Best closed back circumaural 'phones for under £150
I've used a pair of Sennheiser HD595 at home for about eighteen months now and love them to pieces for both music and gaming. When my taste in music veers into darker areas though (Isis, Neurosis, Pelican, Meshuggah...) I find that rather than sounding downright apocalyptic things start to feel a little bit frustrated. I'm looking for a pair of closed back headphones with a little more power at the low end to supplement my current pair of Senns.
I've been considering Shure SR840 but they're right at the edge of my price range and I've heard they can sound muddy un-amped. Audio Technica ATH-A500 and ATH-M50 seem popular, as do Ultrasone HFI-780, but from the look of them I'm not convinced about their long-term comfort. Buying a dedicated headphone amp is a possibility but that adds another £100+ into the mix so I'd rather not unless it's really going to be worth it.
Anybody any suggestions?
John Lewis sell, and usually have available to try the bass heavy Denon AH D1001s for about £100, less at Amazon. They do BASS and I found them comfortable. At 32ohms and 103 db/mW they are easy to drive so you can get away without an amp. I heard them straight out of an ipod and they still made for an exciting listen.
ldc, as the residential expert on this topic I'm hoping you (or any one else for that matter) could help / decide which is best for me..
What are your opinions (if any) regarding the 'closed' Audio Technica's, in particular the A500 and the A900's? I have the AD700 (the Air's) and absolutely love them but as they are 'open' the missus largely objects to the "bang bang" sounds when gaming -- naturally I see this as justification to treat myself to a closed back alternative 
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The A500's have recently received a 5-star review from the team, the A700's were worse off with 4 (*edit 3*), and most importantly the A900's haven't been reviewed - but one would assume they would be considerably better. The A900's are roughly twice the price of the A500's in the UK at £250, but seeing as I could import the A900's from Japan (AudioCubes) for <£200 this could be acceptable. I have no dedicated headphone amp, yet, just plugged straight into an Onkyo 605 or MBP - I would rather keep costs down so some higher impedance headphones mightn't be suitable.
So, basically, what would be your <£200 shortlist for closed back headphones suitable for the occasional "bang bang"?
There are lots of forum posts around from Americans who must have strange shaped heads because I have never noticed HFI 780's having any clamping or uncomfortable effect on my very average shaped head. Don't overlook the excellent Beyer DT770 - 32ohm version is the nicest but hard to come by, more common 80ohm version great but harder to drive. They are common studio phones but super comfy. Not as cool but I liked the Sennheiser HD 380's too, also they fold small.
It's all personal but ATH-500 are huge and although very comfy are not very stable if you move about.
Thanks Bobby, movement certainly wouldn't be an issue. The main issue is soundstage vs leakage. The soundstage on the ATH-AD700's is sublime IMO and great for my music, particularly classical... Although my experience is rather slim as they are the only pair of open back's I own.
I'm now hunting for a pair of headphones that don't leak and disrupt other people in the same room - my first place to look was Audio Technica, but I've heard these leak too.
My question is... which are the top headphones where leakage is minimal and soundstage is wide? The Beyer DT770's?
I've just looked at the DT770's. I've not noticed companies offering the same headphones with different impedances before.
Am I wrong in thinking that comparing the performance of the 32ohm DT770's to the 250ohm DT770's would be like comparing a 2litre TDI Ford Focus to a Focus RS ... fundamentally the same but really quite different when driving?
In which case, would I seriously regret buying the 32's when a headphone amp is purchased/made?
Bought me some AKG K272's which arrived today. They look beautiful and sound pretty darn good too... 
Try the Sennheiser HD 25-I-II pro.
They have a small cup volume and it seems to work much better than others.
They are extremely dynamic and highly sensitive which could be important if you don't have a proper dedicated headphone amp.
Although stronger in the bass than the HD595 by about 3 db they are not bass heavy - in fact they are pleasantly tight, precise and punchy - so you can hear detail in the bass rather than boom boom boom.
They are capable of 120 db SPL so unlike the HD595 you certainly won't lose peaks from snare drum to distortion.
They do not look comfortable but they are and will never slip off - if you watch sports or concerts then you will see these cans everywhere. They are very popular in studios also.