[Maukey]

I'm looking at upgrading my current open headphones, the Samson SR850 and Sennheiser HD555.  While both are great headphones in there own respect, I just find myself wanting more.  For example, when gaming on the SR850s, I love the sound stage, detail, and bass, however, due to the brightness of the headphone, I feel that the guns in Battlefield 3 sound kind of cap gunnish.  The HD555s warmer sound make the gunshots sound better to my ears, as well as it has a bigger sound stage.  The problem with these are you're missing bass.
 
I guess I'm looking for a slightly warm headphone that's great with sound stage for positional accuracy, and just enough bass to make tanks rumble and explosions and gunshots sound more realistic.  Now I don't need movie theater bass because I understand that in most cases where Bass is heavy, sound stage and detail is usually lost.  If it matters, I game on my PC with a Creative Fatality Titanium HD, and on my PC and 360 with a DSS Earforce 5.1 Dolby Headphone Processor.
 
Now for music, I listen to pretty much all genres except classical.  I'm a musician so I study a lot.  So basically I need Bass so that when I listen to hip hop I won't feel lacking, but I also need detail and clarity so that when I'm listening to jazz I can here the quiet guitar in the back ground.
 
If you all feel that the headphones I currently have are the best in this price range I'll just stay with them.
 
Thanks!

 

[jackwess]

Probably beyers. 
 
Check this guide.

 

[clarence35]

I faced the same decision to upgrade my SR850. I ended up going with the Beyerdynamic DT880 (600 ohm). It is slightly brighter than the SR850 and the MDR-V6 (my closed headphone). The bass quality on the DT880 is simply marvelous compared to my cheaper headphones. However, the DT880's sound signature does have less mid-bass than the SR850; I don't listen to a lot of hip-hop, but when I do, it sounds great to me with just a few db of EQ applied. I would not characterize the DT880 as bass-shy, and given your broad genre needs, I think it would work pretty well for you as it does for me. Movies are also really nice with them.
 
I got my pair new for $240 from amazon, so they fit just under your budget. I'm currently driving them with the Fiio E7/E9. I understand that they scale up with better equipment, but I'm very satisfied with them already. Good luck!

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I'm looking at upgrading my current open headphones, the Samson SR850 and Sennheiser HD555.  While both are great headphones in there own respect, I just find myself wanting more.  For example, when gaming on the SR850s, I love the sound stage, detail, and bass, however, due to the brightness of the headphone, I feel that the guns in Battlefield 3 sound kind of cap gunnish.  The HD555s warmer sound make the gunshots sound better to my ears, as well as it has a bigger sound stage.  The problem with these are you're missing bass.
I guess I'm looking for a slightly warm headphone that's great with sound stage for positional accuracy, and just enough bass to make tanks rumble and explosions and gunshots sound more realistic.  Now I don't need movie theater bass because I understand that in most cases where Bass is heavy, sound stage and detail is usually lost.  If it matters, I game on my PC with a Creative Fatality Titanium HD, and on my PC and 360 with a DSS Earforce 5.1 Dolby Headphone Processor.
Now for music, I listen to pretty much all genres except classical.  I'm a musician so I study a lot.  So basically I need Bass so that when I listen to hip hop I won't feel lacking, but I also need detail and clarity so that when I'm listening to jazz I can here the quiet guitar in the back ground.
If you all feel that the headphones I currently have are the best in this price range I'll just stay with them.

Have you removed the black rubber tape from inside the cups of the HD555?
Might change the sound to more your liking.
 
I've been sitting here comparing my SR850s to my HD558 (black rubber tape removed).
The HD-558s seem to be able to have at least 95% of the bass as the SR850 and the HD-558 bass is just very slightly more clear.
Listening to Nightcalls (Kavinsky), with Foobar, using my Essence STX (3 LME49860NA op-amps).
 
Fischer Audio FA-011 have good reviews, but some have had to wait 40 days to receive their order.