I am looking to buy new headphones primarily for music. My old Philips headphones are now almost 10 years old and the head rest is all broken.
I am not going to use these headphones for gaming, so I don't care about that, but I am going to be wearing them for a lot of hours without break and for about 8-10 hours a day (I am going to use them at work). So comfort is a big priority.
I listen mostly to metal and blues rock (think Black Sabbath style bands), so any headphones that complement that style would be great.
I tried out some sennheisers in that price range and was fairly disappointed with both the sound quality and comfort.
I have a pair of Bose SoundLink over ear headphones and they're great. Can:t find my exact model # but they're all about the same we price and right at your price range. They are wireless which some see as a disadvantage but the sound is great. I do use mine for about everything including gaming and use them maybe 2 hours a day but almost never have to charge them.
1+ for the beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO. These are the best entry level audiophile headphones I have heard. If you really want to invest in the future I would pick up a pair of DT 880 600 Ohm and a Objective 2 ODAC. Good luck with your purchase. I hope this was helpful.
Just a quick update if anyone in the future will be reading this.
I tried the Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO 250 ohm (with an amp - forgot which one) and the Sennheiser 598.
Sennheiser was an obvious choice for me. They were more comfortable and the sound was much better in my opinion. The open ear design really makes a huge difference. I also tried them with the amp, but they were only louder (I did not notice any difference in the sound quality).
Q701 is generally the sweet spot in the AKG line up. There are plenty of reviews of all of them though. Feel free to go read up on them all. Head-fi is a great place for information.
My mobo drives my Q701 to very high volumes. A dac/amp is always benefitial, but no, you don't need one. Regular listening level in the Windows sound manager for me is ~20, so there is plenty of room there.
EDIT: I just remembered that Massdrop has a new AKG headphone coming out. It is called the K7xx. It supposedly sounds awesome. You might want to consider that instead of the Q701, but either will sound amazing.
I've already ordered the Q701. I just remembered that my Sennheiser gaming headset came with a usb sound driver thing so that might be of use. I don't know really, I'll try it out when my new headphones arrive. Thanks for your input, it's always helpful to talk to someone that knows more.
I've been using my Q701s for a while now. I love the sound quality, but they definitely need a bit of amplification. I just got back from visiting my parents' and tried out their amp and it blew my head off. I'm thinking about getting the Epiphany O2, seems like a good match for the Q701.
Get the Sony MDR7506... seriously great set for the price. I own several different headphones, the Sony's are by far the most comfortable because I added on a set of Beyerdynamic velour pads. You could spend hundreds more and still not get Sony quality sound. Check the thousands of reviews on Amazon if you are skeptical. http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR7506-Professional-Diaphragm-Headphone/dp/B000AJIF4E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424044853&sr=8-1&keywords=sony+mdr-7506