[mhollerb]

Hope you can help me narrow down my potential picks as well as refine my thoughts. I'm a student so noise cancellation (active or passive) and minimal leakage are of importance. I also appreciate bass, but I'm not a basshead. Currently I have a set of TripleFi 10's that I'm in love with; they're damn near perfect. With a set of Comply tips I can't hear anything, even without music. (Note: This may hinder my choice because the TF10 is my isolation point of reference [near absolute]) Music is everything, alternative, rock, acoustic. Main artists are Dave Matthews, Umphrey's McGee, Jack's Mannequin, Big Gigantic, Marley, Glitch Mob, Kings of Leon, etc. In particular I love live albums. I need to feel Carter's drums in DMB @ Red Rocks '95!
 
I did quite a bit of research of the go-to $150 to $350 phones. I demo'd the UE 6000s from an Apple store because I like Ultimate Ears and they were spoken highly of by Tyll at Innerfidelity. I thought they were very, very nice. Good amount of bass (if not too much) but I thought it was refined and well managed. They just sounded 'right.' However, the drawbacks were the noise cancellation and leakage. I'm new at this, so it's all relative to me but I found both the active and passive NC to be very poor. Flipping the switch seemed to do little. Again, this is relative to in-ears and the QC15s that I tried at the (loud) Apple store; IEMs will always be quieter and my HW has shown me that Bose is the best in active NC. 
 
On a whim I also tried the Bose AE2i's at the store as well and was impressed. Great passive cancelling, very comfy, and they sounded great to my ears.
 
Currently I am considering going back to the UE 6000s because they sounded good to me, and their sound quality is worth the $20 upcharge from the AE2i's. Maybe I'm asking too much in the leakage category. I have realized that I can probably live with it, though I dislike having to crank up the volume to get the loudness I like at which point they leak. An amp might be on the horizon. (I run my music out of either a desktop PC or an iPhone 4S, which I've heard is decently powerful compared to other mobile devices)
 
So, given my tastes and thought processes, what might you guys recommend? Stick with what I know I like? Preferably available from Headroom, or somewhere that allows demoing sans restock fees.
 
Thanks,

Mat 
 
EDIT: I'm also considering the ATH-M50 and their noise cancelling equivalents because everyone from Cnet to Tyll to Amazon raves about their performance and value.

 

[Tsujigiri]

I'd also consider the Ultrasone HFI 580, Beyerdynamic DT770 80 Ohm, and Sennheiser Momentums.

 

[sofastreamer]

as i am actually owning the ue6000 and do find them only decent, because they lack some soundstage depth and airyness, i am interested in a comparo to the ae2 too.

 

[redrich2000]

If you already love your TF10s and you know they give you the isolation you need, I would suggest getting some open phones for something different when you don't need isolation. Otherwise you'll just end up back with the in-ears with the UE6000 gathering dust or for sale for less than you paid. If its a comfort thing that's a different story.

 

[mhollerb]

Thanks Red. I do love my TF10s, but I'm looking for an over-ear that's easily removed to speak to people. I'm in engineering school and it gets old pulling the TF10s in the lab to answer a yes/no question. Then the 'chore' of putting them back in to get the perfect seal.

TSU, without asking you to do my hw, might you give a little more info about each of those and how they meet my goals? Thanks.

Sofa, I thought the AE2 was pretty good. Just a quick spin in the Apple store, but they scored high in categories of importance to me. Certainly not the low end like UE6000s, but all around solid. (Again, I'm new at this so who knows.)

 

[sofastreamer]

Quote:

Sofa, I thought the AE2 was pretty good. Just a quick spin in the Apple store, but they scored high in categories of importance to me. Certainly not the low end like UE6000s, but all around solid. (Again, I'm new at this so who knows.)

what do you mean by low end?

 

[Tsujigiri]

Quote:

TSU, without asking you to do my hw, might you give a little more info about each of those and how they meet my goals? Thanks.
 

 
Along with the M50's, the 3 that I mentioned are kind of the go-to headphones for closed circumaural bass-boosted cans in your price range. The Momentums and M50's are more portable in size and less picky about amping, but the DT770's are the most comfortable and likely the most durable. The Ultrasones would be somewhere in between. If you look through some reviews you'll find more specific comparisons, but that's kind of the general gist of how they compare structurally. There's also the HD25-11 or Amperiors from Sennheiser, which should isolate noise better than the circumaural alternatives. However, being supra-aural, they will be far less comfortable, which is not worth it to me.
 
The Mad Dogs also get excellent reviews, but if you're good with DIY stuff you might as well mod a pair of T50RP's yourself and save a good deal of money.

 

[mhollerb]

Quote:

what do you mean by low end?

 
Bass, not quality

 

[mhollerb]

Along with the M50's, the 3 that I mentioned are kind of the go-to headphones for closed circumaural bass-boosted cans in your price range. The Momentums and M50's are more portable in size and less picky about amping, but the DT770's are the most comfortable and likely the most durable. The Ultrasones would be somewhere in between. If you look through some reviews you'll find more specific comparisons, but that's kind of the general gist of how they compare structurally. There's also the HD25-11 or Amperiors from Sennheiser, which should isolate noise better than the circumaural alternatives. However, being supra-aural, they will be far less comfortable, which is not worth it to me.

The Mad Dogs also get excellent reviews, but if you're good with DIY stuff you might as well mod a pair of T50RP's yourself and save a good deal of money.

TSU, and everyone else, what's your take on S-Logic? Obviously it ultimately comes down to me, but I know it's a very polarizing subject on the board.

After reading some reviews, I'm looking towards the 580 right now. How might they differ from the UE6000s?

 

[Tsujigiri]

Honestly I don't think it's that effective. It does represent some soundstage, but there are plenty of other headphones without it that make a better soundstage. The S-logic soundstage is wide enough for me, but the imaging seems a little off. Treble sounds further away and bass sounds like it's in my head.
 
So I would say it does not pose a big advantage. Also, I know you like the idea of active noise cancellation, but I would say that does not pose a good advantage either. ANC will only work on some types of noise, and most ANC systems out there don't work very well. If the noise you want to block out is airplane noise, Bose makes the best ANC and it will work with that (but the headphones still sound bad). Other than that, the Bose headphones won't even work that well for things like road noise or vacuum cleaners.

 

[mhollerb]

I would say I'm partial to noise cancellation, passive or active. Perhaps the effectiveness of active, but I don't the like the idea of sacrificing quality to achieve it. That's kind of my logic with the UE's, they have good sound passively.

 

[redrich2000]

Quote:

Thanks Red. I do love my TF10s, but I'm looking for an over-ear that's easily removed to speak to people. I'm in engineering school and it gets old pulling the TF10s in the lab to answer a yes/no question. Then the 'chore' of putting them back in to get the perfect seal.

TSU, without asking you to do my hw, might you give a little more info about each of those and how they meet my goals? Thanks.

Sofa, I thought the AE2 was pretty good. Just a quick spin in the Apple store, but they scored high in categories of importance to me. Certainly not the low end like UE6000s, but all around solid. (Again, I'm new at this so who knows.)

Ah yes, that annoyed me about deep fitting IEMs too. Another option would be something like the Hifiman RE-400, because they fit so shallow I have no problem getting them in and out when necessary and you will not lose as much isolation as you do with full sized phones.
 
If you definitely want full sized phones I'd say just go for the UE6000s. I've tried them in the Apple store and they are in the same general sound quality range as the 1Rs, Sennheiser Momentum etc and you know you like them and can easily get them. 

 

[mhollerb]

If you definitely want full sized phones I'd say just go for the UE6000s. I've tried them in the Apple store and they are in the same general sound quality range as the 1Rs, Sennheiser Momentum etc and you know you like them and can easily get them. 

I'm inclined to agree with you. Only variable I've added recently is the MDR1R. I tried it at the Sony store and was tremendously impressed. Quality bass and good NC/isolation. Any reason I should reconsider them?

I don't mean to flip flop, I just want to make the most informed decision.

 

[sofastreamer]

ue6000 have better isolation, more and deeper bass and to my ears better detail than the sony. all in passive mode. did not try active mode. i own both and the sony does not get any headtime since the ue.

 

[redrich2000]

Quote:

I'm inclined to agree with you. Only variable I've added recently is the MDR1R. I tried it at the Sony store and was tremendously impressed. Quality bass and good NC/isolation. Any reason I should reconsider them?

I don't mean to flip flop, I just want to make the most informed decision.

I would just go back and try them both again. If you can't split them sound-wise, go with the one that looks better.