sidalol said:

  I've asked him to get headphones too but he doesn't want to. There's no point in investing in expensive speakers because they'll always have to be on low volume and I'll have to keep messing with the volume for different scenes, so I've decided to get a good pair of headphones to let me enjoy my movies and he's happy to just stick with the 2 crappy speakers on low volume and keep adjusting it throughout the movie. If he wants to get headphones later on (maybe after trying mine) then he's welcome to do so but for now he simply doesn't want to spend the money on them when he's happy with the speakers.

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I should add that if the speakers are low volume, the interaction with open headphones is even less of an issue.  However, since your roommate sounds stubborn, I would probably block him out with closed back altogether...

Also, I can recommend what not to get.  I have the M50X, and haven't found them to isolate very well.  My Beyerdynamic DTX501p actually isolate better to my ears.  So I would prefer other options before the M50, if you come across that headphone.

Yeah that's why I asked if there's any good closed back headphones that still suit my needs or are similar to the dt990s so that he can be playing around with speaker volume and I won't even know he's doing it
 
I still really like the description of how open headphones sound though, I might have another go at convincing him to get some cheaper ones, maybe the Superlux HD668B or something so I can stick with the 990s. You sounded pretty convinced that speakers wouldn't be THAT much of an issue so I imagine it'd be no problem if there was just some sound leaking from another pair of open headphones. We could at least still talk that way.

If I were you, I would be looking at the DT770 32ohm.  From measurements I've seen, they look like they isolate pretty well.

sidalol said:

I need headphones because we have thin walls and crappy neighbours. Like I mentioned in the first post I have to keep turning the volume up and down between explosions and speaking which drives me crazy.

After watching a movie last night I think the other guys are right. I didn't have headphones on but I was trying to imagine how the speakers might interfere with my sound and I think it would do exactly as Kylv said and be playing too much left audio into my right ear. The speakers are pretty close to me.

Do you know of any alternative closed headphones that are good for my requirements?

- Great for movies
- Good for the songs above
- Comfortable, preferably large cups
- Pretty good bass

That site is pretty cool for getting an average idea of the differences between them but it's still pretty hard to gauge the real differences as they would be in reality.

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Soundmagic HP100 or HP150 (same headphone, different aesthetics and cables). These have just a bit of bass and high end emphasis over the mids, but closer to an overall neutral response than most phones. They would be fantastic for the vocals in the music you listen. Bass has good sound quality. Soundstage is excellent for a closed headphone. Comfort is pretty good (at least to me). And they are fairly easy to drive. That would leave you money for an amp, if you feel you need one.

It occured to me that my roommate's birthday is in a week so I could pick up some SoundMAGIC headphones for him (no money worries for him then!) and I could use the dt990s, however after looking into those HP100s I'm totally 100% stuck for choice. I've been looking at reviews and videos for both sets all day and damn I really can't decide. I really want to try open headphones and the dt900s sound great but everything I've read about the HP100 make them sound like really nice, but they're closed.
 
I went into town today in the hopes of finding an audio shop to compare open/closed but there was nowhere I know a lot of threads describe the difference between them but really I can't picture it properly without having ever heard open headphones before. Price-wise I can get the dt990s for £100 and the HP100s are £150, so I guess price after an amp might have to be the deciding factor.

The HP100/HP150 to me have a bigger/better than average soundstage for a closed headphone. And in comparing the HP150 to the AKG K612, while the K612 obviously had the better soundstage, when I threw evaluating imaging into the mix, it was a tough call which was better. The linearity of the HP150 at the very low end and high end resulted in fuller note presentation of the harmonics, sometimes giving the instruments a richer sound. Then with any music with deep sub bass, there was a sense of additional spaciousness with the HP150s (the K612s start rolling off in the low bass end), which makes sense because bass below 80hz is more unidirectional, so it can create a fuller feeling. This is not to say that the DT990 and HP150 would compare the same way. Just that the HP100/150 has pretty good soundstage and other attributes that might offset the difference.

So if your roommate's birthday is next week, get him to the get the Soundmagic's first and see what you think

This morning I'd made up my mind that I was getting the DT990, however a friend at work had a pair of Superlux HD681s which I just tried. I know it's not really fair to compare the sound of a <£30 headphone + motherboard to that of the DT990 + amp but I think I prefer the "in your head" sound of closed headphones. As of now I've decided to go with the HP150 if I can find them in the UK. They look much better than the HP100 and I'd much prefer the straight cable but nowhere seems to sell them.
 
I'm also going to go with the Arcam rPAC amp as I've heard a lot of good things about it. The two together are a little over budget but screw it, it's not like I'm buying these every day.
 
Thanks for the help and suggestions, really appreciate it.