[Adeptus]

I'm looking to get some decent headphones. I'll mostly be listening at work, so want something that doesn't leak sound. But I'd like a set that will be good for gaming too.
Budget is around $150-200ish (INCLUDING shipping to Australia).
 
I was thinking of getting the ATH-A700 from a local store for AU$193.
But then I started looking at what Amazon has that they will ship here (some they do, some they don't) and found I can get ATH-AD700 for gaming and JVC HA-RX700 for work, for about AU$175 delivered.
 
So... which way do I go...
 
How reliable are all of these? If I go for the 2 from Amazon, what's the likelihood that I'll need to send them back?
 
How do the A700 & RX700 compare for comfort, sound quality, & sound leakage?
 
How do the A700 & AD700 compare for gaming? (positioning, etc)
 
I was also looking at the Shure SRH440, about AU$135 (same price either local or from Amazon) - how do these compare to the others, for all my criteria?
 
edit: Forgot to say, source for all of these would be onboard soundcard. I might consider a USB soundcard or amp to improve the sound, but that would eat into my existing budget.

 

[dachness]

Don't have any personal experience with the headphones but from what I have read on the forums the RX700 and AD700 combo would probably work well for you. AD700 are very good for gaming while they lack a little on bass for music/immersion.

Daniel

 

[SoSpecial]

As an owner of RX700's I can say that they are not very good at isolation and are pretty bad at leaking at higher volumes. They are believe it or not semi-open, even if they don't look like they are. I'm not a big buff min noise canceling but I'd like to warn you that the RX700's can be used as improvisational speakers if need be.
 
I'll let someone else help you with passive noice cancelation cause I don't know to much about that.

 

[Adeptus]

Argh... I'm annoyed now...
After waiting 2 weeks for the RX700s to come in stock, my order for both was still waiting to be processed.
I decided I'd have another look at what was available, maybe get one set that would do for both (closed & gaming).
After reading a few reviews & doing a bit of searching, I'd just decided the Creative Aurvana Live looked pretty good, and I'd get that instead.
So, I go back to Amazon... and in that hour or two of researching, they've processed my order for the AD700s, so I can't cancel them!

(I still cancelled the RX700s - and half the shipping cost with them)
 
So I now have a set of AD700s on the way (at a good price... $108 couriered to Australia, compared to around $200 locally) BUT no closed set for work!

 

[Circuitbender]

I realize you may want a closed pair of headphones, but I think you should consider IEMs in this case. That would give you the isolation (both in and out) that you want, a reasonable price, cheap shipping, excellent sound quality depending on what pair you get, plus it would be easier to take to work and back. If people see nice headphones, they want them. There's a chance the cans will get stolen. People generally don't pay as much attention to IEMs because there is physically less to pay attention to.
 
Just something to consider.

 

[JerseyD]

Circuitbender makes an excellent point.  I have had things stolen from my desk at work.  With the in-ear monitors, that is far less likely.  In addition to the size issue (you can hide them), there is the fact people know they have been (duh) in your ears, so the yuck factor works for you.

 

[classakg]

You got a nice deal for the AD700's shipped to Au. they are great cans for gaming. 
 
Now, regarding headphones for using at work...if isolation is very important for you, then use iems. Like the boys above said.
You can check the Iems section on the forum. 

 

[Katun]

This should help if you are deciding between the AD700 and the A700:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/515211/ad700-vs-a700-comparison-review

 

[Adeptus]

Quote:

I realize you may want a closed pair of headphones, but I think you should consider IEMs in this case. That would give you the isolation (both in and out) that you want, a reasonable price, cheap shipping, excellent sound quality depending on what pair you get, plus it would be easier to take to work and back. If people see nice headphones, they want them. There's a chance the cans will get stolen. People generally don't pay as much attention to IEMs because there is physically less to pay attention to.
 
Just something to consider.

 
It's a fairly small office (<20 people) and they're all trustworthy. The only outsiders who come in are the cleaners, so if they nicked anything it would be obvious who had done it.
 
I have IEMs at the moment - SoundMagic PL30. They're pretty good, but can get uncomfortable sometimes, and a bit fiddly to take out / put in when I leave my desk. Also, my preferred tips are Comply foamies, which need replacing fairly often. So, that's why I was looking at closed cans. I don't mind about outside sound leaking in, but do want to prevent it leaking out (it's a fairly quiet office).