[provision]

I’m on a quest to find a pair of closed headphones with the following characteristics, in order of importance:
 
* Comfortable (as in all-day comfort) around ear design. Completely around ear, not halfway between around and on ear that’s pretty popular.
* Great sound (duh). Not overly bassy but not anemic either.
* Superb passive isolation from outside noise.
* No creaking noises from the headband or ear cups.
* Low (or no, if possible) microphonics from the cable and things touching the ear cups.
* Remote & mic on the cable.
 
For reference, some headphones I have tried:
 
* NAD HP50. Sound ok, but creaking ear cups and so-so isolation.
* B&W P7. Too bassy, uncomfortable fit, so-so isolation.
* Momentum 2 (wired). Decent sound. horribly microphonic headband and earcups, flimsy cable. But pretty good isolation and very comfortable.
* B&O H6. Very close to being the one. But the ear cups are too shallow and the cable is microphonic.
* Denon AH-MM400. Pretty much perfect sound, horribly microphonic cable and ear cups, so-so isolation.
* Beyer T70p. Lousy isolation, too loose fit.
* Bose QC25. Extremely comfortable, isolate well (obviously) with NC on, but super-annoying background hiss from the ANC and not the best sound.
* ATH M70x, AKG K545, Shure SRH440, Bose SoundTrue, Sennheiser HD280Pro, Sennheiser Urbanite XL
 
So… is there something that matches or beats the superb comfort of the QC25 and the excellent sound of the Denon AH-MM400 that also isolates well (passively, so obviously not as well as the QC25) and has very low microphonics?

 

[TwelveTrains]

The Shure SRH1540 is pretty stellar

 

[Woodhouse]

MrSpeakers Mad Dog may be worth checking out, they're very comfortable with a balanced sound that leans towards warm, but their soundstage is very good for a closed headphone. They also isolate very well. I also agree that the Shures are v. good, although they're quite a bit more expensive.

 

[provision]

Thanks, I’ve been looking at the SRH1540. I wasn’t sure how well they isolate due to the velour-like pads.
 
Mad Dog, hmm, will need to read up on those.
 
The price difference between Mad Dogs and SRH1540 isn’t that big in Europe actually.