Yeah logitechs a brand name that keeps cropping up while i'm doing my research, also seenheiser (sp?) supposedely are a great quality brand.

It's funny really, i wasn't particularly fussed about audio quality until a few month ago when i was playing fable 2 and doing the gargoyle quest, when talkning about the quest with my brother he said it was really easy for him because he had 5.1 surround sound so he could hear the direction they were speaking from which set me on my own path to aural enlightenment. Cheers for all the info matey, I'm wondering now whether to purchase a set of 5.1 speakers instead of opting for the headphones or maybe both, lol, i know that dead space would have been a hell of a lot better (still an absolutely amazing game) with a quality sound set up instead of tv speakers.

These are the best low-budget(sup 300 dollar) audiophile class heaphones.

Audio Technica ATH-700 closed back dynamic headphones with double air damping. 111 dollars, 125 from a licensed dealer(ebay, you can find one, amazon is NOT a licensed Audio Technica dealer)

http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATH-A700-Closed-Back-Dynamic-Headphones/dp/B000E9VKUQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1233508177&sr=1-1

If you've never listened to audiophile class heaphones, then any of them will blow you away, but these in particular have the high-fidelity sound quality of a 5000 dollar surround sound system beaten hands-down. They are better than the 300 dollar noise canceling Bose headset, and you can get them for about 125 dollars.

http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATH-A700-Closed-Back-Dynamic-Headphones/dp/B000E9VKUQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1233508177&sr=1-1

How come they are so good, you ask, if they are only 125 dollars, and why did Cnet rate the Senhessier HD 555's(best sub100 dollar phones on the market) as the better purchase? Well, at the time of that review, they were 300 dollars, and they recently had a huge price drop for some unknown reason. Without a doubt, these are 300 dollar cans, and you will shit yourself when you hear them.

The best feature of these, btw, is their braided cord. It is actually covered in a cloth material instead of plastic. You could hang yourself with this cord, and it wouldn't catch a short.

Now lets talk value for your dollar. In headphones, value for your dollars means Koss.

If you really want to be proud of your purchase, monitarily and sound wise, do yourself a favor and buy these phones:

Koss PortaPro Headphones with Case 40 dollars

http://www.amazon.com/Koss-PortaPro-Headphones-with-Case/dp/B00001P4ZH/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1233508430&sr=1-1

The bass on these phones is unbelievable. They won't be dethroning the AT that I mentioned earlier, but for the price, these can't even be approached.

The undisputed best value in consumer electronics are these for 16 bucks:

http://www.amazon.com/Koss-KSC75-Portable-Stereophone-Headphones/dp/B0006B486K/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1233508430&sr=1-3

They don't have the bass of the portapros, nor the conform, but they are a hell of a deal at that price, seriously. These 16 dollar phones put out better sound than ANY earbud on the market, even the Shure high end brands. Their sound isolation sucks, but shit, these things are 16 dollars man. They put out better sound than most people reading this have ever heard, or ever will hear in their whole entire lives.

So yes, the Audio Technica ATH700 closed back phones will make you cry the first time you hear them.

I'm really quite a diverse poster aren't I?

Trust me OP, I got you on this one. One more alternative would be the afformetnioned Senhessier HD 555. You can't go wrong with those. Really amazing pair of mainstream heaphones that will definitely compete in the lowbudget audiophile class. They are the ones that most people end up getting, however, again, they aren't the best ones.(see above)

I have a pair of 555s though, and they have a nice sound stage and no distortion. NO distortion. The sheer...sound of the Audio Technica soundstage though....omfg, lol. Heaven.

Also, here's a cheap mic for XBL(I assume 3rd party mics will work, but really have no clue, I do have this mic for vent though), you can hook them right on your cans:

http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-Microphone-Zm-Mic1-Sensitivity-Headphone/dp/B00029MTMQ/ref=pd_cp_e_3?pf_rd_p=413863501&pf_rd_s=center-41&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000E9VKUQ&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0P5KB62PP1Q3B6NKV96Y

Also, one last suggestion, if you ever plan on listening to any of those above mentioned phones through an MP3 player(get a Sony walkman, the sound quality of that player shits all over iPod and Zune), then pick yourself up a miniamp.

Here is the best one, and it's only about 30 bucks as well.

The e5 headphone amplifier by Fiio. It's much smaller than it looks in the photo, and it has a rechargable battery via usb.

http://www.amazon.com/E5-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B001P9EQH8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1233509863&sr=8-1

@zenfoldor, cheers for all the help matey, from the way you described them the ath 700 sound like aural heaven, i take it you're a bit of an audiophile then?

Thanks again man :.)

I've managed to find a set of the 700's for 116 quid from i headphone, never thought i'd get excited about buying headphones, lol.

They take a little time to burn in(20-100 hours), but they sound so good out of the box, you won't want them to change, lol(but they change for the better, trust me).

You'll want to listen to these from a good source, like the Xbox 360, and start with some relatively newly recorded music, so you'll really get a good impression of the phones. The thing about these phones is they give individual sound from every instrument. The drums and bass will kick in louder than the rest of the music(none of that "everything always at the same volume) stuff you get from cheapher phones. You'll be able to hear things in your music you never knew existed. You'll be able to hear the singer take breaths between lyrics.

No one regrets buying a pair of 700s. Ever.