[ColdEars]

Hello everyone,

I'm fairly new to the audiophile world, and just discovered the forum today. I'm looking to buy a pair of headphones (My first pair since my pair of Skullcandys I had when I was 14 - I've learned from my mistakes) and I was looking for some advice. I'm looking to get a quality pair of over-ear headphones, under $300. They would be for my iPod classic, that I have packed with classic/alternative rock, and some electronic/doom metal. I'm planning on picking up a portable amp later on, but at the moment, I'm without.
I was looking at the Shure SRH840, which seems to be fairly popular, and also the Audio-Technica ATH-M50S. Any thoughts/suggestions?

 

[ColdEars]

My horrible in-ears broke yesterday - bump.

 

[hudamanium]

I dont reccomend the M50s or the SRH840s if you want them to be relativly portable. 
 
If you can carry them around in a backpack most of the time then theyre ok though. 

 

[Pitts Pilot]

The M50s are just slightly more portable than the Shures for me, as the cups will rotate so they are then flat and will fit in my pack pretty well.  But . . . neither one is particularly portable.  My buddy got the 840s and I got the M50s the same day.  We did some comparing and we both like the one we got better - no surprise.  They're both pretty unbelievable for the price. (Especially the M50s!)

 

[au5t3n5]

ive been using my srh840s on the go, but just to go to class, which means walk to bus stop, bus, walk to class and vice versa. thats as much as on the go they really get, besides the car rides. while they can definitely be used as portable, they are on the bulky side and cannot be worn around the neck and carried. also it should be noted that the 840s are meant for medium to large heads. i by no means have a TINY head, and i'm used to fitting on the smallest setting on all other cans, and on the smallest setting for my shures they are still too large and slip off at the wrong angle (too inclined, etc). i looked into m50s before getting the shures (went for the shures for the mids and vocals i listen to) and dont regret it. as for cans, if you plan on being portable, why not just get iems? for $300 you can get westone 3's or something. my friend's esw9's are the most portable cans i've tried, look great too, but might be on the fragile side.
 

 

[ColdEars]

I thought about IEMs, but I think I just prefer cans. How do the esw9's compare to the m50s?

 

[hudamanium]

 
the esw9s are not very portable. they are also wood so they will scratch more easily. 

 

[christine]

Also, be careful where you shop for ESW9s. There are tons of fakes out there.