Thanks a lot for the suggestions! Reading a lot here, which made my head hurt a bit ;-), I've made a decision. With all models there are pros and cons, some like A, some like B but dislike A, ... There is no shop nearby that would enable me to listen to the phones in question and even then I...

Thanks Juan! I see you have both, so you prefer the HD 558 over the HD 439? Are the pads of the 439 smaller than the 558's? What's about the isolation, do you mean hearing stuff from the outside because they are open phones or the environment hearing my music?

Hello there,   I'm in awe of all this knowledge here in the forum :-) Instead of taking too much risk I'd like to hear your opinion on my situation.   I have a pair of HD 201s whose lifetime, I fear, is coming to an end. The insulation is coming off generously and I can see the metal cables...