[jippittar]

So, I just sent back my second pair of sony noise canceling headphones (I think they were the MDRNC7s) after they snapped in two places and lost sound in the right ear. Seems to me that portable phones will inevitably break. But, thanks to the replacement plan I had invested in, I got a 60 dollar refund in the form of a radioshack gift certificate.
 
I've been looking on radioshack.com and found that pickin's are pretty slim for over the head wired phones in the $60-100 range. I would be using them on the bus for a few hours a day, but am skeptical about getting the portable type for the above reason. Would full size phones be all that annoying to carry around? I've narrowed the possibilities down to the JVC HA S900, the JVC HA RX900 and the KOSS Pro 4AAT.  The S900s are portable, but are also more expensive and I assume are more fragile. The RX900s and KOSS seem like they'd block out sound and be more durable, but I can't tell which is the best between them.
 
Any advice would be much appreciated!
 
Link the headphones available at radioshack

 

[TheWuss]

it's probably a good thing that your sony MDR-NC7s broke.
they are, to my ears, one of the worst headphones i've ever heard.
 
i'm not familiar with radioshack's headphone selection...
do they sell IEMs?

 

[Dev Avidon]

Wow...those are pretty slim pickings...the only phone there I could recommend would be the Koss Pro 4AATs, which my brother had for a while, and which are pretty decent phones, but they are heavy, ugly and really uncomfortable.  Plus the left channel on his died after about a year...so I bought him some SRH840s and now all is right with the world

.  I digress...the RX900 is definitely the better of the two JVCs, but you can get those used on head-fi forums for less than 50.  If you don't mind the quibbles I just mentioned about the Koss ones I think they are probably your best bet.
 
EDIT: One word of caution, as I apparently didn't read your OP as carefully as I should...the Koss are 250 ohm impedance, so you're not going to have a good go of things running them straight out of an iPod or the like. 

 

[Dev Avidon]

Quote:

it's probably a good thing that your sony MDR-NC7s broke.
they are, to my ears, one of the worst headphones i've ever heard.
 
i'm not familiar with radioshack's headphone selection...
do they sell IEMs?

Having taken a look at their IEM selection, pickings are a mite slim there too...vmoda vibes aren't COMPLETELY awful, but there's certainly nothing I'd recommend with any kind of heartfelt enthusiasm...

 

[Mad Max]

Radioshack? Your best bet is probably the most expensive Sonys they carry within your budget. 

 

[David58117]

I wouldn't get the Koss, I owned it for awhile and they're more meant for broadcasting if I remember right...not audiophile listening.  If you're going straight to your ipod, stay away from them, if you're going to use an amp, in my experience from owning them, nothing special at all. 
 
If I were you I would try to sell the gift certificate and get something better from elsewhere.  Radioshack is not really a place that pops in my mind when I want to browse headphones.

 

[jippittar]

Quote:

Wow...those are pretty slim pickings...the only phone there I could recommend would be the Koss Pro 4AATs, which my brother had for a while, and which are pretty decent phones, but they are heavy, ugly and really uncomfortable.  Plus the left channel on his died after about a year...so I bought him some SRH840s and now all is right with the world

.  I digress...the RX900 is definitely the better of the two JVCs, but you can get those used on head-fi forums for less than 50.  If you don't mind the quibbles I just mentioned about the Koss ones I think they are probably your best bet.
 
EDIT: One word of caution, as I apparently didn't read your OP as carefully as I should...the Koss are 250 ohm impedance, so you're not going to have a good go of things running them straight out of an iPod or the like. 

Alright thanks for the insight. But do you have some beef against the RX900s? If so could you recommend anything for me outside of radioshack? I might have to give up on the gift certificates...

 

[jippittar]

Quote:

Radioshack? Your best bet is probably the most expensive Sonys they carry within your budget. 

I'm afraid my experience with sony headphones has been rather disappointing...
 

 

[Dev Avidon]

If you want to transcend the shack, there are a TON of fantastic phones to be had out there at a wide range of prices.  I don't have any particular "beef" per se with the RX900s, just think there's better to be had at that price.  SO, if this is going to become a legit buying advice thread, we head-fiers will need a few things from you:
 
1. What kind of music do you like?  Eclectic is an ok answer
2. I imagine from your post that you'll be listening to these a fair bit on the go and want some kind of sound isolation.  Are you amenable to IEMs, or really want full-size/over the head?
3. Do you want a neutral sound or a colored sound?  I.E. do you want lots of bass, a warm "rich" sound, or do you want a neutral, detailed sound, etc.  What's the ideal phone in your mind?
4. How much do you want to spend and are you ever going to amp these phones?  Would you ever consider getting a portable amp?
 
Sorry, I know that's a bit of a mouthful there, but there's really no such thing as the "best" phone at a given price (unless you're talking about the extreme upper or lower end).  It's more a question of preferences and intended usage.

 

[jippittar]

Quote:

If you want to transcend the shack, there are a TON of fantastic phones to be had out there at a wide range of prices.  I don't have any particular "beef" per se with the RX900s, just think there's better to be had at that price.  SO, if this is going to become a legit buying advice thread, we head-fiers will need a few things from you:
 
1. What kind of music do you like?  Eclectic is an ok answer
2. I imagine from your post that you'll be listening to these a fair bit on the go and want some kind of sound isolation.  Are you amenable to IEMs, or really want full-size/over the head?
3. Do you want a neutral sound or a colored sound?  I.E. do you want lots of bass, a warm "rich" sound, or do you want a neutral, detailed sound, etc.  What's the ideal phone in your mind?
4. How much do you want to spend and are you ever going to amp these phones?  Would you ever consider getting a portable amp?
 
Sorry, I know that's a bit of a mouthful there, but there's really no such thing as the "best" phone at a given price (unless you're talking about the extreme upper or lower end).  It's more a question of preferences and intended usage.

1. OK, so I listen to a few types of music... mostly classic rock, jazz, folk (guitar), some pop/rock here and there. No hip-hop or rap though.
2. I'm afraid I'm not big on IEM's, so I'm aiming for the full size kind. I'm considering the type that cup over the ears to get the better sound isolation, but I've heard they can get uncomfortable after extended use.
3. I figure I'd prefer a more detailed sound, but then again I'm still not that sure what the difference is so It's not that big of an issue for me.
4. I'd still like to stick to the $50-100 range, but if it's really worth it I could go a bit higher.
No, I don't think I'll ever amp them; I'll just have them plugged straight into my iPod.
 
I'm not sure if it goes hand in hand with the full size type, but it'd be nice if I could get some that were durable... I'd like them to last me a while, even after spending most of their time crammed in my bag.
 
Thanks a lot for all the help by the way!

 

[earerror]

The Audio-Technica's ATH-T44 seems like a good choice, but i have never tried them...im still learning towards them. 

 

[pfink]

After checking out Radio Shack's site I'd go with the Koss PortaPros:
 
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2261631&numProdsPerPage=60&retainProdsInSession=1

 

[Mad Max]

Quote:

I'm afraid my experience with sony headphones has been rather disappointing...
 

My experience has been the opposite, actually.
You sure you can't find a way to order online?  You'd have better options available.

 

[Conrthomas]

Radio Shack is definitely not the place to go if you are looking for quality on a budget...

 

[Dev Avidon]

Quote:

1. OK, so I listen to a few types of music... mostly classic rock, jazz, folk (guitar), some pop/rock here and there. No hip-hop or rap though.
2. I'm afraid I'm not big on IEM's, so I'm aiming for the full size kind. I'm considering the type that cup over the ears to get the better sound isolation, but I've heard they can get uncomfortable after extended use.
3. I figure I'd prefer a more detailed sound, but then again I'm still not that sure what the difference is so It's not that big of an issue for me.
4. I'd still like to stick to the $50-100 range, but if it's really worth it I could go a bit higher.
No, I don't think I'll ever amp them; I'll just have them plugged straight into my iPod.
 
I'm not sure if it goes hand in hand with the full size type, but it'd be nice if I could get some that were durable... I'd like them to last me a while, even after spending most of their time crammed in my bag.
 
Thanks a lot for all the help by the way!

Ok, this leaves you with a number of good options.  New, I'd say check out the following:
 
Denon D1001
Audio Technica A700
Equation RP-21 (not the best sound isolation, but great sounding phones)
Fischer FA-004
 
Used/in a slightly higher range:
 
Shure SRH840s (fantastic all around cans, great sound isolation, very neutral, good stage, pretty easy to drive)
Fischer FA-003 (my favorite closed cans...beautiful, open imaging, very neutral, and drivable out of an ipod).