[ActualCitizen]

Looking for a $300 pair of closed/semi-closed headphones that sound great without an amplifier. Some features I'm looking for are
 

1. Amp-less: I will be driving these out of a laptop/portable media player. I don't plan on purchasing an amp soon so scalability is not an issue for me. I'd just like a pair that sounds very good sans amp.

 

1. Durable: Although I will be careful, I'm not looking to baby them.

 

1. Engaging sound: I'm interested in 'engaging' sound which is especially strong at reproducing vocals (about a 60/40 split between male and female vocals). The upper-mid hump will also make rock more engaging.

 
       Punchy bass/rumble is always a plus because I do listen to EDM as well.
 

1. Comfort: Looking for comfortable headphones with which I can avoid head/perspiration for extended use. My ears are about average size and my head is above average size.

 
Some headphones I was looking at included the AKG K550, Beyer DT770 (poor mids), Mad Dogs (difficult to drive, kind of ugly), Sennheiser Momentums (small), V-Moda M-100 (lackluster mids), Focal Spirit One, and Denon D600. Other headphone recs are definitely welcome too.
 
Once again, I need to keep it under $300. Thanks for reading, I'm open to any suggestions and discussion.

 

[joshkim12]

The beyers are power hungry and will sound horrible unamped so i'd suggest some grados.  

 

[ActualCitizen]

The beyers are power hungry and will sound horrible unamped so i'd suggest some grados.  

Oh, I forgot to mention that I'm looking for closed/semi-open headphones for reduced leakage.

 

[Jepu]

I can confirm that the Focals fill most of your demands. Where are you gonna use them though? Their cord is kinda short, so other than mobile use is difficult. Momentums and M-100 are definitely good choices tootough AFAIK, plus I'd probably suggest you to take a peek at the UE6000 also. All of these choices should not be too rare, so listening to them at some store would probably be for the best though. It is your ears we're thalling about after all.

 

[ActualCitizen]

I

I can confirm that the Focals fill most of your demands. Where are you gonna use them though? Their cord is kinda short, so other than mobile use is difficult. Momentums and M-100 are definitely good choices tootough AFAIK, plus I'd probably suggest you to take a peek at the UE6000 also. All of these choices should not be too rare, so listening to them at some store would probably be for the best though. It is your ears we're thalling about after all.

I plan on using these for all purposes, both portable and at-home. I have looked at the UE6000, however their aesthetics are just really not my style.

I'm having difficulty finding places to audition headphones; major electronics stores near me don't carry these, and I can't find specialty stores. Any suggestions here? I live in the DC/MD area, on the off chance that you're familiar.