Earphones / Headphones: Where to try, what to buy?

tell yer, bought some Beats Solo last year on a whim at airport as I'd left my Sennheiser in ears at home - utter shit - the bass is all over the place and very muddy. Then got a pair of Sennheiser HD201's free (they cost about £25 on Amazon) and they absolutely PISS all over the Beats from a massive height

^ currently £19 for the hd201's

bargain, awesome 'phones

They do seem to get fantastic reviews.

I've been looking at getting some closed back headphones but really want some that fold so I can use them for travel as well as at home.

If those Sennheisers folded I'd probably buy them.

I listened to loads while I was in the States, then came back and listened to a load here. My favourite so far were these Marshall Monitors

Which you'd think would be style over substance but they actually sound really good, unlike their cheaper offerings. They even get decent reviews from the audiophile set:
http://www.hifiheadphones.co.uk/forum/headphone-reviews/3631-marshall-monitor-stereo-headphone-review.html

But they are pretty expensive, and now I've discovered these: Shure SRH440

Which also fold and get really good reviews. I used to have a set of Shure monitors and I really like their neutral sound, so I think I'd probably like them.

The problem is, there's nowhere I know of I can listen to them, and there's nowhere in the UK I've found to listen to the Monitors, so it's ages since I did. Hmm.

The Shure's are quite a bit cheaper.

Any other recommendations for decent closed back, foldable cans?

If you want a great set of cans for a bargain price then grab yourself some of these http://www.gradolabs.com/ .

Note sure I've ever seen Grado's referred to as bargain.

They are lovely, but also open-back and so they leak a hell of a lot of noise and are no good for public transport and office spaces.

for £90 or 100 the grado sr60's are pretty good on ear headphones
decent enough bass not ministry of sound deep but not bad
with a good source these are truly excellent

How come AKG K451 never gets mentioned in this thread? Serious question because they get rave reviews in what hifi and for £50 in Richer Sounds they seem a bargain.

Thinking of treating myself to a set of the B&W P7s next month. Strong reviews and I've been really pleased with my P5s.

Would you notice the upgrade?

You're already in the area of diminishing returns... I'd probably buy a headphone amp instead.

Good question.

The P5s live in the office for shutting out the world when I need to work. These would be as a pair for listening at home or when travelling for work.

The reviews all say that the soundstage is wider on the P7s and the bass is more natural / open in comparison to the P5s. I think i'll pop down to John Lewis and see if I can listen to a pair before committing...

I have misplaced my koss porta pros which are absolutely perfect for my portable duties. They sound jolly fantastic even with a tiny sansaclip or plugged into a phone.

I am sure they will turn up within a few weeks, but not having any headphones for outdoors is getting on my nerves so I need a replacement, I am ready to purchase another set of porta pros. Seems the cheapest I can find them now is £20.

For the sake of having something different, is there anything else that can compete? Either lightweight open back over the ear, or some in ear ones that are not claustrophobic, boxy and nauseating like in ear ones typically are.

I can just tell you that apparently the new Porta Pros are not as good as the old ones.
Would love you to buy them again and refute what I'm saying though, I loved them too.

I can just tell you that apparently the new Porta Pros are not as good as the old ones.
Would love you to buy them again and refute what I'm saying though, I loved them too.

Damn!

Annoying, it seems like the cheapest I can actually find them is more like £25 when just a over a year ago I purchased them new from amazon for £14 posted. This was the old style packaging.

New ones come in a range of colours and a more fancy box, I guess any right minded headphone manufacturer would realise that when fools will fork out £100+ for beats that they can jack up the price by making their product seem more premium.

...since my (second) Porta Pros did not return from repairs (the owner of the amazon-koss germany-distributor went bankrupt, he said he's "sorry"), I used old Sony MDR V150 til figuring out what to get next.
The thing that holds the right earpiece completely broke in half yesterday, so I guess it really is time for a decision now.

A while back somebody recommended "urban ears" in here -
tried them the other day, but was not really impressed; sounded somewhat "thin".
They look nice though (some of them).

An suggestions for tips for in-ear headphones? I've just got some klipsch image x10 and none of the supplied tips seem to make a decent seal.

Gut custom plugs made.

...since my (second) Porta Pros did not return from repairs (the owner of the amazon-koss germany-distributor went bankrupt, he said he's "sorry"), I used old Sony MDR V150 til figuring out what to get next.
The thing that holds the right earpiece completely broke in half yesterday, so I guess it really is time for a decision now.

I finally found mind. But irritatingly I think I have some cable damage near the jack. It cuts out intermittently. When I got them, lifetime warranty was plastered all over the box, but USA only. Might give it a shot anyway.

I also notice that you can get them from china, which may be fake or may just be factory direct. They look real in pictures. At least now I can compare to my 'real' ones to be sure.

The entire Grado range is amazing, and SR60s and 80s can be had pretty cheap

An suggestions for tips for in-ear headphones? I've just got some klipsch image x10 and none of the supplied tips seem to make a decent seal.

Get comply foam tips - they're a memory foam tip that moulds to your ear canal. I use them with all my in-ears. I also have Klipsch x10s too and it makes them extremely comfortable and the noise isolation is excellent.

The only downside is that for 3 pairs it's around £15.

http://www.complyfoam.com/

As a side note for the x10s - the sound with the foam tips is more mellow than the silicone ones provided. Also, after about 40 hours of use the earphones should start to sound amazing. My favourite in ears at that price.

Cheers for the suggestions. I looked at custom tips but there seems to be a huge variety out there at all sorts of price ranges ranging from pretty expensive to massively expensive. Any suggestions as to which to go for for a reasonable price.

I was also looking at the comply tips and was planning on giving them a trial but a few of the reviews suggested that they lose their springiness after a month or so which makes them pretty pricey. How have your experiences been in longevity?

Yep, the biggest downside is longevity. It's a combination of the foam breaking down and ear wax (gross, but true) you can wash them but they never work the same. It will depend on how much you use them. Apparently shure olive tips work well and are more long lasting. There's also a tutorial somewhere on making your own tips from ear plugs, and you get those for less that £3.
Can't help with custom plugs but I'd imagine the y might not be suitable for the x10

Is there a pair of headphones that has a comparable quality and price point to the Grado SR's, but without the terrible leakage?

Full disclosure: I've never actually used Grados, I've just heard they have zero sound containment. Truth or lies? YOU decide.

Amazon have reduced hd25s to 130 if you fancy increasing your budget...

Sennheiser HD 25 Basic Edition, Closed Headphone for ENG/DJ use with split headband:Amazon.co.uk:Musical Instruments

Sorry 135