[jcon98]

New the the community and am in need of some advice on what to do.
 
My daughter just had a birthday and received a pair of Dre's Beats.  My wife being generous purchased a pair for me as well.  She bought them at Best Buy based on the salesperson's advice.  See how my daughter is happy an is more worried about being cool they will be just fine.  As for mine knowing that you are buying the look and name and not quality I would like to get something better.  My wife said she dosn't care as long as I stay at Best Buy because of the warranty.  After doing alot of research I think that the Sennheiser 25-1 11's or the AKG K 550's would probaly be more to my liking.  The only problem is that the Sennheiser's are out of stock in store and online.  Would the AKG's be better than the Sennheiser's.  There seem to be as many positives as negatives about them.  I like the beats but the bass is almost overpowering a small step down in that department wouldn't hurt.
 
There isn't much in the way of places to try different headphone out and being limited in knowledge, place of purchase, and budget I am very intimidated with this purchase.
 
Thanks

 

[brrgrr]

Splitting hairs sir, care to shed a little light on musical preferences, and maybe in what situations they'd be used?

 

[jcon98]

Music is rock, country, and some pop.  These would be used for everyday use around campus.

 

[obobskivich]

Based on what Best Buy/Magnolia tends to sell, I'd suggest trying the following models out in-store:

- Audio-Technica ATH-ESW9 and A900X
- Sennheiser HD 558 and HD380Pro
- Bowers & Wilkins P5
and probably some others that I'm forgetting.

In order to get better advice here, you'd really need to provide more information about your preferences, usage, etc - it will make it easier for people to suggest a good selection for your tastes (there isn't really a "best overall" kind of suggestion).

EDIT
Your post beat my reply.

I'd probably steer you towards the P5 or HD380 based on what you've said though. The ESW9 and A900 don't offer enough isolation (neither will the K550), and the A900 and K550 aren't really ideal for mobile use. The 558 should not be considered for mobile use.

 

[devhen]

What musical genres do you listen to and what requirements do you have for the headphones? For example do you want something full sized or on-ear/portable? Are you okay with open-back headphones?
 
Looking at what Best Buy carries I would personally go with one of these, in your price range:
 
Senn HD558 / 598 (open-back, full size)
Senn HD25 (closed, on-ear)
Beyer 770 (closed, full size)
Audio-Technica ATH-ESW9A (closed, full size?)
AKG K550/Q701/several other cheaper models that might be good
AIAIAI TMA-1 (closed, on-ear), Studio (closed, fullsize)
 
Ultimately, which ones to go with probably comes down to your music preferences and which do best for the music you usually listen to.
 
Edit- Didn't see your newer posts. Looks like open-back are probably out of the question. Anyway, for what its worth those are the ones I would consider.

 

[obobskivich]

He already mentioned his usage and music tastes.

The ATH-ESW9 are fairly compact, on-ear (for all ears), and very light. They're portable/mobile, but they lack real isolation. They're oddlings.

 

[devhen]

It might be worth waiting for the new Sennheiser Momentum to come out though I'm not sure exactly when that will be.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/gallery/album/view/id/686158/
 
Supposed to have the same drivers as the Amperior (similar to the HD 25) but its full size (more comfort / less portability).

 

[brrgrr]

One one hand the HD25 is legendarily durable and slightly more portable, but some find the clamping on the ears uncomfortable. On the other hand the K550 is very comfortable and is likely durable enough to survive a careless owner. They both isolate well, while the HD25 does separate instruments well if you want more soundstage lean towards the K550, if you want slightly tighter sound reproduction lean towards the HD25 unless you're sensitive to treble.
 
Edit.
As mentioned above and though I haven't heard it, the supposed warmth of the B&W P5 might be nice with those genres.

 

[jcon98]

Ok thanks for all the choices i guess that I will just have to make a trip to a store that has a good supply and will let you test drive them.
 
Thank you