I am new to this site and I am looking to purchase high quality headphones (or earbuds) for mainly listening to electronic music. I will be doing so within an office setting and do not want my cubemate or surrounding cubes to be able to hear the music if I am playing it loud. I also want the headphones (or earbuds) to remain comfortable over long periods of time (8 hours or so). I recently had SONY Fontopia's that would grow very uncomfortable in the ear after a few hours of usage and do not want this to happen. I am really big on bass but I would also like the rest of the sound to be high quality.

I was looking at the Westone UM2's (for $300), and the Audiotechnica ATH A900's (for $250). However, I am open to other suggestions as well (even in the $150-$200 price range).

Also, one of my friends told me today that a big factor is the device that I will be playing the music on. If I am just using a cheap MP3 player or connecting to the headphone port of my laptop, will it be worth it to buy $300 headphones?


Keep in mind that electronica must sound really good through them, that they can't be heard around me (I will be using them in an office), and they have to remain comfortable for extended periods (up to 8 hours). I look forward to some help as I do not have much knowledge in this domain.

Thanks!!
John

I'm in the exact same situation.

I want to listen to music at (occassionally) pretty loud volumes, without anyone else hearing it, and with enough comfort to wear them pretty much all day if I want to. I also like pretty tight and punchy bass. I listen to a broad mix, but electronica is probably the biggest segment of my collection. Some favorites are Underworld, Booka Shade, BT, Armin van Buuren, Amon Tobin, Thievery Corporation, etc.

These criteria eventually led me to: the Beyerdynamic DT770/80's. Your local Guitar Center has them for $200 plus tax, and I promise, you will love them. They're the best fully-closed headphones on the market, if you ask me. The bass is incredible and well-controlled, the highs are gorgeous, and they're so comfortable you'll forget you're wearing them -- until you spin your chair around and yank your laptop off the desk, of course.

Your mileage will vary with your laptop's sound card. Honestly, most laptops don't sound all that good, but many portable MP3 players do. My laptop, for example, produces little annoying squealing artifacts. My 80 GB iPod Video, however, sounds positively gorgeous through them, with or without a dedicated headphone amp. If you want to use your laptop, but its sound sucks, you might want to consider adding an "external sound card" or DAC via the USB port. Such add-ons can also sound positively beautiful.

- Warren