[charonme]

I see people often request advice about small, portable, outdoor, lightweight, unamped headphones, but others keep giving them info about big (often closed) studio headphones. well... do such small earphones even exist (I mean in the high-end category) apart from IEMs and the koss porta pro? (even the grados seem quite big to me) I hope they do and I hope the respective section will be opened soon:
[size=xx-small]Earphones and In-Ear Monitors (opening soon)
Discussion of earphones and in-ear monitors (IEMs).
Earphone and IEM Directory (coming soon)[/size]

 

[siwiwid]

for earphone, not IEM, i can't recommended anything more than Yuins. There's tons of user reviews here that highly praise them. for unamped use, PK3 and PK2 is the best choices among earbuds IMHO. other choice perhaps audio technica ATH-CM700, but their price is higher than PK3 & PK2, maybe due to a better build quality.. CMIIW.

 

[4ki]

There's no best, just different. Give us a summary of the sound the you're looking for given your experience, and that'll narrow your choices down. I think that there are too many sub-$150 phones that are very good to put in a feasible list; you'll have to pick out of a clutter again.

Another option is to go to the main headphone forum section and go to the headphone buyer's thread; while there are more options than in the list, they're arguably the 'safest' choices that won't disappoint.

If you buy used, you can even get some phones that retail $200+ at $150 or less. Again, too many options

 

[applaudio]

Good point, 4ki.

Well, I primarily listen to all kinds of new rock, if that helps.

I really want something with good instrument separation and good soundstage, something that brings out the details in my high-birate mp3's; little distortion, fairly even frequency response, with a bit of an emphasis on deep, punchy bass. Not hugely overemphasized, boomy bass like my current Skullcandies (SC-FMJ 9mm, which need some significant equalization to be listenable, and which I bought for the comfort and the in-line volume control, but especially the limited lifetime warranty, a rarity among in-earphones), but a tight, accurate, and powerful bass to really bring out the best in my music.

I like the sound signature of the PX-100's well enough, having listened to my brother's, but the main reason I haven't bought myself a pair of those is that I just can't get a nice fit with them (weird, I know). They always slide into a funny position on my ears and start to bug me after a few minutes so I'm continuously reaching up and adjusting them. It's not terribly annoying, but just enough so that I'm looking around for something better suited to me. Oh, I also don't like the leakage with them, that's the other big reason I don't buy them.

I hope that's enough information that you can give me a little help with my decision, since I can't very well go out and try each headphone that interests me before coming to a decision. Thanks much.

 

[chewynuts]

I think the AT ES7s fit your bill. They are very easy to drive and sound very good unamped.

 

[V-DiV]

I like my Senn HD 595s straight out of my iPod. They are a little above your price range unless you find a good deal or find them used.

 

[ronnielee54]

I would have to second the ES7's since you don't care for the PX100's. Another good contender would be the Koss Porta-pros. I owned them years ago and intend to purchase another set soon. Really nice sounding can for a cheap price. MS1's are also a good choice. If you are that concerned about leakage though, it would have to be ES7's as my suggestion.

 

[tohni]

Had Px100s, Porta Pros and AKG K24P (now K412P). I prefer the AKG; the Senns seemed to have recessed mids, i.e. voices seem less loud, and the Koss have WAAY too much bass for me. However, all of them should be fine unamped.

 

[Captain Reverb]

Ultrasone has some OZMA 7's (HFI 700's) on sale right now for $149- In my opinion -cant go wrong at that price
even though they are collapsible- they might be too big for you.