I'm looking for a budget pair of cans, I usually spend about 20 bucks because I'm both cheap and poor. I was considering the HD202's, I usually get by with HD201's but the cords short out and fray after a year or so of everyday use.
I only have two requirements: over-ear headphones with a comically oversized cord
appreciate any recommendations in advance.
And it has you totally covered in your wish for an oversized cord.
I've had mine for twenty years, no issues, no frays, and I'd replace them with other Sony studio headphones if something were to happen.
The cord is a beast. I'm not worried about it failing.
My only gripe is the material they use for the padding degrades after 5 or 6 years. Its super easy to replace however. I like the coiled cord too. I think the "Pro"MDR-7507 which have the same form factor cost the same as the V-6s now.
[1] http://www.head-fi.org/t/606937/sony-mdr-v6-detachable-cable...
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-150-over-ear-headp...
It's a classic model, used a lot in the TV/studio industry too.
And here's (offbeat but interesting and knowledgable photo gear reviewer) Ken Rockwell's review:
http://kenrockwell.com/audio/sony/mdr-7506.htm
AT M50x, M40x is another solid choice for around $150.
http://www.cnet.com/products/audio-technica-ath-m50x/
http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50x-Professional-M...
They leak sound like crazy and look like they came out of a time machine from the 1980's. But they're cheap and they sound great.
I wonder if they use the same speaker/driver as the porta pros?
The great thing about headphone audio nowadays (as opposed to just 10 years ago) is there are quite a few low cost options that sound great. Unfortunately they're not well known unless you do some research.
That said, if you want top-tier audio out of something extremely portable that isolates to a degree, I cannot recommend Sennheiser's IE800 highly enough. I've spent many a kilobuck over the past 15 years and these are some of my favs. Not cheap at $800 retail (used in the $500-600 area), but totally worth it if you listen often while working. I have other IEMs that cost 2-3x as much and prefer these.
Most of time I use these in conjunction w/ Roon audio player and a Tidal sub straight out of the headphone port of my 13 rMBP - total audiophile bliss.
All of mine died really fast though! The cable is so thin and the connector tail bit so short and inflexible, that plugging them into a phone and putting the phone in a trouser pocket daily is a 6-month death sentence tops.
I also used to also buy new headphones (with about the same budget) every 6 to 12 months, usually with the cable breaking somewhere near the connector. I had similar buying criteria as you, but just to test a hypothesis, I spent a weekend researching what to buy and arrived at the MDR7506 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000AJIF4E for many times my usual budget. However, they've lasted for 2 years of being shoved in a bag or pocket many times a day and running to lectures, and still show no signs of wear, so they've almost paid for themselves in dollars per day even if they didn't sound better than a $20 pair which, of course, they also do. Highly recommended.
Edit: I see other comments also praising these. Yep, we're clearly a knowledgeable lot. :)
Haven't seen that before either.
Sound quality on all of them is pretty indistinguishable however on-head comfort ironically is an easy win for the 201's, the 202's are very tight, the 205's not quite as bad but still not great.
I ended up giving the 202's away to a female friend who really likes them (she has a smaller head than me).
If the cords are fraying there isn't much to replacing them, the other option is to cut the cord about a meter from the headphone and put a female connector on, then you can use arbitrary length patch's to extend the range.
One of my next projects is to drill through my desk and surface mount another female connection so I can sit down and plugin (otherwise the damn cable manages to get wrapped around the chair, the desk or usually a cup of coffee on the desk).
Only $35 refurbished. $42 new, Amazon Prime. I think you might have to find your own cord, depending on what you mean by comically oversized.
If I have any complaints it's that they're too big, and the cord is too long but those might be a plus for you.