[chriskchung76]

I have been casually looking for a pair of headphones for a while, but I didn't really have a strong need (I have a reference stereo at home: Revel Studio2 / Mac Amp and rarely needed headphones except for long flights or the occasional late night working) until last week. Now it appears that I'm going to be spending 25-30+ hours cranking away code in a 4"x3" cube (no windows) and a REALLY loud french guy who likes to yell at everyone...
 
Current Setup: I use a pair of Etymotic In-Ear hf3s and plug directly into my iPhone5. The source is apple loss-less. This works fine for a couple hours, but more than a couple hours, and I just get uncomfortable with something stuck in my ears.
 
I have read numerous posts, and I'm more confused now than before I started. So, what I would like from my headphones
#1 Comfort for 6+ hours
#2 Noise Isolation (don't want to hear Frenchie...)
#3 Portability (Small is good, since it'll go on planes and ideally run ok w/o an amp/dac)
#4 Sound Quality (nicer than my hf3s would be ideally, I like detail over warmth, and don't like muddled bass)
 
Based on what I've read on here so far.. I was thinking about...
Sennheiser Momentums (no amp/dac)
beyerdynamic T 5 p (no amp/dac???)
Grado i80s
 
then maybe trying a portable DAC like the dragonfly or the arcam rPac. But I could really use any guidance and direction on how to think about this...
 
TIA

 

[KG Jag]

You don't want open cans like the Grado.
 
It sounds like you might need active noise cancellation cans.

 

[davidsh]

Sennheiser momentum does isolate, but not that much. They are very nice (sound signature wise) if you try to concentrate on other stuff than the music, though. There's also the different modded t50rp's like the mad dog. They are said to isolate well, but might need some amping.

 

[Zashoomin]

CIEM's might be the way to go. Maximum isolation amazing confort and very very portable.  For that price I would go for the JH13's with a portable amp/dac combo.  

 

[davidsh]

Ciems sound like a very good idea in your case. Only con is that they take some time to pull in and out.

 

[chriskchung76]

Although I'm sure the CIEMs are a great option, I just don't like the feeling of something in my ear for the whole day. Even if over the ears don't offer as good isolation, my feeling is that they will be more comfortable if I'm wearing them all day long.
 
Sounds like the Momentums won't fit the bill, any suggestions on closed over the ear with good sound isolation and reasonable sound without additional amp/dac. I am leaning towards getting a portable AMP/DAC for the cube, but may not always have it on flights and other situations.
 
Would either the beyerdynamic T5p or the Fostex TH900 work well?

 

[davidsh]

The fostex doesn't isolate well. Would perhaps recommend the alpha dogs

 

[chriskchung76]

I'm intrigued but I don't see many reviews. Have you tried these headphones yourself? If so, hows the noise isolation and whats the sonic profile? Looking at the site, it looks like they may be a little finicky to drive.. any experience on these?

 

[davidsh]

Nope, but they are supposedly good. Very neutral sounding, good isolation

 

[chriskchung76]

Those headphones look like exactly what I'm looking for. Any ideas on what a good portable amp/dac would be for the headphones?

 

[davidsh]

The question is how portable do you want? You'd like something more powerful than something like e17. I'd say schiit vali and modi