[cel4145]

The Audio Technica A900X also seems really great! How do they compare to the AKG K271 mkii? Those two may be the ones I'm deciding between.

I don't know about the K271, but I do own the HFI-780 and M50s along with the A900X. I find the A900X to be a fairly balanced headphone (maybe a slight bit of bass emphasis) with better detail resolution than the M50s and the 780s. The main drawback to the A900X is that they are a bad choice if you need anything portable. They don't fold up and are bulky because of that.

The 780s are actually quite good for a wide variety of mediums for a headphone with more bass emphasis. They have a very warm sound, but the upper mids are recessed. For your music tastes, I would go for the A900X first and then the M50s.

You might also look into the KRK KNS8400, which are studio headphones. The Takstar Pro-80s are currently very popular as a direct from China brand that competes with other headphones in this budget range, yet can be had for under $100. See this discussion thread: http://www.head-fi.org/t/585356/the-takstar-technical-pro-gemini-greathon-thread Nice thing abouy them is that would leave you some of your budget for an E11 amp or a better DAC/amp for use with your laptop, if you were interested in that.

 

[pranesh]

I am leaning towards the A900x's now, they seem to fit my criteria perfectly (and after seeing reviews on it). I've heard there's an issue where the headphones slide down your ear and cause discomfort with some people. Is this true? I have a small/medium-sized head.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I am leaning towards the A900x's now, they seem to fit my criteria perfectly (and after seeing reviews on it). I've heard there's an issue where the headphones slide down your ear and cause discomfort with some people. Is this true? I have a small/medium-sized head.

I paid $256 for my ATH-A900Xs, now you can get them for $169, they are nice sounding headphones, at least to my ears.
I wear my ATH-A900Xs a lot more then my other headphones, it took my ATH-A900Xs several weeks of break in to sound their best.
When i first got my ATH-A900Xs, I wanted to return them because of the wing problem.
But I figured out if you put them over night (a few nights at least) with the wing held down, towards the cups, the wings get better at holding up the headphones.
I think the way the ATH-A900X are stored in their retail box, I think it causes the springs that control the wings to get a "memory" that makes them hard for the wings to hold up the headphones.
If i ever lost my ATH-A900Xs or stepped on them, I would have no problem reordering them right away at the $169 price.
 
I'm sure a decent amount of Head-Fiers have at one time or another owned the AKG K271 MKII, but I never really see them recommended.