I would say they block out a good percentage of outside noise because of the overwhelming bass, but it also leaks sound as well...not sure how much though. I would say one of the downsides to the XB500's is that if you have big ears then they might not fit into the pads.

You honestly cannot beat the price and performance that the XB500 delivers.  There's so much bass in those cans and if you want your brain to rattle then you gotta go with these.  They're perfect for the genres that you listen to.  

Bought these cans about a month ago and these are amazing for house/trance music. Never have I had my brain massaged so much, haha. The bass is just in your face non-stop!  

Quote: Yes, you are correct. Sorry, I don't check head-fi that frequently anymore, but that setup works pretty well.

I have a DV Amp and a HT Omega Claro Halo soundcard with upgraded op-amps. My amp is currently boxed up. 'nough said.

Techmaster PEB - Bassgasm   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vswHL2qu8PU   This track will fulfill ALL of your bass needs. My brain turned into mush and now I'm a vegetable. CHEERS!  

Quote: I should probably update my sig as I have owned a pair of ER6i's but that was back in '06/'07 and I honestly don't remember much about the sound signature of them because I was in my early stages on my head-fi journey and I think I bought 'em mainly because they looked dope and I...

Quote:   Quote: Yeah, I didnt really wanna take the time to research a ton of IEMs that would've taken me hours to filter through.  I just went with a reputable company as mentioned by Nightslayer.  

To be honest, I was biased and I just did a quick search for Sennheiser IEMs 'cause I really like their audio equipment.  She wanted something that would last her awhile, cancel out ambient noise, 'good' sound quality and something she could take to the gym from time to time.

So my friend came to me asking for a good pair of headphones and I dropped some n3rd head-fier knowledge on her.  It first started out as her wanting a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, but she wanted better sound isolation so I suggested her some Sennheiser IEMs.  Her budget was around 100...

HD555's don't need to be amped.   But, my HT Omega soundcard is reallllly good and turns out to be a monster once you change the op-amps. However, it's outside of your budget.

I was just curious as to what amp this was that was shown in this music video. Pause at 2:28-2:29   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WblRWPEI7IU

On my setup, I have the OPA627's attached to the DAC output of my soundcard and the LM4562's on the headphone out.  The OPA627 chip is nowhere near to being flat sounding.  I feel that this op-amp makes your music more lively and entertaining.  Your old music becomes new in some sense. Here's a...

Ooo nice, even better. Yeah, I can only speak to what I have purchased, so the OP might wanna look into the OPA827's.

Yeah, those chips will fit. All you need is one of their 627 superchips ($37) and you're set. And the sound is pretty much a night/day difference with this op-amp. What kind of headphones are you using?