Hi, I’m new in the “headphones” world and I usually bought the first cheap option with good reviews on youtube and never really informed myself. My current headphones (Anker Soundcore Q30) are almost dead and I want to make an informed choise about my next one. However I feel like there are a lot of things I know nothing about.
For example I read a lot of good things about Sennheiser but the first pari of headphones I saw in my price range (ACCENTUM) have 37mm drivers. My Soundcore Q30 have 40mm drivers and I always thought that “the bigger the better” for the driver. From what I heard, however, the ACCENTUM are consider higher quality than Soundcore Q30.
What I’d like to know is: what should I really look for to understand the quality of the headphones?
I’d mainly use them to listen to music (some Metal, Punk but sometimes Rap, Classical or movies and videogames OST) in my house or outside (so good ANC is always appreciated).
Hard agree on subjective nature of the quality. Even for loudspeakers it is really up to your own preferences, and when it comes to IEMs/headphones - there are no 2 experts that will agree on what is "the best".
ANC does degrade the quality, but in the noisier environments like planes and trains it is probably a good option for less-hassle listening.
Momentum 2 were famously terrible (had these and enjoyed a lot - until i tried something else). Hope 4th model is better.
The only real advice to OP here would be to find an offline store and go listen to some of the models they have. Bring your own music! That is how I realised that neutrality of HD600 is my benchmark. However these are open-backs, wired and twice the price (
You can also try to understand what kind of sound delivery you prefer: bassy, neutral, bright - that would narrow down the options for you.
Crinacle tested a lot (though he stopped updating his database unfortunately) - this may give you some ideas. https://crinacle.com/rankings/headphones/
Good luck!