Go with the ATH-M50 until I saved good money for open backed quality headsets.

Thanks jack, as of right now those and the Senn HD280s are right at the top of the list. Couple things I forgot to add:

The HD202s are $20. The ATH M50 is ~$150. Am I really getting $130 more headphone with that pair?

What is the price range for some good open-backs?

There is a difference in quality of headphones between the cheapest and the better options. Cheap is fine for handing out to a band for tracking purposes but if you are spending any appreciable time with them it is important for them to be comfortable to be on, and also to be gentle on the ears for listening. The ATH-M50 covers both of these. The cheapest open back phones I recommend are the Beyers DT990 but the ones I like best are the AKG 701/702 (~$350). I have heard great things about the Sennheiser HD 800 but I'm not about to pay that.

Thanks Jack. Hmm, if I bumped my budget up to 200... would maybe the HD202's for tracking, and the DT990's for movies / games / music listening / mixing be a good combo? I LOVE my movies, and I typically watch them late at night on my computer so I don't want to wake anyone. It looks like I could get the both of those for about $200, having a beater pair and a nice pair.

I think this might be what I will do. I am selling all of my old video games on ebay and I should have no problem using the money from that on some nice headphones. But from what I am reading it seems that I will need an amp to drive them? These are the sources I will listen to them on:

1. Creative X-FI something card, my logitech speakers are plugged into that. Then I plug the DT-990s into the jack on the speakers.
2. Presonus Firepod headphone out
3. Ipod

If you could find a pair to try out on a favorite soundtrack that would be best. Cheap for tracking is fine for sure. Sennheiser is pretty standard for that though I used to try to have half dozen ATH-M30's back in the day. It is the Beyer you should try since they are the higher dollar item.

If you really want to look at some shizzle for movies and actual listening check out Grado.
[[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.gradolab…"]Grado Labs | Headphones[/]="http://www.gradolab…"]Grado Labs | Headphones[/]

Thanks again! The thing is, I have no clue where I could go to test out headphones. I've never seen these in the big retail electronics stores.

It doesn't seem like there is too much competition in the price range of the DT990's.. especially since there is a reputable dealer online that has them for $180 shipped.
Do they have a coiled cable or a straight cable?

I'll check out those Grados!

I don't know what the cable is like on the Beyers. If you haven't had any quality headphones you will like whichever you decide on.

Awesome, I think you're right. Just bought them for $179 shipped. And I signed up with the "bill me later" on paypal so i'll get $10 back. After I get that I'll just close the account. So for that price I hope I did pretty well! Can't wait to try them out

Just got the 990s. Initial impressions that they have a somewhat harsh top end, definitely some sibilance, but I think it might be because of creative's software. Also I realized what people mean by having the power to drive something. Where my normal headphones would be around 30-40% on my volume knob, these are about 55-60%. I gotta say, they cannot get even close to loud enough on my ipod. But these are for computer work only anyways. There is also an EQ for the creative drivers, so I cut the bass a little bit, turned up some mids, and then took down the 8k+ range. So right now they sound sweet, I can't wait to compare them to the Senn 202s just to hear the difference.