[maxlice]

Hey all,
 
I'm quite new to the headphone world and just decided to start looking for a good quality headphone after listening with my friend's Grado SR60i back in July of this year. I know for sure that I will get an open can sooner or later, but as of now, I've been looking for a good closed can because my roommate can get quite loud while playing Left 4 Dead 2, so I'm looking for something with good sound and good isolation while keeping it around $100 and maxing at $130.
 
I mainly use my laptop as the music player (foobar 2000) and I usually listen to rock, pop, classical/orchestral, game/movie soundtracks, and occasionally a mix bag of other genres on my playlist.
 
So far on my search, I've narrowed my choices down to Sennheiser HD428, Audio-Technica ATHM50, Jaycar Pro (from what I've heard, it's basically rebranded HM5?), and a semi-open Superlux HD668B.
 
So the question is: is it worth it to spend the extra bucks on ATHM50, or go with one of the cheaper ones? how does HD668B (the cheapest of the 4) stack up to the rest if I want to tighten my budget? Will my laptop setup benefit from using a DAC?
 
I apologies if I missed out on any details I should've provided to facilitate this process.
Thanks in advance

 

[Kukuk]

Personally, over the M50's, I'd go for the much cheaper Sony MDR-V6's. Isolation, comfort, and build quality are all pretty comparable, but the V6's, to me offer a more balanced, yet, still a pretty fun sound, especially for rock and the like.

 

[Jitter MC]

I like very much the sound of Beyerdynamic DT-880 PROs! Very neutral and they are not so expensive!

 

[Jitter MC]

And DT-770 PRO LTDs!

 

[maxlice]

Quote:

Personally, over the M50's, I'd go for the much cheaper Sony MDR-V6's. Isolation, comfort, and build quality are all pretty comparable, but the V6's, to me offer a more balanced, yet, still a pretty fun sound, especially for rock and the like.

Will a laptop sound card have enough to drive the MDR-V6 or will the sound benefit more from an amp or amp/dac combo?

 

[Kukuk]

They don't benefit much (or at all, to my ear) from amping. They should sound just fine.

 

[maxlice]

Looks like the V6 has some pretty good reviews as well, this might be exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks for the help!