[lights+music]

I'm looking for a pair of headphones mostly for my 80gb iPod classic, they'll get used on my PC a bit too though. Ideally, they'd be circumaural with open backed cups, and wouldn't suffer too large a preformance hit without using an amp. My price ceiling tops out around 150$, but anything exceeding that seems to have too high an impedance for my purposes anyway.

I'm already strongly considering buying the Audio Technica ATH-AD700, since Amazon has what looks like a fantastic deal and they appear to be everything I want in a set of cans with the exception of their purple uglyness. You guys are the experts though, so I thought I'd ask you first for some recommendations, and to make sure I'm not overlooking anything before I go drop 80$ on these.

 

[AudioDwebe]

Wow, look at that.

You both asked and answered your own question. You really can't go wrong with these cans. They sound superb. As for the color, I didn't find them ugly at all. Quite nice, actually.

 

[lights+music]

Hey, like purple all you want, it's just not exactly what I had expected to settle on after days of looking through a million sleek black and silver pairs of monsters that apparently sounded great but didn't do what I needed them to. It is nice to know that they sound great though, and with that endorsement, they'll probably be on my head with their purple out of my peripheral vision in a few days.

 

[Tuxify]

They are great cans, but keep in mind that these headphones are gigantic, and usually a lot bigger than people expect them. Might not be the best choice if you are going to be going out in public in these. (I have the A700s, the closed back version of the headphones).

 

[userlander]

Ultrasone HFI-15G or Zino

 

[koven]

AD700's are out of the question if you need it to be portable, they are really big.

 

[pwnRhasta]

Yes they are really big, i would just use them at home, but they are awsome cans.

 

[jwalsh1]

Grado SR-80?

 

[dciurej]

I have the AD700's and love them.

But a few caveats.

The are different feeling headphones in that the headphones themselves do not adjust to your head, the headband "wings" do the adjusting.

As indicated above they are HUGE. To find the center spot in the can, the bottom of it is near where my jaw meets my neck. And I have a relatively large head.

They are not the tightest cans either. Lean forward rapidly and they will probably slide off.

But.....

The sound is great and they are pretty efficient at 32 ohms.

 

[lights+music]

With regards to the AD700, portability is not something I'm especially concerned with. I probably should have made that clear in the op. I did more research into the AD700 and my mind is more or less made up to order a pair, but suggestions are still appreciated. This is going to be pretty much my first pair of quality headphones.

edit: as long as we're on the subject of portability though, what are some of the better neckband style headphones? I wish the KSC-55 was still around, but welp. I know there are probably great clips / buds / classics, but I got used to neckband style. I had a cheap little pair that I used to run in, but I'm dumb and I accidentally ruined them, so I'm looking to replace them with something nice. The iGrado sounds great on paper, but I keep hearing that it's actually a huge disappointment that may or may not cut off bloodflow to your brain.

 

[carledwards]

I quite like the Creative Aurvana Live jacked straight into an iPod. Pretty lively.

 

[avalanche]

Allesandro MS1.

 

[Chrysoberyl]

If you want portability,IEMs.

 

[nukular]

If you can stretch to $200, than Grado SR225, if not then the SR125 ($150) or SR80 ($80?)

They might not be Circumaural, but they are not uncomfortable in my opinion, and one can always buy different pads for them that some do find more comfortable.

Also, they are damn easy to drive.