[Trav]

I see thread after thread asking which can is best. In my opinion it's not which can is rated best, but which can or sound pleases your ear. Look for proaudio or guitar stores near you; Many have listening stations you can sample different headphones. I did just this and amazingly a $99 set of cans were what I liked better than any i've heard including some costing in excess of $1000. So forget ratings and go listen to as many as you can, you might be surprised!

 

[1Time]

As most here will attest, hearing for yourself with the same or similar associated equipment is best. Many don't have that opportunity, so they post for help.

 

[dr13zehn]

As mentioned, not everyone has the opportunity to go out and audition 'phones. I have no such store anywhere in this craphole called Mississippi.
Head-Fi is a very good place to ask for help with the purchase of you first pair (or 100th for that matter) of cans. Not just for a "rating", but more often than not people with experience will be able to tell you about the general sound signature (warm, analytical, bass shy/heavy...) of the different 'phones. All that is left then is trying to figure out what your signature preference is.

Another thing that happens with people that never owned a good pair of cans, is that they are so used to the crappy pairs that come with DAPs and whatnot, that their brains accept those a reference and sometimes when listening to a good pair, out of a good source, it will sound odd to them and they will dislike it at first.
Just something to keep in mind for a first purchase.

 

[Seamless Sounds]

There aren't any stores that offer you Everything afaik.

 

[darthdata]

If you are a newcomer, you are pretty lost, with all the lingo and trying to figure out your path in this world. I would say the majority do need to ask questions as there will be sticker shock.
As it was mentioned, it would be great to audition, but if you live somewhere that the only game in town is the best buy at the mall, your selection will be limited. Add that you will be in the mind set that you think loud is better.
It just like everything else you need to step and grow into it, in order to appreciate it.

 

[Trav]

sorry, I should have stated if auditioning is an option. As impressed as I am with the incredible knowledge base here, personally or sonically I was still lost until I got the chance to listen first hand. Excellent points made here already gents.

 

[jonathanjong]

Another good thing about Head-Fi is that it's a great place to be exposed to a whole bunch of headphones that one might never have heard of otherwise.

 

[Currawong]

Auditioning is tricky, as I've always discovered when I've had the chance to try a few pairs of headphones. The shops here in Japan have walls of headphones plugged into distribution boxes which are not good quality. How does one determine if a $200-300 headphone is suitable through one of these things? There is a single large electronics store with listening booths, however, containing good amps, such as the Luxman P1, but that's VERY rare.

Back in Australia years ago, the one place that had pretty much the full Sennheiser range only had a CD player to plug them into. I compared my $200 MB Quarts with $600 Senns and determined the latter a waste of my money at the time for this reason.

The one dedicated HP shop I've found is in Tokyo is stocked with everything you can imagine and has a long wall of comfortably seated listening areas with good CD players, cabling, DACs and amps and is actually quiet inside. Not to mention, the staff actually know what they are talking about. The only downside is that, say, K701s cost $900 in Japan and everything else is similarly over-priced.

That all being said, auditioning, even in less than perfect circumstances, can give one some idea of what a pair of headphones sounds like. For very cheap headphones, the above things wouldn't be an issue IMO.