[pianoplayer88key]

I would like sealed cans (I may be willing to try in-ear but I want to be able to try it to make sure it seals well, is comfortable, and sounds good (for the price I'm willing to pay).) if possible, for maximum possible isolation from outside sound.
Also I would like something that has a fairly wide range frequency response, also I don't want too-harsh highs but I want the crispness in the cymbals, and I also want a good low-end bass (for example resonant at around the 20 to 30 Hz range, not the 60 to 150 Hz range that the bass boost on some devices seems to use.)
I don't want to spend more than about $100 to $120, with $150 being my absolute maximum limit.
Several months ago I tried a Bose Triport headphone and liked the bass on it but the highs were a bit recesssed in my opinion. I wasn't ready to buy at the time, but I'm closer to it now. It may be another month or two though.
I've never tried one yet but I've heard good things (and not-so-good tings) about the Sennheiser HD-280 Pro's. That's another unit I'm looking into getting, but is there anything better for a comparable price?
I would prefer a straight cord, or if it's coiled, I would like a replaceable cord so I could put a straight cord (preferably with an inline volume control so that I can quickly turn down the volume if necessary when I plug it into a powerful source so I don't blow my eardrums out) in it. What's the advantage of a coiled cord versus a straight cord, btw? I might sometimes be stretching it to its limit, but also would have times when I would want it taking up not much space.
I would like it to be comfortable (for example I would like to be able to wear it for extended periods of time in warm or hot moderately humid weather without having my ears sweat (btw I'm talking about cans here btw not in-ear models)) and be able to stay on my head in pretty much all situations unless I choose to take it off.
I would like a long cord so I can run it across the room, but one problem I have is having the cord catch on things or sometimes people trip over it. Since I can't afford a $1,073,741,824 wireless setup (probably a sufficient amount to convince the FCC to give me a license to set up a transmitter that covers a 500 mile radius with a clear hi-fidelity signal, and set up a transmitter and antenna for said wireless system), what would you recommend that's corded, or is it possible to get a wireless setup for $150 that goes at LEAST 350 to 400 feet with a clear signal then slowly drops off from there, with the headphones sounding like $100 to $120 phones?
I see a lot of talk on this forum and on headphone.com and headwize.org (not sure if I have both URL's correct) about using a headphone amp. Because of a limited budget, I do not plan to use a headphone amp, and purchasing one is not planned even in the distant future. Most likely any amp I buy in the future will either be put in my car (when I get one) or be one that is run on AC power.
I did say I wanted good isolation on these phones (so I wouldn't have to crank them up nearly so loud to get a good signal to noise ratio without blowing out my eardrums in a house with the vacuum cleaner, dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, etc running, or outside with a lawn mower, leaf blower, or weed-eater (in which case I'm operating them) running), but I would also like them to be able to be easily driven on portable devices so if I wanted to crank up the sound and share it with others (btw hopefully the seal is good enough so that I'd have to take the headphones off to do this) nearby I could do it without distorting them.
Some devices I will be driving the phones off of include, but are not limited to: Panasonic RQ-SW10 and RQ-SW20 Shockwave radio/cassette player, Sony D-NS921F MP3 CD Player, Pogo RipFlash+ MP3 Player/Recorder, Sony SRF-42 AM Stereo/FM Stereo radio (btw the SRF-42 can pretty much drive almost ANYTHING to ear-splitting levels but it's the other things I'm concerned about).
I may have already mentioned frequency response but I would like a fairly wide range. Using cheap headphones and computer software I estimate my hearing range is somewhere around 12 Hz or so up to around 16kHz. I wonder if I would be able to extend my range to something like 2 Hz or 4 Hz up to 18 or even 20 kHz with a good pair of headphones? If I can't get much more high end than 16 kHz, I would still like to be able to take advantage of what's there, but I do want to have a deep low-end.

Here are a few examples of some of the music I would be listening to:
http://68.105.108.90:1180/stephen/pi...piano_9f_1991/ - A very small sampling of some of the religious-with-vocals music I would be listening to. In many cases the recordings would be poorer quality than these here.
Radio Disney clips - this is examples of the type of pop/rock I would be listening to with it. I recorded these with the aforementioned SRF-42 off of AM 1110 in the Los Angeles, CA, area, in stereo. Frequency response tops out at 10kHz.
piano solo clips with low bass - many of the short clips here are fair quality with notes extending as low as 27 Hz. In the middle somewhere there are several short clips that are poor quality - overdriven AND very poor low frequency response, but with notes that go down as low as around 16Hz if not a bit lower. I want something that sounds good on those low notes (assuming I'm listening to better quality recordings).

So... what would you guys recommend? Should I try out a Sennheiser HD-280 Pro, or a Bose Triport, or is there something else that better meets the above criteria for a comparable or lower price?

Oh, btw, first cans I had were the Sony MDR-CD360. At the time I was somewhat happy with them but now am looking for a major improvement (they've been disfunctional for at least a couple years now or somewhere around there.)
Right now (temporarily at least, to get me by) I have a $30 Panasonic RP-HT355, but I'm looking for something better.

 

[crazyfrenchman27]

Probably the best closed headphones in your price range are the ATH-A500 (not portable) and HD25-1 (portable). Neither one of them requires a headphone amplifier.

I have not tried the HD25-1 (only the SP, which I disliked) or the ATH-A500 (I own the ATH-A900, which is a slightly superior headphone of similar lineage). The ATH-A500 will probably have a more open sound-stage than the HD25-1 but will possess less impact, making the HD25-1 better for rock music.

If I were you, I'd select the HD25-1 for general versatility.

I find the sound of the HD280s to be rather disappointing. They don't produce the open soundstage of the ATH series nor do they produce deep bass.

I'm terrified by the fact that you found the Bose Tri Ports to be impressive. They are terrible; absolutely hideous. The sound they produce seems garbled and constrained, an inaccurate and inadequate reproduction of music. I would take the sound of my $40 porta pros over them any day.

Good luck in your quest for affordable, audiophile-quality closed cans.

 

[crazyfrenchman27]

How much noise isolation do you need?

If noise isolation is a major necessity, the ER-6i is the only way to go from $100-$150. They fit inside your ear canal, so getting a proper fit might be an issue.

They will sound very good, though, don't worry .

ER-6i, ATH-A500, or HD25-1.

 

[Evilson]

Quote:

How much noise isolation do you need?

With the music on, the A900 provides some isolation, but you still hear most loud noises from outside. If you need complete isolation, the er6i might be a better choice. I don't believe the A500, if same as the A900(at a low to moderate volume level) will block out noise from your lawn mower or dishwasher, etc.

 

[pianoplayer88key]

Only reason I thought the Bose phones were better was because they WERE better to my ears than anything else I had tried at the time.

Who makes the A900, A500, HD25, and what's the typical street price at a local store and where should I look for them?

Also what about the Sony V6? How well would those work (assuming I can still get them at Fry's)?

Where could I try the ER-6i?

Also portability is not really an issue, and I think I would probably be more comfortable with circumaural ear pads rather than supra-aural, but would supra-aural stay on more easily , be more comfortable (although that's an individual thing I understand) AND offer more isolation and better sound for the price than circum-aural?

 

[Evilson]

A500/900 - http://www.audiocubes2.com

Sennheiser makes HD25, you can find it at http://www.headphone.com

A500 is around 100 USD, I believe. A900 is 211 shipped.

 

[Evilson]

The A900 is VERY comfortable, and the sound is very good. For walking around, etc., there shouldn't be a problem. Again, the isolation isn't bad, but if you're going to be using a vacuum cleaner, I'm guessing that canalphones are your only choice.

 

[pianoplayer88key]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evilson The A900 is VERY comfortable, and the sound is very good. For walking around, etc., there shouldn't be a problem. Again, the isolation isn't bad, but if you're going to be using a vacuum cleaner, I'm guessing that canalphones are your only choice.

I don't mind being able to hear whatever device, be it a vacuum cleaner, lawn mower, weed eater, leaf blower, etc, but I would like at least a 50 to 60dB sound-in-headphones to sound-outside ratio without having to crank up my headphones louder than 85 to 90 dB. (preferably less so I can save my hearing longer).

Where can I go to a store and try the A500's and a few other recommended <$150 phones?

 

[pianoplayer88key]

Ok I think I'm going to rule out canal phones, but I might still be willling to give them a whirl. Also sounds like the triports may be out. I remember they had good isolation, though, and a nice low end bass, although the highs were lacking somewhat (on the pair I tried a year or so ago.)

So... Sennheiser HD-280 Pro, Audio-Technica ATH-A500, Sony MDR-V6/7506, any other suggestions? Also where can I go in San Diego to try these (and other good ones in the $80 to $150 range (including tax & shipping)?

Basically, what I want is:
easy to drive on a portable - I don't plan on getting an amp. for example, sensitive enough so that when I'm in a fairly quiet environment I can still hear the music even with my portable's volume turned all the way down.
good isolation - I may be using them sometimes in somewhat noisy environments, including but not limited to while running a lawn mower, riding in a car on the freeway with the windows open or riding in a plane, etc.
wide-range frequency response - I like hearing low bass like the lowest notes on a Bosendorfer 290 grand piano and organ pedal tones for example, like notes that this organ can produce (down to 8 Hz), as well as other notes referred to on this web page including the lowest note produced by this experimental PVC-pipe instrument, an ultrasonic 4 Hz. What kind of headphones are good enough to go down this low and still sound fairly loud? Using computer software to test my temporary Panasonic RP-HT355 $30 phones, I can only hear a sine wave down to 10 Hz stretching it, more like 15 to 18 Hz under normal conditions. I would like something in my price range with which I can hear down to at LEAST 4 Hz, if possible. As far as the high end goes, I can barely hear up to 16.5 kHz, or more easily up to 15 kHz. Is there a way to extend my audible high end to, say, 18 or 20 or even 22 kHz without damaging my ears, or do I have to just settle for getting a better low end response?

I will be driving these portable devices a lot of the time, and will often be plugging them into a computer, and occasionally plugging the phones into a stereo system.

Most of the music I will be listening to includes, but is not limited to, stuff like Radio Disney (btw this clip is topped out at 10kHz due to the recording source and bitrate/sample frequency used), traditional Christian music with vocals, piano solos (some parts of this are very low quality but include tones at least as low as 16 Hz), and probably other types of music too.

I guess the main thing is what do you guys recommend in the <$150 range and where can I try them in a store in San Diego, CA?