[TheGreatEno]

First, I really appreciate the help from you guys This is going to be my first headphone.  I did researches on different headphones and narrowed down to 3-4 choice, Audio Technica or Sennheiser.
 
I mainly listen to classical music / orchestra / musical.  Sometimes pop and rarely rap.  And I am going to plug the headphone to either my iPod or PC.  Below is the priority of the element I would like for the headphone.
 
1 - Sound Quality (Since I really wanted to listen to different layers of the orchestra)
2 - Noise Cancel (I often travel on planes and work in labs with people talking, so I would like to reduce the noise as much as possible)
3 - Comfort (Sometimes I work in the lab for 10+ hours straight and wearing a comfortable headphone would be great)
4 - Sound Leakage (Not important at all)
 
I knew Sennheiser has a very good reputation in the industry, but at the same time I also heard that Audio Technica did a pretty good job on noise canceling.
 
What would be the best for me?  Sound quality is taking a very huge weight of my decision.  Right now I am thinking of ATH-ANC7B or Sennheiser HD595.  But I also read several threads about ATH-M50 and the similarity of HD555/595.
 
Here are my thoughts after doing the researches on these headphones:
- I've heard HD595 have a good sound quality, but is it for a quite environment only?
- ATH-ANC7B seems to have a good noise blocking, but I read several bad comments of its sound quality...
 
I am open for other options.  I appreciate the help  This is going to be first headphone and I will take the opinions from experienced users heavily.

 

[Corban227]

based on the fact that you want some type of sound canceling i would lean more towards the m50s since they are a closed can.  ive gone on a couple of flights with mine and i was able to comforably listen to classical music without having to turn the volume up too loud.  
 
mine only gripe about the m50 is that after about 2 hours they start to make the top of my head sore.  from what ive read and heard the 595's would be better for comfort.  it all depends on which matters more

 

[R-Audiohead]

I don't know if you've made your purchase yet, but the 595s will NOT isolate at all.
 
The M50s will isolate much better.  To be honest, if you're looking for comfort and isolation, I will recommend the Sennheiser HD448s.
 
I wrote a review on them here:http://www.head-fi.org/products/sennheiser-hd448-around-the-ear-headphones/reviews#4486