[DWells55]

Hey, everyone. I've come here before for help finding IEMs and around-ear headphones before and haven't been steered wrong before, so I was hoping you guys could help me with my first more expensive purchase. I'm looking for a pair of at least somewhat portable headphones that I can use both at home and on the road - planes, in public, outside, whatever. Comfort and build quality are important since they'll be traveling with me and used for extended periods of time. My audio source isn't going to be all that high-end - either an iPhone 4 or 2011 MacBook Pro. I don't own an amp at the moment and I'm not really interested in having to deal with one for the time being (though I could deal with a Fiio E1 if necessary), so I need something that can be driven by those audio sources alone. Audio files are mostly LAME MP3 V2, with some V0 in there and then 192kbps on older stuff that I'm trying to replace. I listen mostly to rock, metal, and electronica, with some classical and acoustic tossed in. Additionally, I'll probably use the headphones for occasional gaming and television show/movie watching. My budget is a maximum of $300.
 
Additionally, I'm looking for something that's going to have a noticeable sound quality increase from anything I currently own. I currently have the following IEMs: Sennheiser CX300 (don't use anymore), NuForce NE-7M, MEElectronics CC51 (still breaking these in, not sure if I like them better than the NuForce) and two around-ears: Sennheiser HD201 (decent but meh) and Pioneer SE-M390 (pretty happy with the sound on these but use them almost entirely for gaming, not built well-enough to travel with). I'm thinking it's reasonable to expect a pretty big difference in sound quality from these despite my audio sources and files, given that my budget is $300 and those top out at maybe $70.  
 
I've done some research and the Bowers & Wilkins seem to fit the bill as a good choice, especially in terms of portability, comfort, and build quality. Sound quality appears to be a mixed bag, no one seems to think they sound bad, but not quite as good as they could for the price, but I'm thinking there might be a point of diminishing returns of sorts given that I don't have an amp and my audio source is resoundingly mediocre. I can live with trading some sound quality for better build quality, comfort, and portability. I would love to hear some other suggestions though. 
 
So, to summarize, I'm looking for:

1. $300 or cheaper
2. Reasonably portable, built well, comfortable for extended listening
3. Usable in public (open back is probably out of the question?)
4. Can be driven unamped by iPhone 4 and MacBook Pro
5. All around performance, but will be used mostly for rock, metal, and electronica, with some movie watching and gaming
6. Noticeable sound quality increase from what I currently own

 
Thanks, everyone.
 

 

[Triggerfish]

I'll try to help but no expert here.  My father in law has a pair of these and I tested them extensively over the holidays.  My main point of comparison was my Senn HD25-1-ii.
 
First thing I noticed was how comfortable they are.  These were just nice and would seem to be very comfortable for long use (he regularly listens to them for hours and falls asleep in them).  Very nice looking also.  Mids and highs were very well done on these headphones, but they didn't have anywhere near enough bass for my liking (of note I'm not a basshead, I do like a solid presence though).  Depending on your electronica of choice this might be a problem.  They worked unamped just fine out of an ipod classic, and had very little sound leakage that I could tell so would be quite usable in public.  Rock and metal sounded very nice on these, symphonic metal especially sounded good (Within Temptation, Leaves Eyes) (though again, I did feel the missing bass).  I didn't care much for their sound on electronica or dubstep (Celldweller, Skrillex, Nero, or Deadmau5)
 
Overall in A/B testing I preferred the Senn HD25-1-ii, he preferred the P5.  Primary reason for both of us was the bass presence.  I loved the comfort and look though.

 

[DWells55]

I'll have to look into those Senns again, the one thing I read about them said that they were really uncomfortable, but your opinion seems to differ. As for the bass, that does worry me a bit - my current audio setup is a bit bass heavy. I tend to lean more towards "fun" sound than perfect accuracy (though not to the point where it muds up the sound). That said, the Sennheisers have the advantage of being substantially cheaper. 
 
It's really a shame I don't have anywhere local that sells decent audio equipment - the only shop I know of went out of business a while ago. It's very difficult to pick out headphones based on reading.

 

[Dollarhax]

Just throwing in my 2 cents, as I haven't heard anything but the Sennheiser HD-25s and 280s.

HD-25s were almost unbearable upon the first 3-5 days or so of having them. I was wearing them for about 2-5 hours a day trying to get the fit and the top of my left ear would just be stinging. With that said, my ears are also a little off by about 1.5cm so it might just be due to the shape of my head. Having had them for roughly a week and a half now, the discomfort is mostly gone (minor pain through wearing them incorrectly, remedied by actually wearing them right). I find them fine to wear all day now, minus when I need to let my ears breath just simply from being covered which is something that happens with every set of headphones. From what I've read you can just put the headphones on a box overnight and that should help it.
 
Sound quality is superb to me. I will EQ them and put on rap for my friends and they're wowed by the bass response. Plenty of it, if that's your kind of thing. I personally listen to metal, classic rock, jazz, and other sub-genres of each, and as such I'm not too huge on the bass but bass lines are definitely there and distinguishable and there's plenty of woob for the occasional dubstep listen. They sound great with everything, in my opinion.
 
Bought them on a blind buy without having heard them first and was amazed. I needed something portable that excelled with rock and these had only good reviews. Plus it's cool to tell my friends that the headphones on ESPN are the same ones I have. But, I'm also no expert audiophile so I'm sure anything would stun me.
 
GL with your search.
 
 

 

[wrathzombie]

 
Check out the V-Moda M-80.
 
Have been reading good reviews:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/v-moda-m-80-shadow-crossfade-m-80-remote-over-the-ear-headphones-shadow

 

[DWells55]

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like I really need to give those HD25s a listen. Those VModas look like they might be pretty good as well, although the review that says they get uncomfortable after a short period worries me a bit - I want something that can comfortably stay on my head for a seven hour flight.

 

[Posam]

Quote:

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like I really need to give those HD25s a listen. Those VModas look like they might be pretty good as well, although the review that says they get uncomfortable after a short period worries me a bit - I want something that can comfortably stay on my head for a seven hour flight.

I have the V-MODA M-80s and the single thing i have bad to say about them is that they clamp a wee bit too tight although they have lessened after bending them a bit and wearing them (I've had them almost 2 weeks now). At first i couldn't wear them for more than a little without taking them off and I swear i could feel the blood rushing back into my ears but now I can listen to them for two plus hours I suppose since I've never checked how long in one sitting I was using them. I will say my head is a little big however only a little. 
The only way you could tell if you would tell if they are comfortable on you would be to listen to them for a while as some people don't seem to even mention them clamping hard while others do but seeing as they only have them out at a Microsoft store that might be a problem. The P5s might be a better choice if comfort is the main concern as I have tried them on in an Apple store (but not for longer than 5 minutes) because they aren't as tight on my ears. 
Other than that they sound great, the bass is really tight and the mids are not recessed so far as i can tell and the highs aren't shrill and sound great.