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TheSkald

Hey thanks for this link. I was actually starting to look into some headphones with good noise isolation for drumming, since my current headphones (wink wink, OP) have an open, loose design. Great sound quality, but I can't drum with 'em. I bookmarked these, might get them.

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Raiyne

I wouldn't recommend the Sennheiser HD280s, they sound kinda flat and boxy.

Since you like Bass, and going with Ronin's endorsement of Sony, I'll recommend these.

Sony MDR-V700DJ - $80.77
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-V700D...4357746&sr=8-1

and its little brother, $30 cheaper:
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-V500D...4357746&sr=8-3

I tried the V700DJ, they were pretty good, but the bass was a little too hyped, so the sound wasn't accurate, but they are great to listen to, if you do like big bass. The high end is definitely crystal clear as well.

I remember I was deciding between those or my Shure SRH840s, ended up getting the Shures.

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AkaSnake

Thanks for the replies guys , but take in mind that I can spend more for more quality. :]

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Cingal

Don't know if you were looking at them, but, the HD448, I would not recommend.

Got them after my HD650s broke (Which are really awesome headphones, by the way.) and, the sound quality is pretty okay, but, the cable is awful. I've had these a couple of months and already the cable is coming to pieces.

It's one of those silly double cables, the joiner is weak as all hell and started to show signs of breaking in the first month I had them.

If you're looking to spend, the higher ones, HD555, 598, etc, are all really good headphones, but, to be worthwhile you more or less need an amplifier or a sound-card that has a built-in amp.

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Ronin

Have you thought about getting a high tier audio card first?
It would do more for the sound than buying headphones on a ridiculous budget.

Studio phones are expensive because they have to be tested for devlivering the sound without any "modification" in layterms. The idea is that with good experiance the producer of the song can estimate how it sounds on many diffrent devices only if he has a completely uncolored impression that serves only for this purpose.
Real studio headphones for that reason sound extremely boring, one could say as boring as possible. They also cost thousands of USD.

Consumer grade gear is much diffrent. Ofc. you can spend a couple of thousand bucks on headphones, but to make it worthwhile you would first have to buy a sound system that is worth 30 grand.

Modern consumer grade headphones are mainly about looks. If the design allows space for noise cancelling and they are thought for the user to be used outside they will slap on that tag and add a layer of styrofoam somwhere.

I own a set of koss porta pros for example (good sound, but only buy them from an authorised reseller outside of the US, otherwise you will unable to claim their life-time warranty). They are durable, functional, fold up and soundwise there isn't anything you can "upgrade" to, if your output is a portable music device. You can ofc add a portable amplifyer, reduce the sound to "base noise with a hand full of too loud tones on top" and ruin your hearing. However, no one of the folks I have ever talked to even notices, that there is a strong portion of noise coming from ipods, that one can hear in 60 ohm headphones in a silent room, to the point that it degrades the experiance for me.
On the other hand take any of the "good looking" bass boosted headphones and listen to Barbers adagio for strings.
With some interpretations the slow awakening of the strings is so suttle, that for most people there will be nothing but silence when the instruments have already started seconds ago. Now on those kitsch headphones, I promise you, you will have actual trouble hearing half of the song.

We are in the digital age now. Although the audio quality has increased to a point where people are really at the absolute hearing limits in general, headphones from 20 years ago can give you almost perfect sound.
Many Mp3 players are only giving out the signal with half the sampling rate of CDs and people don't even know or hear that.

This isn't a time where audio quality counts. It's about looks and feel.
Expensive looking headphones only sell like crack, because they are what you see. They are the least important part concerning quality.
Look at the failure rates, people have...
It is essentially a consumtion part. You do not want to spend 100 bucks on it actually.

Take this for example:

YouTube Video

(Funny that Melancholia uses this on the soundtrack and as it seems on the prominent spot of the opening. 2 times funny, because you can notice how much they altered the version I posted to make it more "friendly on the ear" of the avg movie-goer.)

Impossible to listen to on the walk anyways. Why would Scullcandy bother to make it enjoyable at all, their customers are not going to care.

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Raiyne

Ok now I think I tried the V750DJ, not the V700DJ. I really think you will like this one, if you're into solid, clear sounding headphones with strong bass.

It's now at $150.
http://www.amazon.com/Shure-SRH750-D...4402591&sr=1-9

I think if you go further up, most of the headphones being sold at those kind of prices, like $250 and onwards, are catered towards being audiophile-quality headphones, meaning more accurate and natural sounding, rather than the bass-heavy DJ-style headphones.

The ones I have, the Shure SRH840 is now $150, discounted from $250. This brand/series of studio reference headphones have a more edgy, visceral high-end, great for rock, but aren't as bass-heavy.
http://www.amazon.com/Shure-SRH840-P...4402591&sr=1-1

And apparently its newer version, the SRH940 is out on amazon as well, for $279, discounted from $375, but I think you will not get as much from that $130 difference, really.

But the thing is, on a consumer level the cost-quality curve is such that if you pay a decent amount, like $100 for pro/consumer-grade gear like that, the effects are definitely noticeable. It's an immediate improvement, you get the product, take it out of the box and plug it in. In this case, it's portable as well. It's also a faster step to improving your listening skills.

Btw, the part about MP3 players pumping out sampling rate half of CDs, you mean bit-rate, right?

Because I'm pretty sure they do not output audio at a sample rate of 22500Hz.

Yeah I hate how audio is really getting screwed up everywhere nowadays. People don't bother to engage their sense of hearing properly. Their minds are polluted with thoughts and distractions.

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ForTheCity

I have these senheissers and I do enjoy them http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD4.../ref=pd_cp_e_3
The only problem I have with them is my ears gets sweaty and it also flattens my hair. It's okay if I use them at night before I shower but not after.

Of course beats are good but I'm sure you can also check out BOSE. might not be the same style but they have very nice headphones.

Ronin

@Raiyne.
Oh I was rather on about the digital/analogue problem of sound sampling in general and the nyquist-crieria and how you need to have 2 times the sample rate of the outputs maximum response to get a good signal. The human hearing is from lab tests going to recognise between 10-22000 Hz. This is more or less established for the layman and this leads to the industry setting it's standards acordingly.
From CDs that are sampled at 44.1 kHz to pro Audio at 48 or 96 Khz, there is the big difference. People who have a good ear can easily tell those appart within seconds.

What I was trying to get at:
Whilst in the analogue times, basically there was no limit. Headphones could be as good as they can be to give out a better sound. Nowadays the average singal response rate is often smaller than the actual average full spectrum of human hearing.

Take however the Shures you posted.
Frequency range = 5Hz - 30,000 Hz

Digital audio as it is available nowadays can't fully drive those headphones.
Most likely any audio card under 250$ can't properly utilize them, even if you get your hands at some exceptional audio sources.
Now if you break out the Vinyls and want to liste to some Sinatra on your analogue turntable that's probably excelent, but on a PC, it's paying for an overhead you won't likely use ever.

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