[phoneE]

I am looking for headphones that meet the criteria listed below:
- $200-$300
- can be driven directly from iphone/ipod (no amp required)
- warm, musical sound (booming bass not necessary)
- suitable for wide variety of music
- comfortable
- moderately portable
- decent looks
 
Models being considered are:
B&W P5, Philips Fidelio L1 or M1, Sennheiser Amperior, Focal Spririt One, AKG K550
 
Please provide your recommendation from these or provide your own suggestion.
 
Thanks!

 

[joeylw]

I would say out of the ones you already listed the Sennheiser Amperiors would be the best. If you would like to save a little money you could look at the Sennheiser HD25 which are the cheaper predecessor to the Amperiors, but are awesome as well.

My suggestion would be the V-Moda M80. It's under $200, looks terrific and sounds great. You can get them in black or white.

 

[phoneE]

thanks for your input, joelw.  How would you compare/contrast the V-Moda M80 to the LP2?

 

[Dragonzeanse]

  thanks for your input, joelw.  How would you compare/contrast the V-Moda M80 to the LP2?

I have a hard time finding anything that is worse than the V-Moda Crossfade LP2. People get on Beats all the time for being overpriced, overbassy garbage, and then Crossfade LP/LP2s are okay? Just my two cents, blunt as I'm being. I don't know how the M80 sounds, but I hated the LP2.
 
I've listened to the B&W P5 only, out of everything on that list, and it definitely meets all of your criteria, and it is very comfortable. Not sure why B&W decided to make the more expensive model less comfortable. It's a very nice headphone that one would be proud to own. Nothing can really be said about that headphone that you aren't already asking for.
 
I can say, though, that you probably shouldn't consider the Fidelio L1. I haven't listened to it, but the problem is that it's semi-open, and will isolate less than the rest of the headphones on your list. If you're concerned about isolation, skip it.