[casioa5302ca]

x2 HD 25.

 

[REB]

you can't go wrong with an esw9a (esw10 is even better!), but the ultrasone hfi 680 (i like it better than the too bassy 780) is also an excellent choice. It's easily amped and has a great, detailed and fun sound that does not distort. Is it a natural sound? I doubt it, but neither is the esw9a a faithful reproducer of what was intended by the recording engineers I guess. Natural sound is a nice concept, but once you try to pin it down, it turns into vapour and disappears.

 

[kschles]

Just to make your life more complicated, I'd suggest the Ultrasone DJ1.  Closed, very easy to drive from an Ipod.  I got one recently and am very impressed.  Here's a review from an Australian website I like (don't worry about the quoted price, which is in Australian dollars):
 
http://headphones.com.au/psingle?productID=65

 

[techenvy]

i could only get the hfi 780 to punch when i crammed them closse to my skull, no thankyou, i would go pro

 

[Bigrock2150]

No recommendations for a Denon d2000? I'd say go with those or an ATH A900. The Denons are nice unamped but ever better with a pocket amp like a fiio e5 or something of the same caliber. 
 
Another addition to the choosing the D2000 is the modding potential in the future if you feel the need to upgrade. 

 

[PANGES]

Since you mentioned that you were going to be using the headphones on an airplane, I would really recommend against the ESW9. I personally liked the phones myself, but they leak a lot of noise in, which is going to turn into a major downside if you take them on airplanes often.
 
On the other hand, if you're just going to be using them for walking around, I would recommend the ESW9, since they leak noise in, you'll be able to hear if a car or something is coming at you.

 

[nymets1]

A900 is leader right now. Some are saying a700 may be better choice though, maybe because of the recessed mids on the a900. Any opinions on this?

 

[nymets1]

After doing a ton of researching on the a900s, it looks like the mids are a little too recessed. The value and soundstage seem great. But slightly bloated bass and recessed mid range keep the a900s from being the right choice. I would be willing to up the price range to a max of 350$ if that would help find the right choice. Any suggestions in a slightly higher price range?

 

[Honu]

I would second why not the Deon D2000 ?
 
might be a option to throw into the mix ?

 

[Aizura]

IMO the D2000 are way too big for portable use. Also, they aren't actually closed, but semi-open headphones which means they will leak sound. They also fit very loose around the head which makes it even less portable.
 
HD 25 II's are your best choice, they are ideal on an airplane because of their isolation. Only IEMs will isolate better.
And they rock for rock music

 

[nymets1]

Quote:

IMO the D2000 are way too big for portable use. Also, they aren't actually closed, but semi-open headphones which means they will leak sound. They also fit very loose around the head which makes it even less portable.
 
HD 25 II's are your best choice, they are ideal on an airplane because of their isolation. Only IEMs will isolate better.
And they rock for rock music

HD 25s have an impedance of 70, which may be too high since i will not be using an amp.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Quote:

HD 25s have an impedance of 70, which may be too high since i will not be using an amp.

that doesn't matter, HD25 is easy to drive, even my Blackberry can do well (not 100% proper current, but they still sound good sure)

 

[Aizura]

They indeed have an impendence of 70 ohms, but have a high sensitivity. They are very easy to drive. 
For instance, I find they need less juice then my MS1i (which has an impendance of 32 ohms and is considered very easily driven) 

 

[casioa5302ca]

Quote:

HD 25s have an impedance of 70, which may be too high since i will not be using an amp.

here´re words bout impedance...words of classic

Quote:

If you want to know a headphone's efficiency, look at the sensitivity rating, measured in Decibels (dB).  You'll find how loud it gets with the application of a certain amount of power (Watts).
 
Impedance tells you how efficiently power transfers from the amp to the headphones.
 
Amplifiers have an output impedance.  The difference between the output impedance and the headphone impedance tells you how well power transfers from the amp to the headphones.
 
When you know how well the power transfers, then you can use the amount of power that gets through along with the sensitivity rating of the headphones to calculate how loud the headphones will get.
 
There's more to this (of course), but that's how it works.  Generally, you want an amp with an output impedance lower than the impedance of the headphones.  The lower the ratio, the better the damping factor.  A high damping factor gives you better control over the drivers.
 
You don't want to do something like drive a 62 Ohm pair of AKGs with an OTL tube amp with an output impedance of around 200 Ohms.  That makes a mess of the bass and sound quality.

You don´t need more than that!

 

[Andrew_WOT]

A900 has quite recessed mids, I've enjoyed my pair for quite a while until I heard AKG-K271S, they just trumped them but probably won't work in your case as need hefty amplification to sound their best.
ESW9 strikes a nice balance between being portable and delivering good sound, have groovy and fun sound signature too, could be bass heavy and thumpy out of the box, require some headband stretching to tame lows down a bit and bring out mids details. I liked them better than D2000 too. Have you considered IEM, I can wholeheartedly recommend Ety ER-4S, not all portables can properly drive them, seems to work fine with Sony X-Walkman, with Zune even maxed out they might not be loud enough.
Quote:

Down to A900s and ESW9As. Ultrasones are a little too fun and wild, need more accurate quality.
 
Can anyone provide anything on the A900s or ESW9As? Or any last ideas before i dive into these?
Can either of these be compared to M50s or senn 380 hd pro in any way, since i have heard both of these and compare?