Well, of course, the original issue is settled- the OP got his cans. May they serve you well! There's 4 times I use cans. First is for tracking, whether initial tracks with a click, or overdubs. The second is for personal listening in a noisy environment- airplanes, train stations, etc. The third is to get some idea what I'm getting in a remote setting, whether it be orchestral music, Reggae, or bird songs of North America. The last one is, yes- I check mixes in cans. I don't mean that I *mix* using cans, except the working rough mix when tracking. Sorry- I don't have a control room yet- Send more money, Mom. What I do mean is that headphones are one of the media I would like a mix to sound good on, 'cause yeah, the end user will put it into his MP-3 player, if I get lucky, and Hell, my Mom might do the same thing. I listen to a finished mix on studio phones, cheap ear buds, a boom box, a good home stereo, a cheap home stereo, and finally, in a car. And I forgot- in mono, because they really might play you on AM radio. It has happened to me.
OK- For the first one, tracking, I need cans that *isolate*. What you are tracking is critical. Big rock band? Go ahead, click your damn click. But- solo hammer dulcimer or harp, you need to *attenuate* that damn click. The orchestral people don't *want* the evil click, thank you very much. I track a lot of delicate stuff- mandolin, etc., and I must have superior isolation. Comfort would be good, but I'll give up a bit of it to get isolation. It gets worse for overdubs, because you have to suppress percussion, and its pesky low frequencies. This can be an issue tracking old drummers. Their hearing is going, and you have to crank the click track so they can hear it.
For the second,airplanes, etc., it's the same deal, in reverse. I want to isolate *myself* from ambient noise. And no, I don't go for this trendy noise cancellation by phasing. Comfort is cool here also, but how long is the flight? Who cares? Sound quality becomes more important here- does it sound *good* as opposed to the truth?
For the third use, remote recording-isolation becomes less important, unless it's picky, like orchestral work. Mostly, I want comfort and good sound here. Often, remote recording is pleasure work, like those bird songs, or working work, like-"we need the sound at Kenmore Square at midnight on a Saturday" for a radio play. You may have to wear the cans for a long time, in a variety of weather. In January, you ask, "how warm are they?".
For the last, checking mixes, I don't need isolation. I've got some BOSE headphones that are good for that- because they sound like the average Bozo's headphones.
Fly in ointment- not all heads were created equal, and the comfort level and even the isolation is affected by ergonomics. The cans must fit the head.
In the end, I use mostly Sennheiser HD280's, A couple pairs of SONY's 'cause the Sennheiser's can be tight on folks with larger heads, to the point of annoyance. And I've got a few sets of the More Me's for when I need extra phones. Their isolation is only fair, and although they feel cheap, they are comfortable enough, and as Harvey says- they don't break much.
What does this mean? *Don't* buy any phones you haven't worn for about 5 minutes or more. Don't buy based solely on recommendations! But my recommendation is the HD280's, just for their superior isolation- on the order of 32db's.-Richie
Not. 
