[unsterblich88]

So I've been looking at mounds and mounds of reviews for over-the-ear, closed full-size headphones (preferrably 32 ohm) for metal in the 50-150$ range. I currently use a pair of Sennheiser HD203s (which I got off amazon for $13 refurbished) and they're cool and all but get somewhat distorted, but this would be my first dive into the pool of audiophile over-the-ear headphones. I've read reviews about the ATH-M50s, Sennheiser 380s, Ultrasone, Sony MDR-V6, Beyerdynamic DT-770s, but all these reviews do is run me around in a circle. So now this has been week two of research, so I've come here for some recommendations. My current rigs are the Creative 5.1 USB audio driver running through the Zune software and a Zune 120, and plan to use whatever headphones unamped until I have enough cash to buy a Fiio E6 or something on the cheaper side of amplification. My music taste goes from black metal, brutal death, drum 'n' bass, to Frank Zappa, jazz fusion, ska, hardcore punk, and a bit of horrorcore and about 80% of my music is in 320kbps. So due to my music tastes they need to be fast responding, but full-bodied in the sound (minus sibilance). I've heard Grados have great sound for metal, but I need closed headphones since I tend to be awake late at night in a house full of sleeping people. Any suggestions are much appreciated.

 

[swisshead225]

how important is isolation & the over-ear "size"?
I am a Grado lover too, but as you said they probably won't fit your actual requirements.
i can give you informations about the sennheiser momentum, hd25 and the audio technica ath-900x
 
my music is: metal, hardcore, punk, singer/songwriter, drum'n'bass
 
momentum: great allrounder, they sound amazing with everything and look good. isolation is ok but the size of the over ear pads is not the biggest if that is a requirement (big ears)
hd25 are not on ear, very strong bass, undestroyable and very good isolation
audio technica is very comftable but big, very good an open sound for almost everything, good for bigger ears (its a real over-ear) it's closed but isolation is not the very best here (sound leaking)
 
hth, cheers raphi

 

[unsterblich88]

Well I should have also mentioned the reason why I want another pair of over-the-ear is because I play drums so I want to use them on both my electric and acoustic kit.
 
I read that it's a hit or miss on comfort for the ATH-900x and sound like drumming with them might be a bit of a hassle.
 
Actually the Momentums especially as well as the other two are a bit above my price range. $150 is the highest I can go.