1: Beyerdynamic DT48: ^^^ For the reasons above. Eyedrop described them as well as I could.
2: Realistic Pro 50: Pretty freakin groovy. Moreso than K240S's, which were crowned groovalizers. These probably aren't the same type RP50's that wualta loves though. Mine have MP radiators (I found out that there are also different versions of this. I found one with I think EP radiators. Sold for only $35. Lucky person.)
3: Smeggipucks: Best portable headphones I've ever heard. (Then again, I haven't heard the AT's, new Beyers, ED.8, HD25, Phiatons, or TMA-1.
) In all seriousness, fabulous speed, aurgasmic mids (for a portable), a bit bright (fixable, but I'm lazy) and bass goes surprisingly deep.
4: Monster Turbine Pro Coppers: They may be rather uninvolving and somewhat unrefined, but they do little wrong in an absolute sense. There really aren't many genres that this fails on.
5: AKG K271: These tend to be rather polarizing. I, for one, love them. They have superb mids, but lose out a bit on the extremes. Treble is a tad restrained, and bass needs more texture, but very good all around.
6: AKG K4: I'm going to be mean and not describe them in depth. Look for a pair for yourself. They're a miniatureized pair of K340's with more bass and restrained treble. Yes, they're worth looking for.
7: Monster Turbine Pro Gold: Just plain fun. They don't try to do any audiophile tricks unlike the Coppers, just create a creamy sound.
8: Audio Technica ATH-2: Orthodynamics from the 70's. They're colored to a fault, but still has some of the features I like in the Smeggipucks. I fixed the bass issues, but still a bit sloppy.
9: Beyerdynamic DT220: Not too much to say about them. They're a studio monitor from the 80's with typical studio monitor sound. Great mids, needs an amp. They're pretty good, but the K271's are a better.
Crap, I'm not even halfway done...
10: Koss Technician VFR: My holy grail of vintage Kosses. I restored them and mass damped them. These are really freakin bassy. Shame they aren't incredibly detailed. They sound decidedly V shaped, but the mids are surprisingly decent. At least not colored like the XB500's. (Totally not worth $30 on ecost...they sound rather atrocious for the price. *Flamesuit on*)
11: MEElectronics CC51: Very competent <$100 IEM's. Bassy, but less so than their previous creations. Mids take a step back, but not terrible. Treble is ever so slightly recessed.
12: Prodipe Pro800: See my thread for a better idea on the sound, but they make electronic amazing. Too bad they're freakin fragile.
13: Philips "The Stretch": I'll have a review up in a couple weeks. You'll just have to wait for that.
14: Modded Koss Portapro: I removed the grill, replaced the grill with felt, and quarter modded the pads. The result is a darker than stock, but more refined sound. ...Yeah everyone knows how these sound. If you don't, go and buy a pair. They're cheap enough.
15: eSmooth ES610BB: Modded, they sound like a bassier pair of Portapros with less refinement. Too bad shipping is so freakin high. Need to make a review for the eSmooth stuff soon.
16: eSmooth ES360EB: Very competent set of IEM's. If I didn't know any better, I'd think they were $50. I'll have a review up soon.
17: Koss KSC75: A brighter Portapro with a bit less detail and bass.
18: Brainwavz M1: Surprisingly good for $30. Smooth treble, tightish bass (could use some more detail, but these are $30), but unrefined mids.
19: Ultimate Ears Super.fi 4: Very mid-treble happy. Too bad they don't even do it right.
20: Brainwavz M3: Not as good as the CC51. Some bass issues, funky sounding mids. Heck, the M1's for half the price sound more natural.
21: eSmooth ES530: Bassy with unrefined mids and treble, but still very fun.
22: MEElectronics M31: Same deal as the ES530, but WAY too much bass for me. And mids are kinda sucky.
23: Phiaton PS20 NC: They'd probably sound awesome if they could fit in my ear. But what I heard was colored mids, uncontrolled bass, and bright treble. Very tip dependent. Still, they're a treat to listen to when I muster up the manliness to suck it up when they hurt.
24: MEElectronics M21: Very balanced, but also very boring.
25: iBuds: These aren't good, but don't deserve the trashing they get. They're decent.
26: MEElectronics M9: They were a revelation when MEE was a new company, but I'm glad to see that they've been improving their products. The M9's are super bassy and don't like when you turn it up loud.
27: Sony J10: Meh.
28: Sone E818: More Meh.
29: iWave XB500 clones: Comfy, but lack refinement of any kind, even when modded.
30: Sansa Buds: These DO NOT sound like HD650's...
31: Duracell Earbuds: These make me want to stop listening to music...
I also want to note that I did not pay more than $60 for any of my over ear headphones. Heck, the first three cost less than $50. It most certainly is possible for good headphones to cost less than $100 if you look hard enough.
My amps/sources are a NaNite N2, Sony A726, Blackberry Tour, EMU 0204, and a Harman Kardon HK430. Yes, I'm pretty sure the HK430 is strong enough.
