It depends on the headphone model
if you're looking for a pair of headphones to use while out and about on a portable player, I recommend the MS-1..it's very easy to drive and personally i use that with my walkman and it sounds awesome

I'm not sure if many ppl use it, but yes it does sound great by itself...amping it doesn't make a HUGE difference like night and day but an amp does influence the sound signature

You can try auditioning some audio technica hp's, I believe they have some good closed hp's that are used for gaming and music (e.g. A500), and you can get them from forumers Akabane or walabies...drop them a PM for more info


maybe you can test out the yuin pk2 for earphones, since you can't get used to iem...and if you're aiming for headphones, I recommend you test out some Grado's or Alessandro's, they are easily driven by a mp3 player and they'll sound perfectly fine if your player is a good source

I'm currently using the casing sold by walabies here (3rd or 4th post) http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/586559
take a look to see if that fits your needs

If you like forward sounding and 'in your face' music....go Grado/Alessandro, after listening to them, any other cans will sound pretty laidback I recommend Ms1 for awesomeness (highly biased opinion )

MS1 has a narrow soundstage, so it's not really good for gaming since u need a bigger soundstage to hear where the badguys are coming from....and some ppl have comfort issues with the ms1 over long periods of time