Which headphones should be purchased?

I've got the 600s also, and that seems to be the gold standard these days. I'd check out headroom's website (headphone.com) for some fairly blunt reviews of the full offering lines from Sennheiser, Grado and a bunch of others (they, almost gleefully, proclaim certain models to be a waste of money). For traveling, they can't seem to say enough about the Etymotics -- worth a read, if nothing else. Even if you don't buy from them (which I did) they are a good resouce on all things headphones. As for the Bose cans, not a clue.

Agree with Mezmo re: Etymotics. I have a pair of the ER-4S and highly recommend them. They are not cheap. They look similar to an earplug and offer fidelity that is simply remarkable for its design. The other great benefit is that they also attenuate external noise such as jet engine or rail noise which allows one to relax and feel much perkier when he arrives at his destination.

Check 'em out. Might just be the ticket for your needs.

Headroom also has some recommendations on headphones for noisy environments.

When I was a traveller, I used to use sony nc-20 noise cancelling headphones. They didn't cancel as much noise as I wanted, and the fidelity was 'just ok'. They were best at cutting out low droning noises like a bus or jet engine. The metal backed sony mdr-v6's were almost as good at shutting out noise. Both headphones are reasonably small and comfortable to wear. The v6's were more rugged, the nc-20's folded up very small. Neither one of these can hold a candle to my senn 580's.

I never tried the etymotics. I was a little concerned with having a speaker THAT close to my eardrum.

"I never tried the etymotics. I was a little concerned with having a speaker THAT close to my eardrum. "

I know what you mean, but the design blocks out all external noise...you should actually be listening at a lower volume level than you would with other headphones. The difference is that you're hearing all music and no background noise. I plan on picking up a pair whenever it's financially feasible.

I have a pair of Etymotics 4S and a Headroom Amp. Noise cancellation is second to none. Sound quality is a good as any headphone period, it's all personal prefernce. When you have great noise cancellation, you won't have to play your music at highter levels to cancel out the noise to enjoy your music. I would not worry about hurting your eardrums. The negative is that the 4S's need an exteral amp. However, Etyomotics makes a version that does not require an amp that is very close to the sound quality of the 4S called the 4P.