[Prizm]

I haven't tried the Philips, but I now have the Senn. 590s - and they are awesome. I tried the Senn. 497's alongside the 570s, and the 570s made a huge difference. There was just no comparison. And the 590s are apparently a big step up from the 570s.

I have tried one of the DT250s (not sure which) - and I didn't like the sound of them. Plus I didn't find them comfortable. To me, they sounded like they had a hole in the vocals. I preferred the budget AKG K-66s to the DT250s.

For what I wanted (comfort, open-back, high quality), I couldn't find a better pair of headphones than the 590s.

I doubt you are wanting to get an amp (I sure don't after spending all this money on the 590s), but the 590s sound great coming out of a PC - and even out of a discman.

However, the 590s do leak quite a bit of sound - a side effect of their very open back. If this is a concern, you may want to opt for Sennheiser HD280 Pro - which I though sounded very good. They are closed headphones.

Prizm

 

[jessica00]

hows the comfort of the 280's?

 

[radrd]

Quote:

hows the comfort of the 280's?

Depends on your head. I find them very comfortable, but a lot of people seem to find that they put too much pressure on the top of your head and clamp too hard at your ears. I don't mind them, but that's me.

As far as sound goes, they have tight fairly deep bass (definitely not overdone) and tend toward a bright analytical presentation. They require A LOT of break-in before they sound their best. If you go with these, I would buy them from Headroom so that you can easily return them should you discover that they aren't for you.