Hello Jai,
I was in your exact position around a month back. I had finally
decided that I wanted to take my listening experience to the level
that I had heard several others claiming, and I decided for some good
pair of headphones that weren't going to burn a deep hole in my
pocket. I did extensive research online and I found out that to
maximize the quality output, a pair of noise-isolating headphones
would do the trick.
Now, the definition of "noise-isolating headphones" is that they are
headphones which function essentially as ear plugs and block 70-80% of
outside noise so that you can get immersed and hear the finer nuances
of the music. The thing to look for in them is proper and comfortable
fit, amount of noise-isolation, and bass response.
Another subset of headphones which are considered good in quality are
"noise-canceling headphones." But, and you may be surprised by this,
these headphones do not really deliver the best sound and if you look
at the overall consensus online, they will concur. The definition of
"noise-canceling headphones" is that they are headphones which release
reverse waves for sounds that are coming from outside of the headphone
domain and play music through the ear-piece as any other headphone
would. So for example, if in the background you are hearing cars
passing by, the headphones take those sound waves and invert them so
that the crests and troughs cancel each other out and all you hear is
the music that is playing. The reason these are not good headphones,
IMHO, is that 1) they are very expensive 2) they are bulky 3) they
don't deliver accurate sounds sometimes 4) the noise canceling doesn't
always work effectively and 5) they have a relatively big, plastic
unit in-between the wires that control the noise cancellation (unless
you look at the Bose headphones, which are "active noise canceling"
and have just an on/off button on the headphone itself).
In all my research and experience with trying to hear ARR as best as
possible and as much true to the sound that he intended us to hear :)
, I would suggest you a pair of Etymotic ER-6i noise-isolating
headphones (earphones in this case actually) that I decided to buy
when I was in your position recently. They are made by a US-based
company specializing in hearing products and they have by far the most
excellent sound, richness, and response of all headphones and for the
price it comes at, I would say that it is the best deal you can get.
It has excellent noise-isolation and you can truly immerse yourself in
ARR's music or any other music for that matter. And, they are very
comfortable, which is often a problem over extended use. You can go to
www.etymotic.com for more information. They are readily available on
Amazon and many other places and most definitely fit into your budget.
Cheers,
Samarth
