Headphones for gaming and music

I am tossing up whether it is time to replace my Sony MDR-G94NC headphones. Mainly because the cable is pretty well damaged, I have already replaced the ear flush stuff once (its worn out again) plus I am no longer satisfied with the noise canceling that requires me to add a 'AAA' battery every 24 hours of use in order for it to work. All the noise canceling does is increase the volume and introduce this really annoying buzzing noise in the background.

-The headphones will be used on a Sony Vaio FZ and a Sony NWD-B105F digital music player (in other words no amp).
-They will be used for games such as Call of Duty 4 and the Orange Box (Half Life 2 etc) as well as music including U2, Led Zeppelin and Guns N Roses. Although I am gaming I do not want a headset.
-I no longer want noise canceling in the 'destructive interference' way, although I would prefer not to hear whats going in the background so 'closed' headphones may be appropriate.
-Question: How bad is the distortion from closed air headphones?
-I would also be nice to be able to replaceable the cable (IE a detachable cable).
I believe I want to get Sennheiser's since the brand is far better regarded than Sony for headphones at the moment. Budget wise I am not quite sure yet, but nothing obscene. If I do get Sennheisers I will buy from Computer Lounge ( http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentlist.asp?t=20&parttypeid=159&b=&s=1) since they have the widest range in New Zealand. Perhaps NZ$150 is a realistic budget.

 

For closed headphones, the ones at the top of my list right now would definately be Ultrasone HFI-780. Sennheiser builds nice stuff, but most of their good stuff is open, not closed. Not that Sennheisers closed models are bad, they just specialize in open headphones. The HD280's are some popular and cheap ones from sennheiser. But I'm still giving my vote to the Ultrasone's(They're 32 Ohm so they'll be easy to power with anything, even mp3 players).

 

I been through lots of threads on here, head-fi and various other places about how good the HD280s are. The problem is they are about double my budget.

I can afford open Sennheisers like: HD465, HD435, HD415 and HD515.

 

sennheiser 150PC has served me for several years. absolutely no complaints

 

Hd280 isn't that great, and definitely does not worth the price listed on the website. For closed headphones, I like Denon AH-D2000, which is reckoned as one of the best unamped headphones. However, that would be above your budget, much like HFI-780 or ever-so-popular AT-A900.

The problem is, I don't know what headphones are available in NZ. For not so expensive closed headphones, I recommend Denon AH-D1000, can you get your hand on that (by importing, or whatever)?. If you don't mind open headphone (IMO, you don't notice much of outside sounds, but people around will notice what you are listening to), you can get Grado SR-60 or Audio Technica ATH-AD700, both very popular, relatively inexpensive (especially SR-60) headphones.

BTW, I use ATH-AD900 on my FZ.

 

ive been using the icemat siberia for awhile now. and imo its really good for gaming. ive used the plantronics headphones before the icemat and once i switched, in games i really hear the surroundings really well. i probably have them on the whole day when im on my computer.
but im pretty sure senneiser's sounds are better than the icemat. but hey i only got the icemat for like $30. the icemats arent really noise cancelation but i usually just turn up the volume if i dont want to hear something. since it has a in-line vol control its ez. also the mic is seperate from the headphones. IMO its better that way since its not in your way. and the mic picks up sounds from a great distance even without mic boost.
just my input/suggestion, not sure if the icemat fits your needs though.

 

Sennheiser HD205, get good reviews, are cheap and come with a free case!

 

Just a question about Nominal Impedance. Most of the headphones I am looking at have an impedance of 32 ohms. However, the HD515s that I am quite interested in have an impedance of 50 or 120 ohms, chances are I'll get the 50 ohm version. Will the extra 18 ohms over a 32 ohm model cause me any problems?

 

^AFIAK Senheiser is replacing their older 120ohm models with 50ohm models. HD5XX series is considered as "hard to drive" phone for their price, but I think it would be alright, as FZ has strong headphone output as far as headphone jacks on laptops goes.

BTW, why not go for HD555? There's very little price difference between 555 and 515 on that website, and the difference worth it. Actually, it appears that HD555 are the only headphones that aren't overpriced on your website.