[NosRokanaske]

Hello, I am looking for some good noise isolating On/Over ear headphones under $100. I already have an idea of what i want by looking at some of the threads here beforehand. These headphones are going to be powered by my phone or laptop and would be mainly used around school or traveling. Closed back would be preferred.
 
Shure SRH440
Ultrasone HFI-450
Sennheiser HD428
Sony MDR-V6
Numark PHX Pro
Audio-Technica ATH-M40S
 
Shure SE215
 
I only include the SE215 because i heard that they are a pretty good value for what you're paying and they have great isolation, but i never really liked IEM's because they usually hurt my ear after a while. However, i did hear that the SE215's use a different kind of material for the buds which makes them very comfortable, which is why i put it up there. 

 

[Me x3]

You should also consider Gemini HSR-1000 (Takstar Pro 80) probably best pick under 100.
 
You can read and ask about them here:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/585356/the-takstar-technical-pro-gemini-greathon-thread/1170
 
Best Luck!

 

[NosRokanaske]

I read in that thread that you may need an amp for it, is that true? Are there smaller form factor ones that are roughly similar?
 
They look really enticing for $60. They look very similar to my DT990 Pro. 

 

[Me x3]

No, that's not true. They don't need extra amplification.
 
Takstar Pro 80's impedance is pretty flat around 63 Ohm and they have quite high sensitivity, then you won't have any troubles driving them with a portable player or laptop integrated soundcard. I've found that an iPod Shuffle 4G has enough power to drive Takstar Hi-2050 which are less sensitive due to its open back design.
 
I'm sure its sound quality is improved a little when using a good quality Dac and a good quality Amp, but this is quite trivial.
Sometimes people just A/B a particular headphone plugged into an ordinary Smartphone vs into a Fiio E17 or Modi/Magni combo, and conclude that the headphones NEED extra aplification to sound their best when in fact what they are comparing is good quality DAC vs regular quality DAC, and good quality Amp vs regular quality Amp.
 
Best Luck!

 

[NosRokanaske]

Alright sweet. I might just go for that one then, but im still looking around. It would've been perfect if it were collapsible. 

 

[Makiah S]

UE 6000 goes for sale for about $115! I Find them to be phenominal! 

 

[NosRokanaske]

Those are ANC headphones, just looking for passive noise isolation. That aside, that isnt bad for an ANC headphone that's collapsible, might check it out in a store if they have it on display. But i've been told to avoid ANC headphones because the sound quality isnt as good as passive noise isolation.

 

[Makiah S]

  Those are ANC headphones, just looking for passive noise isolation. That aside, that isnt bad for an ANC headphone that's collapsible, might check it out in a store if they have it on display. But i've been told to avoid ANC headphones because the sound quality isnt as good as passive noise isolation.

True, but look at the headphones I've listened to, I've heard a lot of awesome closed back headphones, and while most ANC headphones sounds pretty sub par, I really do like the sound of these! 

 

[NosRokanaske]

  True, but look at the headphones I've listened to, I've heard a lot of awesome closed back headphones, and while most ANC headphones sounds pretty sub par, I really do like the sound of these! 

 
Yeah I'm definitely going to check it out, i mainly wanted something that has good isolation and portable. Don't care too much about sound i got DT990 Pro's for that. When you have the ANC turned off, does it have decent isolation still?

 

[Makiah S]

   
Yeah I'm definitely going to check it out, i mainly wanted something that has good isolation and portable. Don't care too much about sound i got DT990 Pro's for that. When you have the ANC turned off, does it have decent isolation still?

Yes actually, and you might like to know, the UE 6000 has a sound simmilar to the DT 990 when it has ACN on... I should mention that the sound changes with the ACN on... 
 
ACN On=U Shaped Fun
ACN Off= Warm n Balanced 
 
I think that's what I like the most about the headphone, it really doesn't need an amp IMO 

 

[NosRokanaske]

  Yes actually, and you might like to know, the UE 6000 has a sound simmilar to the DT 990 when it has ACN on... I should mention that the sound changes with the ACN on... 
 
ACN On=U Shaped Fun
ACN Off= Warm n Balanced 
 
I think that's what I like the most about the headphone, it really doesn't need an amp IMO 

Alright sweet. I'll check the out when i get a chance. I think Logitech has a booth in mall near my house, hopefully its still up so i can check out the headphones. No AMP required is definitely a plus.

 

[Makiah S]

  Alright sweet. I'll check the out when i get a chance. I think Logitech has a booth in mall near my house, hopefully its still up so i can check out the headphones. No AMP required is definitely a plus.

Indeed! 
 
And the... not needing an amp is a double edged sword! I have also found that they do not Scale well with amps ironically! The sound remains very much the same regardless of the amp I use. And I own 3 >.> 

 

[NosRokanaske]

  Indeed! 
 
And the... not needing an amp is a double edged sword! I have also found that they do not Scale well with amps ironically! The sound remains very much the same regardless of the amp I use. And I own 3 >.> 

 
Could be because those headphones dont pick up extra noise in the cable to begin with. I'm not really going to amp it up haha for traveling purposes, it seems kinda pointless to me only because im going to be moving around and it adds bulk. Hopefully BestBuy or someone would get them on black friday haha

 

[longma]

I have both Gemini 1000 and UE6000.   
-Gemini 1000: what MeX3 says is correct.  It is very good.  My nephew likes it more than his Ultrason 580.  You can get them from Amazon for less than $60.  I got it from the ebay brand new for $50 (thanks to  Purple Heart).   The build quality is very good.  It is the best $50 that I spent for audio hobby.  It dethroned the Samson 850 for best budget headphones.
-UE6000:  Totally agree with Mshenay about the sound of UE600 in passive and active mode.  I got it from tigerdirect 2 weeks ago for $80.  It sounds warmer and smoother than the Gemini 1000 (note that my source is my laptops.  Gemini will sound better and smooth with better source).  It is more comfortable and portable than the Gemini.  My wife tries it and like its comfort, sound, look so much that she wants one for herself (she has Senn 555).  So I had order another one for her at same price $80 (last week).  If you are interested in these, check tigerdirect.com if they have them on sale again or not.  I think UE 6000 is a discontinued model, so it is not hard to find them at $100
 
Good luch and happy listening

 

[NosRokanaske]

  I have both Gemini 1000 and UE6000.   
-Gemini 1000: what MeX3 says is correct.  It is very good.  My nephew likes it more than his Ultrason 580.  You can get them from Amazon for less than $60.  I got it from the ebay brand new for $50 (thanks to  Purple Heart).   The build quality is very good.  It is the best $50 that I spent for audio hobby.  It dethroned the Samson 850 for best budget headphones.
-UE6000:  Totally agree with Mshenay about the sound of UE600 in passive and active mode.  I got it from tigerdirect 2 weeks ago for $80.  It sounds warmer and smoother than the Gemini 1000 (note that my source is my laptops.  Gemini will sound better and smooth with better source).  It is more comfortable and portable than the Gemini.  My wife tries it and like its comfort, sound, look so much that she wants one for herself (she has Senn 555).  So I had order another one for her at same price $80 (last week).  If you are interested in these, check tigerdirect.com if they have them on sale again or not.  I think UE 6000 is a discontinued model, so it is not hard to find them at $100
 
Good luch and happy listening

 
Thanks for replying. The Gemini seems like a pretty stellar steal for that price range, but it isnt in any stretch of the imagination "portable", which is really why im going to be using it as my last resort if i can't find anything compelling enough. On ebay i can get it around $90 right now (the UE 6000) which isnt that bad honestly for portable ANC headphones, its a bit hard to find ones that good. Amazon has it for $100 which isn't bad also if the eBay one is gone. Tigerdirect has them for 120 unfortunately. 
 
How is the sound leakage of the UE 6000? I'd bring my DT990's to school if they weren't open back. Surprisingly my laptop can drive them relatively well. 70% volume to get good audio.
Hows the noise isolation on those? How well does it block out noise compared to say a cars sound system turned up to 50% volume, kinda like blasting the music. Maybe a better question would be, is it good enough to cancel out the audio while watching a movie in a theater.