Recommendations for high quality headphones?

I've been told to avoid skullcandy and beats headphones, and that sennheiser and bose ones are pretty good. Other than that I don't have much of an idea what to purchase. The majority of music I listen to is 90s alt rock and uk bass stuff. I guess I'd prefer a pair of headphones that can do all the low end bass stuff some justice (particularly as I'm listening to a lot of James Blake and Burial at the minute).

Also, I can't stand those weird in-ear ear bud-y things (I'm sure theres an exact term for them) that are quite popular at the minute, so recommendations for that are out the window.

Price is not too much of an issue (Yeaaaaaaaaah dats right)

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: Okay, maybe my cockiness has misled some, and not really knowing how high the price of headphones can be. I'm more a medium sized spender, i.e sub £100 is how much I can spend.

Though money isn't an issue, I'd still look into the Koss PortaPro. It has a lifetime warranty, and I've heard nothing but high praise for such a seemingly cheap pair of headphones. I'm hoping to check them out soon (because, I sadly don't have the money to spend like yourself). Just go check out some video reviews, stuff like that. Might be worth trying out!

I've had a pair of Klipsch Image Ones for a few months now and I really like them. They're small but the quality of the sound is amazing and the build quality is superb. They've got some great clear and thumping lows and clean highs on them too but the sounds blend together well. They're also super comfortable and not that expensive. I recommend them.

If price isn't an issue then Grado PS1000 or Sennheiser HD800........if that's too high end then you could also look at Denon AH-D5000 or Sennheiser HD650

just buy the best set of sennhiesers for the amount your prepared to spend. done

Sennheisers are great. I have the HD650's and they are amazing. You might want to splurge on a DAC if you get headphones like that though.

I spent about 4 months buying and returning headphones before settling on those so I'm pretty confident in my recommendation.

FYI, Beats are fine headphones. They sound really good and the fact they come with a built-in amp really helps. The main drawback for me was comfort and durability. They sound great, but they get really hot after an hour and feel really cheap. Apparently they break easily also. You also look like a total douche wearing them, hehe, but some people are fine with that. :)

So yeah, Sennheisers, get the best you can for your money, like Bell_End says.

@Guided_By_Tigers: Holy shit, I don't have that kind of money!

@Guided_By_Tigers said:

If price isn't an issue then Grado PS1000 or Sennheiser HD800........if that's too high end then you could also look at Denon AH-D5000 or Sennheiser HD650

@CookieMonster: I've had the HD600's for about 7 years now and they're awesome. I can imagine the 650's are equally so as they're the next generation. But of course if you want to go nutty the HD800's should probably be fairly ok.

I have a pair of Sennheiser HD650 with an ASUS Xonar Essence STX sound card which has a built in headphone amp, in my PC. Sounds amazing.

I'd recommend a pair of Sony MDR-XD200 headphones. I'm a pretty serious audio nerd, and I'm still amazed at how great they sound, especially considering their price ($35!). Here's a link to them on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDRXD200-MDR-XD200-Stereo-Headphones/dp/B0007N55NW

They have a super nice long cord, are comfortable on your ears, and pretty durable, too. Don't just go out and buy the most expensive Sennheisers you can afford -- there is way more to it than that! If you're up for it, do what Woodwater did and try out a few pairs before you settle on one. Your ears are unique, along with your tastes, so it's best to decide for yourself. That said, I sure do love my XD200s ;)

Sennheisers are very nice as a general rule. If you want a slightly cheaper pair and think you can take proper care of them, Urban Outfitters' "Urban Ears" line has pretty excellent sound quality for the $50 price tag. They're not especially durable, though.

Sennheisers are great, but my absolute choice for headphones are Grados. I think they are finely tuned for music, but video games sound great on them too.

I guess durability is a slightly important need as I'll be doing a fair bit of travelling moving between my hometown and my uni. If I can pack them away easily too, that would be great.

I use a pair of Sony MDR-V6 headphones at work everyday. I also own a pair of Grados headphones, but they are an open air design and not ideal for privacy (or not annoying anyone near you). I actually prefer my Sony's over the Grados at this point. One tip for the MDR-V6 headphones is to replace the regular earpad covers with the velour earpad covers. They are about $20, but very comfortable.

Stay far away from Bose, overpriced and generally poor, also Dr. Dre Beats are not good headphones because they cost twice as much as they should, you pay for the 'brand' more than anything else.

I have a pair of Sennheiser HD595s, PX-200-II's and a pair of Koss PortaPros, the PortaPros are really good and the cheapest out of the three. You should get those if you are on a budget, they are pretty much universally loved.

PX-200-II's are pretty cheap too ~£50 and have a really nice design. I only use them as portables though, they lack a bit of bass (makes sense considering their low profile design) but the sound is very clear. I think the PortaPros sound better overall, but they're definitely not as comfortable.

Edit: I also have some Klipsch Image X1s which sound awesome for ear-buds, real cheap too. I use them when I'm on planes because they block sound out better than over the ears.

@corganmurray said:

I'd recommend a pair of Sony MDR-XD200 headphones. I'm a pretty serious audio nerd, and I'm still amazed at how great they sound, especially considering their price ($35!). Here's a link to them on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDRXD200-MDR-XD200-Stereo-Headphones/dp/B0007N55NW

They have a super nice long cord, are comfortable on your ears, and pretty durable, too. Don't just go out and buy the most expensive Sennheisers you can afford -- there is way more to it than that! If you're up for it, do what Woodwater did and try out a few pairs before you settle on one. Your ears are unique, along with your tastes, so it's best to decide for yourself. That said, I sure do love my XD200s ;)

It's real hard to try headphones out before you buy though, most stores don't have much to choose from in my experience

These are quite good for the price.

They're very comfortable, they isolate well, the lower frequencies are very good (if a little muddy when EQed wrong), and are built fairly sturdily (although I had the cosmetic, aluminum rings pop off while flying).

And they can be found for £50 with some Googling.

What are your opnions towards the Shure SRH440s and the Audio-Technica ATH-M50S.?

I was extremely happy with my pair of Sennheiser HD590's. The only problem with Sennheisers is the cost of extra parts and cords (from my experience, though I might be wrong, is that they seem to like to make their own cords, which is a jerk thing to do). For the price of new pads and cord for my HD590, I could basically buy a high end headset. So for now they're just collecting dust in my wardrobe. That said... I've never had a pair of Sennheisers break on me. They cost a lot, but they will last you for years.

Currently using a pair of SteelSeries Siberia V2's, and I'd just want to jump in and tell you to stay away from them before everyone comes in and praises them highly, which from my experience is often the case.

They're probably the most comfortable headphones I've ever had, don't get me wrong. I've been incredibly happy with them. But it really sucks that a pair in that price range comes with a very common problem - that the left or right channels randomly just stop working.

It also depends on what you're going to use them for... Since you're into some bass-y stuff, I'd say just try the Koss PortaPros. They're affordable, but bass-wise, they outperform a lot of high end stuff. Mostly because open-style "it's like the band is in your room while you listen"-headphones with a lot of crispness have to sacrifice the bass to get there. I've gone through 2 pairs of Porta Pro's because I might've kinda used them in my bed, which isn't something you should do anyway.

You can't go wrong with Grado. I'd even say they are the audiophile's choice. They are consistently raved about by magazines and stuff, and as an owner I've never been happier with headphones. I tend to keep it for home use though, as they are pretty pricey. They start at like 100 bucks and go up from there. But the sound is godlike, and they are handmade at a family run joint in Brooklyn. For 3000$ you could easily simulate the sound of speakers 10x that price.

I'll try to hijack this thread and ask for some recommendations on headphones for about $100.

Im really happy with Audio-Technica ATH-M50. Works for all kinds of music.

Paired it with Fiio E10 Headphone amp/dac and it runs the headphones great. Huge difference just running it from computer soundcard.