Despite what one poster said, IEM's are actually much better than headphones.Better noise reduction, better almost everything. Get the JH13's
Joking aside, I would really recommend Sure IEM's, or JH if you really have the cash. In fact just IEM's in general;
Sennheiser CX300 $50-80
Klipsch S4i $80+ (My sister loves them)
Shure SE210 $150
Shure E3 $215
Klipsch X5 $250
Grado GR8 -- $300
Shure E4 $300
Westone 3s $350
Klipsch X10 $350
UE 10s $400
Sennheiser IE8 $450
Shure SE530 $500
JH13 Pro (I think they have the 16's out now) $1000
Once again, I would really recommend IEMs over headphones. With that said, I'm not an audiophile and I'm definitely not a headphone expert. I actually happened to get a free Bose QC15 (a gift
), and while it wouldn't be my first purchase choice had it been my money, I have to say I'm quite surprised by them. Bose typically has a rather poor reputation with the audiophile crowd, citing the price versus quality (it really is overpriced), with them creating the slogan no highs no lows must be a Bose.
However, despite my previous misgivings about Bose and influences from audiophiles on the Internet, I actually have to say I really do like the QC15s. Going into it I was really expecting mediocre sound, and was actually pleasantly surprised; I find them to sound rather nice. The actual headphones themselves are incredibly comfortable (you barely feel them on your head), the build quality is solid (mine hasn't broken yet either, its been 8 months), and the sound quality is nice. Highs are decent, bass is pretty nice, but not huge and boomy. The white noise cancellation works rather well, for not being an IEM this is the best you're going to get (IEMs have better noise cancellation/reduction). It should be noted however that there are a few drawbacks; 1) Bose has their own preamp in the phones, 2) you need a live battery always, since it always passes through the preamp therefore no battery = much lower volume, 3) noise cancellation is always on, 4) noise cancellation leaves a weird white noise hum when music
isn't playing (despite what people claim, no, you cannot hear that while music is playing), and 5) since the phone have their own preamp, you may want to adjust your input into the phones to get the desired sound YOU want, not what Bose wants.
Drawbacks aside, the present levels in the preamp are actually pretty nice, and the headphones really do sound and function nicely.
That's just my two cents though.
EDIT: Oops!! It looks like I missed your requirements OP! Just some food for thought then
