[wdahm519]

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Why hasn't anyone mentioned the Beyerdynamic DT990 yet? The 250 ohm is $179 on Amazon and probably has the best sub $300 open headphone bass.
 
You will need an amp eventually but if you plan to buy one when you can afford it I think you'll survive in the meantime. The FiiO E7/E9 combo is not just the best bang for the buck, but ridiculously powerful I-can't-believe-this-only-costs-$200 combo.

This!  I agree completely.  I've owned the DT990 250ohm model for a couple of months now unamped and they sound pretty good.  However, even when I run these headphones out of my receiver's amp and DAC (for my surround sound) they get more precise bass and they are less shrill with the highs.  
 
I can't wait to see how they'll sound with my Total BitHead on Monday!

 

[Riku540]

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Ok, I think I'm set on dt990 premium.(sorry for the hesitance -_-) I  think I get more with dt990, and from hearing you guys, the sound quality is superb as well. If I have a good amp that can drive both 600 and 250 ohm ones, would it have difference in sound quality? I'm guessing the 32 ohm version doesn't require an amp, but also think headphones will sound better with an amp anyway, so I'll purchase one coupled with either 600 or 250 ohm. 
 
I guess the next step is looking for the amps, probably with upgradability, like the Audio-gd NFB-12 Elanzer mentioned. My setup will be simple, from cowon j3, the amp, and the headphone.

If you can afford the price difference, get the 600 ohm all the way. That way you will know you have the best version and really wont see a better headphone without an exponential jump in price.
 
Also, I had not realized you are using the Cowon as a source; I still recommend the E9 which is $129 without the E7. It's cheaper than the Audio-GD and will perform just as well; and better than many amps that cost 3-4 times as much.
 
And as stated before; if you're getting open headphones you're not going to want to use them in public. So if portability is an issue you're going to want a different setup altogether.

 

[juman231]

I will be using the headphone at home only, and keep my ath-m50 as a portable. 
 
Just to clarify, since cowon j3's output is analog, does that translate to the fact that I will not need(or cannot have) a DAC in the setup I mentioned? What other equipment would I need if I were to use my cowon j3 with a dac and an amp?
 
And one more question. Do all amplifiers take analog signal is an input, as it is the case of fiio e9? Will amps like schiit asgard or little dot III also work this way? I think having the just the fiio e9 might look like an incomplete setup because of the empty e7 dock.

 

[juman231]

I think there are a lot of items that I can buy in this forum at a very attractive price. Would you guys recommend this?

 

[Elanzer]

Stand alone amps always take analog signal, since the DAC converts beforehand to analog,
 
The J3 acts as your DAC in this situation, so you need just the amp. You could hook up a LD MKIII to your J3 without problem, I've connected my Cowon D2 to it.

 

[juman231]

Elanzer, in the long run, would I benefit more if I got the LD MKIII, or the FIIO E9?

 

[Elanzer]

If you're going to buy the DT990 or any other 600-Ohm beyer, I'd suggest going for the MKIII. OTL tube amps are better suited for high impedance and it has good synergy with the beyers, helping smooth over the brightness area of the DT990.
 
It will cost you about $100 more over the E9 though.

 

[Elanzer]

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i highly recommend this  Sennheiser HD595 Dynamic High Grade Performance Premiere Headphones to u, it is good price and super hot now,You can take it into your consideration.

HD595 is pretty poor for the price, especially since the HD 555 is identical minus a piece of foam (of which you can remove) and hd595 costs about $60 extra... it also has below average bass, the OP wants decent bass.