$500 cans on, this is how you dream right - Official Headphone Thread

HiResDes said:
That would be a bad decision if you're looking for more bass...Pretty much as a rule, the bass on opens cans < closed cans
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I see, what would you suggest in the $100 range that I guess produces a more "bright" sound than what I currently have. Bass isn't a necessity, I just want a little more umph than what my current cans produce.

EDIT: Something that's also comfy, my current Superlux are definitely not comfortable. I guess that's because of the closed part of it. I get tired of listening to them after about an hour.
 
I am selling my Astro A40 mixamp. Everything included plus a nice 12ft optical toslink cable. Excellent condition. $110 shipped in the CONUS. PM me if interested.

 
Sorry I thought you wanted a little more bass, and now you say you want a bright sound. Those are two entirely different things. Brightness refers to upper-mid and the treble range, yet when I think oomph I think of a powerful low-mid to mid range like the Grado series.
 
HiResDes said:
Sorry I thought you wanted a little more bass, and now you say you want a bright sound. Those are two entirely different things. Brightness refers to upper-mid and the treble range, yet when I think oomph I think of a powerful low-mid to mid range like the Grado series.
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Grado is the epitome of "bright" and pretty lacklustre in the bass department.
 
HiResDes said:
Sorry I thought you wanted a little more bass, and now you say you want a bright sound. Those are two entirely different things. Brightness refers to upper-mid and the treble range, yet when I think oomph I think of a powerful low-mid to mid range like the Grado series.
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Yeah my fault for incorrect terms. My friends all have Beats so they keep telling me bright means tons of bass.
 
So what's the word on the Alessandro MS1i? From the reviews I've read they have more midrange bass than the MS1. What caught my eye was that it has the potential to upgrade to the MS1000.
 
ReconYoda said:
Looking to buy the TMA-1's, what kind of sound can i expect? Is an amp recommended?
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Warm, very intimate.

Good separation between bass, mids and highs, with each having a good amount of detail. Highs are detailed, but a little bit on the soft side. Definitely not recessed, just not the focal point. Just a touch of EQ can add sparkle to the high end frequencies, of you need it. Mids are nice and controlled, taking the forefront when necessary, but not in your face all the time. Low-end is outstanding. All forms and levels of bass are handled beautifully, even when you layer on ridiculous amounts.

Easily driven from any decent source, amp not required. They do benefit from amp/DAC, of course, but that's not a barrier to entry.
 
K.Jack said:
Warm, very intimate.

Good separation between bass, mids and highs, with each having a good amount of detail. Highs are detailed, but a little bit on the soft side. Definitely not recessed, just not the focal point. Just a touch of EQ can add sparkle to the high end frequencies, of you need it. Mids are nice and controlled, taking the forefront when necessary, but not in your face all the time. Low-end is outstanding. All forms and levels of bass are handled beautifully, even when you layer on ridiculous amounts.

Easily driven from any decent source, amp not required. They do benefit from amp/DAC, of course, but that's not a barrier to entry.
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Awesome. Thanks.
 
K.Jack said:
Warm, very intimate.

Good separation between bass, mids and highs, with each having a good amount of detail. Highs are detailed, but a little bit on the soft side. Definitely not recessed, just not the focal point. Just a touch of EQ can add sparkle to the high end frequencies, of you need it. Mids are nice and controlled, taking the forefront when necessary, but not in your face all the time. Low-end is outstanding. All forms and levels of bass are handled beautifully, even when you layer on ridiculous amounts.

Easily driven from any decent source, amp not required. They do benefit from amp/DAC, of course, but that's not a barrier to entry.
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Ughh...i want to pull the trigger on these...$200 just seems like a lot of money, lol. Hmmm.
 
ReconYoda said:
Ughh...i want to pull the trigger on these...$200 just seems like a lot of money, lol. Hmmm.
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Your ears will thank you. I've spent $1,200 on audio equipment and don't regret a single penny of it. It's worth it for the eargasm I get every time I put my headphones on.

Join us... you know you want to.
 
leng jai said:
Grado is the epitome of "bright" and pretty lacklustre in the bass department.
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That is so fucking untrue.

I dunno, maybe out of the box but burned in even the SR80i has plenty of quality bass slam. Maybe not massive HipHop large but the Shatter OST or rock sound mighty fine. And while a bit bright, treble is also smooth. *glares at praised M50*

Seriously, people who dislike Grado... I feel they have a problem :-\

ChanHuk said:
Yeah my fault for incorrect terms. My friends all have Beats so they keep telling me bright means tons of bass.
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So they say, "Listen to that bass, it's so bright!"?? That would be hilarious but I think they just say stuff without knowing :-P
 
FoxSpirit said:
That is so fucking untrue.

I dunno, maybe out of the box but burned in even the SR80i has plenty of quality bass slam. Maybe not massive HipHop large but the Shatter OST or rock sound mighty fine. And while a bit bright, treble is also smooth. *glares at praised M50*

Seriously, people who dislike Grado... I feel they have a problem :-\


So they say, "Listen to that bass, it's so bright!"?? That would be hilarious but I think they just say stuff without knowing :-P
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I guess a large portion of the headphone community have a problem then. I've owned the SR60s and auditioned the 325s and they are just lacklustre products IMO. Poor build quality, annoying cables, ridiculously out of date designs and sandpaper earpads don't help. The bass is not terrible but its nothing to write home about compared to offerings from Beyerdynamic, Sennheiser and Denon. Grados are an acquired taste catered to a very specific audience.

About the burn in...well, can't say I'm a believer. Its psychological burn in more than anything and the go to argument for anyone trying to defend a headphone.
 
FoxSpirit said:
...Seriously, people who dislike Grado... I feel they have a problem :-\
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I'm with you on this one Fox...i've been listening to an sr325 for two years already and i have yet to get a more clean presentation on the bassy side of things...soooo deep and yet not DOMINATING the awesome soundstage. Grados are a treat.

Hey K.Jack, i loved your answer on the TMA question...do you happen to have any experience with German Maestros? I got myself a pair based on impressions from headFi and such, but i´d love a gaffer opinion!

"=0)
 
leng jai said:
I guess a large portion of the headphone community have a problem then. I've owned the SR60s and auditioned the 325s and they are just lacklustre products IMO. Poor build quality, annoying cables, ridiculously out of date designs and sandpaper earpads don't help. The bass is not terrible but its nothing to write home about compared to offerings from Beyerdynamic, Sennheiser and Denon. Grados are an acquired taste catered to a very specific audience.

About the burn in...well, can't say I'm a believer. Its psychological burn in more than anything and the go to argument for anyone trying to defend a headphone.
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Bass on Grados, even the best models, is not even close to the impact you get from, say, the Denon D5000 or LCD-2. it's tight and has a kick (on the higher end models like the 325 and RS1, at least) but it's not head-rattling at all.

The appeal of Grados is the way it presents vocals, strings and electric guitar combined with a small, intimate soundstage that I have yet to hear anywhere else. sometimes, you want to feel like you're right on stage with the performers and not far back. the midrange/treble push that most Grados have is very pleasing to a lot of people.

Grado does very well for itself because of these specific qualities it brings to the table. They're not as popular on head-fi because of the old design and retro look but, frankly, I found the comfort to be much greater on every Grado I've owned compared to the head-fi favorite, the LCD-2. That thing is a monster -- its clamping force and weight is inescapable.
 
LCfiner said:
Bass on Grados, even the best models, is not even close to the impact you get from, say, the Denon D5000 or LCD-2. it's tight and has a kick (on the higher end models like the 325 and RS1, at least) but it's not head-rattling at all.

The appeal of Grados is the way it presents vocals, strings and electric guitar combined with a small, intimate soundstage that I have yet to hear anywhere else. sometimes, you want to feel like you're right on stage with the performers and not far back. the midrange/treble push that most Grados have is very pleasing to a lot of people.

Grado does very well for itself because of these specific qualities it brings to the table. They're not as popular on head-fi because of the old design and retro look but, frankly, I found the comfort to be much greater on every Grado I've owned compared to the head-fi favorite, the LCD-2. That thing is a monster -- its clamping force and weight is inescapable.
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Never actually tried them but judging by the photos its not something I would be able to tolerate. Big part of the reason I went with the T1s.
 
leng jai said:
Never actually tried them but judging by the photos its not something I would be able to tolerate. Big part of the reason I went with the T1s.
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yeah, T1 seem to be well known to be comfortable. I've wanted to try them as the reviews on them are so positive. The LCD2 are an ergonomic nightmare. The Grado PS1K are a little better because of the size of the pads, but the cups are so heavy they pull down on the top of the head.

That's the main reason why I tried out - and then kept - a used pair of HD800.

so comfortable. I can barely feel them. compared to other flagships I have put on my head, there's no competition.
 
Working from home today so I can receive my delicious headphones and DAC/Amp and immediately disappear into a world of thumpy goodness. They're out for delivery!

Also good is that my Beats Solo HDs that I'm selling are up to $100 right now on eBay, and all signs point to them going for at least $120. Pretty sweet return.

I'll be returning the Beats Pros today once I get the Ultrasone 900 Pros and can verify that they are, as I believe they say: "all that and a bag of chips".
 
Would a FiiO E1 or E5 at all make my Audio Technica ATH-ES7's sound better though an iPhone 4? I'm mean like- a warmer sound, bigger soundstage/headroom, a bit more bass possibly. Less "harsh". Even if the iPhone does a decent job I know it could be much, much better. And at $20, if a FiiO portable amp gets me even slightly closer to a better sound then I'm down for it.

First time in this thread. It's been really helpful in considering future purchases, but I've had these headphones for awhile now, so hopefully they're not deemed too unworthy :P
 
Mistle said:
Would a FiiO E1 or E5 at all make my Audio Technica ATH-ES7's sound better though an iPhone 4? I'm mean like- a warmer sound, bigger soundstage/headroom, a bit more bass possibly. Less "harsh". Even if the iPhone does a decent job I know it could be much, much better. And at $20, if a FiiO portable amp gets me even slightly closer to a better sound then I'm down for it.

First time in this thread. It's been really helpful in considering future purchases, but I've had these headphones for awhile now, so hopefully they're not deemed too unworthy :P
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If you want some bass boost from an inexpensive, small amp, go for an E6 instead of an E5. about the same price, but improved quality.
 
All my shit just showed up! FUCK!!!!
 
Figured it'd be the E10 at the ~$100 level. Wasn't sure if I was overlooking something at that range. $350 is a bit out of my impulse buy though :x
 
Oh god, so many things to try:

- Straight into computer via 3.5mm
- Through DAC hooked up to computer (what I'm doing right now)
- Through DAC hooked up to computer via 3.5mm
- Straight into iPhone via 3.5mm
- Through DAC hooked up to iPhone via Line Out cable

Like a true noob I hooked my computer to the E7 via USB and didn't get any sound and figured you had to hook up to it via 3.5mm and DAC via USB for it to work since I got sound that way. Quickly realized that I just had to change my computer to use the DAC as the output source.

...man, the clarity is already beaming through. It's crazy to me that every time I get a new set of headphones almost invariably I go "oh shit, I can hear things I never heard before". Progress feels good.

Seems like I'm preferring the E7 to be on Bass Boost 1 which I believe is a 2.5db kick to the lows. Gives them the punch I'm digging for without sounding bloated. The bass seems to have all the presence that the Beats Pros did which is a great thing. Great great thing.

Headphone position seems to matter a good amount with these. There's definitely a sweet spot I need to keep my ears in. Very easily found and kept, though.

Super comfortable on the head. Huge ass ear cups. The pictures online don't do them justice at all which is weird.

So much experimenting to do...SO MUCH! I'll report back later once I've had a ton more time to play with it. I think I'm going to let some Swedish House Mafia, Tinie Tempa, M83 and MSTRKRFT wash over me before I say anything "official" about them.

...and my Beats Solo's are up to $115 on eBay. WEEE!!!

omgkitty said:
Post pictures.
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Oh yeah, that's happening for sure.
 
So question about portable amps: It's pretty clear to me that without them my headphones sound so much less beautiful. The sound just feels so much flatter and unlively without the amp driving them. Not to be dramatic, but it sounds like I drop down to a random set of 90's RadioShack miscellaneous headphones without them.

Do you guys take your amps with you all over the place? Do you have a spare amp that's a lot more portable or something? This E7 that I have is basically like carrying around an iPod classic which isn't that big a deal, but I know the FiiO E6 is like the size of a Nano.
 
RubxQub said:
So question about portable amps: It's pretty clear to me that without them my headphones sound so much less beautiful. The sound just feels so much flatter and unlively without the amp driving them. Not to be dramatic, but it sounds like I drop down to a random set of 90's RadioShack miscellaneous headphones without them.

Do you guys take your amps with you all over the place? Do you have a spare amp that's a lot more portable or something? This E7 that I have is basically like carrying around an iPod classic which isn't that big a deal, but I know the FiiO E6 is like the size of a Nano.
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The E6 reportedly has a better sounding amp than the E7, so I'd say that's a solid option.

Alucrid said:
I still get impressed with my re0s from time to time
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It's that insane amount of detail they pull out of music, if it's like my RE-ZEROs.
 
K.Jack said:
The E6 reportedly has a better sounding amp than the E7, so I'd say that's a solid option.



It's that insane amount of detail they pull out of music, if it's like my RE-ZEROs.
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Really? Is there a reason the E7 is so much more expensive then?
 
ReconYoda said:
Really? Is there a reason the E7 is so much more expensive then?
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it's because it's a full on DAC and has a screen.

that's why the E11, which is only an amp, costs 60 but has way more power than the small amp in the E7.

(part of me feels like Fiio is putting out too many items with non descriptive names. it gets confusing talking about them to people who haven't yet researched their catalog)
 
LCfiner said:
it's because it's a full on DAC and has a screen.

that's why the E11, which is only an amp, costs 60 but has way more power than the small amp in the E7.

(part of me feels like Fiio is putting out too many items with non descriptive names. it gets confusing talking about them to people who haven't yet researched their catalog)
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A DAC is only useful for laptops/desktops, right? It wouldn't make much of a difference for portable music?
 
Some Ultrasone Pro 900 eye candy while I continue my testing:

bbc3f034.jpg
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83bff872.jpg
fff50106.jpg
 
RubxQub said:
So question about portable amps: It's pretty clear to me that without them my headphones sound so much less beautiful. The sound just feels so much flatter and unlively without the amp driving them. Not to be dramatic, but it sounds like I drop down to a random set of 90's RadioShack miscellaneous headphones without them.

Do you guys take your amps with you all over the place? Do you have a spare amp that's a lot more portable or something? This E7 that I have is basically like carrying around an iPod classic which isn't that big a deal, but I know the FiiO E6 is like the size of a Nano.
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I use iems to not look like a goon.
 
You guys think the Studio Beats headphones for $150 is a good deal? Co-worker is willing to sell it to me for that price because he lost a bet to me.
 
Alucrid said:
I use iems to not look like a goon.
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I'm in the process of having my TF10's turned into customs. I'm doing this, unsurprisingly, because I also don't want to look like a goon :P

I don't know how anyone could walk around with on ear headphones.

On an unrelated note: Someone mentioned modding the K701's earlier to allow for more head comfort. What do I do?

A1UNd.jpg
 
ReconYoda said:
A DAC is only useful for laptops/desktops, right? It wouldn't make much of a difference for portable music?
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well, to make it useful from a portable device, you need something that is specially designed to extract the digital data off the player. these are not common or cheap. that tends to be why we only really talk about DACs in relation to desktops/laptops and not iPods.

for example, the Fostex HP-P1 is a special AMP/DAC that can accept data straight from iPod’s dock connector in digital form, instead of just analog line out.

it’s almost 700 bucks

I mean... that’s kinda crazy.

My feeling is that, when going mobile, portability trumps SQ. Even with good isolating IEMs, I have always been able to hear train rumble on the subway or other loud ambient sounds so trying to squeeze that last 10% of SQ that you might get from an off board DAC instead of the built in DAC in your player is a bit more of a nuisance than it might be worth.

An amp is slightly different because some portable cans may actually need the power just to get to the desired volume level. And it’s also been my experience that a good amp can improve SQ more than a good DAC (changing a headphone trumps both, though)
 
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