I have some Sennheiser CX 300 earphones at the moment, which I got when they first came out for around £30, now then can be bought for £10. A great improvement over the Ipod earphones but I'm now looking for more.

Only major requirement is they must block out noise, I hate being able to hear peoples music so I won't inflict it on others. Also they will be used on plains and trains etc. I would prefer in ear rather than bulky headphones so the don't fall out (I keep telling myself I will go for a jog).

They will be used for listening to (mainly) metal (black, death and power) however must be able to cope with and give good range in ambient / noise tracks as well. They will be used in conjunction with an Ipod 80gb Classic and occasionally with the PC.

Thanks for any recommendations.

Hobgob.

have you seen the Sennheiser CX-300-II, they are an improvement.

im not a lover of the in ear head phones and would always opt for larger cans although they arnt as good for blocking noise.

have a look into these, a friend has a pair and loves them.
http://www.whathifi.com/Review/Shure-SE110/

Yeah I have seen the CX 300-II, but I didn't think it was worth it from the CX 300-I. Those Shure SE110 look bloody scary! Ill have a read around.

I don't mind not having the in ear phones, just as long as they block noise well and don't fall off/wobble. Only things I won't have are clip ons.

Hobgob.

to be honest the last time i brought headphone (4 year old sennheiser and so worn i couldnt tell you the model and yes 4 years on they still work!) I went down to a specialist and tested them at the shop with my MP3, then went online and got em at a discount. that would be my best advice for any audio/video equipment.

have a look to see if there are any in your area.

Hmmmms, I think I may go for these, Denon AH-C751.

Some amazing reviews but some average, getting roughly 8/10. I think the price is pretty good as well, does anyone have any personal experience?

Hobgob.

Don't HobGob !

The path to better headphones only gets worse and worse as you soon realise (like with components) that there's always something better out there

As for suggestions, for £55 you should look at the Klipsch Custom 2... currently on Amazon Marketplace, although i distinctly remember Amazon themselves selling them for £65. These are supposed to be much better than the low-mid end Sennheiser range which many thing only start around the IE6 level. I think you'd find this review helpful. Have a search around that place too, it's really useful (although like i say... don't read too much, i think i spent half a day reading up on possible upgrades and realised i hadn't done my assignment....... i still haven't actually ).

Anyhow, i'd say the shortlist from cheapest to most expensive would be (/sorry for the "supposed" stuff... can't think of a better way to word it ):

Head-Direct RE2 - Supposedly one of the "Best Value" canal phones... requires international shipping though ~£35
Jays S-Jays - Rather bass heavy but supposedly good value ~ £35
Jays D-Jays - More detailed but lighter on the bass - ~£45
Sennheiser CX95 - Supposed to be better than the CX500s ~£50
Shure SE210 - Supposed to use same drivers as SE310 but not "tuned" for bass ~£60
Klipsch Custom 2 - *insert appropriate comment here* ~£55-65

Also take a look at threads:

"Headphone Buyers Guide"
IEM Shootout
IEM Shootout v2

Haha, thats what I'm doing to. Just putting it off more and more and more.

Yeah been looking at the customs. Trying to find some custom 3's for cheap. Have seen them at £100. Have you got any personal experience with any of your recommendations?

Hobgob.

Unfortunately not... kind of like you i'm looking to upgrade (from Razer m100s which are supposed to be similar to rebranded CX300s lol) but i see this, then see that and then just can't decide... been researching for quite a while ...

Right after more research and looking around I think I'm going for either:

Denon AHC751

or

Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 EB

Both are over my budget. I decided that the over ear plastic on the Custom 3's would annoy me.

Bah this is a minefield.

Hobgob

Minefield indeed..

I've heard that the earlier SuperFi's can be relatively uncomfortable but i guess that's down to user preference as such ¬.¬

Also according to this review the newer version of the SuperFi 5 is better all round, even if it does only have a single armature.

Also HobGob, at that range you should look at the Sennheiser IE7 which looks to be a rival to the Custom 3's but you can have the choice of wearing over the ear or not.

+ The over-ear bit on the Custom 3's isn't plastic, iirc, it's supposed to be some sort of silicon memory wire that you can shape to go around your ear. There are also supposed to be benefits of wearing around the ear because it reduces microphonics (transfer of noise through the headphone cables via rubbing of said cable against clothes etc.)

I'm not to keen on the IE7's, not sure why just don't like the look off them. Odd considering my current pair have been great servants.

So the Fi 5 is better than the Fi 5 EB or Pro?

I didn't know that about the "memory wire" how do you think this would fair to jogging?

This is confusing.

Hobgob.

The weird semi-circle/curve of the IE7's do make it look really... off as such ¬.¬

I believe the new SuperFi 5's are supposed to be better in terms of comfort and overall sound (more balanced) however the EBs/Pro's probably will probably have more bass since they're dual driver solutions (the quality may or may not be better though... haven't looked into those two).

The memory wire seems like it would hold up pretty well and according to this post it seems like it would be fine for jogging.

+ I love how your budget seems to have upped to the ~£100 range HobGob

Aye, I figured if I'm going to do it then I'm going to do it properly!

Hmms well that adds the Customs back into the equation!

Balls.

Hobgob.

Lol... properly as usual appears to only be a relative term since some would say that it involves buying something like a Sennheiser IE8, Shure SE530, Westone 3's, Etymotic ER4S (all around £200-300) then getting custom ear moulds for it for an extra £90... then maybe even getting a custom cable for said earphones (if you can... maybe even building your own ), re-ripping your files into lossless, getting a new audio player which can play said lossless files, getting a line out for aforementioned player because it bypasses the integrated headphone amplifier and buying a portable amplifier to improve the quality of the output.

Umm anyways...

I think i'm taking the cheaper/student way out and just looking for some cheap Custom 1's (bidding on a pair on ebay atm)... i already spent £100 on a set of nice speakers for the computer/TV so that'll be my "audiophile" rig it seems lol... well... maybe if i get an amp for it ¬.¬

I have a friend who's just won an award for producing live sessions. His ears make his living.
He's also just asked for his iPod buds back as his the set that came with his iPhone have just been through the washing machine.
For mobile, on the move listening, we both agree there's no point in spending a £££'s on a pair of ear buds - although he will be investing in some noise-cancelling Sennheisers that'll allow him to listen at lower volumes to save his ears from getting a battering.