(photo above) Sennheiser HD555 headphones
For my deejay work and serious contemplative listening I have a pair of Sennheiser HD 555 headphones.
The HD 555 have the finest sound of any headphones I've ever used. I've caught all kinds of tricks in the music mix I wouldn't have heard with any other kind of headphones. The HD 555's are the perfect stoner's headphones. I get a contact high listening to all my old classic psychedelic albums by Jimi Hendrix Experience, Yardbirds and Cream with the HD555 headphones. They're also great for listening to dub music, reggae, house music and techno because of their crystal clear reproduction of drum and bass sounds.
The noise cancellation properties of the HD555 are amazing. You won't even hear a police SWAT team knocking down your front door with a battering ram if you're wearing these headphones.
Two setbacks to the Senn HD555:
1. The headphones are pricey @ around $200 but I found a pair on sale for $170.
2. The headphones are oversized and lined with some sort of plush velvet-like fabric... It's like wearing a pair of toasty warm earmuffs which makes them very uncomfortable for use in hot weather or working a club venue where the room temperature is above 23.9 degrees celsus (
75 degrees fahrenheit on the American thermometer).
For more more comfort and general listening on my Zune player, I have a pair of Bose OE2 headphones which are much smaller. The sound is almost as good as the Senn HD 555, but they don't have the razor sharp clarity of the Senn HD555. The OE2 headphones retail for about $135 and I recommend them as better for use in music playing devices like the iPod and Zune.
(photo above) The Boise OE2 Headphones