Circumaural, closed, MIDRANGE

[jimbob747]

While i love the sound of my RS1's i still can't get over the comfort and them falling off my head etc at home be that 'headbanging' or simply getting up too fast.

What i'm looking for is the ESW10 of closed circumaural headphones... Unfortunately haven't exactly got 'normal shaped' ears after years of rugby so i get very high levels of sound leak from superaurals (which my girlfriend can't stand).

I've seen a couple of posts following this sort of ideal but they seem to be swamped with options that are either impractical (R10's are impossible to get hold of) or simply based on rumour/hearsay... I have been temped by the DT series as i've never owned any beyerdynamics whatsoever although they seem to focus on either end of the spectrum - if anyone could convince me otherwise i'd be very happy.

I do like having some physical impact to my headphones although realistically i' m only going to be listening to classical, country, contemporary folk, jazz, alternative etc...

Price is... an interesting thing right now... My girlfriend is trying to make me save money (holidays etc...) but i'm looking to scale down my system, selling things i can replace for better options. We're probably looking no more than £1000/$1650 but would be happy with anything that i can actually get hold of - the cheaper the better though tbh. I don't mind balanced options - it's very unlikely that i'll be getting rid of my BUDA anytime soon.
 

 

[BotByte]

Hmm.. Well Grado are actually pretty full of mids
 
The cheapest can I can think of that just just mids would be the T50RP
Review:
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/559233/review-fostex-t50rp-it-s-been-needing-a-review
 
When you first listen to them, the mids are just bloated and flood everywhere. After a while of burn in and your ear get used to them, they sound great. Then with a little modding, they sound amazing.
 
I've modded mine like this: Added earpads, dampened with felt, tape, blutak, and made a new headband. 
 
You don't have to recable it or mess with the driver to make them sound a whole lot better.
 
I've also tested it up against the HD650 and LCD-2, I would say they run short of the LCD-2 but blwo the HD650 out of the water. But that's to be expected with 200 hours of modding in them.

 

[rhythmdevils]

I think a nice custom pair of Thunderpants would be just what the doctor ordered, and they're beautiful which might make the girlfriend more approving.  I can't think of a better closed headphone if midrange is a priority. 
 
There's also the JVC DX1000, which I haven't heard but from what I gather it's going to be similar to the Thunderpants but without the speed of the ortho driver. 
 
edit ^ just to be clear, the Thunderpants is a professionally modded T50rp complete with wood housing.  I don't think the stock T50rp is a good recommendation TBH for someone with a big budget and who doesn't necessarily want to mod like crazy. 

 

[jimbob747]

I have actually seen the Smeggy Thunderpants mentioned before but found it difficult to find for sale (i'm in the UK) and... it crops up again, "you're alwaystaking up too much room with 'toys'". I have to be 'good' and put all my equipment away, i think i'd get murdered modding headphones in the livingroom (again)... So many sacrifices (she's not as bad as it sounds... honest).

So i may have to look into those JVC DX1000 am i right in saying there are a few different models? I've heard of the HA and the HP? 
 

 

 

[rhythmdevils]

Smeggy has opened up an official business and is now an MOT here on head-fi.  Here's his new website
 
No modding needed.  And he can customize the look and sound to your tastes.  Plus you're buying a handmade product, which is pretty cool IMO.

 

[CFabian]

One of the older AT woodies would be another option if you stumble across a pair. The W10s/W11s all have an exceptional midrange. Not sure how the ESW10 would compare (I've heard them described as a "baby W11JPN") but I will say the ESW9 has a somewhat similar tone to the W10VTG and W100 but is not really on the same tier as the full-size models IMO.

 

[jimbob747]

Don't know if anyone is still going to be checking this but anyone have any ideas on the Thunderpants vs HE-series?

Waiting for some better looking Thunderpants to come out as i just missed out on these: - 
 
1000x500px-LL-eef0b811_Thunderpants-XL.jpg


Even so this is one of my serious all time midrange buys i'm happy with everything else (until something equally tempting dawns on me) so it has to be a good'n.