[Subere]

So it's been a year since the last time I was looking at getting new headphones. I have a bit more knowledge but I'm still not really finding anything in my price range that's just, "YES these are exactly what I want!". This topic seems to come up a lot and I hate to ask it again after it's been pretty much discussed to death, but it's been a year. I've poked around here the past week and haven't really found anything new, but I'm curious if I've missed anything.
 
So lets keep this short and sweet I suppose. I'm looking for a new pair of headphones. My price range is about $100, though if there's something I can get excited about buying I can push that up to around $125-130. Their primary use is going to be music, tv, and movies. If they're not terrible for gaming that'd be great but the other uses are more important. Consider me a bass head. Bass is important to me. I primarily listen to bass heavy music, hip-hop, and dubstep. I'm going to be wearing them while I work so they need to be comfortable for EXTENDED periods of times. Sound leakage is a non-issue, they could be speakers strapped to my head. Also if it factors in at all, I'll probably be grabbing a uDAC or something similar in that price range around Dec-Jan.
 
> Quick recap:
1) Price range: $100 (can push to $125-130)
2) Will be unamped.
3) Use: Music, tv, and movies. (not terrible for gaming a +)
4) Bass head. (hip-hop, dubstep)
5) Comfortable for EXTENDED periods of time.
 
* No need for them to be portable.
* Source is a PC with an ancient Sound Blast Live! sound card.
 
That's about it. Quickly though, to my knowledge closed headphones are usually very uncomfortable to wear for extended periods of time due to heat. Is this correct? This has been the ONLY reason I haven't considered closed cans which has limited my options considerably.
 
So basically since forever this has limited the ideal candidates to the AD700 and HD555. AD700 worries me as they're bass weak and not recommended as music cans. HD555 just get a whole lot of meh around here.
 
In the year it's been since the last time I looked into getting a new set of cans is there ANYTHING new that would fit what I'm looking for? Also if my belief that closed cans are uncomfortable to wear for extended periods of time due to heat, what would be some closed options?
 
Thanks again.

 

[Ypoknons]

If your budget is only ~$100, you're probably better off spending the uDAC money on headphones, unless your source is really bad. 

 

[james0195]

if your not going to be using them as portables the audio technica m50s are worth looking at. 
What is your source though?

 

[Subere]

Source is a PC with an ancient ass Sound Blast Live! sound card. There is no need for them to portable.
 
I won't have the uDAC money till Dec-Jan and I'd really rather not wait till then to pick up some new cans. The DAC was really just an after thought of another piece to upgrade and if it was like a tie between 2 phones if one of them paired better with one.
 
I really need a new pair of cans though. The pads have been peeling off for a while. Both cups have snapped off and I have to like put them on just so, so they stay on. There's a springy top piece that helps it stay snug on my head and one side of that snapped off the frame so I had to duct tape it back on. The cable pulled out of the inline volume control deal and sound stopped coming through on the right cup so I had to stop using it. That halved the length of the cable. Thankfully my tower is on my desk.
 
So yep, time for an upgrade. I've MacGyver'd all I can out of these.
 
I was seeing the M50's get rec'd a lot but they're closed. As I asked are they going to be uncomfortable to wear (heat?) for long periods of time?

 

[Jabse]

Sony xb700?

 

[TheBananaMan]

Wow only a year and your headphones are breaking? What headphones are they??

 

[Subere]

No they're at least 5 years old. They've probably been in the state I described for about half a year or less now. I just started looking for a new pair a year or so ago. They're a really old pair of Icemat Siberia's.

 

[TheBananaMan]

Oh right, i must have misread, looked like you said it was 1 year since you last bought headphones

 

[Ypoknons]

I mean if you like really exaggerated bass XB700 has the most without being a bad headphone elsewhere. 

 

[Subere]

Everyone keeps skipping my question about closed cans and those are the only recs so far :s
 
Are closed cans going to be comfortable to wear for extended periods of time? My main worry is that they will get hot and uncomfortable to wear for hours on end. Is this a case by case basis with closed cans? If so what about the few rec'd here?
 
If I'm worrying about nothing and they'll be comfortable to wear, that would be great and open up my options a lot. It seems, on the open side of things, there are just about no options besides the 2 that have been rec'd since forever.

 

[Ypoknons]

Open cans do allow air through in the summer, making them a bit less hot. A lot of closed headphones do have heavy clamping pressure for the seal, but it tends to easier up after a while; the XB700 has these really nice thick pads. Otherwise, it is mostly on a case by case basis whether closed cans are bearable. 

 

[TheBananaMan]

Ehh, what you said about closed headphones being hot is true, but I wouldn't exaggerate it.

 

[clou91]

Closed cans are usually better for bass due to their seal. IME, velour ear pads don't heat up as much as leather ones, though there aren't many companies besides beyer which use them.

 

[clou91]

If you're on a tight budget and want bass, then why not just get a pair of Porta Pros? IMO they can compete with a lot of $100 head phones.

 

[Subere]

Thanks for the input on closed cans. I've had a few pairs in the past, though really cheap ones, and I could never wear them long. They'd always get unbearably hot. I think I might just grab a pair though and hope for the best. I can always return them I suppose. Seems closed cans are much more up my alley sound wise and there are a lot more options.
 
 
From what I can tell the Portapros are supra-aural and I can't wear supra-aural cans AT ALL. I've never worn a pair for more than an hour before I have to take them off. I also have to wear glasses which attributes to the uncomfortableness of supra-aural cans as they push my ear up against them.
 
 
Right now I'm leaning towards the XB700's. I did some reading around and the way they get described as guilty pleasure sets with a really smooth and bassy sound, sounds perfect. The M50's also look enjoyable but they're looking to be much more expensive. $86 vs $140 or $117. Why is the straight cabled version of the M50 cheaper?
 
Any other cans that I should look at between the XB700 and M50?
 
 
Thanks again for the responses.