[bkchurch]

I'm in the market for an open full size headphone for home theater and gaming use. I'd love it if it sounded great when listening to music as well but that is a secondary and less important concern (I listen to rock, pop, and electronic stuff mostly). Above all the most important thing I'm looking for here is comfort. I want something that I could have on my head for 8 hours and not be bothered by it should I decide on some lazy Sunday that all I want to do is play videogames and watch movies. I recently sold a pair of Ultrasone cans simply because they started to weigh on my head and hurt my neck after a few hours (they also didn't play terribly well with my glasses (by the way I wear glasses so, take that into consideration I suppose)).
 
My setup isn't terribly sophisticated. I'm running the optical out from my PC's motherboard to my AVR (Pioneer VSX-821k) and just using the headphone out on that for now. Eventually I'm going to invest in a dedicated DAC/amp for my headphones but it's not in the cards in the near future. I've spotted a few Astro Mixamp Pro's on eBay in the $80 range so I MAY grab one of those (for Dolby headphone decoding) and connect it to the PC via TOSLINK and either go to the AVR or straight to the headphones from there, pending on if I need more amping.
 
My budget is set at no more than $200, and the lower the better as I'd really quite like to stay at around $150. Current contenders are Sennheiser's HD 558 (which I'd likely mod to bring them closer to a 598 sound signature) which I can get factory refurbished for about $110, Audio Technica's AD-900 which goes for about $170, and Beyerdynamic's DT 990 Pro 250 ohm which go for $200 (though I'm concerned I can't amp these properly). I am of course open to other suggestions if I've overlooked another solid contender.
 
Appreciate any help you all can give me.

 

[lukEM22]

I have the same needs.
-Subbed-
 

 

[Lorspeaker]

the new ad900x has more bass impact, u might be able to pick one up on the resale for 200?
its very light on the head..v comfy.
 
k550 is a closed can, but its so airy i would give it a listen. i watched a few movies on it now...
v good i must say.

 

[bkchurch]

Quote:

the new ad900x has more bass impact, u might be able to pick one up on the resale for 200?
its very light on the head..v comfy.
 
k550 is a closed can, but its so airy i would give it a listen. i watched a few movies on it now...
v good i must say.

 
I had written off the AD900X because they're $300 on Amazon but apparently I can get a pair for $220 shipped on eBay. Have you listened to them personally? Do you think they'd be worth the premium over my other options? The 558 I can get refurb for $110, and for $220 I could get the 990 250ohm and a cheap amp like a Fiio E6 to drive them.
 
Edit: Looking pretty heavily at the Sony MA900 now as well. Seems to be getting a lot of praise around here, fits my needs, and can be had for around $200-$220 on eBay.

 

[Lorspeaker]

i havent heard the 558, sorry but the price looks sweet and if u can mod it, give it a go !
the 70mm drivers on the M900 looks iffy, i think it needs a powerful hybrid amp like a LYR to wake it up with authority.

 

[streetdragon]

The HD558 does not need much amping, and at first the earpads may be a bit hard, but they will soften after break in and they will become much more comfortable.

 

[bkchurch]

Quote:

i havent heard the 558, sorry but the price looks sweet and if u can mod it, give it a go !
the 70mm drivers on the M900 looks iffy, i think it needs a powerful hybrid amp like a LYR to wake it up with authority.

 
 
Quote:

The HD558 does not need much amping, and at first the earpads may be a bit hard, but they will soften after break in and they will become much more comfortable.

 
Reassessing my budget I think the 558 is where I'm leaning. I can't imagine the MA900 is that difficult to drive, they only have a 12 ohm impedance, but I've reassessed my budget and the price on a refurb 558 really is too good to pass up. I'm thinking I want to buy a Titanium HD as well so I can take advantage of CMSS 3D so saving money to put towards that would probably be better than buying cans that may be slightly better.
 
Thanks for your help everyone, much obliged