Over the Ear Headphone Suggestions?

[elkibblez]

I know that V3ndetta just made a thread about it, and I read through it completely, but I'm looking for something a little different. Specifically, over the ear headphones. Currently I have Cowon's standard iAudio earbuds that came with my S9, and quite frankly I'm sick of earbuds. I want some real headphones, preferably crisp treble, not over heavy on bass (I like my classic rock crisp), and possibly more sound reducing than what you would get by cupping your hands over your ears.

Price range: No more than $300 (if its more after tax then that's fine).

I went in to Best Buy, and to my surprise they actually had a mild variety of over the ear headphones out. The Beats were actually pretty nice, but I'm not paying the edge of my price range for a rapper's name that I don't care about. I also listened to the Bose they had on display, and the noise reduction was pretty good, and the sound quality was crisp. They had a Sennheiser, but only in the box.

Any suggestions? I looked at other Sennheisers too, but I'd really like to test headphones against FLAC before buying.

[CrowdAds]

[sideways]

So you want circumaural cans.

Could you specify:
Open or closed? "possibly more sound reducing than what you would get by cupping your hands over your ears." --> Do you want Noise cancelling headphones?
How will you be using them? With that s9 on the go? At home?
Is size and weight an issue?

[elkibblez]

Noise cancelling would be preferred, or noise reducing would be fine as well. Most of the use will be on the go with the S9, which is why I want the sound reduction, although I would be using them at home which isn't as much of an issue. Size and weight are not a problem.

Preferably open cans, for the lower amounts of bass.

[WalkGood]

Originally Posted by elkibblez

Noise cancelling would be preferred, or noise reducing would be fine as well. ... ... Preferably open cans, for the lower amounts of bass.

AFAIK there are no open noise cancelling headphones, it wouldn’t make much sense since open headphones are not really good at isolating external sounds. Although they do have a greater sound stage and I do prefer them over closed for in home use.

[elkibblez]

Then closed, I don't know a whole lot about headphones, ergo I ask a community who knows.

Noise reducing/cancelling, closed, high sound quality, over the ear, $300 or less.

[sideways]

Sennheiser's pxc 350 or pxc 450 might do it for you. I've not tested either personally so anyone who has feel free to chime in.

If you can live with no noise cancelling (they do isolate) and a smaller price tag you could look at the sennheiser hd280 pro as well.

[elkibblez]

Alright, thanks! I had been looking at the Sennheisers on their site a few days ago and they looked pretty good, and I had seen Sennheisers recommended on the forums so I think I'll probably get them.

[Thunderkiss]

Using Sennheiser HD555 with my Cowon S9.

They are comfortable and sound great.

Bought from B&H for $105 USD + postage.

[sideways]

HD555's are nice phones for home/quiet environment use but their open construction offers very little isolation for on the go. I'd be interested to hear how you get along with whatever you end up with elkibblez.

[elkibblez]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll post a review of whatever I get (if there isn't one already), but I might not make a purchase for a few more months, just scouting around at the moment for possible buys.

[WalkGood]

You might want to take a look at the Shure SRH840, they are in your price range, around $139. They issolate well, are very comfortable, sound good and are closed phones that work fine with portable players, I don't own them but did have the opportunity to try them and I liked everything about them except the coiled cable but I would replace that. The cheapest place I found them at is here.

[elkibblez]

Well, I made the purchase today, although I thought it wouldn't be for a few more months.
I ended up getting the Sennheiser HD 380 Pro. It doesn't have amazing noise cancellation, but the sound quality is terrific on my S9 and comp. They ran me about $100 less than the PXC 350s. Oh, and they're comfy. I like that.

[The DarkSide]

Wow, those HD 380 Pro's look fantastic!!! I'm posting the Sennheiser link just for reference (I may have to check a pair out myself!!!):
HD 380 Pro