[NoSo]

After quite a long time of researching which headphone would fit the best for school, I have yet to come to a conclusion. It is difficult to choose from the amount of headphones available due to their pros and cons that I have read throughout the internet, and especially Head-fi.
 
My first good piece of cans were the HD 201's but now, they don't cut it for me simply because they lack the bass I am looking for. Now don't get me wrong, I am not much of a bass head but I do intend to look for a balanced amount of bass, not too overwhelming but has the right amount of impact on your ears. Also they are not as portable, especially with its bulkiness and its long cables.
 
I plan on purchasing them off strictly from Amazon and the budget will remain $50 because I am pretty cheap and do not even dare to exceed $10 more.
 
The music I listen to is basically electronic music (and purely electronic music) such as Drum n' Bass, Trance, Techno, Dubstep, House, etc.
 
I want to prioritize several things in order from numbers:
1. Sound Quality
Of course, this is a given. No need to explain but I am basically looking for the most balanced headphones.
 
2. Sound Leakage
Surprising and unexpected, I have been told by several people within my class that they could hear my music from the HD 201's. I rarely blast them, and even if I do it is from the loud noises surrounding me (which is where isolation is needed) which causes me to raise up the volume levels.
After some research, I realized that it is because it is an open can. Is this correct?
I am looking for headphones that do not leak during class, like after finishing a test and trying to "quietly" listen to music without it leaking but at the same time being able to listen to it at reasonable volume levels.
 
Headphones I have looked into: JVC HA-RX 700 (possibility I will mod this if I can get the materials), and the Panasonic RP HTX7
 
3. Portability
As far as portability goes, the HD 201's has a long cable which I found to be a bit of a hassle. I ended up taking a rubber band and measuring the amount of excess length and creating a bundle of it using the rubber band and placing it into my back pocket. They are also quite bulky and big, and the fact that I am an active teenager, I have to somehow fit it into my bags without risking it from becoming smashed which I constantly worry about.
 
Headphones I have looked into: Koss KSC 75 (planning to put on a headband mod), Koss PortaPro (which I believe does not have titanium drivers unlike the KSC 75's do, but what is the significance of this?), JVC HAS700, and the MEElectronics HT-21 (These are fairly new and I have read few reviews about them. Are they supposedly better sounding than the KSC 75's?)
 
 
4. Comfort.
I wear glasses and such headphones like the KSC 75's would prove to be difficult to wear without the headband mod. Also, cups that go on the ears may prove to be a bit of an annoyance due to the combined force the the headphones itself (unless the clamping force isn't too bad) and my glasses.
 
5. Isolation
Isolation comes below because I would like to hear others calling to me from a distance during school but also to block out the noisiness of the hallways although I am not particularly bothered by it.
 
Headphones I have looked into: JVC HAS700
 
6. Looks
I honestly don't care how it looks, the JVC HA-RX 700 are huge but the PortaPros looks pretty retro . Surprisingly enough, people have even commented on how retro the HD 201's look! I'm oddly enough not one of those kids (and thankfully because I actually care about sound quality) who uses Skullcandys and walk around thinking that they look cool along with so many people wearing Dr. Dre's beats thinking that they have the best sound quality which they do not. I have tried them out and all I can say is that the bass on those overpriced headphones are way to overwhelming and overall has a muddy sound quality from my experience.
 
PLEASE DO NOT RECOMMEND: Sennheiser PX 100. Why? Simply because the discontinuation of this item has caused its original cheap $50 range to jump up to nearly $80 (on Amazon of course, but also on eBay).
 
So summed up here are my choices (not in any order)
JVC HA-RX 700
JVC HAS700
Koss KSC 75
Koss PortaPro
Panasonic RP HTX7
MEElectronics HT-21
 
Other headphone recommendations are welcome but remember, I plan to purchase them off from Amazon.
 
Thanks.

 

[voicemaster]

JVC HA-RX700 = sounds great, work fine directly from Ipod or any other PMP, HUGE size - not so portable.
JVC HA-S700 = don't know anything about it, but I think it will make a good portable HP.
Koss KSC75 = sounds great, but no isolation and sound leakage may not be suitable for our preferences.
Koss PortaPro = same with KSC75
Panasonic RP HTX7 = FWIR it is a decent portable HP
Mee HT-21 = got a pretty good review from one of reputable reviewer in Head-fi, good portable HP.

 

[imademymark]

I quite liked the Porta Pros, they have a bass response you wouldnt expect from something so small

 

[Ishcabible]

Uhh...you're basically asking for something impossible. There's nothing that can let sound in, but not leak any. It's one or the other.
 
The Kosses will leak, and I'm kinda sad MEE didn't send me a pair of HT21's, not that I asked when they sent me stuff, but I would have been able to help with you. The Porta's would be great for you if you didn't care for leakage.
 
This might help.

 

[utkusu]

I remember joker's review of Yuin G2A's. It said something like isolation is weak, but sound leakage is less than expected. And it sounds much better than KSC75s. Check out his roundup.

 

[mootookang]

I own the S700, I enjoy how they sound after some modding, but I remember being relatively unimpressed with them before mod.
RX700 would not be portable at all, they are way too big for portable use.
Koss phones are open so they will have little to no isolation and will leak sound.
HTX7 I know nothing about.
HT21 have been getting some positive reviews, but from what I've read, they don't isolate well because they lack clamp force.

Have you considered IEMs? I feel like they will perform much better with your given budget.

 

[NoSo]

Quote:

Have you considered IEMs? I feel like they will perform much better with your given budget.

I have but I'm not too much of a fan of IEM's just because I ironically believe that it's more of a hassle to handle eg. Tangles more often but that's just me :/. If there are any IEM's that perform much better than the aforementioned headphones listed above or any others, the suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mootookang]

Majority of the IEMs created in recent time have adapt to using thicker cable to make it less prone to tangle. As long as you don't wrap the cable around something, use the cable slider and use the provided shirt clip, everything should be fine.

IEMs will be able to meet all of your requirements outside of looks and isolation, since It is not possible for something to block out selective noise.

Try to look over Joker's IEM thread and see if there's any that would match your sound signature preference.

 

[NoSo]

I have looked over Joker's thread and for the IEM's. My signature sound area would be that of electronic music and apparently the Meelec M6's are quite the choice for Trance/Electronic music in general. How would Drum & Bass sound with these? I suppose one wouldn't know without actually trying.
 
Along with that, the Meelec HT-21 shows some promise as it is both a headphone I'm looking for and quite portable. Along with few isolation so that I can hear my other classmates and the price is quite nice as well as the M6. The M6 is priced down to $20 while the HT-21 remains at its $40 value. Which would be best out of those two?
 
Edit: Reading further on, other IEM's that have interested me is the Visang R02/Brainwavz ProAlpha  and the Brainwavz M1. Reading through Joker's reviews, it is noticed that the bass in the ProAlpha's sound is a bit more punchy and idealistic to the Drum & Bass genre yet the Brainwavz M1 seems to be more balanced with a clearer soundstage. I would also like someone's opinions on these two.