[shane55]

I agree... soundstage of M50 is somewhat narrow, but also using IEM's a lot, the soundstage by comparison is massive!!  

So it's all relative. Besides soundstage matters little to me with IEM's or other head-wear. Speakers, yes. HP's not so much.
 
Otherwise... good isolation with the M50's, and the sound is great... and fun!
 
shane

 

[Sil3nce]

ath-es7 for portability and physical appeal and overall quite impressive sq.

 

[oobiwan]

 
 
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Bass wise its M50 > HD555 > AD700, but the size of the soundstage is the opposite.

My original pick was going to be the HD555's from the research I did. They seemed to be great for music and for movies. I watch a lot of movies and I wanted headphones that would sound great for movies as well. In terms of bass, I havnt heard either of the 3 so Im not sure what to expect.

BUT I did try on a friends Bose quietcomfort 15 noise cancelling headphones and I thought the bass from them was great/good enough( Im a newbie please dont judge me). 

so 
1. how does the bass for the 3 above mentioned compare to the bose 15's?
2. If Im trying to get headphones for movies too, should I just buy a separate pair that specialize for home theather experiences? ( any suggestions?) 
Thanks again for all the help!
I wouldve never been able to narrow it down on my own, Love all the experience, reviews and opinions on here.

 

[maverickronin]

Here's a handy tool for comparing the frequency response of different headphones.  It just happens to have all 4 models you mentioned.
 

 
If you want bass like the QCs, you should probably go with the M50s.
 
I'm not sure how they'd do for movies.  I've never tried mine with any yet.  (I usually use my HD650s for that.)  Movies are somewhat tricky to do right with headphones, assuming you watch anything with action.  They need good bass and good soundstage which are generally contradictory things in the budget end of the market.  Unless you want to spend a lot more money (at least double your original budget) you'll probably have to pick one over the other.

 

[loki993]

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Thanks for all the help so far guys, I ve started to look into the m50's. 1time you mentioned the hd555 as well and the AD700. Whats the difference between the m50 and the other two. I know the hd555's are open so they leak a lot. And I havnt read too much about the ad700.

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The AD700s will leak too.  They don't have much bass either, though they do have a huge soundstage.  Bass wise its M50 > HD555 > AD700, but the size of the soundstage is the opposite.

Yes the AD700s will leak. They are great headphones though, however though I garuentee you will not like them for hip hop. They dont have enough bass. For my Hip hop and electronic I have a pair of DT770 Pro 80s. Best bass around. I dont think youll find any for 100 though. Maybe a little more if you search the FS section for a used pair. I highly reccommend them though.

 

[irishsammy]

I guess I might as well throw my hat into the ring. 
 
I recently purchased some AKG K240 Studios on a whim and I'm more than a little impressed with their sound.  For $100, they're a screamin' deal.  The bass on them is very nice and punchy and deep...although not quite to the level of something like my Denon 2K's.  And I think the mids are more even-tempered than what I get with the Denons (which are kinda shy in the upper mids).  The treble in the 240's is just about perfectly rolled off to my taste, too.  I'm one of those weird people who can listen to Grados all day long but as soon as I hear sharp treble in another can, I feel like ripping them off and chucking them.  The 240's are a nice middle ground between what I like about Grados and the things that other cans do well.
 
Soundstage and comfort are sort of average with the 240's.  I could see how the pleather earpads would bother some people (although I think they're fine for even extended listening periods).  And the soundstage is sort of hit-or-miss.  It's gotten a lot better during the 50 hours or so I've burned them in so far but right out of the box, they sound very closed-in and sort of claustrophobic.  Right now they've got a great spatial thing going on when the media allows it but they're not a huge-sounding can.
 
Overall, I'm a big fan of the 240's and I haven't heard a $100 can that I like better.  

 

 

[tdockweiler]

I'm a huge k240 Studio fanboy too. I've tried dozens of headphones and this is one of my favorites under $100 or even under $200! It's one of the few cheap headphones that has good mids AND very good bass. For comfort + sound quality, I liked the M50, but the mids were not a good match for my music. This was my next step in my search for the perfect cheap pair.
 
The other day I was testing out my HD-600, k601 and k240 for gaming and I was surprised that I preferred the k240. k601 had more details, but I missed the bass.
 
For me they're probably more comfortable, but I have upgraded to the velour pads. I actually haven't felt they changed the sound quality or comfort much.
 
Almost ZERO of the headphones I've tried are good for most all genres, but this pair seems good for most everything. One of the very few that is like this.
 
I got mine for just $70 as an open box deal. The pair looked like they were never even touched. Amazing deal. I liked them so much that I also bought the k601.
 
k240/k601 and the D2000 is my perfect combination of headphones.
 
I'm also a super HUGE fan of the Koss Pro DJ 100. They're $80, but have slightly rolled off highs, but amazing female vocals. The k601 has the best, but the DJ100 have the 2nd best that i've tried. They're a pain in the butt to drive though. k601 and DJ100 have forward upper mids I guess and some people don't like that. I believe the SRH-840 does too.

 

[DrKilburn]

You know I could be flawed, but for $100 I really liked the AKG 240's.
 
I feel like I have some sort of unforeseen loyalty towards AKG, but these, I think are just great.

 

[WhiteCrow]

 
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The AD700s will leak too.  They don't have much bass either, though they do have a huge soundstage.  Bass wise its M50 > HD555 > AD700, but the size of the soundstage is the opposite.

 
yea the HD 555 are a fairly mid centric phone. BUT seriously if you get them you can remove some padding and they turn into the HD 595.

 

[DjAmTraX]

I vote for Sony MDR-V6 or Sennheiser HD-280pro.