Hye guys, I have quite a bit of a headache now... been researching about headphones for 2 days now... lemme give an intro to my problem..

I dont know if I'm an audiophile or not... but i certainly appreciate good monitor and great headphones/earphones.. I'm the kind of person that always crave for good sounds... treble doesnt effect me much, but good bass always make me smile... and i like to hear a music in full clarity...

Few months ago i decided to buy Steelseries 4H.. which is really really seriously crap... the sounds are clear alright, but the bass suxs big time.. almost no bass at all... being a college student, i dont have much money.. so i have to put up with it until i have money to buy another... this time i dont want to regret it again... the headphone is really annoying to me... almost the biggest regret i have ever... i hope you guys can help me this time...

As reference, the best IEM I have is the Sony Noise cancelling earphones that came bundled with Sony MP3 player ( current model is MDR NC-22 ).. I got it in 2006 when it first came out i think... the bass totally shook my brain and i could almost feel it with heart.. hehe.. the bass isnt loud, but feel compact and detailed...

I also had Sonic Gear Kryptonite II from a few years ago... i think it's an open headphone that surrounds my ear... open circumaural i think... bass is good enough but the clarity is excellent.. i would have bought another if i could find it.... both are defective now, so i'm looking for a new one...

Shortlist so far is
-Senheiser HD448
-Denon AH-D1001
-Shure SRH440 & SRH240
-Beyer Dynamics DT231/235
-Philips SHE9850 ( i dunno if this is good, some review good, some not )
-Grado SR-80i ( i heard it's not comfortable?? )

My budget is around rm500.. either headphone or IEM is fine... would rather spend less if it fit my needs... main purpose is music..

Researching with internet gives me a good idea of what i should buy, but trying it myself would have probably helped a lot.. so i'm hoping that someone can help me from experience or something...also plan to get Asus Xonar.. what u guys think about the soundcard?.. is it worth the upgrade from motherboard's sound?... thanks in forward...

p/s: Sorry for the long post... I want to be as specific as i can...

Because i couldnt find any shop in this area ( Permatang Pauh, Penang ) to test them... and i rarely goes to KL.. anyone knows where in Penang i can try them?...

I like bass, yes... but not just the loud kind of bass... i want the kind that you feel that it have pressures in your ears, dynamic is it??... and to me, good bass have characters, each different... hehe..

lol yea.. my mistake because that time i depended too much on tech website that focused on computer hardware and gaming... most of those kind of website gave it good review for gaming, which is actually what my 2nd criteria was at the time... big mistake lol... now i realise that gaming headphones is totally useless for me...

thanks... what's the price i wonder?... Switch is an apple store right... I went to Switch in Sunway Carnival ( Seberang Prai ) a few weeks ago, they no longer have demo units or much model at all.. will definitely visit the one in Gurney soon... didnt knew it existed... tq...