Headphone-philes, help me!
December 7, 2018 9:34 AM   Subscribe

My husband is a fan of the classic Sony MDR-w14 heaphones. Is there anything out there that's sort of like this being made these days?

My husband laments that he can't find headphones in this style anymore - behind the head, with speakers that are in the ear, but don't fill the ear canal, like earbuds do. He doesn't like the feeling of earbuds that fill the ear canal, and he likes to be able to hear what's going on around him.
These are promising, but the waterproof-ness and such are kind of overkill.
Help me out, MeFites. I'd like to win Christmas by getting the huzz some headphones he loves.
posted by cleverevans to Technology (5 answers total)
 
I came to recommend the BackBeat Fits you linked to, actually. Mine (the previous model, to be fair) recently broke, but that's two years after I ran them through a full laundry cycle, ripped the rubber sheath around the wire, and duct taped over the rip.

They're comfortable, the Bluetooth is nice, and they sound okay (I'm sure at least as good as the Sonys did).

ALSO, I just (after I started writing this answer) bought a refurbished pair through this Groupon. At $20 it's a no-brainer. That deal apparently expires in a few days, and is for the previous model.
posted by papayaninja at 10:09 AM on December 7, 2018


Best answer: Sennheiser usually have a model in that style, where the buds just rest in the ear but don't go in. The PMX 684/686 look like last year's/this year's model. See on Amazon.
posted by simonar at 10:21 AM on December 7, 2018 [1 favorite]


Best answer: I was about to recommend those same Sennheisers. (They're $70 when they're not on sale, but they're so, so worth it.)

I don't have that exact model, but I do have a pair of the MX 686G earbuds. Sennheiser's "sport" designs are really good at delivering high quality sound and good volume without blocking outside sounds. I frequently wear them while walking around and taking the bus/subway, and I can still hear stop announcements and people asking to be let through.
posted by tobascodagama at 11:57 AM on December 7, 2018 [1 favorite]


Those exact headphones appear to be commonly available on eBay... brand new even if you're willing to pay for it.
posted by cmoj at 12:40 PM on December 7, 2018


Koss still makes a ton of idiosyncratic/old-fashioned headphone types that you don't see much any more, with great sound quality for the price—those round clip-on ones companies used to make, tons of different on-ear designs, etc. (The Porta-Pros are justly famous, but the others are great too.)
posted by Polycarp at 3:43 PM on December 7, 2018


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