[hudamanium]

I know a lot about full sized headphones and have owned and tried many of them. Recently I've begun searching for a set of portables or in ears.... and I'm just overwhelmed by the choices I have. I'm hoping to keep this sub $150.

1. Isolation is preferred (doesn't have to be completely isolated though, just enough to keep out some noise). One reason I'm getting portables is because my regular portable headphones just don't keep enough sound out.
2. Comfort is a big one. I sometimes have problems with in ear headphones due to cable noise and a pressure feeling in my ear that I just can't get used to. Some in ears work and others do not in my experience.
3. Portability. I'm going to be bringing these to and from classes, work, home, etc.
4. Durability. I need these to be of decent build and not snap in a backpack.

Headphones I have looked at so far....

Sennsheiser HD-25 II -- Above my budget so I really prefer not to get these.
Audio-Technica ATH-EW9 -- Looks pretty great. I'm a little worried about isolation though.
Audio-Technica ATH-ES7 -- Seems decent, but not very portable.
HARMAN K81DJ Akg
beyerdynamic DT 235
Monster Turbines

I'm definitely not limited to these choices. Reccomend me some others too!

EDIT: Forgot to say that DJ headphones are great too. There are just so many of them... I have no idea where to start looking. AKG seems to have good ones, and the Koss - Pro DJ100 has had good reviews. Have never head ultrasone so I'm not too sure about that brand.

 

[limin]

If you're willing to take your budget to $166, get the HD-25s, they should meet or exceed all of your requirements and they're incredibly durable - I'm pretty sure they'll outlast the backpack i throw them into everyday.
 
they are really in a different price range though so i'm not sure if your $150 budget is really more a $100 and less budget...

 

[soul05]

im sure someone will recommend you audio technica m50s...
 
x2 on the hd25.  you can get them used like i did for under 150

 

[hudamanium]

Where did you all get the HD 25 II under 150? That seems like it would be great.

The M50s are just a size above what I want to be portable. I actually already own a pair though

 

[Shufny]

The Denon DN-HP700 seems to have great reputation too. Turbines defenetly isn't a wise choise considering the Xears TD II does the same for less, and there are many better IEMs under $150. Just check out joker's Multi-IEM Review if you haven't already, or the fresh "Concise Multi-IEM Comparison" by ClieOS.  The portable thread should be useful too. I have the K81 which sounds a bit worse than the DT231 Pro which should sound the same as the DT235, and confort is an issue with them. On the other hand isolation is the really good, and they are very durable. Here you can get the DT235 for like ~42 usd, so I think that makes them the best value among portable headphones in terms of SQ for us. The M50/HD25-1 II/TMA-1/HP700/ESW9 should be above their league though. I think there are fake ES7s, so you should watch out for them.

 

[limin]

 
Quote:

Where did you all get the HD 25 II under 150? That seems like it would be great.

 
Not under $150, but there's one for $160 on ebay if you're into that sort of thing

 

[hudamanium]

The one by "pro audio land"? I tried seeing if they were a authorized dealer but couldn't find anything on Sennheiser's website. I've heard that Senns often gets some fakes so I'm always warry of ebay. If they were real though that might be a pretty good option.

 

[hudamanium]

The Denon DN-HP700 seems to have great reputation too. Turbines defenetly isn't a wise choise considering the Xears TD II does the same for less, and there are many better IEMs under $150. Just check out joker's Multi-IEM Review if you haven't already, or the fresh "Concise Multi-IEM Comparison" by ClieOS.  The portable thread should be useful too. I have the K81 which sounds a bit worse than the DT231 Pro which should sound the same as the DT235, and confort is an issue with them. On the other hand isolation is the really good, and they are very durable. Here you can get the DT235 for like ~42 usd, so I think that makes them the best value among portable headphones in terms of SQ for us. The M50/HD25-1 II/TMA-1/HP700/ESW9 should be above their league though. I think there are fake ES7s, so you should watch out for them.

Thanks! I actually have checked out those threads and many others. Portable headphones are such a large market its so difficult to really narrow down my search. Right now I have like 20 tabs open just for this..... haha. Thanks for the opinions, Ill make sure to consider those!

 

[soul05]

got my hd25s from this forum for under 150..youve just got to be patient in the marketplace