[Chawanwit]

Pick your favorite brands of headphone base on things like:
-Brand image
-Service
-Durability
-Design
-Sound Signature
-ETC

 

[NamelessPFG]

Tough call, especially for someone who doesn't have a whole lot of headphone experience.
 
-Audio-Technica makes some comfortable cans, and their support is excellent. When one of the AD700 support wings broke off, I contacted support, and a representative sent me a new one-entirely free of charge. Talk about supporting your customers...
 
-Stax made the SR-Lambda, currently my favorite headphone out of everything I've listened to. The sound presentation, the comfort...almost perfect for me, and utterly displaced the AD700 to the point where I sold it. However, Yama's/STAX USA leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to support. Driver issues with anything that isn't one of the latest models, for instance? They won't even bother repairing it and just tell you to buy a new one. At least they're fairly prompt with communication and sell replacement parts if needed.
 
I haven't owned too many other brands of headphones. I can add Panasonic and Philips to the list, but if we're talking audiophile brands, I've centered on Stax since that's where I'd put my money for anything over $100.

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
I find branding and brand loyalty to essentially not be worth while. Each brand has a hit or miss status with their releases. You're better off focusing on which models from each brand are worth while, or "better" instead of just looking at the generic and generalized brand itself--which often is full of not so good headphones. Sennheiser is a culprit of this for example. Lots of bad headphones. And a couple really good ones.
 
Stick to individual headphones and their merits.
 
Branding will just have you find out a lot of disappointing information.
 
Very best,