro-Audio-Headphones-K361/dp/B07X2LQRCF?th=1
Beyerdynamic: https://www.amazon.com/beyerdynamic-770-PRO-Studio-Headphone/dp/B0006NL5SM?th=1
AKG: https://www.amazon.com/AKG-Pro-Audio-Headphones-K361/dp/B07X2LQRCF?th=1