Shure SRH440 / Audio-Technica ATH-T500

defitly 2 hours but after that they really become uncoforable, they isolate very well with little leek

Hmm, there doesn't seem to be much info available on the T500, but I imagine it would provide a decent amount of sound isolation.  What do you plan on using these headphone for and what's your budget range?

I have the 440's. You will start feeling them after 3 songs sadly. 2 hours..max top you can have them on for. However, it is none that buying the SRH 840 pads will fix this. however, add in the cost of the pads themselves and it'd be the same as buying the 840's themselves so i'd say go with that. 

They are Studio's remember that. They do instrument seperation decently. not to omfg i can hear it. but not super mixed together either. the highs and mids are great. and they have a slight emphasis on the bass past full neutral. After owning these, i realized that i wanted bass. and so after much research between the ATH M50's and HFI 580's i got the HFI 580's because everybody said they liked them more than the M50's. I just bought them and the S-Logic technology scares me into thinking if they would sound bad. however, top line Pro900 and edition series that are half a grand and then over 2.5K have the S-Logic and have been reviewed to be super good. i guess it's not bad or anything. so yes. if you want neutral recording sound for recording and making music(regular music?) go with the Shure 840's $130 on amazon. they use memory foam isntead of whatever is in the 440's. If you want to make bassy music or use as a DJ but also can be basuically used for any genre. from what  i hear and what i bought them for. the 580's will do wonders as it has a tighter bass(low) than the 580's and it's better throughout (mid-high) than the M50. But if you are/ don't have the money right now and want to use the 440's for professional use. go right ahead. they improve greatly after 200+hours of burn in and will do really well with an LOD and an Amp. the FiiO L9 and E6 are recommended($40 combined) 

The isolation on the Shure's is actually a passive effect of the pads. Shure does not actually come out and say these have sound cancelling/isolation in them. But they do say it's the pads that do it and I can attest(agree) to that. They are not very comfortable like i said above, but are fine for yourpurposes. but remember, if you like bassy music of pop. Asian pop would benefit more from other headphones...but they are more expenisve and won't be as good for audio recording. overall these 440's will suit you well. I don't know much about the audio techina's but they also seem to be pretty good. Go with whatever. But from what i hear. the Audio technica's need to be amp'd while these 440's ...will benefit from it, won't be completley lost without one.

oh no the shure 440s are very and mean very bass shy but eveything else as he mentioned is good and i highly recommend the 840 pads they bring out the bass a little still shy though

They're not that bass shy, rather they have a neutral type bass that does improve with burn-in.  AD700 they are not.

ok yes but they are bass shy, but its very well controlled and tight very soothing

I agree with Digital Pride.(he's a headphone supremus...duh) I have the 440's burned in for over 600+ hours. They lost their bass shyness a while ago. super duper bass cans now? far from it. they have a slight emphasis on bass now. not super duper shy at all but pretty good with pop now. At first however....don't expect any bass at all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Digital-Pride 

They're not that bass shy, rather they have a neutral type bass that does improve with burn-in.  AD700 they are not.

This. You can definitely hear a fair amount of bass on the SRH 440 after using them for a while.

Regarding comfort: Sadly after two minutes I already feel the headband pressing on my head, after 15 minutes I start to get a headache and after 30 minutes it feels like the headband is trying to split my head in half. Because of that I don't use them anymore.

Isolation is good - if you listen to your music on medium levels you most likely won't hear anything of your surroundings (except something/someone is fairly loud).

The bottom line is that you shouldn't buy them if your head is sensitive.

If you are doing Wing Chun, bashing your head against bricks and the like you should be fine.