To follow up, I ended up going mid-range on price from the options and getting the A900X.   I seem to have a large enough head that I haven't had any slippage or discomfort issues at all.   I originally cheaped out and tried the A700's, and they only sounded decent, but were very...

Interesting info. I might just have to wait a month so I can grab one of the pricier sets and a Xonar to go with it.

My primary reservation with the E10 is that it seems like it is its own sound card? It seems like it would basically cut out the ability to use surround audio for gaming, which is why I was leaning toward one of the Xonar cards. You said you have the A900X, are they not something you would...

I've also read this, that's why I was leaning more toward the A900X. My main reservations with it are that, depending on your head, the weight of the phones can make the wings rather ineffective and uncomfortable, and that something like the AKG K550 produces considerably higher sound quality...

By way of a bump, I've pretty well got it narrowed down to these, from most expensive to least: Denon AHD2000 AKG K550 Audio Technica A900X I think for all of them, I'm going to pick up a nice Asus card, to both amp them and provide surround for gaming. Basically, now I'm just looking to see...

Upon further research, it looks like the A900X set might also be a good option. They're $100 less than the d2000s, any thoughts on how they compare, amped or not? I'll likely get a small amp either way, so now it is down to whether the extra $ justifies getting the D2000s!

I noticed the e10 is USB. Would it allow amping from a sound card signal, or is there a reasonably priced amp that will? I realize I'd be relying on the sound cards dac, but I'm okay with that trade off in sound quality to be able to use positional audio! Also, how do the d1000's compare...

Greetings!   I've been doing what is probably an unhealthy amount of research over the last few weeks, but am at an impasse.   I have a budget of $250 (plus a small headphone amp if needed, if not, I might be able to stretch on the phones). I'm looking for a set of closed over the ear...