What to start with....?

[money4me247]

  Now I'm looking for opinions and comparisons... What's the best OVERALL headphone for $300 or less.... open or closed.

pretty comprehensive list of your options:
 
for high-performing open options sub-$300: akg q701 on sale now for $199, akg k701 $265ish vs sennheiser hd h98 $190ish vs sennheiser hd 558 $130 vs beyer dt 990 pros (the 250ohm version is on sale at $150) vs dt880 (250ohm version on sale for $194) note: it appears the beyer pro vs premium have the same sound just different asthetics & cable I believe. phillips x1 at $300 (but it's price will probably drop down to $200 in the next few months) also, both the hd600 & hd650 are above your $300 price bracket. If you are willing to step up to the $400, I would highly recommend Hifiman's HE400.
 
My personal pick for open would be the akg q701.
 
for closed over-ears sub-$300: Mr. Speaker's modded Fostex trp-50s: Mad Dogs ($300), Sennheiser Momentum Over-Ear (on sale at $300), NAD Visio HP50 (newly released at $300), nonportable AKG K550 ($215), detachable cable version AKG K551 ($200), portable version AKG K545 ($200), beyer custom one pro $230 vs beter dt770 $170-$225 vs Shure SRH840 at $200. some budget closed options include: Sony MDR-1R (sub-$200; lowest I've seen $180), Logitech UE6000 (sub-$100; tigerdirect has em for $70ish or less I believe), ATH-M50 $100, Shure SRH440 $100, Sony MDR-V6 $86.
 
My personal pick for best sound quality would be the AKG K550 (if don't care about portability) or Momentums Over-Ears (portable) or Mad Dogs (based on what I've read - I haven't tried the mad dogs tho).

 

[money4me247]

  Thanks. Ive been needing to upgrade to a new amp, so I'll look into that.
     
         So far I've narrowed my search down to a few closed headphones (I'm looking for closed now considering almost all my pairs are open). I've narrowed it down to several cans: Keeping in mind that I might buy a new amp, I was looking at the DT770's, V-MODA M100's, Beyerdynamic COP, ATH-M50, or something of AKG.
 
   Opinions?

M100 is pretty colored with a v-shaped sound signature (aka not neutral sound sig, pretty big bass boost). They have amazing bass & solid treble. Great for EDM & bass-heavy music, but kinda genre-specific IMO.
 
AKG K550 has amazing sound quality. great sound stage & clarity. crisp & sharp treble. great bass extension & texture. Note that they are giant & non-portable. Also, some people find em bass light. I personally thought they were very well-balanced.
 
ATH-M50 is a classically recommended pair, but I personally think that you can find newer headphones that outperform it as it is a pretty old model. edit: at the $100 price point is good tho if you are on a tight budget.
 
Haven't heard the beyer dt770s or COP.
 
Edit: I personally really loved both the K550 & the M100s. two very different sound signatures tho.

 

[Claritas]

  Now I'm looking for opinions and comparisons... What's the best OVERALL headphone for $300 or less.... open or closed.

 
Open: used HD600, K70x, used HE400. I don't think HD600 and K70x are what you're looking for.
Closed: Sennheiser Momentum.

 

[money4me247]

 
Open: used HD600, K70x, used HE400. I don't think HD600 and K70x are what you're looking for.
Closed: Sennheiser Momentum.

mmm... i kindly disagree. I think the K701/Q701 would work really well for his classical music. The problem is that he listens to BOTH classical & edm. For edm, the bassy-heavy M100s would be killer, while for classical the k550/k701 with their amazing sound stage would be really nice. perhaps a compromise with the k545? lol.
 
I actually personally liked both the M100 & K550 better than the Momentums (tho the Momentum is pretty solid performer - I thought the AKG K550 had better bass extension, sound stage, and clarity, while the M100's bass & sound sig was simply amazing for edm). interesting huh?

 

[NickZachlolson]

  mmm... i kindly disagree. I think the K701/Q701 would work really well for his classical music. The problem is that he listens to BOTH classical & edm. For edm, the bassy-heavy M100s would be killer, while for classical the k550/k701 with their amazing sound stage would be really nice. perhaps a compromise with the k545? lol.
 
I actually personally liked both the M100 & K550 better than the Momentums (tho the Momentum is pretty solid performer - I thought the AKG K550 had better bass extension, sound stage, and clarity, while the M100's bass & sound sig was simply amazing for edm). interesting huh?

I guess I'll just have get two pairs eventually! I think I'll look for more edm centered cans right now as I already have HD448's that I use for classical; I will get the HD650's in a couple months though.

 

[Claritas]

  mmm... i kindly disagree. I think the K701/Q701 would work really well for his classical music. The problem is that he listens to BOTH classical & edm. For edm, the bassy-heavy M100s would be killer, while for classical the k550/k701 with their amazing sound stage would be really nice. perhaps a compromise with the k545? lol.
 
I actually personally liked both the M100 & K550 better than the Momentums (tho the Momentum is pretty solid performer - I thought the AKG K550 had better bass extension, sound stage, and clarity, while the M100's bass & sound sig was simply amazing for edm). interesting huh?

 
Yes, it's interesting. (Momentum isn't for me and neither is HD650, and I prefer a somewhat bass-light sound.)
 
You're precisely right about the issue of how to find something for both. That's why I'm wondering if Momentum (or used HE400?) might be the best choices.
 
Does it make sense to consider two cheaper models: one for each genre? For example, M80 for EDM & DT660 for classical.

 

[money4me247]

  I guess I'll just have get two pairs eventually! I think I'll look for more edm centered cans right now as I already have HD448's that I use for classical; I will get the HD650's in a couple months though.

if you are getting the open hd650 & you already have the closed hd558s, you are probably already all set. i see that you have the mdr-xb400 bass monsters, so that should be good with edm. the m100s would be an upgrade in that respect, probably not as much bass quantity vs the sonys, but great bass quality w/ good texture, extension & clear trebles. for edm, hands-down the m100s are one of the best in the closed portable class. the ultrasone pro 900s would be another option to consider.
 
perhaps you should look into getting a portable closed (such as the Momentums or M100s) vs a nice amp/dac for the hd650s.

 

[money4me247]

 
Yes, it's interesting. (Momentum isn't for me and neither is HD650, and I prefer a somewhat bass-light sound.) You're precisely right about the issue of how to find something for both. That's why I'm wondering if Momentum (or used HE400?) might be the best choices. Does it make sense to consider two cheaper models: one for each genre? For example, M80 for EDM & DT660 for classical.

I personally think it's better to just get a high-quality pair of headphones that can do both well as I like to shuffle my music. The HD650 (or something like the HE400 heh my personal fav so far) would be exactly on point for OP.

 

[NickZachlolson]

  if you are getting the open hd650 & you already have the closed hd558s, you are probably already all set. i see that you have the mdr-xb400 bass monsters, so that should be good with edm. the m100s would be an upgrade in that respect, probably not as much bass quantity vs the sonys, but great bass quality w/ good texture, extension & clear trebles. for edm, hands-down the m100s are one of the best in the closed portable class. the ultrasone pro 900s would be another option to consider.
 
perhaps you should look into getting a portable closed (such as the Momentums or M100s) vs a nice amp/dac for the hd650s.

I have the *HD 448s. The mdr-xb400s (which I picked up for $15) are good in the bass, but I'm just looking for an upgrade. I'm starting to lean heavily towards either something along the lines of the m100s or the k551s, which I found for $180. If I got the k551s, that would leave me with a decent amount of money to buy a new amp (if I needed it). 
 
I'm leaning towards a closed headphone with as clear and flat balance of sound across the board. My sony's are good enough for my electronic music now, so  I think I might go for a pair of AKGs. K701, K551, or K545?

 

[money4me247]

  I have the *HD 448s. The mdr-xb400s (which I picked up for $15) are good in the bass, but I'm just looking for an upgrade. I'm starting to lean heavily towards either something along the lines of the m100s or the k551s, which I found for $180. If I got the k551s, that would leave me with a decent amount of money to buy a new amp (if I needed it). 
 
I'm leaning towards a closed headphone with as clear and flat balance of sound across the board. My sony's are good enough for my electronic music now, so  I think I might go for a pair of AKGs. K701, K551, or K545?

the k701 or q701 are open. k550 are closed (a bit more bass quantity than the open k701). very clear and flat balanced sound signature. great bass extension & detail/texture, but less bass quantity compared to most other headphones. I wouldn't go k545 unless you need portability. ( I believe they have a slightly less sound stage & more bass than the k550s)

 

[Claritas]

  I personally think it's better to just get a high-quality pair of headphones that can do both well as I like to shuffle my music. The HD650 (or something like the HE400 heh my personal fav so far) would be exactly on point for OP.

 
My instincts are the same for a slightly different reason: buying two good $75 models instead of one good $150 model is a lesser loss of quality than buying two good $150 models instead of one very good $300 model. So maybe HD650 or an almost new HE400.

 

[Andrasdesoria]

For classical, the best is a used vintage stax. You can grab one for around 300. For electronica, what you have is fine,  

 

[62ohm]

 
I have the *HD 448s. The mdr-xb400s (which I picked up for $15) are good in the bass, but I'm just looking for an upgrade. I'm starting to lean heavily towards either something along the lines of the m100s or the k551s, which I found for $180. If I got the k551s, that would leave me with a decent amount of money to buy a new amp (if I needed it). 
 
I'm leaning towards a closed headphone with as clear and flat balance of sound across the board. My sony's are good enough for my electronic music now, so  I think I might go for a pair of AKGs. K701, K551, or K545?

 
As far as quality goes, closed will never be able to match the performance of open cans.