[chadbang]

All thought it cuts me to the quick as a 14-year member of Headfi and devoted Sennheiser and AKG man, my 18 year old daughter wants headphones for Christmas. We were walking through Staples and she pointed out a bright blue pair of "twistable" Monster headphones. She said, "Oh, I like these. I couldn't break them." My heart stopped. Monster headphones? Oh, fi on thee, daughter!  How dare thou mention a phone that hasn't been around for 30 years! What will be next? Beats?! Are Monsters even decent? They've never come across my radar for any number of reasons.
 
Can anyone recommend some Headfi worthy "fashion phones?"

 

[jeremy205100]

The monsters sound like crap and are a knockoff of the Beats. I would recommend the Sennheiser Momentum On-Ear (~$229), the Beyerdynamic Custom One Pros (~$200), or some Bowers and Wilkins P5s. These all seem like random recommendations but they all look somewhat fashionable and sound good. I've heard them all briefly and own the COPs. I wouldn't recommend those only because they're huge and not very portable. The P5s are probably your best bet. They sound amazing and look cool. They also make a cheaper P3 that comes in colors *gasp*. I haven't heard it but it might be a better option. 
 
Stay away from the Beats. Just saying.

 

[chadbang]

Monster sound like crap? I should have figured as much. Yes, I definitely think I need "colored" phones. It's a girly thing. What an embrassment!

 

[jackwess]

If looks is important for her, i take the Logitech UE9000 over the monsters

 

[jeremy205100]

The Logitechs aren't exactly fashionable.

 

[chadbang]

I wonder if the blue momentums would do the trick? Colorful, yes. But not exactly sleek and trendy looking. Although I did the look, I'm not sure its 18 year old girl cool.

 

[money4me247]

Hey, I have your answer: AKG K545!!!! Super gorgeous in black/turquoise or white. As stylish as any other fashion pair of headphones out there, with audiophile AKG sound quality & $50 off to a cool $200 at Razer Dog for a limited time.
 
No need to thank me 

 
 

 

[jjcoolaus]

Perhaps consider the Monster Diamond Tears - I've read (or rather watched) several reviews of these by audiophiles (particularly on youtube) and they all say that for a fashion phone, the audio performance is actually really good.
 
Durability might be another story, if she wants to knock them around a bit. (in reference to the "i can't break those" comment)
 
Here's the Head.Fi review: http://www.head-fi.org/t/630565/monster-diamond-tears-review-added-10-6

 

[jeremy205100]

The momentums are probably the best bet. Durability wise, the P3 or P5 is. But the momentums should last.

 

[money4me247]

  Perhaps consider the Monster Diamond Tears - I've read (or rather watched) several reviews of these by audiophiles (particularly on youtube) and they all say that for a fashion phone, the audio performance is actually really good.
 
Durability might be another story, if she wants to knock them around a bit. (in reference to the "i can't break those" comment)
 
Here's the Head.Fi review: http://www.head-fi.org/t/630565/monster-diamond-tears-review-added-10-6

...that is the problem. it's primarily purpose is a fashion accessory rather than a pair of headphones. you end up paying too much money for the looks/brand, and you don't get the audio performance of cheaper, more audio-focused headphones. a lot of audiophile-focused companies w/ lots of headphone experience are now making their headphones look jazzier d/t the consumer-focus on fashion.
 
if you're going monster, skullcandy, beats, etc... might as well just get the beats b/c it's the brand-name fashion headphones that all the popular kids in school are into.
 
you can't let your little girl grow up w/o appreciation for high quality sound, can you? 

 
if you go for the momentums, I think you would have to go for the on-ear versions, b/c they have funner colors! hahaha... i don't think a girl would think brown/silver or black/red is very hip. however, just imagine your daughter rocking this. she'd be the most popular kid in school lol
 

sennheiser momentum on ear (pink)
 

akg k545 (black/turquoise)

 

[chadbang]

Nice pics. Thos pink momentums are looking good!

 

[Claritas]

Have a look at Onkyo ES-FC300 (3 colors) and Noontec Zoro (5 colors). I've seen reviews of them around. I saw that Tyll reviewed the Onkyo or a similar model.

 

[tomscy2000]

Aedle VK-1 (MSRP $380 USD): http://www.aedle.net/#vk0
 

 
 
KEF M500 (MSRP $299 USD): http://www.kef.com/html/us/showroom/mseries/m500/m500/index.html
 

 
Ultrasone Edition 8 Julia (MSRP $1799 USD): http://shopworld.ultrasone.com/us/product.php?id_product=29
 

 
Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay H6 (MSRP $399 USD): http://www.beoplay.com/Products/BeoplayH6
 

 

[gamefreak054]

Vmoda M80s are an ok budget phone. I liked them better than my ATH M50s (neither are outstanding imo, but good for the price range). However they are small, comfort is hit or miss, and on ear. They look quite fashionable imo, and you can order custom plates for the headphones.
 
Otherwise, I think the headphones listed above are in a different technical league. The only question would be if your daughter likes them fashionably or not.

 

[tomscy2000]

OP never mentioned a budget, just head-fi worthiness and decent design sense. I assume he doesn't want to spend too much, but if she's looking at Beats...
 
Save for the ridiculous ED8 (but if he likes to spoil his daughter...), the others are within reasonable budget?
 

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Also, Philips has been releasing some pretty nice-sounding models, from budget to midrange:

1. Philips CitiScape Downtown (with Tyll Hertsens' seal of approval IIRC)
2. Philips CitiScape Uptown
3. Philips Fidelio M1
4. Philips Fidelio L1
5. Philips Fidelio L2

 

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Otherwise, just forgo the need to give her superior sound quality, and push her all the way toward haute couture: http://www.molami.com/#/home
 
At least she won't look like every other teenager with Beats.