[razminr11]

   I just joined Head-Fi, having been a lurker for the past few months, and am looking to buy my first set of "audiophile/good" headphones. My budget is around $250-300 or less. I am going to be using an iphone 3GS and an iPod touch 3rd gen with the standard iTunes mp3 files. I generally listen to many different genres of music, including rock, electronic/dubstep, pop, and sometimes rap. I want a mostly portable setup, and do not want an amp, but will get one if needed. I want something that is good all-around, but will go with good recommendations for my genres/source(s). Also, a pretty big requirement is comfort, as I will be using these for pretty long periods of time. I will be using them at home and in public, so I would like a closed pair of headphones, but will get an open pair if they are good enough. 
 
 I own, and have listened to a few pairs of headphones, most of them are alright in terms of SQ(for me anyways), so here they are:
                                                -My dad's Bose QC15s (alright SQ wise, but great noise canceling technology(not a top priority for me))
                                                -My Astro A40s + Mixamp(clearest headphones I've heard, but I haven't heard much) 
                                                -My brothers fake beats studios(pretty crappy, too much bass, very muddy)
I am looking for something with better SQ overall than those headphones.
 
At the moment I am considering the Audio Technica ATH M50s and the Fiio E11 portable amp+ the Fiio L1. I will take into consideration any and all recommendations.
 
  On a bit of a side note, I am constantly telling one of my non-audiophile friends (who apparently spent $2 including shipping on a pair of earbuds) that when I get a good pair of cans I will show him what he is missing, so I would like it if the headphones I get would be able to do just that (Sorry if that didnt make much sense.).
 
EDIT: I have, after extensive research, come up with 2 new choices, either the Beyer DT770 (Probably 80 ohms, but if any of the other versions offer "better" SQ, I'll  go with one of those) along with either the fiio e11 or the e17, or the Denon D2K's, probably along with the e11's as well. Any thoughts/recommendations  on this are welcome.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

   I just joined Head-Fi, having been a lurker for the past few months, and am looking to buy my first set of "audiophile/good" headphones. My budget is around $250-300 or less. I am going to be using an iphone 3GS and an iPod touch 3rd gen with the standard iTunes mp3 files. I generally listen to many different genres of music, including rock, electronic/dubstep, pop, and sometimes rap. I want a mostly portable setup, and do not want an amp, but will get one if needed. I want something that is good all-around, but will go with good recommendations for my genres/source(s). Also, a pretty big requirement is comfort, as I will be using these for pretty long periods of time. I will be using them at home and in public, so I would like a closed pair of headphones, but will get an open pair if they are good enough. 
 I own, and have listened to a few pairs of headphones, most of them are alright in terms of SQ(for me anyways), so here they are:
                                                -My dad's Bose QC15s (alright SQ wise, but great noise canceling technology(not a top priority for me))
                                                -My Astro A40s + Mixamp(clearest headphones I've heard, but I haven't heard much) 
                                                -My brothers fake beats studios(pretty crappy, too much bass, very muddy)
I am looking for something with better SQ overall than those headphones.
At the moment I am considering the Audio Technica ATH M50s and the Fiio E11 portable amp+ the Fiio L1. I will take into consideration any and all recommendations.
On a bit of a side note, I am constantly telling one of my non-audiophile friends (who apparently spent $2 including shipping on a pair of earbuds) that when I get a good pair of cans I will show him what he is missing, so I would like it if the headphones I get would be able to do just that (Sorry if that didnt make much sense.).

KRK KNS 8400,
Right now on eBay, new ones are selling for under $100 (not sure about the warranty).
Portable apple products seem to drive headphones a little better then people expect.
So try it without a portable amplifier at first, you can always buy a Fiio E11 in the future  (and the Fiio L cable).

 

[MattTCG]

I would get the e17 instead of the e11. Consider the d2k's while you can still get them.

 

[razminr11]

Quote:

KRK KNS 8400,
Right now on eBay, new ones are selling for under $100 (not sure about the warranty).
Portable apple products seem to drive headphones a little better then people expect.
So try it without a portable amplifier at first, you can always buy a Fiio E11 in the future  (and the Fiio L cable).

Thanks for the prompt and informative reply, I will check those out, but will need a second opinion (or many) to come up with a proper decision. I would also like to say that I don't actually have the cash to get a pair of cans now, but am estimating for the (very very near) future.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I would get the e17 instead of the e11. Consider the d2k's while you can still get them.

Why the E17, he can't use the E17's DAC with his portable apple media players

 

[razminr11]

Quote:

Why the E17, he can't use the E17's DAC with his portable apple media players

I actually might use my headphones with my PC, but considering the E17s price, I don't think I will get it.

 

[razminr11]

Quote:

KRK KNS 8400,
Right now on eBay, new ones are selling for under $100 (not sure about the warranty).
Portable apple products seem to drive headphones a little better then people expect.
So try it without a portable amplifier at first, you can always buy a Fiio E11 in the future  (and the Fiio L cable).

Oh and btw, I see in your sig that you have the KNS 8400 (or at least, that's what it seems like), and if you do, would you be willing to share your experiences with them. Thanks

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Oh and btw, I see in your sig that you have the KNS 8400 (or at least, that's what it seems like), and if you do, would you be willing to share your experiences with them. Thanks

First off, I rechecked the eBay listings, it's more like $110 or less for new KNS 8400.
(only buy from those with lots of "seller" feedback).
The KNS 8400 are nice all around sounding closed headphones, the cups can turn 90%, so they can lay flat in luggage.
Not at all heavy, cups are comfortable to wear, made of mostly decent plastic with metal reinforcement.
I believe you can remove the cable, but my used ones came with the cable glued in by the previous owner.

 

[razminr11]

Thanks everyone for your responses, but based off further research i've decided to narrow my search down tho the ATH M50s and Denon D2Ks. Any help in this area would be much appreciated. Thanks

 

[MattTCG]

Everyone will have their own opinions and bias's. I owned the m50 very early in my journey. And while I'm certainly not at the end of my journey I now own the d2k. I'd trade 5 m50's for 1 d2k. my2c

 

[razminr11]

Quote:

Everyone will have their own opinions and bias's. I owned the m50 very early in my journey. And while I'm certainly not at the end of my journey I now own the d2k. I'd trade 5 m50's for 1 d2k. my2c

 
How are the D2ks in terms of portability, because I heard that not only do they sometimes have problems with their build quality, but that they are not that great for a portable setup, which is why I'm probably going to get the M50's. Oh and btw, do you know if Amazon ships the white-box versions of the M50s, because I heard that the white-box had fixed a lot of the M50's original problems. Thanks 

 

[orangedrink888]

Quote:

 
How are the D2ks in terms of portability, because I heard that not only do they sometimes have problems with their build quality, but that they are not that great for a portable setup, which is why I'm probably going to get the M50's. Oh and btw, do you know if Amazon ships the white-box versions of the M50s, because I heard that the white-box had fixed a lot of the M50's original problems. Thanks 

yea, head the same things. The good thing about the M50s is that they are foldable.
 
here is something about the colored boxes: http://www.head-fi.org/t/596452/this-is-for-anybody-having-questions-about-ath-m50-box-difference-and-bass-amount#post_8154479

 

[razminr11]

Quote:

yea, head the same things. The good thing about the M50s is that they are foldable.
 
here is something about the colored boxes: http://www.head-fi.org/t/596452/this-is-for-anybody-having-questions-about-ath-m50-box-difference-and-bass-amount#post_8154479

Thanks much for that link, that really helped with my confusion with the M50s.

 

[razminr11]

New choices in OP.

 

[razminr11]

bump