Twoshots said:
"Decent" headphones for thirty quid..Not going to happen...Break open the wallet my friend and plump for the Beyerdynamics Dt 770 Pro...
I have to disagree there. The DT770 are fine phones, and I have vouched for them in the past. But you don't -have- to get that to get your first "wow factor" if you are used to something generic. Price doesn't say very much you only need to check this thread:
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=183482 (pretty random search).
If the Porta Pro costed twice as much, they would still not be a rip off.
.. and likewise, the KSC-75 are quite a bit cheaper than the Porta Pro, but not necessarily worse either.
However, the open vs close thing could be a decisive factor. The DT770 are closed, whereas the Porta Pro are open (as are the DT990; the DT880 are "semi open", but mostly open). IMO, open headphones tend to have an advantage from a purely sonic point of view (apparently, they are easier to design). The sound has more air, the soundstage wider. Closed phone do have "heavier" bass, although I find there is less control/air to it. With exceptions, most of the higher end cans are open. In general, I think open cans are perfectly suitable for home use where there is not much ambient noise (assuming you are not running 3 screaming deltas). If you are taking them outside, then that's another matter.
On a side note, open and closed should not be confused with circumaural and non circumaural: circumaural headphones have large pads that go over the ear, but the design do not automatically make them isolating.
Anyway, my point isn't to say that the Beyer aren't good phones, and/or that the Koss are better. But if you are on a budget, you won't go wrong with a Koss (not to mention that the later is easier to drive than a Beyer for his source). The Sennheiser PX100 as mentioned by Eliot is a worthy alternative to the Porta Pro, although the two sounds quite different. The Koss are more Grado-like and the PX100 more.. well, Sennheiser like
