[blitzace50]

Hey guys, I am looking for a good pair of closed ear headphones for about 100$ or less
 
These headphones will be used almost solely when I am out of the house, which for the most part means for High School.
 
The following features are absolutely necessary
 
-Virtually no sound leakage while on my ears at non hearing damaging levels
 
-Good at keeping sound out, people at my school are noisy, and turning up headphones loud to enjoy my music over them makes me worry about my hearing, I need some peace of mind about that.
 
These next points I am willing to be a bit more lenient on
 
-Relatively comfortable, my current headphones are perfectly comfortable enough for me, any more comfort than that is optional.
 
-Reasonably durable, my headphones may eventually take an accidental fall or two while I have them, and since this is a significant investment I would rather not have them break, that goes for both the headphones and the cord, they must be reasonably durable.
 
Other than those points everything else is quite debatable, so let me tell you a bit about my situation.
 
I listen to mostly metal music, and within metal music I listen to most of the genres to an appreciable extent. I also enjoy classic/post/prog rock and instrumental music (such as Pelican, Steve Vai, Paco De Lucia). Other than those genres I also listen to the odd band or two from some other rock based genres.
 
My current gear is:
 
-Sansa Clip 8GB, this mp3 player has served me so well over the years, every other mp3 player I or my family has bought has some technical complication or another, but I have yet to see this one fail me, the clip on the back even broke its fall once and snapped clean off leaving it otherwise unharmed, hah.
 
- JVC HAS150BX Lightweight Flat Folding Headphones (Black)
 
http://www.amazon.com/JVC-HAS150BX-weight-Folding-Headphone/dp/B0036RBMEC/ref=sr_1_44?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1279043369&sr=8-44
 
These have also been good to me, they were really an ear-opener for me when I got them because they made the music sound so much better than my crappy 3$ gummy earbuds, you get what you pay for eh? My only complaint is that they do not block out outside noise very much, only very very slightly.
 
I am not really looking for headphones that specifically emphasize any certain sound type, I am simply looking for a overall higher quality listening experience.
 
If a headphone amplifier is highly recommended for said set of headphones it must be compact enough to fit in my pocket, I am willing to go a bit beyond 100$ for the combined price of headphones/amplifier in such a case.
 
 
 

 

 
 

 

 

[winma]

Hello! And welcome to headfi.....
 
I would recommend ultrasones, but they are over your budget. 

 

[blitzace50]

Thanks for the welcome

 

[blitzace50]

Further input would be greatly appreciated

 

[tds101]

Keep an eye on eBay for the dbi pro-700 & pro-705 headphones. They'll be used (between $40-$50USD, $179.99 new), but the condition will be excellent, they're almost bullet-proof, the SQ of both is spectacular.
 
I own a set of each w/different pads (I using Bayer Dynamic DT770 velvet/velour pads), and I have a spair set of the 705's on the way as I type - great deal when you find them.

 

[wywern209]

if you want better sound isolation, might i suggest looking at some iems? those tend to be better at blocking out sound than cans are,

 

[hahahigh]

I've had the Gummies - they're not bad for a cheap pair of earbuds. Never could get used to IEMs due to numerous comfort issues. Have always preferred closed headphones - I used a pair of ATH-ES7 for several years and was more than pleased with the sound.

 

[wywern209]

a pair that is oft reccomended around here is the audio technica ATH-M50.

 

[unholyftw]

for only 30 dollars you can get sennheiser hd 202s (entry level headphones). However, they rock and sound really good. There are alot of other good headphones out there for the price. The grados are always a good purchase, they're only like 60-80 bucks and will sound better than some higher end headphones.
 
For cheap IEMS, the ultimate ears metrofi 220 are some of the best out there and are like 35 dollars on amazon and like 70 at best buy.
 

 

[blitzace50]

I have been looking around the internet for a few hours looking up the various ones you guys have recommended, so far I am thinking that the Audio technica ATH M50 is my best bet, but I am still going to look around, additional recs are welcome.

 

[skozsert]

I have both the dbi pros(both kinds) and the m50.  I honestly couldn't pick between the m50 and pro700 as to which sounds better, there are pro700s available on ebay again for $40 shipped and that is imho an incredible value.

 

[acid604]

Shure srh 240? 
 
I used to own them, can't really remember how much they drown out sound (I just used them at home mainly).
They fit your budget and are very durable, and have a great sound to them too. 

 

[blitzace50]

Quote:

I have both the dbi pros(both kinds) and the m50.  I honestly couldn't pick between the m50 and pro700 as to which sounds better, there are pro700s available on ebay again for $40 shipped and that is imho an incredible value.

Hm, if you say you couldn't pick between the two as to which sounds better then I would gladly buy the pro 700s, I was definitely thinking those were my 2nd best bet, but I was a little unsure.
 
Is their sound relatively similar or do they have different emphasis? Also, how do they rank against each other as far as sound isolation goes, since I will usually be wearing them in a noisy environment, reduction of external noise will increase my listening experience to a point. Also as mentioned in initial post I can't afford to have any that leak much sound at moderate levels, I am fairly certain from both their design that this won't be a problem, but its worth clarifying.
 
From everything I have read the pro 700s seem incredibly durable as well, so thats a plus.

 

[Anaxilus]

$40 for Pro700?  These things real??
 
Edit - I don't see anything for $40.  Starts at $110 ish
 
NVM - I see you meant DBI not AT.  $29 on Ebay.  I have no idea what these are yet.

 

[MBM85]

I have the M50's and am waiting to receive the Pro-700's so I can't compare them right now, but from what I have read, opinions are mixed whether the Pro-700 need to be amped. The M50's do very well out of my Fuze, but both aren't ideal for portable use. The Pro-700 have that long, heavy cord and the M50's are a bit too heavy, though some people would find them perfectly fine for this use. I'd recommend the coiled cable version as it keeps it manageable. 
 
As far as sound, the Pr0-700's should have better mids and highs and be more forward and agressive sounding, I'm guessing the M50 has better bass, but I'm not quite sure.