When I am going out I rarely listen to anything but on the rare occassion I do I just use the Apple earpods. Not the best but they do the job.
At home, that's a totally different thing. And I much perfer cans. Those are the over the head earmuff like ones as described in the first post here.
There are two types of cans that exist. Open ones that don't cover the hear totally or are designed to allow dound to leak in and out. Closed ones isolate more sounds from the outside world out so you don't have them inteferring with your headphone sound. Overall open is not better than closed. It's just personal perference and what you want to do with the headphones.
My old sony headphones broke so I looked around and I found a store with a good deal on Sennheiser HD429's. I paid $100AUD for them.
They are closed cans. I previously was not a fan of closed cans but I tried them on in the store and they felt ok on my head so I bought them. I am a Sennheiser fan, I think most of their product rage is 2nd to none. But choose the brand that you feel gives you what you want. After using for about a week now I am glad I bought them. They are a nice neutral sounding headphone, fells good on the head after long uses, excellent sound quality for the price and look like they will last a long time. The only downsides are they are not a pro $500+ set of headphones but for the price, I paid $100 the sound is amazing, well worth the price I paid. The home user who likes closed cans will like them. Also the cable for them is excessively long and thin. A lot of care will have to be taken to watch out for it. Apart from that I'm glad I bought the headphones.
When you choose headphones you need to be aware of:
- Sound quality for the price you are paying. Are you getting good value for money
- Build quality. You don't want them falling apart in a few months
- Comfort. They have to feel good on your head. Everyone's head is different and you really need to find a set that fit you well.
- Opened vs closed. Which type do you want?
- The type of sound produced. Do you want a more neutral sound or a more warm base heavy or treble heavy sound. There is no right answer here it's all up to personal preference.
- Do the headphones need an amp to get the best sound out? For most home uses it's best to get a set of headphones that sound good without requiring an amp. Many of the good budget sets (around $60-$150 AUD) don't need an amp.
And lastly have fun. Choosing headphones, for me at least is a really fun experience. Don't just pick the first ones you find. Make sure you get a good deal on ones you will really like. I'm no expert on the field but that's what I've learnt about headphones.