The Denons are out for me because virtually nothing about them is appealing to me and they are too expensive. AKGs are out because, well, I know nothing about them and can't find any good info on them, and apparently no one knows when they will be out. M4U 2 are out for price. Amperior are out because supra-aural. XB900 are out because supra-aural. I detest Yamaha, and seriously those headphones look exactly like Beats.
So what am I interested in? Sennheiser Momentum are very appealing to me. I like the design, and I like Sennheiser. PSB M4U 1 are another serious player for me, based on feedback from the M4U 2. Sony MDR-1R are a total wildcard for me, mostly because of the unknown prices. M-100s are and have been at the center of my attention for a long time.
How do I think it will play out? Momentum will be a winner for weight and likely comfort, and as said the design is great, but I am extremely fearful that Sennheiser, in trying to appeal more to general consumers (marketing as iPhone headphones and giving them a trying-to-sound-cool name vs. a traditional Senn alphanumeric name that non head-fi type people are turned off by) may deliver a sound signature I won't like. Also, $350 price tag is stretching it a bit for me. M4U 1: should deliver on comfort and SQ, but according to this source (which just released this news), they will only be available in red or gray for $300; if you want black or white you have to spend $400.
http://www.bigpicturebigsound.com/PSB-Unveils-New-M4U-1-Headphones-and-PS1-Powered-Speakers.shtml
That's a total joke if it's true, paying $100 more for the 2 most standard headphone colors? I thought the whole point of the M4U 1 was to be cheaper than the M4U 2. I definitely don't want red, and gray may or may not be appealing to me. Either way, the M4U 1 seriously lost points with me if black or white models are $400. MDR-1R are only going to be players for me if they come in around $300 (and which ones come close to that price). Also, if the NC are in based on price, then the quality of NC and how it affects SQ comes into play. There's way too many unknowns and hard to predict things about the 1R for me to have any idea what to expect. The M-100 are still the center of my attention, and it's really going to come down to how everything else compares to them.
If I had to say what I think is most likely going to be the winner for me and be my next set of headphones, I have to go with the M-100s. I know more about them than all these other headphones combined, and know what to expect based on the range of info I know and personal experience with the M-80s. In any case, though, this is a pretty exciting time for mid range closed portables and in reality we're all winners because we'll all have something that fits our unique bills.
