[trudeljb]

I'm sure this question has been debated many times so I apologize for the redundancy.
 
I'm looking to get a nice pair of headphones based on a few things. Money not being much of an issue, but don't want to spend more than 350-400; ideally less, but want a good pair of cans. To clarify, I would like headphones and not earbuds. Primarily using them for travel I'd prefer them to be either noise canceling or noise isolating to keep out most outside noise. However, they will also be used at home too. I listen to all sorts of music as my collection is over 30,000 songs, however I do listen to a lot of Rap/Hip-hop and Indie, so music is a big part of my life.
 
I listened to the Bose Quietcomfort 3's that my friend had and thought they were fantastic. The bass sounded really good, however the price-tag wasn't as appealing. And, reading on here, it sounds that a lot better headphones can be had for that price or less.
 
Listened to the Bowers & Wilkins P5 at the Apple store and again thought they were good, however the bass was not as strong as on the Bose. I've heard that some of the appeal for these headphones is their great build quality, and maybe less for their sound (though I understand they're a great sound company).  
 
From what I have been reading the Audio-Technica ATH-M50S are a great can at a great price, though I don't know too much about them at all. 
 
I am no audiophile and just want to get a great pair of headphones at a fair price. I'm open to any brands and any headphones suggestions you have are greatly appreciated!
 
Thanks

 

[doublefunk]

Here is my 2c. 
 
Bose Quietcomfort 3
Its been a while since i've listened to the quitecomforts, but from what i remember the sound quality was good but not what i expected from headphones at that price point. That being said however, the main selling point on the quitecomforts is their active noise filtering, and it would be pointless to get these headphones if you are not going to use the noise filtering very often, there are many headphones that come in at a much lower price and sound better. 
 
Bowers & Wilkins P5
I have not listened to these yet, so i will reserve my judgement on these and cannot give you any advice. 
 
Audio-Technica ATH-M50S
The M50s are great headphones I have a friend at work who has them and i occasionally borrow them for various tasks. I would recommend them to anyone who is looking for closed headphones under 200. They are a bit bass heavy but the bass is pretty well reproduced and punchy. Despite this though they are fairly neutral throughout the rest of the spectrum and i have been impressed by the reproduction through the midrange and highs considering the stronger influence of the bass. Their noise issolation is good but they are not noise canceling so dont expect them to issolate as much sound as the quietcomforts. 
 
Overall I would highly recommend the M50s over the quietcomforts for any genre or application unless you spend a lot of time around heavy machinery or plane engines, where you would really want the active noise canceling.