[yayitsdan]

My current portable headphone I use is an Audio Technica ATHESW9A which I'm very happy with. Unfortunately, the left channel stopped working and I just sent it in for repairs. I'm sure it will make its way back to me working fine, but I figured this is a good time to look at what else is out there.

I'm looking for something similar in size as they fit my ears well (I have small ears) and they are easy to travel with in a backpack. I'll mostly be using them during my morning commute and at work for hours at a time, so comfort and noise isolation is a must. Since I'll be out with them, good looking headphones would be great. Music that I normally listen to are rock, electronic, and metal. These will also be unamped.

tldr:

Portable over the ear headphones
~$300 or less
Comfort and noise isolation a must
Indoor and outdoor use
Unamped. Driven from phone and PC.
Music: rock, electronic, metal
Bands: Tool, Nine inch nails, Daft punk, Muse, Radio head, Metric

Thanks!

 

[GaryPham]

Check out the VMODA M100's if you get the chance.  The Windows store at the mall near my house had the M100's out to demo on their laptops, so if you have one near you, might be worth it to check it out in person.  I was definitely blown away by them.

 

[swaffleman]

PX 200 II.

 

[yayitsdan]

Check out the VMODA M100's if you get the chance.  The Windows store at the mall near my house had the M100's out to demo on their laptops, so if you have one near you, might be worth it to check it out in person.  I was definitely blown away by them.

I don't think I have a windows store near me, but I'll check. Thanks for the suggestion. I don't suppose you've listened to a Sennheiser Momentum? It looks like it might be exactly what I'm looking for, only a little more expensive.

PX 200 II.

I actually have one, and while it's cheap and great, the noise isolation is pretty terrible. I think I should looked at something closed.

 

[GaryPham]

I've never tried the momentum, but my cousin has and was very impressed with them. You mention that you have small ears so that shouldn't be a problem since the common complaint with them seem to be the ear cups being too small for larger ears. Another headphone you should consider are the Sony mdr1rs which run for around 200 bucks. If you can find a Sony store, you can demo them. They're similar and compete against the momentums

 

[HFAUDIOPHILE]

The Sony MDR-R1, Sennheiser Momentium, Denon D600, Klipsch Reference M40 and Pro900 are highly recommmended, they all have different soundsignatures but overall soundquality is very good and they are comfy to wear for long sessions.

 

[yayitsdan]

Just stopped at best buy and they had the momentum to try. They fit my ears perfectly and I liked what I heard. They're a little out of my price range, but I bought them on the spot anyway. Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

 

[GaryPham]

Quote:

Just stopped at best buy and they had the momentum to try. They fit my ears perfectly and I liked what I heard. They're a little out of my price range, but I bought them on the spot anyway. Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

 Congrats! Glad you found what you were looking for.  I didn't know Bestbuy had the momentums out to demo (I'm assuming it's in the Magnolia section).  I'd definitely have to swing by one sometime to check out what all the buzz is about.

 

[yayitsdan]

 Congrats! Glad you found what you were looking for.  I didn't know Bestbuy had the momentums out to demo (I'm assuming it's in the Magnolia section).  I'd definitely have to swing by one sometime to check out what all the buzz is about.

I'm don't know what the section is called, but it's away from the headphones back in the home theatre department. Any idea why they separate the headphones like that?