Suggestions for rugged decent sounding cans

The V-Moda M80 is a great place to start.  They are on-ear, but with a little gentle bending of the metal temples you can get them to fit very nicely.  They are a tad bass heavy for my tastes, but for you they may be just right.  I place their sound quality just above the Sennheiser HD-25-1-ii and below the beyer DT1350.  They cost between $179 and $199 and stand out as excellent headphones.  They also come with the best carrying case I have seen for a portable headphone.

The next headphone up from those is the beyer DT1350.  They are much more neutral sounding than the M80 and have less of a bass bump making them more pleasurable to listen.  They fit really well and are well made.  They run anywhere from $270 to $300 and are well worth the cost.

Something a little more affordable would be the Audio Technica ATH-M50.  They offer excellent built quality and great sound for the price.  They isolate a little better than the aforementioned headphones as they are over-ear rather than on-ear.  They can sound a tad bland with some types of music because they have a slight neutral signature to them, but for high quality music they do well.  They produce bass very well and should fit your needs.  The ATH-M50 runs from $100 to $150.

The last thing I would consider is another pair of IEM.  For me the Brainwavz M2 with Comply T-400 foam tips ( mediums ) was an excellent find.  They sound great for the price, seal extremely well, and have strain reliefs both at the ear piece and jack ends.  I understand you are leery of an IEM, but the M2 coupled with Comply T-400 foams tips offers an extremely affordable sealed headphone option for the work place.  I use mine almost every day at work and we have all sorts of fans, power supplies, and other noisy distractions to deal with.  They run up to $70 for the M2 and $15 for 3-pairs of Comply T-400 foams tips.  Your total cost is going to be around $100 with shipping.

Best of luck.

You should also look at the Etymotic line.

If there's a nearby store where you could try the different portable headphones, like the ones mentioned by NA Blur, that would be the best. I was initially set on getting the DT1350s, then decided to get the HD25s and couldn't be happier. I guess you really have to hear them all first.

This just in...

http://www.head-fi.org/t/615984/klipsch-image-s4i-rugged-available-in-july-with-four-fresh-colors

Enjoy, Jim

Quote:

Originally Posted by AstroTurf 

This just in...

 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/615984/klipsch-image-s4i-rugged-available-in-july-with-four-fresh-colors

 

Enjoy, Jim

Sadly he wants over ear headphones, but if he wanted IEMs that would have been a great choice

Quote:

Originally Posted by tracer9191 

I am looking for some on or over the ear headphones for use at work. I have recently tried the Shure se215 and while they sounded decent, the would not stay in for the life of me and I really just don't care for the IEM. I work in a warehouse so I have to deal with loud horns and conveyor belts all day so something good at isolating sound would be nice. I have heard that sound cancelation causes an odd pressure on the ear, so I would be willing to hear peoples opinion of this technology. Also, although I don't have plans on dropping them or making pretzels out of the cord, something that isn't super fragile would be good. A wide variety of music would be listened to through these. Dubstep, rap, 90's rock, country, etc. I would use my audio technic a M50s but they are straight corded and something a little smaller is what I'm going for.

 

Thanks!

You should tell us how much can you pay as well. But I think the Sennheiser HD25-1 II / Beyerdynamic DT1350 / V-MODA M80 will suit what you're looking for quite well. They're priced around $200-300.

Quote:

Originally Posted by theThirty3rd 

 

Sadly he wants over ear headphones, but if he wanted IEMs that would have been a great choice

Doh...

Homer Simpson going back to my tunes now.

Sorry, Jim

the akg k181dj is durable, affordable, has plenty of bass, and has those great akg mids that make it a serious competitor to the senn hd25.

The Rock-IT R-Shield are military grade and although mine have yet to burn in, they do not sound bad. You will have to wait for some proper impressions but you can check out my unboxing video.