Koss KPH30i

Koss took the Porta Pro's driver lineage, evened out the bass, and hung it on a fixed retro headband: the KPH30i. Open-backed and feather-light, it is the rare cheap headphone that hi-fi people rate without irony — clean mids, an even balance, nothing shouting for attention.

Open means open. People nearby hear a murmur of your music and you hear the room, which makes it a desk and sofa headphone, not a commuter.

At 60 Ω it runs happily from laptops, dongles and phones. When the foam pads eventually flatten, Dekoni's Porta Pro/KPH30i replacement pads on our shelf give it a second life.