The Sennheiser HD560S and HiFiMan HE400SE are both great if you need an open back headphone. The AKG K371 (non BT) is a very solid closed back reference model, designed to perfectly replicate the Harman Target sound curve. Sony’s recent Pulse Elite and Explore headsets made in conjunction with Audeze sound quite good if you need something more gamer-focused. They both do solid double duty as Bluetooth mobile pairs as well.

As I mentioned in the above piece, the Gen 3 air pods actually do sound quite good for non-sealed in ears. That’s part of what lead them to the top of the wireless market. Sealed wired in-ears have a range of “flavor of the week” budget options mostly out of the “chi-fi” market but that’s a weak spot in my personal coverage as I’ve only tried a few sealed in-ear gaming models.

Hope that at least gets you started in the right direction! I’m personally fond of the Sennheiser pair I listed at the start, if only because I worry that with the constant flux in their business/acquisition that it may get fazed out one day. They’ve already tried one scummy sales thing with it. They sell an “HD400 Pro” that is literally the identical headphone but with a different cable in the box and a higher price tag. It’s frustrating because there’s a huge aftermarket cable selection for their headphones, and the cable is not worth the added price.

That kind of strategy didn’t happen with the Sennheiser of ten years ago, but I think it’s indicative of the need to squeeze every bit of cash out of these products now.