Well, I respectfully disagree that the triports are fabulous. Fabulous for language lab headphones, maybe..."yo aprendo español en escuela...repitan, por favor..."
Also, the Bose QC3 are supra-aural and I avoid them like the plague. I tend to listen for long periods of time and when my ears get to hurting, all the joy of listening is lost. I prefer Circumaural (surrounding the ear, not resting on the cartiledge). The Bose QC2s are circumaural, though small, so big ears won't fit. Mine do, but I've seen others with pretty big ears and they wouldn't. The sound is pretty good. However, for 300 bucks you can get the DT880s or if you like the sound, the DT770 80ohm version (less resistance makes them easier to drive so portables and computer headphone jacks are able to power them) and have money to spare with MUCH better sound. So unless you take the bus, train, or plane alot and noise cancelling is actively important to you, I don't see the QC2s as having that much value. Now, since I DO use the bus alot (don't drive) and fly often enough, the QC2s will likely be my next headphones until I can decide on the right headphone/amp combo.
I have some Senns and like them alot. However, I've always been a fan of old-school cans so my current inkling is the BeyerAudio DT880s. They are very neutral (which is audio-speak for "crappy in, really crappy out...great in, even greater out). Either them or the AKG K701s. Both are exceptional headphones with tremendous staging. However, both really require amps and I want to spend time finding the right pairing for me. I think I'm leaning toward the headfive, but we'll see.
Headroom (
http://www.headphone.com) is a great place for getting hi-end cans and even have the Cardo cables for upgrading the Senn 650s (many consider the $185 cable upgrade to be mandatory for getting the Senns to behave).
As a starter set, I'll likely go with either the DT880s or the K701s with a headfive headphone amp (most to all of the hi fi cans REQUIRE amps to be driven properly and it isn't just a function of volume). If you need portable the Sennheiser HD280s are pretty amazing and less than half the cost of the QC2s.
If you are looking for the ULTIMATE gaming headphones and/or Trance/electronica headphones (neither is my bag), the BeyerAudio DT770 Pro 80ohms (found here:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=rec/product/reviews/base_pid=272025/rpp=10/) are the best, EVER. The bass is ridiculously rich and omnipresent. They don't work all that well with say light jazz or classical (I guess you could power them with a solid state, really neutral amp to cool down the sound as the phones, themselves, have a REALLY warm sound to them), but with games? They rock. Your ears will sweat after many hours of playing, but every hardcore gamer already sweats...lol. Just crack another Mountain Dew and load the next level.
You don't need to sweat any of the "woody" mods or other crazy stuff. That said, Head-fi.com has active forums with REALLY knowledgeable folks. I learn stuff there every visit.
