For this past Christmas, my girlfriend got me a pair of the Momentums from Sennheiser that I'd asked for, but though the sound isn't bad, they are, in my opinion, incredibly uncomfortable and well... rather ugly now that I've got them before me.
 
I've read the "Read me firsts" on this site, as well as those from many other sites with such "Headphone buying guides" on them, but all of them say or give completely different choices of what to get, or, if a headphone does repeat, it's review is completely different either "These headphones are the best we've ever heard or felt!" and "Wouldn't recommend these to a friend. The sound is veiled, they're very uncomfortable, and you'd be better off going with...." etc etc. I'm getting a bit upset, and without any sort of numbering system that I can see on all these lists, they just seem sort of  like "Any of these will do best!" I wish there was sort of a "spinning wheel", if you will, where you put in what you're looking for, and boom, it finds stuff that fits my desires.

Anyway, she's agreed to return these headphones and allow me to find another pair. Our limit is $300. My number one desire is the best sound I can possibly get. Obviously, I'm into FLAC and 24bit music, which is all these would be used for (no video games or movies). All types of music I like, but my favourites are things like Radiohead and score's by Hans Zimmer.
 
I like deep bass and clear treble, and all in all, I'd like my music to sound the way it would in the studio with the artist. Can anyone recommend a good pair of headphones?

Well, those are two contradicting preferences.
 
If you want "deep bass and clear treble", meaning some kind of a V-shaped sound, - take a look at Beyerdynamic DT990 and Philips Fidelio X2. Both are also super comfortable.
 
If you want super-neutral sound, the vibe around here is that Sennheiser is the king of neutral. HD600 probably. (Haven't heard them, just boiling down my impressions from reading five million reviews.)

Haha, "five million reviews" - I feel you! But see, now you must forgive me: I've only recently gotten extremely into the world of "hi-definition" sound, and I'm merely basing what I'd like off of an IMAX movie I saw recently, as best I could find in a reasonable priced headphones. Do you know what I mean? Just clear sound, really. When the bass is supposed to be bass, you hear it; when the treble is supposed to be clear, you know it. I'm not even sure if that exists. I listen to a lot of symphony as well, and on some headphones that promote "loud" bass, I can only hear the bass and the other strings, which would be great on the treble side, are mostly drowned out or not as "bright" as they should be. But great treble headphones I've tried, are too loud and have no bass. So I assume, as you've said, maybe I should just go with a "super-neutral" sounding pair?
 
BTW, fantastic avatar/username.

There is no such thing as "best" in audio. That's why you are getting such conflicting information. What I hear and prefer is not the same as what you hear and prefer. There is no scale from 1 to 100 that rates the sound quality. You might as well be asking for the "best color blue".

So, let's start with the basics. Do you want open headphones, or closed headphones? Closed headphones provide more isolation from outside noise and leak less sound to the people around you. There are pros & cons to both types.

Also, tell us more about what you thought of the Momentum. Is this the Momentum On-Ear, or the Over-Ear? What does "the sound isn't bad" really mean? What do you want them to do differently? (sound only, ignore the fit/comfort/looks for now) Many people here own or have heard the Momentum, so from your description of what you hear and what you want different from that, we might be able to steer you in the right direction.

Most headphones with clear sound are very good for games as well haha, same with movies.
 
Anyway, for that price, you are pretty much locked into things like Sennheiser HD600 or HD650 as well as Philips X2.
 
What do you use as your source? Just a built-in sound card output?

toothsayer said:

  BTW, fantastic avatar/username.

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Hehe, glad someone got the reference.
 
Based on your musical tastes, you probably do want neutral cans. However, given what you described (and past experiences with super-bassy cans), you may be disappointed and find that they don't have enough bass...
 
You really have to try. Maybe go for Senns, and if they sound flat/boring, you will know which direction to move.
 
Also, what is your source? Laptop sound card? For many (most) good cans, you will need an amp.

For on the go use, I recommend the NAD VISO HP50, PSB M4U 1, Focal Spirit Pro or Sony MDR 7520.  These are listed in order from warm to dead neutral (I call it a tie in that regard between the FS and Sony).   See:
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/two-strike-zone-focal-spirit-professional-and-spirit-classic
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/i-love-these-headphonesthe-nad-viso-hp50
 
and
 
http://www.cnet.com/products/psb-m4u-1/
 
The first two can be had new within your budget.  The third is a bit above.  The fourth is closer to $400.

kapanak said:

  Most headphones with clear sound are very good for games as well haha, same with movies.
 
Anyway, for that price, you are pretty much locked into things like Sennheiser HD600 or HD650 as well as Philips X2.
 
What do you use as your source? Just a built-in sound card output?

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Why is he locked? Aren't there Beyers and AKG's for this price?

windowlicker said:

 
Why is he locked? Aren't there Beyers and AKG's for this price?

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I'm not sure it matches what he describes that he wants out of his music.

For clarity: What equipment will be feeding and powering these cans?  Will you be using an amp?

billybob_jcv said:

So, let's start with the basics. Do you want open headphones, or closed headphones? Closed headphones provide more isolation from outside noise and leak less sound to the people around you. There are pros & cons to both types.

Also, tell us more about what you thought of the Momentum. Is this the Momentum On-Ear, or the Over-Ear? What does "the sound isn't bad" really mean? What do you want them to do differently? (sound only, ignore the fit/comfort/looks for now) Many people here own or have heard the Momentum, so from your description of what you hear and what you want different from that, we might be able to steer you in the right direction.

Click to expand...

 
I've been reading loads about Open and Close, while I'd enjoy them both for the obvious reasons, I suppose what I'd like the most is something that feels very wide and open, while being very... concealed? I've been in a very, very nice IMAX theatre and a sound studio, and I enjoy the sounds that those acoustic rooms produce a lot. So I'm just going to have to try a few Open and Closed earphones to see what I'm feeling the best. I have a setlist of songs I use when testing them out.

As for the Momentums, which are over-ear, aside from comfort (which is the biggest problem for me) the sound doesn't quite sound as... big? The first pair of headphones I got were the Urbannites because I'd been told they were the best on the market, but they didn't completely wow me either - I know a lot of good earphones give "soundstage" or rather even separate certain instruments and sounds to each can, but those, to me, separated them WAY too much. It felt like listening to a Mono Beatles record where one side was vocals only and the other was instruments, so I took them back. Maybe that was normal or I had a faulty pair, but it was just a littttttle bit too much for me. I enjoy soundstage, but I'd like the sounds to sort of mesh into one warm, clear movement too. I don't like to know I'm wearing headphones, you know? I like the feeling that I'm sat in warm, dark, thick liquid, and the liquid is sound passing around me. Like a womb, maybe... So when I got the Momentums, which I read had some of the best sounds coming out of them for cans of their price-range, I was instantly impressed with the sound difference, because they are good (I'm using them right now, listening to The Dark Knight Rises score) but they also don't have... depth to them. They feel a little too secluded for my tastes, which the Urbannites had loads of room and depth to them I felt, but with the Mommentums I also have a problem with their comfort. I have a huge head and normal sized ears, but while wearing them, I feel a bit constricted. Viking angels could be fondling me while wearing these things, but I wouldn't be able to take my mind from how these headphones feel.

windowlicker said:

  Also, what is your source? Laptop sound card? For many (most) good cans, you will need an amp.

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 Quote:

kapanak said:

 
What do you use as your source? Just a built-in sound card output?

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kg jag said:

  For clarity: What equipment will be feeding and powering these cans?  Will you be using an amp?

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For right now, I'm simply using my MacBook Pro's output, but an amp IS coming. I know that really makes a difference, but I am a student working part-time at a bookstore, so it's just taking some time to get money set aside to get a good one. I figured I'd just start with the cans first and then move on. I'm actually going out tonight to check a few out, just to get some ideas. I heard the Valhalla ones were good, as well as the Matrix brand too. So if anyone has any recommendations on what's good, let me know too!

Oh dear, comparing any headphones to a dedicated IMAX theatre or soundroom ... not going to be a close competition lol. To give you a figure, a custom-made, in-house IMAX theatre would cost over $2.6 Million. http://www.imaxprivatetheatre.com/imagine-it-in-imax.html
 
Unfortunately, the thing you seek is what many of us have been seeking for years and have settled for good enough (at different price ranges of course, and different opinions of what's good enough). I doubt you will find a concealed headphone with the very wide and open sound of a top of the line open headphones.
 
Technically speaking, you wish for a Sennheiser HD 800 (though you haven't heard one yet) that have the the bass of an Audeze LCD-3F, and on top of all that, are closed. To complete it all, you wish to buy them at $300. Sorry mate, such a thing doesn't exist.
 
My recommendation to you is to go to any music shop that carries headphones, and not just one shop or store, but as many as possible, and take the tracks/music you like the best, and try as many headphones as possible, giving each at least 15-30 minutes chance. Buy the one that wows you the most at the end of the day, and try it for a while. If you don't like it after all, then rinse and repeat. That's what many of us have done for years.

What are the headphones connected to? Is it the soundcard built into your PC? Or something else?

How much experience do you have listening to headphones? I'm asking because some of the things you mention are common complaints from audiophiles that have spent their whole life listening to speakers in a room and have only recently moved to headphones.

I haven't heard a lot of open headphones in that price range, so I may not be able to help very much. For closed headphones, in addition to the models KG Jag listed above, I would probably throw in the Mr. Speakers Mad Dogs - but they will definitely need an amp to drive them properly, and they also might not meet your aesthetics desires.

For open headphones, the Sennheiser HD600 are certainly the ones that come first to mind - but again, you probably would want to use an amp with them. They are also probably a bit over your $300 budget. Other options might be the Shure SRH1440 or the Philips X2 (I have not heard either of these). I'm not sure I would suggest the AKG K/Q-series - they might be too treble-leaning for you. Same goes for the Hifiman HE-400. Both the AKG & Hifiman would also require an amp.

kapanak said:

  My recommendation to you is to go to any music shop that carries headphones, and not just one shop or store, but as many as possible, and take the tracks/music you like the best, and try as many headphones as possible, giving each at least 15-30 minutes chance. Buy the one that wows you the most at the end of the day, and try it for a while. If you don't like it after all, then rinse and repeat. That's what many of us have done for years.

Click to expand...

 
Yeah, that's what I'm going to do tonight.

billybob_jcv said:

What are the headphones connected to? Is it the soundcard built into your PC? Or something else?

How much experience do you have listening to headphones? I'm asking because some of the things you mention are common complaints from audiophiles that have spent their whole life listening to speakers in a room and have only recently moved to headphones.

For open headphones, the Sennheiser HD600 are certainly the ones that come first to mind - but again, you probably would want to use an amp with them.

Click to expand...

 
They're connected right into my auxiliary out from my MacBook, for now, sadly. But an amp is coming, as I said in a previous post. Just going one thing at a time. But I keep hearing/reading about these HD600's... I've read many, MANY reviews on them, as much as I have watched them, but no one can really (in the review) say which is better without the price being the deciding point. I assume because when the reviews were made, the two weren't that much different in quality but the prices were vastly different; but now the prices (on Amazon, anyway) are not even $30 apart... so with that being said, if I could stretch my budged from $300 to say... $340 (which is what the HD650's are going for right now...) which would be better, quality wise? Because if that's where I need to go, then I don't mind going that little extra even if the 650's are just a tad bit better than the 600's.