[Ishouldbeking]

  My commute is an hour and a half on a train, plus a half-hour to an hour walk. I never listen to anything while I'm walking - aside from the fact that I just like the atmosphere and the sounds of being out in the city, I also don't really need to be distracted when buses and taxis are constantly trying to kill me. So that leaves the train, on which I probably listen to music one day a week. I'm a pretty minimalist sort of person, and don't really want too much space wasted in my tiny bag for music. So, it's just my phone, and a pair of IEMs. I'm not a huge fan of isolation, but I do occasionally want to improve my chances of ignoring someone's racist tirade or bizarre sales pitch, all the while being able to hear announcements so I'm not completely clueless as to what the train just hit and how many hours it's going to set me back. I know this isn't the Headphone Sightings thread, but my informal observation of DC area commuter train riders is that they primarily listen on the earbuds that came with their phone, followed by a variety of IEMs, followed by Beats, followed by Bose, followed by PortaPros.

 
Oh, awesome. My commute will be similar (but shorter) as we're moving to DC as well. Maybe my sportapros won't look so out of place in the meantime

 

[brhfl]

 
Oh, awesome. My commute will be similar (but shorter) as we're moving to DC as well. Maybe my sportapros won't look so out of place in the meantime

 
I have been pretty surprised at the number of PortaPros I've seen on the MARC. And, frankly, a decent number of other solid headphones. On Metro, it's mostly Beats. Demographic is just different - a lot of young people, people moving around the city instead of grumpily going to/from their jobs, so on... Anyway, welcome to the area!

 

[Notus]

I use mainly Koss Porta Pro when i want to be aware of my surroundings, when i am running or walking the dog and stuff like that.
My Sansa Clip + is my portable player since it is one of the few mp3 players where you can use memory card and it is easy to use, battery life is surprisingly good. I have couple of IEM's but i have fit issues and they tend to cause me discomfort, also they tend to have bad soundstage in my opinion. I actually bought KRK KNS 8400 headphones about two weeks a go for my main portable headphones when i am away from home for longer periods. I had limited options and i think the 8400 had most of my requirement covered. Comfort is good, They are light and small for an over ear headphones, durable, they have detachable cord what was a big thing for me. They have fairly good soundstage for a closed back headphone, most closed headphones have poor soundstage and i cant stand it. Good isolation for those moments when only thing i want to hear is my music, especially in the train. They do have swiveling cups and they fold flat but that is feature is not so important for me.
Only downside to me is that they are slightly too bright to be neutral, but over all the sound quality is very good and detailed. They do have very good extension in the bass and treble, slightly more bass and smidge more warmth in the sound and they would be nearly perfect for me.
The looks i am not so fond of but i have seen worse.

 

[Ishouldbeking]

T

   
I have been pretty surprised at the number of PortaPros I've seen on the MARC. And, frankly, a decent number of other solid headphones. On Metro, it's mostly Beats. Demographic is just different - a lot of young people, people moving around the city instead of grumpily going to/from their jobs, so on... Anyway, welcome to the area!

Thanks! I'm halfway to old and will wearily be going to law school, and I'm just completely unsure what to rock on the train. The truth is that I should probably try my current gear first and just see how it goes... but that's too boring of an approach
 
Everyone here has contributed some great insight for sure. I was originally thinking IEM's would be the surefire thing, but after some around-town experimentation I'm starting to think some of my other actual headphones might be a better choice, considering the fit and feel i typically prefer. Lots to think about!

 

[mark2410]

by train i presume you mean some sort of underground system?
 
if so they are normally the loudests places on earth so id say soemthing like an hf3.
 
as for what i use, IEM's but it varies day to day what i pick up.