Hi all, 
 
I've owned a pair of Sennheiser HD 25 II for a number of years now and i'm ready for an upgrade. I'm finding the sound to be a little cold and neutral and really fancy a change in another direction. I have never actually tried an open-back headphone so I think the first thing I would need to do is try and find a shop where I can compare open backed to closed back. Ultimately to see which I prefer. I listen to a lot of electronic music, as well as classical and soundtrack based music, and I have heard that open-backed can sometimes be weaker at the lower end which I wouldn't really want to compromise on too much.
I would be using the headphones with a Macbook Pro running Audirvana Plus and a Fiio E10K. My budget would be, at a maximum, £300.
 
If anyone has any advice on where I should look, or what lines I should look into, i'd appreciate it greatly. I'm a little overwhelmed by the vast array of choices out there. Thank you. 

Are you near this shop in the UK: http://www.hifiheadphones.co.uk/. They have a lot of headphones to demo

I hope we can narrow things down for you. Your budget gets me thinking of the HD600 and HD650 (Sennheiser) straight away. The HD650 is laid back and warm with the HD600 bringing a bit more treble in.
 
The Soundmagic HP200 might be worth a look too. Your genres get me thinking of treble being required (classical) but not too much (electronic).
 
EDIT - If you're near the south coast give us a call (thanks cel4145)! You can't beat trying before buying.

cel4145 said:

Are you near this shop in the UK: http://www.hifiheadphones.co.uk/. They have a lot of headphones to demo

Click to expand...

 
Unfortunately not. I'm West Midlands based, which is a shame. Thanks for the info anyhow. 
 

stevehifi said:

  I hope we can narrow things down for you. Your budget gets me thinking of the HD600 and HD650 (Sennheiser) straight away. The HD650 is laid back and warm with the HD600 bringing a bit more treble in.
 
The Soundmagic HP200 might be worth a look too. Your genres get me thinking of treble being required (classical) but not too much (electronic).
 
EDIT - If you're near the south coast give us a call (thanks cel4145)! You can't beat trying before buying.

Click to expand...

 
If I ever do find myself down south i'll be sure to pop in, thanks. I'm leaving myself a good two to three months to make a decision so there may be a chance of being in the area within that time period. 
 
One of my close friends actually owns a pair of HD650's. I asked him just this afternoon how he's getting on with them. He says they're great for almost everything. His only con was that they sometimes lack the punch of a closed back headphone at the lower end when playing electronic music. Unfortunately I don't live very close to him anymore so wouldn't be able to have a quick trip to try them. Anyhow I'm certainly intrigued by the 650 and will most certainly be a contender. 
 
I'd agree. I think the warmer sound may be a nice way to go after having such a cold pair of cans for so long as well. 
Just had a quick look around at some reviews for the Soundmagic HP200. I have to say they are pretty impressive reviews. One reviewer went as far to say that he prefers them to his 650's. Once again there was talk of a modest lower end. I think i'm not going to be able to envisage exactly how the lower end varies between open and closed backed until I try a pair of open backed.