[Koolpep]

Quote:

Right, sorry. I suppose the sound signature I'm looking for is something detailed yet still a little warm in sound. Some bass would be nice too.

 
Honestly, I would recommend one headphone for you that fits the bill perfectly:
 
Yamaha HPH-200 
 
give them a test-listen. Beautiful instrument rendering and separation, good soundstage and really nice bass. And from classic to electronica, they are amazing.
 
I am still awestruck with these headphones, they easily play in the league of 2x-3x their price. 
 
Cheers,
K

 

[zazex]

Quote:

Splurge and get grado SR60i's. They are both warm and detailed. It's like a drug. If they are TOO bright at first, burn them in for 60-80 hours at medium volume.  Bass is very good also: pretty tight and not exaggerated. Remember: grado's are designed for low volume listening. 
 
Or, you can do what I did: quarter mod the portapro foam covers and use an amp, fiio E6 on up. Both of these changes will add warmth and detail to your portapro's at modest cost. There's a ton of potential hidden in your portapro's, once you get around to a couple of mods (kramer, quarter) and amp them. 

 
I think the Grado SR 60i's are a good suggestion; a very good one.
 
But - they cost more than $50.00...
 
One of the reasons I recommend the JVC S500 is because they are in fact
available for just about $50.00, and they provide exceptionally good sound.
 
For the price the build quality is better than expected as well.

 

[zazex]

Quote:

 
Honestly, I would recommend one headphone for you that fits the bill perfectly:
 
Yamaha HPH-200 
 
give them a test-listen. Beautiful instrument rendering and separation, good soundstage and really nice bass. And from classic to electronica, they are amazing.
 
I am still awestruck with these headphones, they easily play in the league of 2x-3x their price. 
 
Cheers,
K

 
Aha! Finally I see someone else has discovered these beauties. :-D
 
(Yes, I know a few other posts have been made here and there
about them...)
 
Stupendous headphones...and anyone looking through my posts will see
I rarely if ever use such superlatives.
 
When I bought a pair to try out, I was so blown away I bought two more
just in case...and they were priced very reasonably at the time.
 
But still - AFAIK they're more than $50.00.
Unlike, for example, the JVC HA S500.

 

[Koolpep]

Quote:

 
Aha! Finally I see someone else has discovered these beauties. :-D
 
(Yes, I know a few other posts have been made here and there
about them...)
 
Stupendous headphones...and anyone looking through my posts will see
I rarely if ever use such superlatives.
 
When I bought a pair to try out, I was so blown away I bought two more
just in case...and they were priced very reasonably at the time.
 
But still - AFAIK they're more than $50.00.
Unlike, for example, the JVC HA S500.

 
Ah, yes. These Yamahas are really such a hit!!
 
But you are right, my local music shop sells them for around $90 and they are worth every single penny.
 
That's of course above the budget but well. It might be the last headphone you will ever buy.
 
Cheers,
K

 

[Ruffball]

Honestly, I would recommend one headphone for you that fits the bill perfectly:

Yamaha HPH-200 

give them a test-listen. Beautiful instrument rendering and separation, good soundstage and really nice bass. And from classic to electronica, they are amazing.

I am still awestruck with these headphones, they easily play in the league of 2x-3x their price. 

Cheers,
K

Ooh, these sound really nice. But they're pretty far out of my budget. Are there any clones of these that can be found at a lower price?

 

[snowshoe]

Well, if you're quick Amazon has a few used KRK 6400s in your price range: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B004ARSMXQ/ref=sr_1_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1369148324&sr=8-1&keywords=KRK+6400&condition=used&tag=68656c7064757-20
 
And to say a few words about these: the KRK 6400s are very good quality headphones. The knock on them is that they aren't very bassy. While the bass is not overwhelming with these, the sound is balanced and accurate. Because of the balanced sound, I find these to be much less fatiguing than most headphones. Sound isolation is good (I haven't really subjected mine to testing yet) and they travel well. 

 

[Grayson73]

I have both the Monoprice 8323 and the JVC HA-S500 (with ATH-WS55 pads).  The Monoprice are more comfortable since they are over ear and the S500 are better sounding, but not by much.  When A/Bing, I found the S500 to be clearer and more detailed, especially during messy passages when there are a lot of instruments at once.  S500 brings me into more emotion than the Monoprice as well due to better mids.
 
Note that both of these need to be burn in.  I didn't like the Monoprice that much in the beginning, but after 50 hours burn in, they sounded better.

 

[Ruffball]

Quote:

Well, if you're quick Amazon has a few used KRK 6400s in your price range: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B004ARSMXQ/ref=sr_1_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1369148324&sr=8-1&keywords=KRK+6400&condition=used&tag=68656c7064757-20
 
And to say a few words about these: the KRK 6400s are very good quality headphones. The knock on them is that they aren't very bassy. While the bass is not overwhelming with these, the sound is balanced and accurate. Because of the balanced sound, I find these to be much less fatiguing than most headphones. Sound isolation is good (I haven't really subjected mine to testing yet) and they travel well. 

 
Huh. These seem good as well.
 
Since the Yamahas are pretty far outside my price range, how do these compare in detail and quality?

 

[chib]

What's wrong with the s500's bass?

It's as good if not better than a pair of dt 770's I had with a dacc, A combo worth 350 that can be compared to one that is a mere 50.



 

 

[Ruffball]

All right, after extensive research, I think I'm going with the KRK KNS-6400s. Speak now or forever hold your peace, anyone?

 

[TrollDragon]

Good choice, now you'll be able to enjoy some music instead of posting inquiries...

Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Ruffball]

Quote:

Good choice, now you'll be able to enjoy some music instead of posting inquiries...

Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Tapatalk 2

 
Lol, yeah, this whole process has been a little more in-depth than I intended. But thanks everyone who contributed!

 

[jaycee1]

I hope you enjoy them. It would be great if you posted a mini-review at some point after you get them, as the krk's are not a well known brand. Cheers.

 

[jjcoolaus]

Quote:

All right, after extensive research, I think I'm going with the KRK KNS-6400s. Speak now or forever hold your peace, anyone?

Unlesss you've already clicked the buy now button, i've got another suggestion:
 
Shure SRH440
 
I get the impression that you are Australian so here's a fully Australian owned mob:
http://headphones.com.au/psingle?productID=445
(i have bought from them several times in the past, very reliable and professional)
 
About $5 more expensive than the Jaycar model you had linked to earlier. Very neutreul, and has superb treble & excellent midrange for the price. I prefer them to my DT770s (3x the price) if I want isolation and know i'll just be listening to talk radio for example. The bass is quite good, but if you add some bass boost they can really thump if you want them to so they are definitely not lacking in their ability to produce deep bass.
 
Bassheads might choose to add a small amp with good bass boost (like the tiny Fiio E6) but you sound like you definitely won't need it. I think you would really enjoy those, but in saying that, I don't own any of the other headphones in this thread to compare them to.
 
My daily drivers for when i need open headphones are the Audio Technica ATH-TAD500 (http://headphones.com.au/psingle?productID=596)

 

[Avincent52]

Quote:

 
I think the Grado SR 60i's are a good suggestion; a very good one.
 
But - they cost more than $50.00...
 
One of the reasons I recommend the JVC S500 is because they are in fact
available for just about $50.00, and they provide exceptionally good sound.
 
For the price the build quality is better than expected as well.

 

Something like the Grado SR60is can be a lifetime investment. Literally. 

I've got two pair of full-size phones right now. Grado SR-125s which are 20 years old. 
And Yamaha YH-1s which are over 30 years old. 
The plastic parts on the Yamahas are a little fragile but they work and sound great.
And the Grados take no prisoners. They still work perfectly, I don't have to baby them in any way.

I don't have to tell you how many $1500 laptops I sent to the landfill while my $150 headphones keep right on chugging. 
IEMs and portable headphones are the exception and they do tend to break and/or get lost.

I would try hard to save another $50 and get something like the Grados. 
At that price point, every dollar you spend rewards you with better sound, and that's what this is all about, isn't it?