[Longbowman]

Thank you for the thoughtful replies!

My dilemma is that the cans listed here are either unavailable (D2000), or expensive (i.e. more than the $250CAD I paid for my 880s). The MDR 7520's look great, as do the 1540's, but they're getting out of my pricerange, unfortunately.

I am in Canada, so this makes things slightly more difficult.

That said, the DT 770 32's (I think the LE) went down to $207 on Amazon.ca -- is that a worthwhile price for the cans? By comparison, 598C's and M50X's are about the same price (~$185-199).
If the price/performance is just that good at the $250-350 range, like some listed here, then I'll certainly consider it.

 

[zazex]

Thank you for the thoughtful replies!

My dilemma is that the cans listed here are either unavailable (D2000), or expensive (i.e. more than the $250CAD I paid for my 880s). The MDR 7520's look great, as do the 1540's, but they're getting out of my pricerange, unfortunately.

I am in Canada, so this makes things slightly more difficult.

That said, the DT 770 32's (I think the LE) went down to $207 on Amazon.ca -- is that a worthwhile price for the cans? By comparison, 598C's and M50X's are about the same price (~$185-199).
If the price/performance is just that good at the $250-350 range, like some listed here, then I'll certainly consider it.

I'm not familiar with Canadian pricing..
The M50X are good sounding, well made headphones.
After you listen to more headphones, you'll become aware
of what they're lacking and what sonic extras they're giving you.
The DT770's have been out for a long time, and obviously they've
been successful - many have found them to be good value.
Personally, I never liked them - for me, the bass was too boomy
and uncontrolled, and they sounded very closed in with virtually
no soundstage at all.
If I had to pick between those two, I'd go for the M50X.
But I'd also try to get a listen to the ATH-MSR7. They're
very good sounding; I feel (and I'm not alone in this) they're
a solid step up from the M50X. Especially with respect to
detail, neutral presentation, and soundstage.
It's worth a note that they're available in different colors -
some are far less expensive, and they're the same headphones
in every other way.

It seems that the Senn 598 has been or is being discontinued.
I've never heard them, strangely enough considering that I've
heard many and still have a few. All I can say is that they've
been very popular - people have complained about their all
plastic build, and there are pictures showing cracks and
breaks. My guess is that they probably sound OK at least,
(they also have many rave reviews), the build quality is
probably dubious, and there are better choices available.

Cheers,

 

[nraymond]

You might want to take a look at the Pioneer HRM-6, which fit into your price range and are comfortable and well-rounded studio monitor headphones:

https://www.pioneerdj.com/en-us/product/headphones/hrm-6/black/overview/

 

[Longbowman]

I'm not familiar with Canadian pricing..
The M50X are good sounding, well made headphones.
After you listen to more headphones, you'll become aware
of what they're lacking and what sonic extras they're giving you.
The DT770's have been out for a long time, and obviously they've
been successful - many have found them to be good value.
Personally, I never liked them - for me, the bass was too boomy
and uncontrolled, and they sounded very closed in with virtually
no soundstage at all.
If I had to pick between those two, I'd go for the M50X.
But I'd also try to get a listen to the ATH-MSR7. They're
very good sounding; I feel (and I'm not alone in this) they're
a solid step up from the M50X. Especially with respect to
detail, neutral presentation, and soundstage.
It's worth a note that they're available in different colors -
some are far less expensive, and they're the same headphones
in every other way.

It seems that the Senn 598 has been or is being discontinued.
I've never heard them, strangely enough considering that I've
heard many and still have a few. All I can say is that they've
been very popular - people have complained about their all
plastic build, and there are pictures showing cracks and
breaks. My guess is that they probably sound OK at least,
(they also have many rave reviews), the build quality is
probably dubious, and there are better choices available.

Cheers,

The problem is that local stores here have little to no selection. I've tried HD 380's, Focal Spirit Pro's (they actually had these for some reason), and M50X's. The M50X's did sound somewhat "hyped", but better than the rest of the cheaper models they had, and considerably more comfortable. The Focal Spirit's were by far the most neutral, but at $350-400 not worth comparing here.

The ATH MSR7 seems interesting, but they're around $270 on Amazon, again more expensive than my 880's. I do realize I may be hoping for too much here.

In terms of my priorities, you don't really need a whole lot for on-the-road composing, nor for tracking, other than being relatively isolating. One thing that's disappointing about some of the reviews of these is the lack of soundstage, but I'm not sure you can really get build quality, soundstage and overall neutrality with decent bass at this price range. I may have to keep an eye on MSR7, though reviews say they lack bass.
That said, it seems like going for higher impedance and lower sensitivity i.e. the 770 range is likely a compromise in the wrong direction. I think it might be better to simply get a worthwhile amp for my 880's and then find something more in the line of M50x's for other uses.

Re: Pioneer. Great looking cans, but again closer to the $300 range unfortunately (here anyway). I might start looking into getting a friend from the US to bring something up for me.