Comfortable headphones

You said that you wanted isolation on flights. For that, I would probably recommend the Bose Quietcomfort 15's, however beware that isolation is really all they're good for. Sound quality isn't justified by the price of the cans, so if you want good sound, don't get them. However, I have owned them once and really, the isolation is astounding. I mowed my lawn with my Toro ZTR lawnmower and I could not hear but the slightest rumble of the engine when the music was on. So if sound isn't of your top priority, they are perfect. It's not like they sound horrid, just not amazing.

Edited by AgentCOPP1 - 10/27/12 at 12:28pm

Check out this review.

+1 on bose being best on noise cancelling and pretty comfortable +1 on sound being the downside.

UE will give better SQ per Tyll but not as good NC.

Personally I bring a over ear headphone AND an IEM with the right size Comply Foam tips. Then I can go back and forth. If the headband starts to bother me on the HP, then I switch to the IEM. If my ears start to feel annoyed by having something stuck in them for hours...... vice versa and so on.

However I noticed i can tolerate the IEM's better than ANY headphone on a really long flight -- if I use foam. The sound reduction is about the same. The ANC cancels out certain freqs that the IEM doesn't block and the IEM passive noise reduction is better on freqs that the ANC doesn't touch so it works out to be about the same thing.

IEMs are a good idea if you want really good sound isolation and sound quality. The Shure SE 535's have 3 drivers per ear and are amazing for 400 bucks. As for headphones, If you want a neutral headphone the new version of mrspeakers mad dogs have decent isolation and are pretty darn comfy. The most comfortable headphone I have heard have been my friends dt 770s. I could probably have those on for days and not care. They isolate well and have a slight more low end then mids and highs but the soundstage and sound quality is top notch for a 150-200 dollar headphone. you could also with your budget get a portable amp/dac to make them even better. 

 

cheers

Philips Citiscape Uptown have amazing sound isolation and comfort. Affordable and sound quality surpassing the ATH-M50 too.

t70p

Akg 271mkii.

Probably the most used studio can by professionals. You could buy them and still have money for a decent amp.

Beyer DT770 pro 80? i enjoy movies and bassy stuff with them. 

you may need some extra power. 

 

I've fallen asleep with the DT 770, DT 990, and Sennheiser HD 650, and woken with no discomfort. Of those, the DT 770 is the only "closed" model. I don't know if it's closed enough for you, but the other two are as open as can be.

 

But be careful! When I fell asleep near the end of a "Game of Thrones" BD, I had terrible nightmares while the menu's soundtrack played over and over and over...

 

The 80 ohms version its easier to drive, so its better for a portable source. 

 

Drummers use this headphone, isolation is pretty good. 

Since you mention using on flights, I would say Bose QC15.

It is one of the most comfortable headphone and the noise cancelling is right on the air travel.

Whenever there is a consistent background noise (bus, subway, or even just wind blowing), it is really a bless.

The potential problem caused by the pressure from the noise cancelling is less of an issue when there exists background noise.

It costs $300 but is a good investment for traveling use.

 

If you are not satisfy its performance in a quiet room, you can still use $200 to buy some open headphones.

Honestly if you are going to get either one of those you should get the premium. The pro has a lot of clamping force compared to the premium. However the 770 premium you have to find used because itis discontinued.

The difference is the impedance (resistance) of the driver. In either case you will need an amp to get best sound out of beyers. An inexpensive portable amp that will run them is the fiio e11. Typically iphones can easily drive devices of around 32 ohms and lower however my Sansa Clip runs my 80 ohm beyer DT1350s just fine but beyer is also known to be very efficient despite the resistance rating.

I am thinking the citiscape uptown mentioned above might be worth trying. Go into bestbuy with your ipod and take a listen to them. The isolation seemed decent when i briefly put them on but they were for sure VERY comfy. They need no amp so you won't need to worry about another rechargable device to lug around on your trips. I have a pair coming in prolly this week so I cannot really comment too much on sound but I would be glad to tell you how they work out with the isolation vs. sound once I get them.