[devilmonk]

All purpous closed-back headphones - music, gaming, voice chat. Portability is not a priority, but would be nice.
 
 
Looking for decent soundstage / instrument seperation. I know its hard to do on closed headphones, so thats why I'm only asking for decent.
Want it to be mostly neutral, since my music tastes really vary (rap, soft-rock, rock, country, chillstep, jazz, pop, etc, pretty much everything except harsh dubstep, heavy metal, and aggressive rock), but I also really want vocals to shine on it. Punchy sub-bass - bass would also be nice if I'm not asking for too much.
Comfort - On days off, I'll be on my computer sometimes over 8 hours. Comfort is a must.
Build quality should be good. I tend to drop my headphones quite a bit. Detachable cable would be very much prefered, since I have the V-Moda's mic cable with me.
 
I have the Asus Xonar soundcard, so I can use headphones up to around 80 Ohms no problem. Other than that, price of amp should be considered too.
 
 
I returned my Soundmagic HP150 recently due to very bad build quality on the rotating piece holding the cups, the lack of bass, and the bulkyness of it in general made it look stupid in public. (Returned it for mainly the first reason, since it broke). But the mids, upper-mids, highs, vocals, and especially the soundstage was very nice on those cans.

 
 
 
 
 
Keep in mind I live in Canada. We get pretty ****ty deals sometimes, or it won't be available at all. A prime example is the HE-400 being over $600 here.

 

[DSchwartz88]

I've been dealing with this very question right now. The only headphone that i've ever had in this price range that fit the bill was the Mad Dog. I sold mine, but am actually regretting it, so might purchase the 3.2 or Pro. The only thing I haven't tried are the alpha pads which now come standard on all the Mad Dog models and they seem a bit thick. I had the "dog pads" on mine which were not as thick. 
 
I've tried the B&W P7 and Master Dynamic MH40 neither of which came close and are both $400. 
 
They are $300 headphones that perform like $600+ headphones (IMO). Since they are planar magnetic headphones they are definitely power hungry so an amp will probably be required. 

 

[devilmonk]

50 Ohms, its something my soundcard should easily handle. Not sure how much the magnets will differ, but If they don't match my needs I'll get a decent amp for ~$50.
 
I'm interested, how is the weight? I heard its a bit on the heavy side. I'm wondering what made you return these?

 

[richbass]

If u can invest in a good amp then Beyerdynamic DT-150 and if u can't then Yamaha MT-220

 

[devilmonk]

I really can't find much info on either of those two headphones. Have you owned them? How does the sound sound?

 

[richbass]

  I really can't find much info on either of those two headphones. Have you owned them? How does the sound sound?

http://www.head-fi.org/t/265251/beyerdynamic-dt-150-bloody-brilliant/  http://www.head-fi.org/t/658673/yamaha-hph-mt220-thread-merged/

 

[devilmonk]

Hmm, the more I look into the Mad Dogs, the more it seems that I'll need a very powerful amp to power it. The cheapest ones bordering $150. I was fine with increasing the budget to ~350-370, but $450 is quite a step up. I'll still keep these in mind though.

 

[darkdoorway]

Reached the same conclusion on the Mad Dogs re amping. From what you're saying a more forgiving headphone is the way to go. Would be good to hear your decision

 

[devilmonk]

Yeah, I was actaully planning on going with it, but when I was making the order I realized Canada's economy is **** atm, and $339 there means $433 here.

 

[Phearzmeh]

I've been dealing with this very question right now. The only headphone that i've ever had in this price range that fit the bill was the Mad Dog. I sold mine, but am actually regretting it, so might purchase the 3.2 or Pro. The only thing I haven't tried are the alpha pads which now come standard on all the Mad Dog models and they seem a bit thick. I had the "dog pads" on mine which were not as thick. 

I've tried the B&W P7 and Master Dynamic MH40 neither of which came close and are both $400. 

They are $300 headphones that perform like $600+ headphones (IMO). Since they are planar magnetic headphones they are definitely power hungry so an amp will probably be required. 

How do you think the mh40 compares to the dogs? I've been seriously considering buying the mh40s for an all in one closed can that I can use pretty much everywhere

 

[Ryanr1987]

The Mad Dog is great for music but the soundstage is too intimate for gaming. I think the Nad Viso HP50 is the better option. It has a wider soundstage plus a more natural tone in the vocals with better treble resolution.

The bass is a tad accentuated but it's quite neutral. I think they sound better than the Mad Dog in all areas apart from a bit in linearity in the bass but the HP50 is close.

Tye Mad dog follows that pattern of closed ohones sounding like they are in a tunnel. Headphones like thr HP50 are evolving.

 

[rcoleman1]

I'd say try Ultrasone Pro 900s. Great all around cans, awesome sounding, easy to drive (even better with an amp) and built to last.

 

[Ryanr1987]

Problem with the Pro 900 is they are so dry and harsh sounding due to the crazy treble.. They are a specific rather than an all rounder.

 

[devilmonk]

Yeah, also a few hundred above my budget lol

 

[DSchwartz88]

How do you think the mh40 compares to the dogs? I've been seriously considering buying the mh40s for an all in one closed can that I can use pretty much everywhere

 
Take this quick comparison with a huge grain of salt, because I've never actually done a comparison before.
 
The best way I can describe it, is anemic in comparison. That's not to say the MH40 doesn't sound great, it does, but the bass didn't extend for me (when listening to things like the Black Keys or Phish) and the soundstage was much smaller. It also wasn't as detailed sounding. It was still a great headphone, and I could easily tell the difference between a good and bad source, but it was nothing like my Mad Dogs. The sound on the MD's was open, had a wide soundstage, the bass extended (though they are not bass heavy), had much better instrument separation (something I am able to really hear with a band like Phish and their live recordings), and i'm able to pick out smaller details. 
 
Mind you the above was with the old Mad Dogs (3.0), coming out of an Asgard. Ill be getting the 3.2's which include a bunch more sonic improvements as well as the alpha pads and the Magni 2 Uber in the next couple weeks. Would be happy to come back and update the thread when I do. 
 
Or the above could be a whole bunch of baloney and you could completely ignore it. Again, describing differences like these is extremely new to me.