Since I no longer live in a rented house, I have to be more observant of quiet hours, so as not to disturb the neighbors. This means that I'm spending a lot more time listening to music through headphones (especially during the week). And so after avoiding this purchase for quite awhile, I have decided to treat myself to a new pair of headphones.

Normally, I'd go with Sony or Bose for on-ear headphones, but my last pair of Sony's fell apart after what I felt was not too much abuse, so I did some more research. As I linked to, I decided to go with a recommendation from Matt Mullenweg (and lots of reviewers on Amazon), and try out a new brand, Sennheiser. Specifically, I went with the HD 595 headphones:

My new Sennheiser HD 595 headphones, in low light conditions.

So far, I am very impressed. The sound, coming out of my receiver / CD player is amazing -- by far the best I have ever heard from a pair of headphones. The quality actually rivals what I'm able to get from my speakers. The speakers in these headphones feel like they sit a bit farther away from my ears, which allows for a little more bass, and clearer sound.

And these things are comfortable. The padding is quite soft, and more importantly, fits around my ear -- so the headphones aren't pressing parts of my ear into my skull. I think I'll be able to wear these headphones, with my glasses on, for quite awhile.

So far, I'm totally glad that I took the plunge, and I look to re-exploring my music collection with my new toy.

-Andy.