For those who have read my posts you know I am mainly into portable listening. I think I am done for now on portable sources and amps but I'm wondering if it is worth it with the gear I have to upgrade my headphones.

Primary rig is:

MZ-R50 + META42 run on 1 9v with a AD8620 opamp.

My current headphones for portable use are:
PX200
D66
PortaPros
KSC 35
MX 500

If I upgrade, I prefer something that is closed and not huge so I can remain portable.

I have been considering a pair of V6 but I'm not sure I'm going to get too much of an improvement over my current cans. Is there a headphone out there that will "greatly" improve the sound I'm getting now? At what point does it not pay to spend any more money?

Any suggestions are greatly welcomed!

I take it you do not want the total isolation of the etys?

Sorry, I should have put something about the Etys. I'm not against them but the fact of the matter is that I'm commuting in and out of Manhattan and I've read that a lot of people don't recommend them for busy, city streets.

Yeah, I wouldn't even consider wearing mine walking around in the city.

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you got just about all the ones i wanted, except for the hd600

erikzen,

I think that you are at the zenith.

just enjoy what you have.

if all you want to do is spend money, you might want to get into chip rolling or ICs.

you might want to wait for Brangraman and Duncan to chime in, though.

If you want to upgrade headphones, I believe the Ultrasone 650 would give you the best sonic upgrade. They fold so their portable and can be easily driven.

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Yeah, if ety's are a no go then it looks to me like you're at as good as it gets for portable audio. It all depends though, of course, on how big of a phone you're willing to carry around and wear in public

CD3000's anyone? No?

As far as portable listening goes, I'd say you are done. Enjoy what you have. If you don't have a good quality cable between your amp and source, maybe considering upgrading there, but headphones, amp, and source seem like as far as I would take them portably.

If you feel like you are lacking bass with your headphones, then the V6 might be a good final option, but overall the consensus seems to be that the D66 is the winner in overall portable sound quality (besides Etys.)

As far as Etys go, I would say skip them for use where you might get hit by a bus. Definitely too much risk. Plus, they are expensive and I would hate to have them get lost somewhere.

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Yeah, and could you imagine? Perfectly good Etys smashed by a bus...what a waste.

TA

Actually, the Etys might be the only thing that survives relatively unscathed. New cord and your good to go...

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I'm not sure that I can to be honest...

The only other one that I would recommend is the EX71... but that seems to be very controversial at the moment... I myself like them, but there isn't a big enough following yet for them to be 'flavour of the month'...

Apart from that... looks good for a porta-setup

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If you're using your etys and you're hit by a bus I would think there's a higher chance of the Ety's surviving than you. At least you can replace the cord.

Lot's of good advice! Thanks Wallijohn, I think I will just sit back and enjoy what I've got.

However, I do have some good suggestions here for future reference:

Etys - Although I do use my rig mostly commuting, I do take some plane trips from time to time. Eventually, I think I'll have to get these.

Ultrasone 650 - These seem to be the most likely candidate in case I really feel the upgraditis bug. A little big but certainly seem portable enough

V6 - While a lot of people really love these, I don't think I'm going to buy these unless I find a good used deal. I don't think for the money I'm going to see much improvement. I'd rather put that money towards some more expensive cans.

EX71 - Something I didn't even consider and really don't know too much about. I need to do a little research on these and see what people are saying. I'm not too concerned with them being flavor of the month. D66 seemed to be flavor of the month, and although I must admit they are a good headphone, there is something lacking in them for me.

Thanks again, everyone!