Here are my opinions from what I’ve used.
I’m not sure how everyone else feels about this but I’d recommend a couple V Moda products.
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The LP2: This was my second “Good” headphone that I purchased in 2013 and my S.O. is still using it to this day as his daily driver. Some say the LP2 sounds a little muddy and bloated in the low end. I have to agree, but you can find them for very reasonable price on ebay.
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Crossfade M100: A step up from the LP2 in technical sound quality, plus you also get hinges so they can fold up. I’ve had a few hours with the M100 and it’s very enjoyable to listen to. Pretty V shaped.
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Crossfade M100 Master: My favorite headphone that I’ve ever used, and the one I keep coming back to. It’s still pretty v shaped but more articulate in their presentation compared to the vanilla M100.
Other than that, check out the Sennheiser HD559. I’ve used that headphone a bunch and it seems to have a very good combination of build quality, features and pleasing sound. That is, if you don’t mind an open back.
I’d also recommend the Sennheiser HD8DJ if you can find them for a good price.
Porta Pro may be a good option, though in my experience they are a bit fiddly and build quality leaves something to be desired.
Koss KPH30i is much better built imo but not as comfortable over time (Tends to hurt the ears after an hour or two) and boomier in the midbass.
HE4XX would be a great option if they were easier to drive.
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I found the discussion you mentioned on Tyll’s website. He used scott tape. Did you find electrical tape worked better?
I don’t care for Scotch tape, generally. The edges can be scratchy, it doesn’t stick that well. Honestly, I did not do a comparison, as I had black plastic electrical tape right there and it worked just fine. I suspect, even better, as it is slightly soft and pliable. Try what you will - it’s not an irreversible decision!
I was very pleasantly surprised at the difference.
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wow, a lot of options there i never considered or fouind anything about outisde of this forum, and high appreciation for anyone who took the time to reply to my post!
well about the porta pros- i think that i generally just dislike the idea of having an on ear headphone as a headset that i am supposed to wear hours on hours, so even tho i did saw them and know people that reccomended me to them to just music listening at a very high level, i just dislike the idea of having an on ear headphone as my main headset for these things.
@metal571 said that the SHP9500 sounds like they cost, which i was surprised to hear honestly, after listening to a review on these from someone on youtube called Z reviews (if anyone knows the name)
who is just an audiophile along with reivews from gaming channels on the SHP9500, (hardware canucks) who both stated that these headphones are amazing for gaming and listening and comfortable etc etc, which doesn’t solve my fear of having sound leakage into my condenser microphone while recording via the open back type headset.
if ill see that it is absolutely neccesary for me to go up to 150$ instead of 100$ to get something along the lines of HD 6XX, i would probably do it, but obviously ide rather not to still have some money in my pockets.
I will consider of course and watch extra reviews on the Grado SR80 as @Leemore5745 suggested, but i am afraid again of the same sound leakage since i see those are as well open back type.
and of course ill check the Crossfade M100 Master as @Panzer_Applehusky suggested, because it’s one of the only options recommended here so far that are closed back and i can worry less about sound leakage to my condenser
thanks to everyone again!
would really like to hear more options and see what you people think about the optional problem of the soundleakage as i mentions before, and for those of u who also record if you ever recorded with open back headphones and if it hurted the production with them while recording?
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Thanks David. I’m going to give it a try…Lee
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That is true for on-ears, and also true for closed-backs. Closed headphones trap the air and increase internal ear fatigue – they tend to sound worse and worse over time. A mediocre open headphone can outperform an expensive closed headphone, and sound better for much longer. This is why so many people prefer open headphones.
We know Z Reviews here. The most important thing is to determine whether his taste matches your taste.
The SR80 is on-ear and IMO less comfortable than the PortaPros. They have scratchy foam. I strongly favor the HD-58X or HD-6XX over them.
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To be honest, you can mix music on anything (within reason of course) as long as you get to know what you are using. I mean, the most used studio monitor ever is probably the Yamaha NS10 and it wasn’t exactly the best sounding monitor. Once you get used to reading what you are using (by comparing the mixes on other systems) then it becomes natural to mix on what you know (I find the M40x easy because I used it so much).
As a suggestion, the Beyerdynamic Custom Studio (not the custom pro) is a versatile set of cans. The bass slider actually works pretty well and lets you add or subtract bass depending on your needs. I don’t do much gaming, but with the slider in the fully closed position it would let you focus more on the mids and highs (which, as far as I am aware, is what gaming needs).
By opening the slider, you can add bass to warm it up to whatever you prefer for listening to music.
I wouldn’t have an issue using these for mixing either, it’s just a case of getting to know them.
I’m not sure on the price wherever you are but in the EU I think they are around 130
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I’ll be damned—big improvement!!!
Just like you and Tyll said, it tames the highs and adds a little extra bass.
I wound up using Gorilla tape, after trying electrical, cloth, masking and painters tape. The Gorilla product grips and compresses better. Plus, it seems the added compression gives a bit better sound quality.
Thanks very much Pennstac. Your tape mod solved the sibilance problem with my Grado 500i’s without detracting from their great detail and clarity.
Grado should consider adding a line of optional pads, like so many other manufactures have been doing the last couple of years.
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Poor old Beyer DT250 not even getting a look in.
Has no-one else used these before? I owned them for about 6 months a good 10 years ago 
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Grados are very much an acquired taste imo. One of my first good headphones was the RS2e. I loved it so much that I visited Brooklyn to compliment Jonathan and the team for this. However, I fell out of love with them. I was such a fanatic, I bought an SR225 some special golden edition. But ultimately, I found Beyers to be more to my liking.
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YMMV but having heard the HD600 and HD6XX - I would say that even though the HD600 is my all time favorite - both of them are extremely grainy. As for SHP9500, I would stand by my (personal) opinion that if someone has $100 to spend and is into gaming and wants to hook up a modmic - with all those parameters in there, SHP is the winning option imo. Sure, I later bought myself a Fidelio X2 but never really regretted the SHPs.
I just edited my post as I realized I had written Behringer instead of Beyerdynamic (insert face palm here).
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We had a little Colorado meet a few months ago, and Hands brought a SHP9500. It was my first time hearing one. I read for years it’s the best value option. hmmmm… Naw.
It wasn’t that good. It’s almost a shame we point new headphone hobbyists to that thing. It’s more comfortable than the Audio Technica stuff by a country mile, but it’s flat, grainy, and just seemed lifeless.
I haven’t heard the K361, but I trust Metal’s evaluation.
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If the HD600 and HD6XX sound grainy then I’d be concerned about the rest of the signal path. They are quite smooth when sorted, and scale very well.
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Yep. Some reviewers are doing new hobbyists a disservice by recommending that thing so much even when it costs $100, just so they can make a killing on Amazon affiliate links.
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That, and all the sheeple on Reddit. If you manage to convince enough people there that Skullcandy is the best measuring and sounding thing under $100 ever made ever, it will catch on with the unsuspecting neophytes who don’t know any better until it hits legendary status like the M50’s and SHP did.
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If I ever used eq, I’d send my personal pair of headphones to him if he was willing just so I could get the numbers right.
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Please don’t get me wrong but I said them to be grainy relative to another headphone I bought at that time, the Beyerdynamic Tesla T1. My chain at that time was basically a Schiit stack and yes, the 6xx line scales the best with amps. Turns into completely different beasts when you tube them and also solid states.
A lot of things are grainy when you’re comparing to a detailed, once $1,500 dynamic lol. Too bad it has a death spike. Sounds just like Rtings’ measurement to me in this case
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I think the best advice is to save your doubloons and find a nice used Headphone which has good imaging, separation, and a wider stage. If your plug-in directly in the sound card or even Game Controler, it is around 20-35 Ohm impedance and high sensitivity > 105 dB per 1V RMS.
If you do this I am sure metal571, and many others on here can recommend a better can.
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