Either the HD-25's or the Aiaiai Tma-1's. 

For circumaural, do a search on KRK KNS 8400. The 8400 has gotten a lot of love here and I've been wanting to hear a pair myself. M50 is a good all-rounder especially if you can get it for $100 or less. So is the Sony MDR-V6/7506 - it has a more open/spacious sound in comparison to the M50, however I think M50 does timbre better. However, the V6 is the most comfortable circumaural I've ever had however I wasn't a big fan of the long coiled cable. If you're willing to wait, the V-MODA M-100s are coming out in April but they will be $100 over your budget.

If you're willing to get an on-ear headphone, Senn HD25s or V-MODA M-80s are good headphones to check out. The M-80s are more comfortable IMO.

AD-H2000s by Denon go on sale for $200.00 every so often. If you do some search around the headphone forum, you can read about everyone's new purchase.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redcarmoose 

AD-H2000s by Denon go on sale for $200.00 every so often. If you do some search around the headphone forum, you can read about everyone's new purchase.  

dont you think the Denons are soft/not very aggresive for genres such as metal? 

I would've recommended Denons but the OP needs isolation.

Well, sorry about the isolation issue. I am a firm believer in closed back or semi closed back headphones for metal. I have used one type of closed back headphones my whole life, so I could be narrow minded. I have always been looking for this certain sound and I know right away if it is there or not. If it was not for the isolation issue here I would say just try the 2000s after a couple tests just to see what they were like for metal. There are many Head-Fiers who use the 2000s for metal, and only listen to metal like me.

  You have folks around here to that are playing the thin 2nd wave of Black Metal on open cans and they seem happy. I still believe even with that thin recorded early 90s stuff you need to try and get all the bass authority you can extract. I am always surprised when I read about folks playing the 2nd wave on K701/702s.

If your talking about the PRaT, I think it's there for metal with the 2000s. But I have not tried a ton of headphones. I have been to two meets, and I do a lot of reading in the Denon threads. There may be better out there that's for sure. Any question posted and answered in these " I'm Looking for new headphones " threads should be tested later in real-life, maybe at a meet or at a friend's house. I am always surprised at what different folks think is great out there.  

I have also tried some different older used headphones at meets that were really great with metal and had a very even and less bass blurring response. I tried a pair of super old Beyerdynamic semi open headphones that were found on E-Bay for a song. They were blue and the model was something like 902 or something. For me anyway, it was mind opening that older headphones could be so great with metal and any source. Why they don't get made still can really be a big question. I would guess that some part in the building process, like the cost of the magnets led Beyerdynamic to go on to other models. 

I would try and go to a Head-Fi meet with a hand full of CDs. It's always great to bring your equipment too. Everyone is way more cool than you would think and many times you can rotate your gear into a system just to hear the results.

EDIT

I went back to the meet impressions thread and they are called the Beyerdynamic 911s. AmAZING!

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackwess 

dont you think the Denons are soft/not very aggresive for genres such as metal? 

Quote:

Originally Posted by ninernick1849 

Thanks for the advice.  I was originally thinking circumaural because I thought they gave better isolation, but I think that thought may have been misguided after reading some HD 25 reviews.

 

The v-moda crossfade LP2s I used seemed very muddy to my ears and the sounds just sorta blended together.  Do the m-80s suffer from that same affliction?

Not at all, the M-80s are totally different. V-MODA has two headphone lines:

The LP Series = Live Play (bassy and therefore mostly for DJs who listen in a loud environment and need a less-fatiguing sound)

The M- Series = Modiophile or Modern Audiophile (your everyday head-fier :) )

The M-80 is a very balanced headphone with very clear, natural mids, well-defined bass that extends well, and good,polite treble. I'd recommend giving them a listen as they have a nice soundstage for a supraaural. IMO the biggest difference between the HD25s and M-80s are the soundstage and the treble (HD25 has a bit more "sparkle" but this can be fatiguing for some). The HD25 also isolates slightly more because of the clamp while the M-80 is more comfortable and does a decent job in isolation. I'm a big fan of both but these days I've been enjoying my M-80s a bit more.