[Ezra]

Alright, I'll go to the point...
 
I'll be pairing the cans with the FiiO L9 cord, and either Gary's PA2V2 or some FiiO amp, depending on $.
 
Let's pretend my budget is infinite.
 
I mainly listen to Metal (especially melodic, instrumental, or lots o' drums), and electronic (especially bass heavy), though I listen to all music; my itunes library also includes rap, classical, jazz, and pop....
 
Right now the only thing I have to listen to music with are some Sennheiser PC350s, that I bought for gaming.
 
I have done quite a bit of research, and I have found quite a few that I believe I would be extremely happy with no matter which I chose:
 
Bowers and Wilkins P5 : I have heard that these have amazing quality, good noise cancelling, and are actually heavy bass hitters. Also, style points, lol..
 
Denon AH-D5000 : According to a few reviews, there is a large jump of quality from the 2k to 5k, but not so much the 7k. As expensive as the 7k are, I think I'd be fine with the 5k. I've read that they have amazing and unique bass, it almost seems like you're standing in front of a subwoofer (this would be fun and awesome to hear after being used to the Sennheisers haha)
 
Audeze LCD-2  : Might be hard to convince me to buy these at the price, but they're probably better than the others considerably (ONLY speaking from price, I haven't looked at any comparisons, only reviews)
 
Sennheiser HD 595 : Might be the best for the money. Still not bass heavy, but should be amazing detail for the price. In a rush so no link, soz.

 

[wilzc]

P5 aside, none of the other headphones here are 'portable'
 
Defintely not the LCD-2. They weigh about half a kilo.
 
The P5s are definitely not 'hard hitters'  in the bass, they're delicate. Good quantity but not visceral.
 
Have a look at the midrange portables of B&W P5, V-Moda M80, Sennheiser 25-i-II, Audio Technica ATH ESW-9, Incase sonic,  Phillips Fidelip L1.
 
Or the higher end stuff. Sennheiser Amperior, Audio Technica ATH ES-10
 
Let me know. And I'll let you know how each sounds. I've only yet to listen to the Amperior

 

[wrathzombie]

Denon and Audeze are not portable as per my understanding. If you want a headphone which is easy to move around or travel in HD-25 1 II is a good option.
 
I have heard good things about DT 1350 and M-80 too but never heard them.

 

[Ezra]

Maybe I shouldn't have called the thread "portable"... what I really want is just some low impedance cans that won't have a problem with my iPhone's slightly poor output. But I'll definitely look in to those.

 

[KT66]

I prefer my ATH-ES55s to my ES7s and T50P, truly portable, great sound and good looks

 

[Ezra]

There, I edited the title...

 

[Eric_C]

Based on what you're planning to amp the headphones with, "portable" would still be a fairly good way to define the headphone you're looking for. I don't think anyone believe the LCD-2 (or any planar/electrostatic) can be driven by a PA2V2 or Fiio equivalent. You will want to confine your search to dynamic headphones.
 
I'm puzzled that you would list the HD595 instead of the HD600 or HD650; if you're willing to consider stuff as expensive as the LCD-2 and Denon 5k, why limit Sennheiser to the 595?
 
Btw, P5 is not noise cancelling. None of the headphones discussed so far are.

 

[lup31337]

have u considered some in-ear solutions ?

 

[MetaLicca]

The LCD-2 would definitely be a poor choice for you. If you're going to be spending $1000 on a pair of headphones, and you're going to be driving them out of a $70 amp, you're going to be wasting a lot of money. At the risk of suggesting what everyone tends to suggest, have you looked into the Audio Technica ATH m50's? They're portable, easily driven by an iPhone, have fantastic sound quality, decent price point, and do a fairly good job of keeping out outside sounds. 

 

[valerianaoff]

Ultrasones...780 / Pro 750 / Pro 900
 
VMODA M-80 ( or wait for M-100 )
 
Ok...now...if you want to be current...u can try out the new Denons. I have no idea how they sound. Very few reviews are available...but u may just like them.
Its a risk / gamble. Whether its worth it...u will have to decide. Maybe some head-fiers can help out here...whether this will be suitable...since the budget is infinite
 

AH-D600EM​

 

AH-D7100EM​

 ​

 

AH-D400​

 

[Acix]

You'll need hps under 35 ohm, to sound good.

 

[Ezra]

Quote:

The LCD-2 would definitely be a poor choice for you. If you're going to be spending $1000 on a pair of headphones, and you're going to be driving them out of a $70 amp, you're going to be wasting a lot of money. At the risk of suggesting what everyone tends to suggest, have you looked into the Audio Technica ATH m50's? They're portable, easily driven by an iPhone, have fantastic sound quality, decent price point, and do a fairly good job of keeping out outside sounds. 

 
I'm looking at them now and they look like a good choice... would there bass be comparable to the Denon Dx000 line though?
 
Quote:

P5 aside, none of the other headphones here are 'portable'
 
Defintely not the LCD-2. They weigh about half a kilo.
 
The P5s are definitely not 'hard hitters'  in the bass, they're delicate. Good quantity but not visceral.
 
Have a look at the midrange portables of B&W P5, V-Moda M80, Sennheiser 25-i-II, Audio Technica ATH ESW-9, Incase sonic,  Phillips Fidelip L1.
 
Or the higher end stuff. Sennheiser Amperior, Audio Technica ATH ES-10
 
Let me know. And I'll let you know how each sounds. I've only yet to listen to the Amperior

 
Oh, I completely forgot about the Amperior! Those look great and I'd love the bass from some DJ headphones.
 
Quote:

Ultrasones...780 / Pro 750 / Pro 900
 
VMODA M-80 ( or wait for M-100 )
 
Ok...now...if you want to be current...u can try out the new Denons. I have no idea how they sound. Very few reviews are available...but u may just like them.
Its a risk / gamble. Whether its worth it...u will have to decide. Maybe some head-fiers can help out here...whether this will be suitable...since the budget is infinite
 

AH-D600EM​

 

AH-D7100EM​

 ​

 

AH-D400​

 
There's a review here on Head-fi about how the Denon Dx000s are basically a bit more superior to the UltraSone Pros (at least, for my preferences)....
 
VMODA's line has always looked good, but I want to spend a bit more money for better quality, unless I go for the Sennheiser Amperior. I wonder if there are any comparisons here on Head-fi with the VMODA Crossfade LPs or M80s to the Amperior. *edit* oh, I forgot that the Amperiors just recently came out... drat.
 
Quote:

I'm puzzled that you would list the HD595 instead of the HD600 or HD650; if you're willing to consider stuff as expensive as the LCD-2 and Denon 5k, why limit Sennheiser to the 595?

Mostly because of their low impedance, but I also read the top user-review of them on Amazon here.
 
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric_C /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Btw, P5 is not noise cancelling. None of the headphones discussed so far are.

I guess I meant isolating? It was just something that was pointed out in reviews.

 

[tzjin]

I personally think the need for an amplifier is overemphasized. I've heard an LCD-2 straight out of an iPod jack, and it wasn't pathetic or anything. I currently run my YH-3 also without an external amplifier. Music still sounds good.
 
For rock, I'd highly recommend the HD25.

 

[Eric_C]

Bass seems to be a priority for you. So you should remove the HD595 completely--never seen them described as bassy. Tried them briefly too, and I did not notice anything noteworthy about the bass (to be fair, this was in a noisy environment).
 
Senn HD25-1 is also not "bassy"; I like the amount of bass on it, and I think it feels punchy enough for my non-basshead tastes without ever drowning out the rest of the music. The Amperior seems to be the successor to the HD25-1, and so I expect it is not mad bassy either.
 
Consider an Ultrasone HFI-580. Super strong bass that doesn't muddy up the rest of the music.
Only 3 caveats for you would be:
1) Clamps kind of tight--related: pleather pads can get warm
2) Highs *might* get a *bit* strident, so watch that metal.
3) Cable is long
 
**Edit: Forgot to mention, "noise cancelling" and "noise isolating" mean wholly different things.

 

[kkfan]

Can the Audio Technica ATH-M50 be driven by the iPhone 4S without an external amp. Would they sound good?