[j_crick]

Planar magnetic headphones with large drivers, specifically Audeze LCD-2 with denser foam embouchures (ear pads). They wrap my ears in a very comfortable and isolating way; they are formidable in terms of delivering sound the way I want for the music I like; they are very responsive to EQ, hence tuneable to a lot of ears. And their downside of being heavy surprisingly aligns with pomodoro timings: if my neck is getting tired from headphones then it’s time to have a break.

(Another downdisde: these headphones are “open”, meaning they have no hard enclosed outer shell, so your coworkers will hear what you hear, but if you work from home and/or buy a closed back version then they might work for you.)

As for all the espresso machines comments, I totally get it, but folks, might I suggest you just get an Aeropress and give it a try :)

[karmakaze]

It was a gift and not all that expensive, but I love my Fostex T20RPmk3 planar driver headphones. Works really well with the quad DAC in my LG G8 phone. They also make closed (T40RPmk3) and semi-open (T50RPmk3) models with different shells.

I'm also on the lookout for replacement earphones with clear midrange/vocals and neutral but lively sound and extended but non emphasized bass/treble. I have some discontinued JVC HA-FXD80 imported from Japan but it seems to be getting a bit worn though still pretty good and I want something for when they finally give out.

A replacement phone with really good analog out would be nice too for when my discontinued LG goes.

[j_crick]

Didn’t expect somebody here to mention LG phones regarding audio, but they are surprisingly nice indeed. Good stuff!

Don’t know about replacement for the phone, but maybe a discreet player would work for you? Some old multibit Hifiman or a small but punchy Fiio could be fun and maybe even really cheap, depending on your location etc.

As for the headphones, did you consider Hifiman Sundara? It’s not an upgrade too expensive (relatively speaking ofc), and I heard they can be tailored well to one’s taste with eq, so maybe that could be an option.

[karmakaze]

Thanks for the tip about the Hifiman Sundara they look very interesting. What I was immediately looking for though, were hifi isolating (non-noise cancelling) earbuds rather than full-size headphones. There are many very expensive ones but I'd rather pay for something I appreciate as much or more than they cost :-)