Looking for headphone advice

I love SJ for the great consumer advice, so I come to y'all once again.

Looking to buy some over the ear headphones, they don't need to be noise cancelling, but the sound quality is important to me. I live in an apartment building, and like many in the business work screwed up hours, so I wind up watching a lot of movies on my laptop because I can plug in and not worry about sound levels at 2 a.m. I also, of course use them a lot for music.

Now I know I can spend in the $400 ballpark for some models, but am hoping to keep it under $200. They don't need to be cordless either.

The pair I have right now I've had for about five years or so, they are Panasonic RP-HTX7 and the ear cushion is starting to deteriorate. I quite like them, but wouldn't mind going up a level. A quick google search shows me I can replace them for well under $100.

Any thoughts on other brands like Bose or Sony? Wide open to reccomendations from any brand, no particular biases or loyalties. Sound quality, comfort and durability -- don't want to be replacing them in six months -- are kind of at the tops of the priority list.

Any help would be much appreciated, Thanks!

 

I'm a HUGE headphone fan and would 10 times out of 10 pick a nice set of cans over a pair of speakers. If you're going for sound quality, here are a few non-Beats/Bose options:

Grado SR80i
- Incredible sounding for the price, very detailed and bright. Comfort isn't a strong suit, but it hasn't been an issue for me in the three years I've been buying Grados. They're open-eared and badly bleed sound, so they're not a good choice for an office environment. They also look kind of goofy. ;D

http://www.amazon.com/Grado-Prestige-Series-Stereo-Headphone/dp/B000G3LCQC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359454275&sr=8-1&keywords=grado+sr80i

Audio-Technica ATH-M50
- Not nearly as bright sounding as the Grados, but just as detailed and extremely comfortable. They also fold up and are noise canceling.

http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50-Professional-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B000ULAP4U/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1359454403&sr=1-1&keywords=audio+technica

Sennheiser HD 598
- Senns generally have a colder, more clinical sound than the other two. While the Grados and Audio Techicas sound great straight out of an iPod/iPhone/whatever, these need an integrated amp such as a stereo receiver to reach their full potential.

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-598-Headphones-Accents/dp/B0042A8CW2/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1359454627&sr=1-6&keywords=sennheiser

 

Thanks Diaz, you might have sold me on the Audio-Technica ATH-M50, reviews look pretty good on them plus they look a little more durable.

 

Dr. Dre weeps at his exclusion.

 

Indeed. But he's still got the kids. Most of the high school basketball players where I live wear them

 

All excellent picks.

Sony and Bose usually have a couple of strong alternatives, though I haven't owned a good pair of studio-quality or near-studio-quality in years.

Sennheiser always seems to be criminally underrated, though. Cold sounding or otherwise, the name belongs in the rafters with the others.

 

Avoid this brand:

 

I like this thread.
I would like to get a new pair of quality headphones.