[cbark]

(**Jump to end for TL/DR version if you like**)
 
Hi all. I'm a brand new, well, noob looking to graduate from cheap Sony earbuds to a respectable starter set of isolating, over-the-ear cans. I've been lurking amidst the older threads for over a week, and also visiting countless sites for reviews, trying to figure out what sets I'd like to get in my price range. I was hoping to keep it under CAD$60 (yeah haha that's not much) before tax with some ultra-budget cans, but Sennheiser HD280s are on sale at Future Shop for $99 until the end of tomorrow and it's kind of tempting since they supposedly do have great passive isolation AND apparently a relatively flat response curve, which is something I'd also like to have if possible (overall accuracy is more important to me though). The purpose of getting over-the-ears for me is to zone out background noise (somebody else's TV noise that travels through walls + occasional chatter) while I concentrate on writing/researching or enjoy movies/music.
 
What I'd like in order of most to least important:
 
1: isolation
1½: overall sound quality (decent soundstage, relatively uncluttered for a closed can)
2: flat/accurate response (emphasized mids fine, as long as bass and treble aren't too far behind)
3¾: if it can't be flat, then bassiness is okay (I won't mind as long as it's not bleeding/muddy)
4: subtle but still present treble (I expect this is more an expensive audiophile headphone thing... but yeah)
 
(**I don't care at all about comfort. Heat is welcome as far as I'm concerned. I also don't care if sound leaks out, I just want none getting in.)
 
 
-- Suff I'm looking at --
 
For a while I was all into the idea of getting the Panasonic HTX7. Reasons:
• lots of reviewers mention great passive isolation (!)
• small size for my small head
• I appreciate the retro look
• $50-60 on Amazon.ca (depends on colour)
 
But I got cold feet on this because the "Shootout" thread and others have repeatedly mentioned it being "fun" but hardly accurate (weak mids) and possibly with piercing highs? New as I am to all this, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't tolerate that very well. (It sounds like people are modding in order to truly enjoy it?)
 
 
So until today I was leaning toward Samson SR950 but I'd hoped to pick my set up in a store and can only track them down online. Reasons:
• claims of "maximum isolation" ??? (some reviewers seem to agree, but most say nothing)
• frequency response curve is relatively flat (pic on p.6 of user manual)
• reportedly excellent soundstage (though outdone in that area by its open-backed and even flatter sibling, SR850)
• appears to be small (?)
• $60 from various online retailers
 
What's stopped me is the not-in-stores thing + lack of reviews. (I'm leery about messing with online returns.) I've found them scattered across four or so sites (here, Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, thomann.de, maybe others), but there's not much about how trustworthy that claim of isolation is. Then a further complication came into it. Today, I happened to find stuff on sale. $99 Senn HD280 at one store (shut up, that's a good price here), and $50 Koss ProDJ100 at another. What the??? I get 15 days to return and then 15 days for store credit even after that, so I got the latter just to try them out UNAMPED on my measly Macbook/iPod/Android phone just to see if it's really so awful without an amp. (Maybe I already have no sanity left to save.) So far I'm enjoying having deeper, crisper sound than I'm used to, but despite all my efforts to get a good seal, the only difference when I take them off is that my ears feel cold. Unless volume is jacked way up (which I'd rather avoid), I still hear vile TV sounds. (...And yet I still want to keep them...?)
 
 
-- (TL/DR start here) --
 
So what would you guys do if in my shoes? I've got Koss ProDJ100s as my baseline for sound quality now, but they're not doing the job on isolation. I have one day to ditch everything and get Sennheiser HD280, but I'm wondering if I'm really losing all that much in quality if I stick with it and go for either Panasonic HTX7 or Samson SR950. If someone has experience with the Samson monitors in particular I'd really love to know what you think! Isolation is most important to me, but sound quality is still quite important.

 

[SimpleVD200792]

I don't think the sennheiser will do the isolation as good as you wish, for 99$ I would go for shure srh440 but that's just my opinion. I don't know much about the samson or panasonic either.

 

[metal571]

The 280 pro is a dark overall signature. The SRH440 is much more forward in the upper mids but not overly bright, although it tends to be on the bright side, and the bass extension is lacking a bit. Both have excellent isolation, not sure what the above post is talking about. The 280 Pro has some of the best isolation available on a closed headphone, but the overall sound tends to the honky side with a suck-out in the mid bass, a boost in the sub-bass, a slight treble peak, and then some rolled off upper treble. The SRH440 is pretty close to neutral but is lacking bass extension and is a touch hot on the highs.

 

[SimpleVD200792]

I have tried listening with the 280 pro before but I still can hear people talking clearly beside me, but there is a possibility that I used a fail product because it is just a showroom product where people use it and take it off quiet often and you never know what happened to them.

 

[metal571]

280 is known specifically for its isolation ability. That's honestly what it's best at doing. New units have a tight clamping force that will probably seal a lot better than random store examples.

 

[cbark]

I'm going to keep an eye out for a sale on SRH440 guys, thanks. SR950 is not out of the running though. I might just bite the bullet and have it mailed in anyways.