[jayremedy]

A little about my preferences:
 
I predominantly listen to hip hop, R&B, and electronic type music.
I love the sound of bass.
I will be using the headphones 95% of the time at home, connected to my laptop (if I should get an amp, recommendations on those would be greatly appreciated as well), and listening to music.
No other use is as important to me as using it for listening to music (ie: gaming, etc.).
I would prefer not to spend more than $300, but this isn't set in stone.
I like headphones that completely cover the ear.
 
I was looking at the Sony MDR1A headphones but since you guys know your stuff, I figured you guys would have a better idea as to the perfect headphones for me. If you need to know anything else, feel free to ask. Thanks in advance!

 

[Rhamnetin]

Do you need closed back headphones, or are open back headphones acceptable (no isolation, more open sound, potentially less bass impact)?

 

[fjrabon]

Open: Phillips Fidellio X2
Closed: Shure SRH840
 
Neither "need" an amp, but both benefit from an amp/DAC.  I'd honestly say not to bother with an amp or DAC until/if your budget is bigger though.  I generally think that you want to put more money into your headphones up until you start to get into the $700 total budget area.  Up until $700, an extra dollar goes further in your headphones.  At $700, you start seeing bigger payoffs with a good DAC and amp pairing.  

 

[jayremedy]

  Do you need closed back headphones, or are open back headphones acceptable (no isolation, more open sound, potentially less bass impact)?

I think I would prefer closed back.
 

  Open: Phillips Fidellio X2
Closed: Shure SRH840
 
Neither "need" an amp, but both benefit from an amp/DAC.  I'd honestly say not to bother with an amp or DAC until/if your budget is bigger though.  I generally think that you want to put more money into your headphones up until you start to get into the $700 total budget area.  Up until $700, an extra dollar goes further in your headphones.  At $700, you start seeing bigger payoffs with a good DAC and amp pairing.  
 

Sweet, thanks, I'll check those out.

 

[LBailey33]

I am really enjoying the Fostex THX00. Overall solid headphone that fits the sound signature that you describe you like, only problem is that it will be difficult to find since it was a limited production run.

 

[fjrabon]

I am really enjoying the Fostex THX00. Overall solid headphone that fits the sound signature that you describe you like, only problem is that it will be difficult to find since it was a limited production run.

They're also over his budget and need a converter to play out of his laptop.

 

[LBailey33]

My bad, I didn't see his price range. 

 

[WoodenSpoon]

I'd like to recommend the HiFiMAN HE400s. They're not too difficult to drive, so they should be fine plugged into your laptop. While they may not have that much of a bass quantity, the bass quality is quite remarkable. If the quantity is not enough though, you'll get used to it over time.

 

[fjrabon]

I'd like to recommend the HiFiMAN HE400s. They're not too difficult to drive, so they should be fine plugged into your laptop. While they may not have that much of a bass quantity, the bass quality is quite remarkable. If the quantity is not enough though, you'll get used to it over time.

If he's going to get a HiFiMan right now, the HE400i is the same price and has much better bass (and most other things too).

 

[jayremedy]

If he's going to get a HiFiMan right now, the HE400i is the same price and has much better bass (and most other things too).

Would you say those were better than the Shure's recommended before? They're $300 on Amazon right now.
 
The Shure's are monitors and while I know those give a more accurate portrayal of what the music sounds like, I'm not interested in mixing or anything like that, just what will give me the most pleasant listening experience.

 

[fjrabon]

  Would you say those were better than the Shure's recommended before? They're $300 on Amazon right now.
 
The Shure's are monitors and while I know those give a more accurate portrayal of what the music sounds like, I'm not interested in mixing or anything like that, just what will give me the most pleasant listening experience.

the main difference between the Shures and the HE400i is that the Shures are closed.  I'd actually say the HE400i are more neutral.  The Shures are a very pleasant U-Shape, with a very warm midbass hump and an 8kHz hump to make it sound forward.  The HE400i are almost completely neutral, save for a bump at 8kHz, with flat, extended planar bass.  The soundstage on the 400i is better, the imaging is more accurate, and there's more detail.  The 400i are a clearly better headphone than the SRH840, but it's apples to oranges since the 840 is closed and the HE400i is amongst the most open headphones there are.  The SRH840 have more midbass, but the HE400i beats it in just about every other possible way.  I say that loving the SRH840 to death, it's one of my all-time favorite closed headphones.  

 

[jayremedy]

 
the main difference between the Shures and the HE400i is that the Shures are closed.  I'd actually say the HE400i are more neutral.  The Shures are a very pleasant U-Shape, with a very warm midbass hump and an 8kHz hump to make it sound forward.  The HE400i are almost completely neutral, save for a bump at 8kHz, with flat, extended planar bass.  The soundstage on the 400i is better, the imaging is more accurate, and there's more detail.  The 400i are a clearly better headphone than the SRH840, but it's apples to oranges since the 840 is closed and the HE400i is amongst the most open headphones there are.  The SRH840 have more midbass, but the HE400i beats it in just about every other possible way.  I say that loving the SRH840 to death, it's one of my all-time favorite closed headphones.  

So after reading more about the differences between open and closed back headphones, I have to definitely go with closed back headphones. Where I live, there are kids/people almost right outside of my window playing/socializing all the time, so it would greatly interfere with the music if I bought open headphones. So I'll take your "all-time favorite closed headphones" as a huge plus for the Shures, and it also doesn't hurt that they're only $200.

 

[fjrabon]

  So after reading more about the differences between open and closed back headphones, I have to definitely go with closed back headphones. Where I live, there are kids/people almost right outside of my window playing/socializing all the time, so it would greatly interfere with the music if I bought open headphones. So I'll take your "all-time favorite closed headphones" as a huge plus for the Shures, and it also doesn't hurt that they're only $200.

haha, well "one of" not my absolute all-time favorite closed.  That's probably still the Denon D7000, which are discontinued now (though the Fostex THX00 comes close).  

 

[jayremedy]

Okay, after reading more about them, your guy's recommendations, and because I'm a little impatient, I'm going to go with the Shure SRH840s.
 
I'm pretty sure they're going to be a huge improvement over the Sony MDR-XB500 I am currently using.
 
Thanks guys!