[ballinneb12]

Hey guys im a newb when it comes to headphones. I am going to the university of oregon next year and am deciding to buy some headphones. All my friends have beats by dre but i think they are way overrated. I am looking for a headphone that can cancel out the noise and help me focus when studying. What headphones do you guys recommend I buy? I would prefer an over the ear headphone and the music genres i mostly listen to are rap and dubstep. Thanks! 

 

[BrownBear]

What's your budget?
 
I liked the Koss Pro/4AA in the sub $100 closed range, I'm sure there's better, but these really blocked out the noise, at least for me. They were big and bulky, but I liked the design, not sure everyone will though, lol.
 
I also really like the Audio Technica ATH-A900's. I love these with all kinds of music, they seem to be a nice bet for an all around headphone. They do a decent job blocking out the noise, and are lighter and more comfortable than the Koss. They were about $200 if I remember correctly on Amazon when I bought them a few months ago. I believe AT made a replacement or upgrade to these, but I'm not sure.
 
Anyway, these are just my experiences, hopefully it was helpful in some way.

 

[ballinneb12]

I am willing to spend up to 400. I really want comfortable headphones and ones that are all around the best purchase. I be looking for the headphones with the best combination of noise canceling sound quality and comfort. Also does anyone know if its worthwhile to look into wireless headphones or are they going to be way too overpriced?

 

[MattTCG]

Grad a pair of Denon d5k quick!!
 
gL!!

 

[Eric_C]

Quote:

I also really like the Audio Technica ATH-900's. 

 
To be clear: BrownBear is referring to the ATH-A900, which is closed-backed (blocks out some external noise). 
OP, don't confuse this with the Audio Technica ATH-AD900, which is open-backed and will leak noise in and out.

 

[HeroicPenguin]

I brought a pair of Sennheiser HD-25s with me to college three years ago. Still haven't failed me -- super transportable, great sound, decent price (~$150ish). I mainly listen to rock, but they're not bad for hip-hop and are nearly indestructible, which is pretty important for college. The only problem is that they're over-ear, so you might have some problems with confort (I don't, but many people do). Great isolation too, especially for the library.
 
The Audio-Technica M-50 is probably gonna be a popular pick too, but they're a bit bulkier and less portable.

 

[BrownBear]

Quote:

 
To be clear: BrownBear is referring to the ATH-A900, which is closed-backed (blocks out some external noise). 
OP, don't confuse this with the Audio Technica ATH-AD900, which is open-backed and will leak noise in and out.

Exactly. My fault for not clarifying that, thanks for grabbing that Eric_C.

 

[ballinneb12]

ok thanks, but are those the best ones for my needs? and can someone give me a more in depth analysis of which to choose. I would love to have headphones that i can sleep in which means comfort is huge! I would like them to be good for heavy bass music like dubstep and some rap. And lastly i would like them to be able to cancel out some noise so i can focus and study when I need to. Thanks for the help everyone really appreciate it. 

 

[BrownBear]

Fixed my last post to have the correct headphone model.
 
Also, to OP, I don't listen to too much dubstep, but when I do, I enjoy the A900s. I also like them with rap, but I'm not really a basshead, so I might be the wrong one to ask. Comfort wise, I don't think you could sleep in these, they're a bit big, but they don't clamp hard or anything, and I can wear them for hours. They do block out a nice bit of noise. Just my experiences.

 

[HeroicPenguin]

Quote:

ok thanks, but are those the best ones for my needs? and can someone give me a more in depth analysis of which to choose. I would love to have headphones that i can sleep in which means comfort is huge! I would like them to be good for heavy bass music like dubstep and some rap. And lastly i would like them to be able to cancel out some noise so i can focus and study when I need to. Thanks for the help everyone really appreciate it. 

 
Read up on this, it'll help with reviews: http://www.head-fi.org/t/433318/shootout-102-portable-headphones-reviewed-panasonic-rp-htf600-added-04-29-12
 
As for sleeping in headphones -- that's not gonna be comfortable no matter what. If you want comfort, why not go for IEMs? There's recently been a sale on refurbished Monster Miles Davis Tributes for ~$100, a great price and would actually fulfill most of your requirements. Great bass, great for hip-hop.

 

[Eric_C]

BrownBear: np!
Quote:

I brought a pair of Sennheiser HD-25s with me to college three years ago. 

 
Aaaaand here, HeroicPenguin is likely referring to the HD 25-1, as opposed to the cheaper (and nearly universally considered inferior) Sennheiser HD 25-SP.
 
OP, here's the skinny based on your requirements:

1. "Noise cancelling"--forget cancelling. This means stuff like Bose, which uses additional batteries (in the headphone or in some in-line volume control) to process external noise and cancel. You pay extra for that, and it tends to result in lower sound quality. Instead, look for noise isolating headphones. These just naturally block noise out; kind of like closing a door blocks out some noise from the hallway. With a good enough block (or "seal") and music playing, you'll barely hear anything.
2. Closed back--some headphones have vents or grilles on the earcups. You don't want that. You want earcups made of solid material, opaque and no holes all the way through, to help with noise isolation.
3. Headphones to sleep in--could be a bad idea, man. What happens when you turn on your side in bed? Some people have reported that they sleep with earphones on, but headphones? 
4. Amplification--I know you didn't ask anything about this, but just trust me: sooner or later someone is going to say you some headphones need an "amp". The simplest, most time-and-money efficient you can do right now is to remove all those options. These sound like your first major headphones, so keep it simple...there definitely are headphones that do what you need without having an amp. Go unamped; if you want to dabble with amps, do it later.

 
tl;dr version:Search for "closed unamped bass" on the forums, you should find enough results there.

 

[HeroicPenguin]

Quote:

BrownBear: np!
 
Aaaaand here, HeroicPenguin is likely referring to the HD 25-1, as opposed to the cheaper (and nearly universally considered inferior) Sennheiser HD 25-SP.
 
OP, here's the skinny based on your requirements:

1. "Noise cancelling"--forget cancelling. This means stuff like Bose, which uses additional batteries (in the headphone or in some in-line volume control) to process external noise and cancel. You pay extra for that, and it tends to result in lower sound quality. Instead, look for noise isolating headphones. These just naturally block noise out; kind of like closing a door blocks out some noise from the hallway. With a good enough block (or "seal") and music playing, you'll barely hear anything.
2. Closed back--some headphones have vents or grilles on the earcups. You don't want that. You want earcups made of solid material, opaque and no holes all the way through, to help with noise isolation.
3. Headphones to sleep in--could be a bad idea, man. What happens when you turn on your side in bed? Some people have reported that they sleep with earphones on, but headphones? 
4. Amplification--I know you didn't ask anything about this, but just trust me: sooner or later someone is going to say you some headphones need an "amp". The simplest, most time-and-money efficient you can do right now is to remove all those options. These sound like your first major headphones, so keep it simple...there definitely are headphones that do what you need without having an amp. Go unamped; if you want to dabble with amps, do it later.

 
tl;dr version:Search for "closed unamped bass" on the forums, you should find enough results there.

 
Yup, that's right, thanks for the correction. Been here long enough to just assume people understand that... probably not a good idea.
 
Good advice too, although I still think that IEMs might be the way to go.

 

[ballinneb12]

yea now that im thinking about it i can just use my apple headphones for when i wanna sleep, but i still want comfortable ones...after reading that review post i have started to create a list of headphones: beyerdynamic dt 1350, sennheiser hd25-1 ii, bose quietcomfort 15, Audio-Technica M-50, Audio Technica ATH-A900. Any other ones i should add to the list? 

 

[senson]

If you like music with strong bass I would say D2000,D5000 you can use them straight from ipod or laptop without amp, I wouldn't recommand them if you are going to be in dorm with roommate though(they don't have good isolation), also I heard DT770 pro has good bass too.

 

[saintyoo]

Hey OP
 
I second the
 
sennheiser hd25-1 ii (best portable sound quality) - fits on top of the ears
Audio-Technica M-50 (a little big but both fun and good quality) -fits over the ears
 
I had the M-50's as my first set and loved them for all types of music
 
Now I don't know what your expectations are, very few headphones offer noise cancellation (bose) compared to headphones that just isolate noise
 
Remember sound quality is not moar bass or simply a "fun" sounding headphone, its about the actual music presentation, soundstage, transparency and resolution.
 
PS I would never ever sleep with headphones on! I'm very scared that I am going to crush them in my sleep. I use IEM's for sleep and the wires become bad withing a year because of the twisting. I'm currently using a klipsch image s4 with only 1 channel working. It lasted 2 whole years of sleep listening! I got a replacement pair but still use the old one's for sleep (will repair with a replacement jack and soldering iron).