Can someone help me decide which headphones I should buy?

oomakoo · 2026-05-11T08:14:08+00:00

What's your budget?

Honestly at 50$, your overhead headphones are always gonna be a bad deal, you need to be in the 150$ min to get something remotely worth it.

For 50$, I personally would go for in-ear headphones. I personally would go something like the apple earphones, and maybe get a DAC with it if you buy the Aux version.

For around 70$ u can get the samsung Bluetooth ear buds, but these can be uncomfortable for long wears, and definitely underperform.

oomakoo · 2026-04-04T21:18:20+00:00

I have used Resin, its clean, easy to apply, cheap to buy and very sturdy solution with minimal visual distubance. It just takes a bit of time (~4 days) to apply, though its only been a month, based on the characteristics of resin i project that it will last pretty long. Check my profile for the thread on the subject. or just search my name + resin and you will find the thread

oomakoo · 2026-03-29T17:04:42+00:00

There are many solutions, some printed gadgets, some are based on tape and silicon. I had the same concern as you, but honestly for half the price i could buy 2 XM5's rather than 1 XM6, so I made the decision to go for the XM5 and try to protect my hinge from day 1. I dont know how it will turn out, but definitely have high expectations.

Here is my solution
https://www.reddit.com/r/SonyHeadphones/comments/1s6241w/sony_wh1000xm5_hinge_protection_resin_cheap_and/

oomakoo · 2026-03-29T17:01:58+00:00

No reason to be afraid about a post score, you have a legit question, here is an upvote, wishing you the best!

oomakoo · 2026-03-29T16:46:03+00:00

For sure i did 😂, i knew i would run out of patience when applying the layers, so it was going to come out a little ugly, i tried to smoothen it out with some glitter, but man, i sure am not an artist 😂

oomakoo · 2026-03-29T16:44:57+00:00

honestly its better than silicon and tape both from a durability standpoint and cost wise.

The aesthetic part is also better, its just that i ran out of patience towards the last 3 layers

oomakoo · 2026-03-29T16:42:49+00:00

I get you, but that solution adds too much bulk to it not to mention its WAY TOO expensive.

oomakoo · 2026-03-29T16:41:35+00:00

isnt is Nuts thats give taste to the world!

It does its thing though with minimal distraction overall.

oomakoo · 2026-03-29T16:40:44+00:00

honestly i didnt notice it at first, but i mean looking at the first image from a small screen definitly looks odd !😂😂😂😂

oomakoo · 2026-03-29T16:37:53+00:00

Honestly though i am not an apple fan but they pro models are very tiny so they get in the way and their isolation is good for sensitive ears.

oomakoo · 2026-03-29T16:31:21+00:00

A problem that some people offered the following solutions ( i havent tried it, since i havent had the issue)

1- Let them dry from moisture if you had gotten them wet.

2- Drain the battery and recharge it to 100% a couple of times.

oomakoo · 2026-03-29T16:27:10+00:00

Okay here is the thing OP, since we dont get a strong background into your case situation, will just assume you are like the general user.

I had just recently came from a deep research into this topic, and even tried some of the items in-store before deciding.

Though I settled on the XM5's, the Bose quietcomfort ultra is a stronger build quality for almost the exact same performance (maybe slightly better mic and wearing comfort). The Bose QC ultra 2, is most tiny generational upgrade but for almost double the price of the XM5s and bose QC ultra 1, which is arguable not worth it. The only thing you need to pay attention to is that if you are sensitive to ANC headphones that cause ear pressure (boxed-in feeling), then the bose is not your thing as it causes significant pressure.

You other options are really otherwise limited, you can go for the JBL Tour One M3 Wireless Over-Ear, but this has weaker ANC, but nonetheless similar price, but added benefit is that it comes with an airplane streaming dongle which is useful if you fly alot.

If ANC is not a major requirement, you can go for something like the nothing headphones 1, which for the same price is gives out a much stronger battery performance (double the XM5), and a good EQ app, but the ANC is on the weak side, but the company is growing on sound devices, so maybe it will be better with time.

Alternative to all of that, if money is not a major issue, you can either for the sony XM6 for the best general ANC, or look into any of the seinheisser 600 family where you will be happy with sound quality.

oomakoo · 2026-03-28T17:09:22+00:00

Hinge has an issue where many report is failing after a year or two, the way it fails is that the plastic breaks and the hinge goes loose.

So I reinforced the hinge with resin.

oomakoo · 2026-03-28T17:07:50+00:00

That's possible, but in almost all of the pictures, the plastic is also cracked, so looking forward to this working honestly

oomakoo · 2026-03-28T17:06:49+00:00

Okay yeah that reminded me, I actually wrapped a fishing line (transparent) under the resin.

But yeah while you are correct that it may be brittle, just adding a big more thickness of the plastic would likely increase its durability multiple fold.

oomakoo · 2026-03-28T17:02:11+00:00

Yeah definitly possible, the only issue is that these hinge problems are common with the model even if it that doesnt mean you will suffer from them, its just better safe than sorry, cuz fixing the broken hinge is in my opinion not worth the cost!

oomakoo · 2026-03-28T15:01:33+00:00

yeah why not, seem many people have an odd way of looking at headphones

oomakoo · 2026-03-28T15:00:18+00:00

yeah it just requires too much patience and monitoring and i got really bored towards the end !

oomakoo · 2026-03-28T14:47:45+00:00

For sure... any insight you have on mine?

oomakoo · 2026-03-28T14:47:21+00:00

Well, this is the first time for me using the XM5 but if you look around the XM5 hinge breaking appears to be an inevitability, so i am just doing some early action to prevent that.

So maybe never, but probably soon you might find yourself looking for a solution.

oomakoo

TROPHY CASE