[TranceFan]

Hello, all!
 
I'm a novice in these forums as well as the headphone world, so I greatly appreciate any and all advice to my following query!
 
Some background: I'm a huge fan of electronica and trance music. I've owned a pair of Labtec Note-502 headphones for more than 5 years now (yep, a cheap, all-purpose pair that's served me surprisingly well for so long). It's reaching the end of its life cycle now, and I'm quite interested in investing in a REAL set of cans.
 
I do listen to a range of music, but primarily trance and electronica. I use the built-in equalizer in Winamp to get a better bass and treble response out of my laptop, but quite frankly, I desire a pair of headphones that'll give me a more enriching musical experience.
 
Some of the things I'm looking for:
 
1) Enhancement in quality: given that I've never owned a *real* set of headphones, this is virtually guaranteed. On the same note, since any new pair will be a vast improvement to what I have, I'm not sure if there's a real need to purchase an expensive set of headphones, since I've never truly experienced a good quality pair. I'd hope to spend under $50, but if you guys recommend otherwise, I *might* be persuaded to go up to $100
 
2) Open vs. closed: I'm leaning towards a closed, circumaural set of headphones. There's an average amount of background noise in/around my apartment, and a concert pianist lives next door.. it'd be nice to just listen to music without having to destroy my hearing by cranking up the volume. I'm not interested in noise-canceling phones either.
 
3) Usage: it's very likely I'm keeping these strictly at home - little to no traveling at all. If I need a traveling pair, I'll search for something more portable, like an IEM or supra-aural set.
 
So far, I've been mostly looking at Sennheiser cans. Initially, I was thinking about the Sennheiser HD280, but they come with a fairly steep price tag. Also, I figured since I'm not a true audiophile (yet!) I could probably get by with a more economic pair, leading me towards the Sennheiser HD202 and HD201. I've read extensive reviews on all of these - there's a wide range of opinion as to their comfort, 'tinnyness,' 'muddied bass levels,' and more. However, most of the opinions are for folks who listen to other genres of music.
 
I'm planning to borrow a friend's pair of Sennheiser HD555's just to assess my comfort level for circumaural headphones. Also, I'd say I have an average head size and ear size (~2.5" in vertical length).
 
My apologies for the long post, but I wanted to give as much background detail as possible. As such, what do you guys think? Again, thanks in advance for your help and guidance!

 

[Acix]

Try the Ultrasone Pro-650 on the crazy deal at $99.

 

[immafridge]

HD280 for electronica?
Not really a good choice. I mean, sure it has great sound isolation and all, but it lacks a lot in bass.
If you still want to go for Sens, check out the HD-25. FWIR, many DJ's use it to mix their tunes and also seems like a perfect match for electronic music.
 
If not, you can go the Ultrasone route which seem mainly geared toward the electroncia genre. Check for the Pro-550 or the DJ1.
 
You can also check the M50 (yes... this again). They are good all rounder cans for all music genre, but I like these best when paired with trance and all
it's subgenre.
 
And let's say you're real cheap, try and find the Creative Aurvana Live!
 
Oh... I suggest you use Foobar2000 instead of Winamp. I've recently made the switch and there is suprisingly a difference between both of these players.
The thing I realized straight of the bat with Foobar is that it sounds more clear and there is virtually no clipping (the little crackle sound) when you use the
equalizer.

 

[NapalmK]

Welcome to Head-Fi.
 
It's always good to see another trance addict. From my experience Ultrasones and Denons tend to do the best with these genres. They may be a bit above your budget though. FWIR something like the Audio Technica M50 or Denon D1001 (or CAL!) should do pretty well for you. Also to repeat Acix's suggestion if you can find a Pro 650 that would be a great upgrade. The FS forum has had a few lately for around $120 which is worth stretching the old budget by $20.

 

[TranceFan]

Acix - where did you find that $99 deal from? I scoped around a bit online, but wasn't able to find anything cheaper than $200.
 
immafridge - thanks for the headphone suggestions - they're slightly expensive, but I'll keep looking up more on the headphones along with good deals. I heard Foobar2000 was a solid program, and I'll start using it soon!
 
NapalmK - thanks for the input! From what all 3 of you have said, it seems that I really shouldn't be looking at Sennheisers, but more on the Ultrasone side. Despite those cans being a little expensive, maybe I'll find a good deal.. are there any somewhat less expensive models that you guys might recommend? I can't afford that much above $100, to be honest I'll start checking out some Denons as well.

 

[TranceFan]

Oh, and apologies for my ignorance, but what's the FS forum?

 

[TranceFan]

Again, given that my experience is virtually nil in terms of high quality headphones, I don't think I'd like to stretch my price range too high.

 

[NapalmK]

Quote:

Oh, and apologies for my ignorance, but what's the FS forum?

Sorry probably should've linked it earlier. The FS forum is located here.
 
Oh and the deal was on Musician's Friend a couple of weeks ago. They've begun to show up on the FS forums fairly recently so you may get lucky.

 

[Abovetheair]

Audio Technica ATH-M50's. That crazy deal expired about a month ago FYI, it's a one day deal.

 

[Acix]

Quote:

Acix - where did you find that $99 deal from? I scoped around a bit online, but wasn't able to find anything cheaper than $200.
 

Here you go: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/497467/ultrasone-pro-650-for-99-over-at-mf-stupid-deal-of-the-day. I hope still on sale.

 

[Deep Funk]

How do you like to hear your music? Every headphone has a sound signature. If you really want to stay cheap check the Sennheiser HD428/438. A used one or one for sale is cheap enough. 
 
Some people use AKGs for their music. The AKG K141 or K240 Studio could be good too. It is just that some people like the bass to be very present and some don not mind a more subtle bass. For some AKGs are too light (sounding) in the bass department. Just an example of how hearing tastes matter, I like my AKG just fine though.

 

[11amaberry]

I hear the M50 have great bass, I'm saving for a pair. I used to listen to drum&bass (pendulum stuff) am now listening to some future jazz (Mr.Scruff, DJfood etc.). Whats your fav artists?

 

[TranceFan]

Unfortunately it's not on sale anymore, but I'll keep checking daily to see if anything crops up.
 
How do I like to hear my music.. well, I definitely want to hear some bass, but nothing so earth-shattering that the rest of the music is drowned out. I'm a big fan of melodic/uplifting/progressive trance, as well as house and electro, so being able to hear the melodic sequences in songs would be fairly important. In that sense, I'd suppose that bass doesn't need to be an absolutely essential element in the headphones (though I definitely wouldn't like to have no bass, haha).
 
Artists - I'm a fan of Daniel Kandi, Above and Beyond, Dan Stone, Nitrous Oxide, and many many more

 

[wind016]

Ultrasone PRO 550 is perfect with electronica.  Great with other kinds of music too but almost nothing beats it when it comes to electronica.
 
I just ordered the PRO 900 because of how much I loved the 550 sound. Even my Denon D7000s do not compare to my PRO 550 for electric music.

 

[TranceFan]

Alright, so based on a lot of additional online searching, here are some models I've narrowed my choices down as follows (based on my budget):
 
1) Sennheiser HD428 ($60) and Creative Aurvana Live ($70) are the cheaper ones, and seem to be fairly decent for their price.
 
2) Audio-Technica ATH-M50 and Denon AHD1001 (can find both for ~$100 or slightly less) both have fantastic reviews for trance music, as well as a variety of other genres. Out of these two, which one would you guys recommend?
 
3) Ahh, the reputable Ultrasones! I found an HFI-450 for $100, and an HFI-700 for $130. I wanted to ask you guys what you thought of these models - is the S-Logic technology really worth it, is there a big difference between these models, would you choose them over the headphones in 2)?
 
In all honesty, I totally wish I could snag a pair of Ultrasone Pro 550/650, but they're simply too expensive for what I can afford right now. At the moment, I'm leaning towards one of the headphones in slot 2) (M50 or D1001 - thanks NapalmK!) just because they seem to be solid overall 'phones that'll deliver fairly well on the trance end. However, I'd be grateful to get a comparison between these and the Ultrasones I listed above in 3). Remember, I'm quite unexposed to nicer headphones, so any of the 'phones above are going to be a great improvement to my current setup.
 
As always, thanks again for all of your input - you guys are certainly instrumental in my headphone selection process!