[cavilerlover]

Hello Head-fi! I'm a long time lurker first time poster looking for a new set of portables. Right now I am in an "innocence is bliss" state of mind with my Meelectronics m9, portapros, and sennheiser HD 202. Last week I broke the HD202's, but it was time for an upgrade anyways.
 
I want to replace the sennheiser's with something with a lot more bass and are somewhat comfortable (~45 minute uses) that sounds good for hip-hop, pop, Acoustic (Jack Johnson and such) with some soft rock as well. My budget is 200 dollars and I thinking about the ath-pro700mk2 with an E6 amp. Thoughts?
 
Notes: -These are for portable use as in study hall, not running around or anything
          - I am completely ignorant about Headphones
           - The best cans I've heard are the Hd202

 

[NA Blur]

First let me say thanks for being reasonable with your budget.  So many people out there want bass heavy upgrades and then give us a $40 budget to work with which you have kindly avoided.
 
My first suggestion would be the newly designed white V-Moda M80.  They are really stylin', have a definite bass emphasis, and are built extremely well.  They are tad too bassy for my tastes, but I prefer a neutral headphone.  The M80 comes with one of the best carrying cases I have ever seen and I think you will enjoy it as well.  The mid range is not entirely washed out on the M80 so rock will sound great as well.
 
They run $200 or less new and for $50 more you can customize the ear piece inserts with a personal logo.
 
Here is Tyll Hertsen's review:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/v-moda-crossfade-m-80-and-v-80-true-blood-headphones
 
The M80 does not require an amp so you can enjoy them until you decide if you want an amp or not.  A portable amp like the Total Bithead, which is also a DAC, adds a little more control to the drivers and definitely gives you more headroom, but the upgrade is not absolutely necessary.

 

[SashimiWu]

Actually, I'm also in the same situation as you.  I would love a portable pair of headphones that has a pretty good bass that doesn't overpower the rest of the music.
 
So far from my research I have found that these cans might be able to do the job:
ATH PRO700MK2
V-MODA M80
Sennheiser HD25-II
AIAIAI TMA-1 (also Studio version)
 
I have previously owned the V-MODA M80's and I absolutely loved them.  They were exactly what I was looking for in a pair of headphones but alas the on-ear design kept hurting my ears after 1 hour of use, even after 2 weeks of wearing them for 4+ hours per day.  However your mileage may vary and I can't recommend them enough.
 
If possible it would be nice if I could hijack some of the information that you will be receiving in this thread.

 

[NA Blur]

To better adjust the M80 to meet most of our comfort needs the temples, at least one the pre-white versions, can be slightly bent along the contour of your head/face.  Straight out of the box the M80 rest too perpendicular to ones face and not along the ridges of the jaw and outer ear portion of the skull.  A slight bend of the temples on the headband alleviates a ton of the pressure, but I sympathize with you regarding on-ear headphones.  I am a stickler for comfort and have not settled on an on-ear design because of issues you have mentioned.  The Senn HD-25-1-ii is much more comfortable and sounds just about as good if not better to some of our ears as the M80.

 

[Craigster75]

check these out
 
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-57476696-47/noontec-zoro-a-new-high-for-$100-headphones/
 
Also, the new Monster Ncredible on-ears sound really good.
 

 

[cavilerlover]

Sorry I kind of forgot about this thread but I thought I'd give an update. I ordered the pro700mk2 for 119 shipped (refurb) and just got them yesterday and I love them! Awesome bass. I don't have very much headphone experience so don't take advice from me but they are certainly an improvement and exactly what I wanted for a reasonable price.

 

[Craigster75]

Quote:

Sorry I kind of forgot about this thread but I thought I'd give an update. I ordered the pro700mk2 for 119 shipped (refurb) and just got them yesterday and I love them! Awesome bass. I don't have very much headphone experience so don't take advice from me but they are certainly an improvement and exactly what I wanted for a reasonable price.

Funny- I just ordered last week and now love them now that they are EQ'd properly.  If you have a smartphone or Ipod/Iphone, I highly recommend the Free Denon audio app for headphones.  I agree about the bass and was able to correct the dark (muffled) high end with the Denon app.  I now consider them to be one of the most enjoyable headphones I ever heard, so you made a good choice.  Fyi, they benefit GREATLY from using through my FiiO E11 portable headphone amp which is fairly inexpensive.
 
Here is a link to my review before update about the EQ.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/audio-technica-ath-pro700-mk2/reviews/7210