Earphones / Headphones: Where to try, what to buy?

@rogan Heh, amazing how much personal preference comes into play. I am glad you're enjoying the IOs. I was so indifferent to them.

I don't know what this Fiio A3 is doing but it sounds excellent!

Sorry for the late response...the oils in the ear will release excessive wax..hopefully that will mean less release.
The problem with headphones is that they close the ventilation and the inner ear temperature will increase melting the existing wax..I was told this as I have wear ear defenders regularly.

Bluetooth headphone recommendations or something cheap that will be better than the headphones that came with my phone, mainly for gym, sat at desk and cycling. I'd quite like a mic and volume control, is that asking too much?

I think I'm spoilt a little by having the audio technicas at home (I don't really want to take them out) and the Dali speakers.

I returned to the store to listen to Andromeda's again and A/B them with my Fiio FA7s. Whilst there, I also listened to the new CA Polaris's, CA Dorado's, Noble Sage's, AAW Nightingale's and also some Focal Elegia closed back headphones.

Really was a testament to these Fiio's. I've had to EQ them to stop the bass bleeding into the mids but after a very quick EQ, they really hold their own. Don't get me wrong, the Andro's are really lovely to listen to. Far better than anything else I listed above, but are they worth 4 times the amount of the Fiio's? Oh hell no. I put my Fiio's back in, left the store and was not even remotely remorseful of not buying the Andro's, which surprised me greatly. Great success.

I didn't even know headphone amplifiers and DACs were things. Complete novice. I'm after a decent pair of headphones and whilst my macbook pro may not need a DAC, would never have considered even looking into amplifiers.
I also need to consolidate and sort some speaker setups and Hifi systems at home next week, which I will speak about in the other thread.

Oh, they're very much a thing. You can definitely get headphones that don't require a DAC/Amp that are still great.

If you can use open backed headphones, the Massdrop x Sennheiser HD58X's are great (though not sure what availability in the UK is like). If you're gonna Amp/DAC The Massdrop x Sennheiser HD6XX's are great value.

I mean... this is another huge rabbit hole :-)

Don't listen to the nerds, get some of these cos they sound amazing. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bang-Olufsen-Generation-Over-Ear-Headphones-Black/dp/B01B45RTSK

I wonder how many times you've tried to shill the same pair of headphones in this thread.

once?
But no you're right, I'm a shill, I'm obviously a plant by B&O...

https://marco.org/2016/03/02/beoplay-h6-v2-review

I didn't like them at all. At all.

Cheers both. Open backed probably not best for my use though as I'll be using them outside a fair but but thanks for the shout JB :)

All I can say is listen try to listen to whatever you're thinking of buying and clearly, as above, sound is incredibly subjective.

In-ear-monitors have become ridiculously good in recent years too, so don't rule those out.

If you have budget, music preferences, source device in mind, do list them here. I've listened to a shit-ton of headphones recently...

Using silicon tips with the IOs today (first time using silicone tips on non-cheap IEMs) - sound awesome, and way easier to deal with than comply tips

wow, here's me obsessing over the price of Bose qc35 ii's as the replacements are about to come out and I am doing daily searches trying to time the right price to snaffle them at and then I read this thread, do a bit of googling on some of the headphones mentioned to see if there's better that I hadn't considered etc and I am just amazed at how far down the rabbit hole you can go with this stuff.

Im stressing over spending £250 for the Bose let alone some of the prices mentioned. As for that Headphones.com...I nearly fell over when I saw the prices on there...

Seeing as I am not really an audio expert and have slightly dodgy hearing I wont get any benefit from spending so much more, the changes would be too subtle. And my usage would be just casual to and fro work and around the house etc from my phone as I also made the mistake of venturing into the hi-fi thread and got thoroughly confused in there too.

Bose quietcomfort 35 ii

Warning CSB: the day mine arrived bose announced the 700s.... Sadly ebay private sale so couldn't return them. Good news though is I really like them.

@chainbreaker - I listened to some yesterday alongside some QC35's outta curiosity. Sounded relatively similar to me. Bose house sound.

A bit lighter to wear, but I wouldn't beat yourself up. Not missing out on much.

I'm absolutely smitten with my QC35s. I hesitated about spending the money for about two years and auditioned almost every popular alternative but I definitely made the right decision for my personal preferences. Very nearly went Sony though.

This is me all the way including close to getting the Sonys

Nah, not beating myself up over it. Just find it funny the day they arrive was the day they announced the new ones. And then every article on the 35s said hold off.

I got the limited edition midnight blue version for a steal so I am super happy!

I'm pretty sure I'm going to be picking up the 700s when they come out because I use mine for voice calls in the office all day.

That means I'll probably sell my QC35s if anyone is interested. @jaitch?

QC35s rate as one of the best purchases I’ve ever made. Not read about the 700s - what’s the difference?

Bit of an aesthetic redesign (don't fold now which is the only downside...) but the main thing is directional mics so background noise is almost completely removed for calls.

The mic on the QC35 is terrible for calls.

Regarding the Bose 700 : https://www.bose.co.uk/en_gb/products/headphones/noise_cancelling_headphones/noise-cancelling-headphones-700.html

Bose AR-enabled products have motion sensors embedded inside that can detect your head orientation and body movement while you wear them. Bose AR-enhanced apps can then use this information along with location data from your mobile device to offer you audio content tailored to where you are and what you’re doing.

I just cannot think of how location data from my phone is ever going to be useful to "offer audio content"... except for adverts.

So having adverts via headphones are a selling point?!

'Stop: Cliff ahead!'
[Cliff as in the geological feature rather than a chance encounter with a 'popular' singer].