[ochowie]

So I've been using Beats for a while and knowing that they suck and I'm looking to upgrade. I'm looking for a similar price range to the Beats so the Sennheiser PX450 and the Sennheiser momentum are the first two that jump out at me. However, I could be persuaded to jump up in price to the 650/700. I will usually listen to these plugged into my iPhone or MacBook without a pre-amp or anything. I've generally only bought headphones with active noise cancelling for use at the office and while flying. I don't do as much flying as I used to in the past so I could possibly give up the active noise cancelling. As I'm new to this site and high end headphones in general I was hoping people on here could provide some guidance on what the best first pair would be.  
 
Thanks.

 

[disastermouse]

HD650 and HD700 are open. It means sound comes in and goes out. That means they aren't so good in close quarters. If you have your own office or a more secluded corner, they could work. The 650s need an amp.

For closed headphones, a lot of people really seem to like Mad Dogs. They're planar magnetics. An amp may still be required though.

 

[ochowie]

Thanks disastermouse. I work on an open floor and would also use these for flying. Additionally, I don't particularly want to buy an amp so it seems it's between the active or passive noise cancelling. How is the sound on the Momentum's vs. the PXC450?

 

[lin0003]

Quote:

Thanks disastermouse. I work on an open floor and would also use these for flying. Additionally, I don't particularly want to buy an amp so it seems it's between the active or passive noise cancelling. How is the sound on the Momentum's vs. the PXC450?

Why don't you go with IEMs if you travel often? They are much more isolating. Around the same price range, you can get some "budget" customs such as the JH5 or you could go for some high end universals such as the Westone 4/4R, Earsonics SM64 or many other other ones. If you do decide to go down that path, be sure to have a long look at lJokerl's multi IEM review thread. 

 

[ochowie]

The issue is, I can't stand IEMs. I've never liked in-ear buds or monitors (although I've never had customs) and even with over the ear headphones I get fatigued pretty quickly.

 

[lin0003]

If you work in an office or something, you probably shouldn't go with an open headphone as then do not isolate. However, if you don't need isolation, you can get the Sennheiser HD600s. They can be had for under $300 new.