[zazex]

I'm looking for some good sounding, reasonably comfortable,
closed "on-ear" headphones. 
 
I've had the Senn HD 251ii; too much clamping force
and a bit shrill at times. 
Also had the ATH ES7; these clamped too tightly as well.
I very much liked the size, though.
 
After looking around I've narrowed it to the two in the thread title.
Looking to stay in that price range, more or less.
 
Any thoughts, impressions, comments would be much appreciated.

 

[Mad Max]

ESW9A is a noticeable downgrade from Amperior, but it beats the Amperior at placing sounds around your head with accuracy and separation, if I remember relatively how well ESW9 did that, so take my opinion with a crate of salt there as I haven't owned ESW9 in some time.
Amperior's clamping force isn't that much less than HD25-1 and its other variants, but like them, the headband's grip will soften with use and time.  The earpads conforming to your ears will also help, and that occurs with use and time as well.
I think that the VModa M80 is an upgrade over ESW9, have you looked into that one?  It has a tight grip, though, and requires that the earpads conform to your ears before they become more comfortable.
 
Or you can just go with ESW9, which does not grip very tightly and is very comfortable to wear.  Beautiful-looking, too.

 

[arteom]

I 've owned both the HD-25 and the ESW9. Still own the 9, the 25 was stolen from me, otherwise I would still have it. For me the HD-25 was great because it was a very light, indestructible headphone which had a sound signature that worked well for monitoring purposed. The ESW9 has a smoother sound, however not bloated. There is no one area that the audio technica does really well, however there is also nothing that you find yourself really wanting from it. Nice low end, sweet midrange, no peaky highs. It's very nicely tuned and just a pleasure to listen to. For the low prices they go for in the FS forums they are definitely worth checking out.

 

[kookoo]

Those are 2 very different sounding headphones, as arteom said the ESW9 is smooth, perfect for vocals with its slightly mid forward presentation. The amperior is essentially a HD 25 with copper cable and metal cup instead of plastic and steel cable. the amperior is going to sound the same as the HD 25 and same clamping force. just note that amperior has been discontinued, whatever stock you find...that's it

 

[zazex]

I appreciate the information.
 
As often happens,  I think I'm going to have to listen to them both
and make a decision.
 
@kookoo - I noticed that the price on the Amperiors has dropped
quite dramatically.  Perhaps this is the discontinuation sell-off.

 

[zazex]

The Amperiors and the ESW9A's arrived.
 
Both look very impressive - I especially like the Amperiors with the blue earcups.
 
 
On first listening to both, without any break-in (due to having just received them),
I like the sound of the Amperiors significantly more.
 
Their sound is fuller and somewhat softer than the AT's.
And the bass is far more impressive.
 
BTW, the Amperiors are obviously a very different product than the HD251ii's.
Less harsh, less "zip" in the high end.
Better imaging with a larger soundstage.
And less clamping force. 
 
Clearly, break-in is in order before making any kind of decision between the two.
(Amperiors vs. ESW9A's).
 
But at this point, if I had to choose, I'd doubtlessly go with the Amperiors.

 

[zazex]

After listening to these for about 5 days, IMO the Amperior wins pretty easily.
 
For SQ, and suprisingly, for comfort too.
They're far more comfortable than my HD251ii's were,
and they sound better as well.
 
I was glad to be able to pick them up brand new for about $200.,
although I hear that they're going for even less than that now.