I have been offered a new pair of headphones for Christmas to replace my dead Sennheiser PX-200 ones. Those are the benchmark - I’ve been happy with them, but replacing the plug with a new one has been problematic due to the odd cable innards.

So I’ll be scouting down a new pair. What I’d like are some recommendations of ones which are worth considering in the sub-£100 pound bracket. I don’t want in-ear or ear canal phones, and sound cancelling isn’t really necessary either. Lightweight phones are preferable. I would be interested in a pair which had an easily replaceable jack as that is clearly the weak spot, but what is of prime importanmce is audio reproduction over a variety of music and spoken word recordings.

Suggestions?

My standard recommendation is for the Sennheiser HD555s. Had them for a number of years and they've withstood a vast range of abuse without issue.

I would also suggest looking at companies like Beyerdynamic, AKG and Grado in that price bracket.

I have the 515's

Not very bassy (and open ear) but sound very good and comfortable to wear

Grado's would be my choice.
SR60's for easy plug replacement (SR80's if you can find them at a good price, as the cable is better).
igrado's are great for the price but the cable may be a little thin for you (although mine have survived over a year of abuse with no sign of failure)

I wouldn't buy any headphones on based on someone else's recommendation or a magazine review. They're useful starting points, but to find the right ones you need to listen to them yourself - what you like and what other people like can be like chalk and cheese.

Case in point - Sennheiser CS300 II: all the reviews rate these very highly, so I bought some. Big mistake - the sound was so bass-orientated is was difficult to believe these were the same headphones people were raving about, and I'm not alone. A friend at work was selling for exactly the same reason.

Is there anywhere that you can get to that has headphones on display? Take an ipod and try them out in-store. A lot of the time comfort is highly subjective and you really need to try them on. Maybe Hifi shop.

Well, after Christmas (we decided to do our presents to each other in the sales this year), I ended up with some Sennheiser HD 238s. Normal price is around £80, but other half found them for £40 on Amazon. Sennheiser are doing well - they have some very good POS units in some stores which have their headphones and a decent selection of music to listen to, which helped. No iPod plug for my own music, though, which is a shame.

The 238s are very good - more comfortable than the previous set, and the sound is much improved too. In all, I’m very happy with them.

I've got CX300 IIs but can't seem to get them to stay in my ears, irrespective of which size buds I use. Anyone else have this problem?

Any ideas of comparably priced headphones that will stay put for when I leave the country? I listen to all sorts, but clarity and some warmth are probably slightly preferable to outright accuracy.

I've got the HD205's and the sound quality is nice. I think they cost about £40, (but it was a while ago)...