Transitioning from M50's to A900X's, but learned the A900X's aren't portable. What do I do?

[3ternalDr4gon]

(Cross-posted in Portable Headphones)
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/659174/transitioning-from-m50s-to-a900xs-but-learned-the-a900xs-arent-portable-what-do-i-do
 
Basically, I saw the deal of $130 for ATH-A900X's a couple days ago and jumped on it instantly after some quick googling - it's commonly regarded as a clear upgrade to the M50's, and I got those for $150 (bought em last year in January). I purchased these ASAP because you never know how long these deals lasts. More often than not, not very long.
 
After learning they aren't portable, I tried looking on Head-Fi's top ranked headphones, I can't seem to find headphones that are closed, over-ear, portable, and better than the M50's .
 
Are M50's really the best headphones to get for the bolded criteria above? My dilemma is that since the A900X's aren't portable, they are in the same realm as open headphones in regards to convenience. That being the case, I might as well sell them and save up for DT 880 600's (I read on another thread that these are extremely close to the T1's, I understand that's a whole other debate entirely though)
 
If it matters at all, I purchased the Superlux HD668B's yesterday. Both those and the A900X's haven't come in yet.
 
My headphone buying history
 
Wireless Beats --> Studio Beats --> M50's --> A900X's  + HD668B's (which I haven't used yet obv)
 
My music mainly consists of Daft Punk, Skrillex, and David Guetta type stuff, as well as Hip Hop. I'm slowly getting into Rock and want to transition to other things as well. 
 
I can save up to a budget of $400 max
 
1. When it comes to upgrading from the M50's sound quality, am I stuck resorting to open headphones and IEM's?
2. If the only upgrade in the headphones option is quiet, indoor listening (open headphones), is the iPod Classic a good source for the DT 880 600's? What amp should I get with it? And what should be installed in the iPod Classic to maximize it's performance? I read it around here somewhere but I lost the thread.
3. Can anyone recommend closed, portable headphones with good sound that look good as well? I like the K701's but those are open.
4. Is there a portable amp that I should get to accompany my M50's with the music I listen to? I currently use the iPod touch 4th generation as a source. 
 
Thanks guys, sorry if this was too long

 

[Mad Max]

I've read that SRH940 is somewhat like K701 in sound.  Have you looked into Sony and Ultrasone headphones?

 

[3ternalDr4gon]

Thanks for your response dude
 
I'll definitely look into the SRH940's if they're close to the K701's in sound. I'm actually looking into the SRH750DJ's because of how they look. I'm also looking into the Sony MDR-XB700/XB1000's as well, again, because they look pretty cool imo. I guess it's pretty silly to critique HP's on how they look, but I definitely do care about sound quality as well...I mean there's a reason I don't use my Beats anymore lol.
 
I haven't looked into Ultrasone HP's that much, but I will now haha. Are portable amps even worth looking into? I read that they only make HP's louder, but don't really increase quality. It's tough learning this audiophile stuff since sound is generally subjective lol, I'm trying though

 

[Aerial Wave]

Not much experience with Ultrasones, but have you heard about V-moda? they seem to have good looking headphones with a decent sound quality. 

 

[3ternalDr4gon]

Yeah I have...from the pics I saw I thought they weren't for me and look on-ear instead of over, but I guess they look pretty decent once I saw some youtube reviews. Kinda cool how you can customize em as well. I'm still trying to find something similar to the look of K701's though, but I'm still down to look into other things. Thanks dude
 
Btw, scratch what I said about the MDR.XB's...those things are massive.

 

[Mad Max]

Some headphones will benefit from an amp noticeably, some not so much.

 

[Dafondo]

I haven't heard any of these, but here are some closed, portable headphones you can look into:
 
Sony MDR-1R (Apple stores sometimes carry these, so you might be able to try before buying)
Sennheiser Momentum (The earcups are small for some)
AKG K550 (Seal problems for certain head shapes/sizes, but there are headband bending mods that can help)
 
If you're looking for an amp, here's a good place to start:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/620775/the-sub-200-portable-amps-shootout-12-10-amps-compared

 

[3ternalDr4gon]

Damn, I was trying to avoid the K550's since they seem to simply be the better counterpart of the A900X's that I have coming in, but I do like how they look and I'm leaning towards them.
 
Thinking long term...I suppose the only upgrade from K550's would be to switch to open cans? Given the price, I would assume that the Sennheiser Momentum's are a closed version of the HD600's, but I would obv have to look into it more before making that assumption.

 

[davidsh]

Don't look at the ranking, you can't deduce anything from it.