I hate JVC with a passion, but their HA-M1000 headphones are the best I've ever used.
I like them better than my Sony MDR-7506's

They're not good for tracking, but for DJing and/or music listening... they sound fantastic.

http://www.productreview.com.au/uplo...vc_ham1000.jpg

I don't know if they sell them anymore, because I bought them about 5 years ago at a little under 100 dollars.

I would caution against sennheiser. I've always found them to overboost the bass to the point of a very wooly sound.

I would reccomend a pair of Grado headphones. Anything in the range of iGrados or above should be fantastic. SR60's are a great entry level audiophile heaphone. If you need a more discreet style, theiGrados use the exact same drive unit, in a different housing.

For an earbud type headphone, I would definitely reccomend the Denon AHC551 earbud phones. Cable noise is low, bass is good but not overpowering, and terble detail is excellent.

OK....I have a stupid question. Should the device I use to listen to my music on have a bearing on which headphones I should get? Meaning...I mostly listen to music from my Zune. So I don't want to go out and get a pair of Sennheiser headphones if their greatness will be lost on an MP3 player vs. using them with a stereo set up. I hope that makes sense.

Good quality headphones will enhance the SQ. Why people use the headphones that come with their I pod is beyond me. Do you have in ear phones? Even a relatively small outlay on a pair of sony's will be better.

I have some earbuds that came with my last mp3 player. I detest ear buds though...hence my search for something better.

Better headphones will always result in better sound. There IS a point where the feed going into the headphones becomes the limiting factor in your hi-fi experience, but thats very dependent on the player you're using. IIRC the Zunes have a reasonably good DAC with them. Anything up to Grado SR80 standard headphones should be more than worth the upgrade costs.

Bear in mind however Mrs. Wife, that my opinion of Sennheiser is rooted in my prior ownership of HD435s, CX300s. THe PX200's I HAVE listened to and they were OK, lacking Sennheisers trademark overboosted bass sound, but I would say the iGrados are considerably superior within that category of headphone.

Honestly, I was just using Sennheiser as an example since they seem to get alot of love in this thread. I'm not partial to brand...I was just hoping to get the maximum quality without going unnecessarily overboard. So your post was most helpful. Thanks!

By the way - Brands to avoid IMO: Sony, Bose, Skullcandy, Sennheisers to an extent.

ESPECIALLY Bose and Skullcandy. Lifestyle headphones are not audiophile headphones, and its making a mistake to assume so.

Nonsubmissive...

An expensive pair of headphones isn't going to add quality to a song that isn't there to begin with. If you find that happening, then you're not hearing the content truthfully.

Cheap headphones can detract from quality, but unless you're a serious audiophile, you're not losing by not having the top rated Sennheisers or equivalent.

The things you need to look for in a pair of headphones, in order of importance, are:

1. COMFORTABILITY
2. Even frequency response (No exaggerated lows, shrill highs, canny mids)
3. Solid design that can take a few tumbles
4. Price
5. Reputability.

Notice that reputability is last. I like your thinking about not being partial to a brand name. Half the people having Sennheiser's babies are letting other people's opinions influence them down to their own hearing.

Get in there and find the headphone that best works for you.
Don't worry about your MP3 player not playing songs as well as an expensive CD player... I've never once seen an argument that gives any validity to something like that.
MP3's will sound better the less compressed they are.
You want better sound quality, play higher bitrate MP3's. Better yet, WAVs. It's a sacrifice between practicality and quality.
You just have to find out where you fit best.

Thanks JH, GB and VF! Looks like some testing is in order.