[DVerhuel]

To begin I would like to apologize for not using the 'post here instead' page, but i have noticed after lurking that responses dont come too quickly, and I was hoping to get a pair by next wednesday so I can have them for states.
Alright, on to the real stuff. I am new to the art of audiophillia, and I am interested in purchasing my very first pair of nice headphones. My budget right now is up to or around $150, which from the information I have gathered can get me a decent pair. I will mainly be using these for around the house music, and they will be un-amped, but I swim competitively and I would prefer something that i cold use to help me get ready to swim. Because of this last reason I think that I would be better suited with a closed pair. problem is that i know nothing about brands and models. I mainly listen to techno/electronic, house, and dubstep, but being involved with choral music I enjoy almost anything.
I have been looking into this for the past couple of days, and so far the HPs that I have come up with are the HD595s and the ATH-M50S, but by no means do I intend to limit myself only to those. I have seen the M50 mod with the DT250 pads (with electric tape) so that is my current leader in this decision 
Thanks to anyone who spends time to read through this, I appreciate any help you guys can give me. Again thanks, and im really looking forward to listening to some music.

 

[tr3vis324]

Hi, DVerhuel,
Generally at head-fi, you can find anything on here so I'd recommend searching for your answers before posting questions. But since I'm relative new as well, I'll try to help you regardless
 
From what you've laid out in your post, you have lots of options for $150. The first thing I thought when you stated the price was the AKG K271 MKII (~$150). I have a friend who has had them for about a year now, and he's basically in love with them. I've listened to them for a couple hours and for their price, their soundstage, sound quality is quite good--balanced and versatile, but it tends to like rock. Another option is Sennheiser, I can recommend either the HD25-1 ii (~$150 on head-fi) or the HD280 Pro (~80?), and both tend to be bass-heavy. There's also Audio-Technica; the M50 (~$100) is a popular headphone known for bass. The Beyerdynamic T50p (~$200), if you want portability. Don't know much about sound but they have a sizable following here. Shure SRH-840 ($150 new) is a great option, too, but they are quite heavy compared to other headphones and sound much darker. Preferred by big-headed people. One thing though, if you wish to listen to music before swimming, I'd recommend IEMs since they're much more portable. I'm not very well-informed on IEMs though, so you can look around for that. 
 
Good luck with your search!

 

[olegausany]

I never heard HD25 or M50 but definitely  could recommend K271MKII