[SparkyKobe]

       Alright, I had just recently found out about this website because my headphones broke and I have been looking to buy some high end headphones. I'm not quite ready to spend over $100 on headphones. After doing some research I came to a conclusion that I would buy the SONY MDR -XB500. I have found out about a lot of other headphones within the same price range from this site and I wanted to share my impressions and get your audiophile ideas, because I am at noob level. Let me tell you a little about my uses and what I would like in my headphones:
 
- I mainly listen to rap/hip-hop, I know that bass is important within these genres, but I also want excellent clarity. The xb500's were great with this but I've had some old $10 headphones that were just as good. I don't want my rapper's voice to be overwhelmed by a loud beat
 
- Some of my favorite songs to listen to are [Till I Collapse] [No Love] [Drop the World] [Heartless] [Amazing]... just to give you an idea
 
- I play a lot of games, but don't worry about that, i want the headphones to focus on music mainly
 
- I happen to listen to my music at 100%% volume so it gets really loud, but I don't want that leaking out into the house because my xb500's are really bad with this..I hate my mom or brother yelling at me to turn it down
 
- Now I don't know if you can beat the comfort of the XB-500'S, but something close that is circumaural or over the ear
 
In short:
-Little to no leakage
-Excellent performance at high volume
-nice punchy bass
-sharp clarity
- COMFORTABLE!!!  
- Long cord 5ft.+ please
- I don't care how they look
- durability
- long lasting
 
My experience with the MDR XB500's:
-little too much bass, i'm not a basshead
-great comfort
-extreme leakage
-great quality cord, but way too short for my needs
- great design
 
Some of the Headphones I have looked at are:
 

[size=1.7em] Audio-Technica ATH-M30 Professional Headphones - $45[/size]

 

[size=1.7em] Superlux HD668B Dynamic Semi-Open Headphones - $50[/size]

[size=1.7em]Shure SRH240 Professional Quality Headphones - $45[/size]
[size=1.7em]Sennhiser HD 201 - $20[/size]
 
Audio Technica- Look awesome, with a great one wire exit and 11 foot cable. Looks comfortable. Heard a lot about the company.
 
Superlux- I know that these are ranked pretty high on this forum. Although I heard and CAN SEE that they look Really uncomfortable, but I can fix that. Nice detachable cable, really long 3m and 1m cable included. Heard great stuff 'bout this model.
 
Shure- Not really known i guess, i dont know . hope that you could give me some info on it!
 
Sennhiser- I love the style, the over- the- ear is nice. Long cable is great. REALLY CHEAP!!!! Although I heard that they weren't great in the bass department.
 
Please give me more detail about the headphones, or please recommend a different pair!! Please just not too pricey!
 
ALSO I WANTED TO ASK ANOTHER QUESTION, "IF I WERE TO BUY ANY OF THESE HEADPHONES, WOULD BUYING A SOUND CARD MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE?"
 
 

 

[SparkyKobe]

Also my current Sony MDR- XB500's cushions are so big that when I play music at high volumes they vibrate, which is slightly annoying. The speaker or driver that is inside will also bump as the volume rises, hurts the ears a little.  

 

[Ser182]

I would recommend that you EQ the XB500. They respond well to EQ. Then you can decide if a new pair is what you need. I would also recommend the Panasonic HTF600. At 30 bucks they are a steal with very good sound quality low and highs.

 

[PurpleAngel]

The Superlux HD668B and Panasonic RP-HTF600-S are both semi-open headphones.
You can get Velour ear pads for the HTF600 for $20
Velour ear pads for the HD668B are currently $46.
(Audiohipster is working on getting lower priced Velour ear pads for Superlux headphones).
 
The Superlux HD668Bs are 56-ohm, so the Asus Xonar DG (PCI) sound card might improve the sound over your motherboards on-board sound.
Sometimes the Asus Xonar DG is only $15, after $10 mail in rebate.