Laurel-Wreath Earphones with Cantilevered Earbuds at CreativeLabs Conference?

February 12, 2005 6:34 PM

Headphonesfilter - in the mid 90's I tried out a set of headphones at a CreativeLabs developer's conference that featured open-air behind-the-head design.[+]

These were worn like a laurel wreath with speakers cantilevered out over the listener's ears. The looked dorky, but felt great and sounded pretty darn good. My google-fu has left me high and dry for these headphones or ones like them. I want headphones that don't stick into my ears nor press down on them so I can wear them comfortably for many hours.

posted by plinth to Technology (5 answers total)

It's not what you were thinking of, but Sennheiser makes several models of really excellent open-ear headphones that don't cause ear discomfort at all. I have a pair of HD-590s (about $200) that I can wear for literally hours with no discomfort. The design is a standard over-the-top-of-head, though, and not around the back like you described. I'm sure several other headphone manufacturers make similar phones.

The other advantage of the open-ear design is that the drivers have room to resonate, meaning that the sound is more "airy" and accurate. The downside of this is that it doesn't block ambient noise like other headphone designs, and they're also pretty audible to people nearby.
posted by neckro23 at 7:10 PM on February 12, 2005

I'd second the Sennheisers as well, even though that's not really what you're looking for.

For what it's worth, I have a pair of HD-570s that have served me very very well for several years, now.
posted by bshort at 8:13 PM on February 12, 2005

Something like these odd (and expensive) Panasonics, perhaps?
posted by kickingtheground at 8:35 PM on February 12, 2005

Response by poster: No, think Olympic laurel wreath. They sat on your head like a tonsure.
posted by plinth at 5:45 AM on February 13, 2005

Thou shalt covet no headphones before Sennheiser HD-*** series.

Mine are HD-580s. Tremendously comfortable (I can wear them indefinitely) and considered the best reference headphones in the world after the 600 and 650. Unsurpassed precision and definition. 580s can be found for $160, other good Sennheisers are available for less (the $200 figure cited by neckro is a little overpriced for the US).

If you absolutely must use the design you mentioned, use HeadRoom to find what you need.
posted by azazello at 4:55 PM on February 13, 2005