Help me pick budget headphones + MP3 player

Before I begin providing the necessary information for this thread, I must say that I apologize for making a separate thread for this. I already read that there was another thread for the specific intention of people asking for what headphones to get. However I thought making another separate thread might be more appropriate because I don't just want headphones, I am also looking for an MP3 player. I wasn't quite sure if asking for an MP3 player made sense in a thread strictly about headphones, so I decided to make another separate thread.

I am looking for headphones specifically for the intention of listening to them on a public bus. To go to college I travel on a public bus and I would like headphones strictly for this reason. My budget at most is $100 dollars, I will not go any higher than that. I am willing to purchase headphones lower than $100, but I do not want to go any higher than $100. 

If you want to know why I'm buying a completely separate MP3 player and headphones from the ones I already have, it's mainly because since I go to a university that's in the city and is very populated, the result is that lots of theft occurs. So I would rather not be wearing my expensive headphones and my Ipod with me on campus.

The main things I am looking for in headphones are:

- Full size (obviously since I'm posting in full-size forum)

- Headphones that do not leak a lot of sound

- Headphones that are not necessarily noise cancelling because I want to be able to hear my surroundings a little bit, but having some isolation would be nice.

- Think by now it's obvious that I'm looking for closed headphones, not open headphones.

- Good quality (I understand $100 dollars isn't going to be able to get anything that sounds amazing)

- Something that does not require an amplifier. I am going to be connecting my headphones directly to the MP3 player, so anything requiring an amp to sound decent is out of the question

- Portable (small) and light

- Durable

I have already done some research, and since I already have two Sennheiser headphones (I have the HD 555 and the HD 598) so naturally I just looked at more Sennheiser's. I have found two headphones that I can purchase at my local Bestbuy so I was wondering what you guys think of these two headphones.

Which headphones do you think are better, the HD 280 pro's or the HD 439's? I personally am leaning towards the 439's, the reason is because they are said to be extremely comfortable, light, and quite small for full size headphones. Also another thing I found more appealing about them over the 280's was that the ohms on the 439's is 32 where as on the 280 it's 64, implying that the 439's are more friendly without an amplifier. 

However I not only want to hear your guy's opinion on which of these two headphones you find preferable, but I am also open to hearing about other types of headphones that you may think are superior to these two according to my needs (however like I said, nothing above 100 dollars).

Also my last question is what MP3 player do you think I should get? I am only looking for an MP3 player that plays music, I do not watch any videos so I don't need it to be able to play videos. Also I do not have a lot of music on my computer, right now my itunes only has a total of 7.7GB of music, so it can be small and it wouldn't matter.

For the MP3 player I want something very inexpensive, anything under $70 dollars is preferred, I would rather not spend $200 dollars with headphones + an MP3 player. I already did research though on an MP3 player (though very little research I admit) and I came across something called the Sandisk Sansa clip. Is this a good MP3 player that will suit my needs?

Thank you for the help.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolfetan44 

Creative Aurvana Live with a Sandisk Clip+.

Just curious, do the Creative Aurvana Live headphones sound similar to the Sony MDR-XB500's? Because I've tried those headphones (in fact I actually bought them for my father since I knew he likes bass heavy headphones) and I don't like them. In my opinion those headphones had little to no soundstage, all the sounds sounded too close together and it seemed to me there was no breathing room. Also the bass in my opinion drowned out all the other sounds too much.

Just curious because I looked up the Creative Aurvana Live and saw a YouTube review with a comparision of the MDR-XB500's. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillsonChang007 

Hi!

For MP3 Player, the Sansa Clip+ 8GB are good. As for headphones, HD439 are good although I didn't audition those HD280 Pro. HD439 are like what you said. As for sound, it has very well extended bass yet remaining tight. Mids at the bottom are warm. Very warm. Some might like it while some might not but I personally find it nice. Vocals stand behind a lil. Soundstage are excellent while details are good.

Another headphone that I would recommend is UE4000. Good bass extension and very tight & punchy. Mids are smooth and extremely detailed. Highs sound rather artificial. Soundstage are not as wide as HD439.

Hope this help!

Billson

Well the HD 439's so far sound like a good possibility for me. A significant portion of the music I listen to either has no vocals at all, or the vocals aren't very important. There's some exceptions to this rule, but generally speaking the rule is an accurate description.

I personally prefer headphones that bring out lots of detail in the music, headphones that I guess could be considered analytic. I like it when there's lots of detail and there's nothing that really is drowning out all the other sounds. That's the reason why as I told another user here, that I don't like headphones that are made with the intention of being bass heavy (like the XB500's or Bose headphones). 

I do admit that sometimes I wish I had a pair of headphones that had a tad bit more of a punch in the bass than my 598's, but honestly all the headphones I've tried that emphasize bass I always end up missing the richness and detail that I get with my 598's. 

So if the 439's have good detail, a decent amount of soundstage (though since they're closed I don't expect them to be nearly as good as the 598's), and overall are analytic, then that sounds like a good suit for me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillsonChang007 

if that's the case, HD439 have less detail than HD598. UE4000 are better. 

Are you talking about the Logitech 982 UE4000? Interesting because those headphones are also at local stores near me as well.

What makes the UE4000 better than the HD439 and vice versa? Keep in mind that I'm not just looking for something that has good sound quality, but I also want something that doesn't leak sound and isolates some sound. Which one is better at preventing sound from leaking? Which one is more portable?

If you're correct about the UE4000 sounding better than the HD439, are you also saying that it will sound better even without an amplifier?

Also can you explain to the best of your ability, the difference between the sounds of the UE4000 and the HD439?

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillsonChang007 


In terms of isolation, UE4000 are better. HD439 has better comfort. Although HD439 are full-size but the pads are velours therefore doesn't isolates much. UE4000 does not really benefits from amp while HD439 when paired with amp will increase bass & tighten it further.

As for UE4000 vs HD439 here you go:
UE4000 has less bass than HD439 but better in quality. HD439 has warm mids & UE4000 has detailed mids. Both are smooth. As for highs, HD439 are laid back while UE4000 sound artificial. Soundstage are better on HD439 but UE4000 has better details. Build quality goes tonHD439 but UE4000 comes with a pouch and it's cable are easier to find while you have to get the cable from Sennheiser due to it's shape. I much prefer UE4000 look than HD439. HD439 leaks some sound at middle volume.

Hope this help!

Haha wow, this is going to be a hard decision. I don't know which to choose. I hope I can try both of them out tomorrow at the store.

The UE4000 looks like it's more portable which is a plus, another thing I like about the UE4000 is it looks like it's a good shape so you can just allow it to rest on your neck without it getting in your way, where as with the HD439 I wonder if it's a bit bulky to be as portable.

You said the HD439 leaks some sound, but you said nothing about the UE4000. So I'm assuming the UE4000 doesn't leak as much sound as the HD439? If that is so, then I think I'm leaning more towards the UE4000.