[miceblue]

So I'm looking for a pair of headphones that meet the following criteria (hopefully, I'm not sure if there is a headphone that matches all of them):

1. Can be found on the market for less than $250 USD (hoping to avoid eBay)
2. Able to be driven by a portable media player without an amp (iPod Touch 2G for now, perhaps a Cowon J3 in the future)
3. Closed headphones (circumaural or supra-aural) with decent noise isolation
4. Great for (female) vocals, not too harsh/sibilant
5. Large soundstage
6. Can lie flat or be folded/twisted into a nice bundle (e.g. the ATH-M50)
7. Decent bass punch (I do listen to some trance/electronic, but it's not my main genre)
8. Not too heavy on the head (not toooo important, but it factors into the comfort)
9. Look decent (I know this is a subjective decision)

 
Types of music I listen to:

1. Chinese pop (soft pop, more acoustic-based such as Fahrenheit or Eason Chan, and hard pop, more bass/electronic heavy-based such as modern Jolin Tsai or S.H.E)
2. Russian operatic pop (Vitas)
3. Japanese anime soundtrack (Key Sounds Label and Lia)
4. Oldies (rock and pop such as the Beatles, Don Henley, and Duran Duran)
5. Some Japanese rock (Gackt/Malice Mizer)
6. Some American pop (Lady GaGa, Taylor Swift, Mariah Carey)
7. Some electronic chip-tune
8. Some Europop/trance (Smile.dk)

 
Headphones I have considered:

1. Ultrasone HFI-580/DJ1 (I head the S-Logic soundstage is one-of-a-kind)
2. Ultrasone DJ1 PRO (same reason as above but I read that the S-Logic effect is bigger)
3. SRH-750DJ (great bass punch)
4. ATH-ESW9 or the ES7 (I heard they have decent mids for vocals?)
5. Sennheiser HD-25-1-ii (Adidas) (I hear lots of good reviews for these)
6. SRH-840 (I read a lot of good reviews for these, although they are a bit heavy and look kind of clunky on me)
7. Beyerdynamic DT770 (I also read a lot of good reviews for these)
8. ATH-M50 (I've read good reviews for these)
9. I was considering Sennheiser headphones at first because they're a big audio company, but most of their good headphones are open, not closed
10. I was also considering IEM's, but I find them a tad bit uncomfortable and earwax tends to build-up on them (I own a pair of Sennheiser CX-300)

 
 
Do you think I should be looking for a balanced/neutral headphone? Maybe?
 
Sorry for the long post, but I would greatly appreciate any help or suggestions you can provide!

Thank you so much in advance.

 

[BotByte]

You got two choices:
 
Ath-M50
 
Grado SR80i
 
I like the SR80i because: I've modded them with earpads for better comfort and I'm not a basshead. Also I'm not insecure about my listening habits outside, who cares who hears my music.
 
They both don't need an amp and both the cusp swivel down. M50's have bass overkill and that shortens the highs and muddies up the mids. Grado has weak, but still pounding bass and the rest of the sound is amazing. 
 
Get over the whole noobish "bass" curse and get the Grado. Upgrade to L-cush pads for better comfort and sound. Or you can make your own.

 

[miceblue]

 
Quote:

You got two choices:
 
Ath-M50
 
Grado SR80i
 
I like the SR80i because: I've modded them with earpads for better comfort and I'm not a basshead. Also I'm not insecure about my listening habits outside, who cares who hears my music.
 
They both don't need an amp and both the cusp swivel down. M50's have bass overkill and that shortens the highs and muddies up the mids. Grado has weak, but still pounding bass and the rest of the sound is amazing. 
 
Get over the whole noobish "bass" curse and get the Grado. Upgrade to L-cush pads for better comfort and sound. Or you can make your own.

 
Thanks for noting the Grados...but I believe those are open headphones are they not? I'm looking for closed ones since I commute via bus to school. Otherwise I would most definitely consider either Grados or AKG's.
 
 

 

[miceblue]

Anybody?

 

[Synergy Sound]

Take a look at this thread.

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Anybody?

Heya,
 
BeyerDynamic DT660 32Ώ
 
$199 new. Check 'em out.
 
 
 
Quote:

Get over the whole noobish "bass" curse

 
It's really tiring seeing "Noob" mentioned at all here. Enjoying bass is completely fine. Telling someone not to enjoy what they like is ridiculous. Why don't we all go "Mids are overated, noobs!" Seriously.
 
Very best,

 

[Inquartata]

Phiaton MS400 might also suit you, except for the large soundstage requirement. It's not tiny, but it's certainly outdone by open headphones, as well as my SRH750DJ and HFI-780. Bigger soundstage than my Grado SR60i, though, and my IEMs. It's my travel headphone that's pretty much replaced my IEMs (I haven't figure out a way to get my IEMs to fit comfortably, and the Phiatons travel really well and come with a semi-hard travel case.) 

 

[miceblue]

Quote:

Heya,
 
BeyerDynamic DT660 32Ώ
 
$199 new. Check 'em out.
 
 
 
 
It's really tiring seeing "Noob" mentioned at all here. Enjoying bass is completely fine. Telling someone not to enjoy what they like is ridiculous. Why don't we all go "Mids are overated, noobs!" Seriously.
 
Very best,

Ah thanks for the suggestion, I'll check around the forums to see what others' impressions are of the DT660's. I've generally read more about the DT770's over the 660's but I'll look into it.
 
 


Quote:

Phiaton MS400 might also suit you, except for the large soundstage requirement. It's not tiny, but it's certainly outdone by open headphones, as well as my SRH750DJ and HFI-780. Bigger soundstage than my Grado SR60i, though, and my IEMs. It's my travel headphone that's pretty much replaced my IEMs (I haven't figure out a way to get my IEMs to fit comfortably, and the Phiatons travel really well and come with a semi-hard travel case.) 

I was also considering these at one point but I think they might have a bit too much emphasis on the low end of the sound spectrum. I read that the mids/highs are not as pronounced as they are in other headphones, such as the HFI-580's. What's your opinion of the mids/highs compared to the Ultrasones?
 
 

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Ah thanks for the suggestion, I'll check around the forums to see what others' impressions are of the DT660's. I've generally read more about the DT770's over the 660's but I'll look into it.
 

Heya,
 
Yeap, the DT660's are not high on the map like the DT990 or the bassy DT770 Pro's or the Tesla flags, but the DT660 folds and collapses while the other don't, it was meant to be portable, while still having that awesome Beyer comfort pillow cup and being... well, a Beyer. They're more neutral than the DT770's, kind of like the DT880's, but not as capable on the low end of the frequency spectrum as one of those phones. But again, they fold so you can be more portable with them. The DT770's cannot fold, so if you try to put them around your neck, those huge cups will be all up in your chin.
 
Very best,

 

[Chris_Himself]

Ultrasone ES-7. **** those things are pretty.

 

[miceblue]

Quote:

Ultrasone ES-7. **** those things are pretty.

Are you talking about the Audio Technica ATH-ES7's? Yeah those are pretty, hahahahaha. I do like the wood finish of the ESW9's too, though they are more expensive and have a more colored sound, so I've read.