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$500 cans on, this is how you dream right - Official Headphone Thread
- Thread starter HiResDes
- Start date
BigJonsson
Member
Watch them go on sale tomorrow lol
I just need to be more careful this time
Although, they either fell out of my jacket pocket while it was resting on my seat at UFC 140 or fell out of my sweatshirt pocket while I was running and jumping around in the octagon
I'm going to use the latter story since it makes me feel like less of an idiot
I just need to be more careful this time
Although, they either fell out of my jacket pocket while it was resting on my seat at UFC 140 or fell out of my sweatshirt pocket while I was running and jumping around in the octagon
I'm going to use the latter story since it makes me feel like less of an idiot
I try to think about a user preference before I recommend stuff, I don't always recommend things that I like myself, but rather that fit the sound signature I think would suit their needs best. I haven't heard that many headphones, but I've heard many many lowered priced earphones.
The first thing to say is that the packaging is immaculate. My friend felt like he was opening a true luxury item.
Build quality is excellent. I like how there's no hinges, and everything is connected by solid metal and strong screws. None of that hard plastic shit here. These won't be breaking unless I want them to do so.
Comfort? Well. I've had them on for at least 12 hours, with no pain. The earcups are huuuuge, even on my bigass head. My fro is pretty long right now, and I was worried about fit. When I bought the TMA-1s, I literally had to cut my hair to get a proper fit. That's not the case here, though they definitely weren't made with large amounts of coarse black person hair in mind. I may get the cut. Anyway, nice velour pads, comfortable headband, etc...
Sound: I don't really like going into ultra-detailed impressions until I've had a few days of processing, but I will do a quick preliminary just for you. I've listened through them for.... about 11 hours so far. These are my first open back cans, so the presentation caught me off guard at first, and I'm still adjusting. The soundstage is wider and more "airy" than that possessed by any closed can I've owned, so my music sounds different.
I'm very at home with the general sound signature, having owned two Hifiman IEMs before. So the HE-300 is a in a way familiar to my ears, in that they seem to be tuned to do exceptionally well with separation and the revelation of detail. It's much closer to neutral than say, the RE-ZERO though, because of the latter's focus on mids.
I spent the better part of the morning burning through some of the favorites in my Hip-Hop collection, to test the bass, and I was no less than impressed. Sexy stuff. The Hell On Earth album in particular, with that deep, brooding bass and orchestral arrangement, sounds amazing. I haven't done head to heads yet, but I'm pretty sure the bass response on the 300s is quicker than that of that TMA-1s.
Acoustic guitar and piano/keyboard are freaking amazing, along with female vocals. But I knew they would be.
That's it for now. I can just say that not once have I questioned or wondered where that $249 went. These are keepers.
edit: oh, one more thing. I had to switch the E10 to high gain to drive these properly.
Why not use a proper 10k floorstander instead of a 1k standmount? I know the ATC SCM 12 is well regarded but still... unknown speakers are difficult.
To put this blind-test in perspective: I have 2 sources, a Matrix Mini-i and a Yamaha CD-C600 quality CD-changer. When I got the mini-i and performed some AB-ing they basically sounded they same to my ears. But nothing of what reviews and tech specs would me have expect. But hey, now at least I had a quality source for my PC, TV and PS3 *shrug*
The Mini-i became my sole source when I switched to streaming and my CD-player collected dust... okay, it simply sat unused. For fun I recently spun up some olde discs and whoa.
I wanna go back and do more extensive testing but all I can say is the year only listening to the mini-i has definitely changed my ears.
And my Marantz PM8003 sounds definitely smoother than my Yamaha RX-797.
Though I seem to have left some of the brute force dynamics behind it seems, house definitely was able to blow off my hat with the old components, now it sounds... nice. Or maybe it was the more raw sound that made the whole thing sound more brutish-dynamic. I'll get into testing at one point, gotta buy me some banana plugs for quick switching.
All I can say is that my different gear definitely sounds different but not in a way I'd expect people not familiar with it to hear. They are not even familiar with the sound of the speaker. After some consideration, that's propably the downfall of those ABX tests. The changes thanks to the gear are not earth moving and unfamiliar speakers make small changes to the sound unnoteable. There is a reason serious reviews (speakers and electronics) are done at home with your own kit and stretch for a whole month.
P.S.: if they claim to have done everything but no power line conditioning? Some people won't even read beyond that. Tsk, tsk
Supposedly the fault with those is a unatural coloration. So basically voice fetishists are in a huffle. I guess it's like horns, even the best horn sounds a tiny bit like a horn which for some people completely breaks it.
Why not use a proper 10k floorstander instead of a 1k standmount? I know the ATC SCM 12 is well regarded but still... unknown speakers are difficult.
To put this blind-test in perspective: I have 2 sources, a Matrix Mini-i and a Yamaha CD-C600 quality CD-changer. When I got the mini-i and performed some AB-ing they basically sounded they same to my ears. But nothing of what reviews and tech specs would me have expect. But hey, now at least I had a quality source for my PC, TV and PS3 *shrug*
The Mini-i became my sole source when I switched to streaming and my CD-player collected dust... okay, it simply sat unused. For fun I recently spun up some olde discs and whoa.
I wanna go back and do more extensive testing but all I can say is the year only listening to the mini-i has definitely changed my ears.
And my Marantz PM8003 sounds definitely smoother than my Yamaha RX-797.
Though I seem to have left some of the brute force dynamics behind it seems, house definitely was able to blow off my hat with the old components, now it sounds... nice. Or maybe it was the more raw sound that made the whole thing sound more brutish-dynamic. I'll get into testing at one point, gotta buy me some banana plugs for quick switching.
All I can say is that my different gear definitely sounds different but not in a way I'd expect people not familiar with it to hear. They are not even familiar with the sound of the speaker. After some consideration, that's propably the downfall of those ABX tests. The changes thanks to the gear are not earth moving and unfamiliar speakers make small changes to the sound unnoteable. There is a reason serious reviews (speakers and electronics) are done at home with your own kit and stretch for a whole month.
P.S.: if they claim to have done everything but no power line conditioning? Some people won't even read beyond that. Tsk, tsk
I agree that electronics sound different and some of it also requires being familiar with the inherent sound of the speakers as well. Another thing that needs to be noted is that slamming expensive components together won't necessarily get you great sound. It requires careful component matching to really bring out what the speakers or headphones are capable of.
I've had several pieces of gear to do ABing and I know first-hand that they don't sound the same. Had a Harmon Kardon HK3490 receiver and EMU-0404 DAC, moved on to an Emotiva XPA-2 amp, USP-1 preamp and an Audio GD 19 mk-3 DAC and now I have a Kora Hermes DAC, Plinius amp and "Endler's Attenuators" as a passive preamp. My current set-up blows the old ones away, as it should given the research I've put into carefully choosing my components. The Harmon Kardon set-up was nice for the money, but things like drum hits would sound plasticky, and the sound wasn't really all that realistic. The emotiva set-up was too bright for my liking.
You plug HD 600's into a random receiver, and no way it sounds the same as plugging it into a set-up consisting of a Chord 64 DAC with a Zana Deux headphone amp.
Hmm I still have 100s of hours of evaluation to do, but right now, my favorite female vocalists (Corrine Bailey Rae, Bjork, Adele, Amel L., etc..) sound spot on with my engrained expectations.
I'll be looking out for that though, as I myself have zero tolerance for unnatural vocals.
My custom TF10's might be back before Christmas. I am excite. I just hope my impressions were okay, and that they survive the trip intact.
They were $252 on the seventeenth of November according to camelcamelcamel.
In other words, not a fantastic deal.
They were $252 on the seventeenth of November according to camelcamelcamel.
In other words, not a fantastic deal.
Keylime
ÏÎ¯Î»Ï á¼Î¾ÎµÏÎγλοÏÏον καί ÏεÏδολÏγον οá½Îº εἰÏÏν
Got them from $286, so not exactly gouged either which is good. Captain Downer of the Downer Brigade!
Bitmap Frogs
Mr. Community
Why not use a proper 10k floorstander instead of a 1k standmount? I know the ATC SCM 12 is well regarded but still... unknown speakers are difficult.
To put this blind-test in perspective: I have 2 sources, a Matrix Mini-i and a Yamaha CD-C600 quality CD-changer. When I got the mini-i and performed some AB-ing they basically sounded they same to my ears. But nothing of what reviews and tech specs would me have expect. But hey, now at least I had a quality source for my PC, TV and PS3 *shrug*
The Mini-i became my sole source when I switched to streaming and my CD-player collected dust... okay, it simply sat unused. For fun I recently spun up some olde discs and whoa.
I wanna go back and do more extensive testing but all I can say is the year only listening to the mini-i has definitely changed my ears.
And my Marantz PM8003 sounds definitely smoother than my Yamaha RX-797.
Though I seem to have left some of the brute force dynamics behind it seems, house definitely was able to blow off my hat with the old components, now it sounds... nice. Or maybe it was the more raw sound that made the whole thing sound more brutish-dynamic. I'll get into testing at one point, gotta buy me some banana plugs for quick switching.
All I can say is that my different gear definitely sounds different but not in a way I'd expect people not familiar with it to hear. They are not even familiar with the sound of the speaker. After some consideration, that's propably the downfall of those ABX tests. The changes thanks to the gear are not earth moving and unfamiliar speakers make small changes to the sound unnoteable. There is a reason serious reviews (speakers and electronics) are done at home with your own kit and stretch for a whole month.
P.S.: if they claim to have done everything but no power line conditioning? Some people won't even read beyond that. Tsk, tsk
The reason they used the ATC's is because that particular blind abx was done at a sort of biannual meeting called Molingordo. Lugging around big speakers in the car is an issue ;D However these guys made many more tests, including ones using floorstanders like the Revel Performa F30. That particular link is the only doing the rounds in the english internet is because none of their other reports got translated.
The reason different pieces might appear sound different when doing non-blind ab tests is because suggestion and minor differences in sound pressure. Both effects have been studied and known to change our perception of sound.
In order to properly ab your gear, you need a friend to do the swapping for you and needs to be done (typically behind an opaque sheet) so you can't see it. As long as you see the components, suggestion and bias kicks in. As well as using one of several methods to adjust the output to the milivolt.
About the requirement to use familiar speakers... the net is chock full of commentaries about people being somewhere else (a shop, a friend's house, a meet, etc) and noticing these changes. However only within the context of a blind ABX test audophiles claim that you can only notice differences with your own gear. But since you ask, the guys at Matrix Hifi have done one-on-one ABX tests going to someone's house and using their gear. Just this week they did just so, specifically about cables, and even in his own house, with his own gear, the subject couldn't distinguish audiophile cables from regular el-cheapo ones. It's not just that tho, audiophiles claim that describing differences in the sound or pointing passages on which such differences can be heared is subjecting the listener to a pressure and thus alters one's perception however precisely this is a common topic amongst audiophiles in non-abx settings.
However, I suggest to read this blog post from an executive at Harman-Kardon narrating their internal experiences when using blind listening tests (note that in this case the subjects were highly familiar with the loudspeakers used since out of 4, three were in-house Harman-Kardon products): http://seanolive.blogspot.com/2009/04/dishonesty-of-sighted-audio-product.html
Finally, the sighted bias not only happens in audio, it also happens with food and beverages like this critic discovered http://www.wellesleywinepress.com/2009/05/charles-shaw-blind-tasting-or-are-we.html .... what's the reason here, that he was using someone else's mouth and nose?
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri
Member
If the IE8 doesn't do it for you, I'd definitely look into the Victor FX-700, which excels at a lot of the things the IE8 does and then some. The two are also about the same price ($300).
Got my new AKG K702. Love em'. They definitely suit my tastes. They feel very neutral and revealing, and the bass impact is just perfect. They actually have really detailed bass...it just doesn't overpower the music. Mids are, of course, pretty incredible. The only issue with these headphones is that they won't do any favors to sibilant recordings. And well, the damned retarded headband design.
Sticking with my Maverick D1 for now for DAC/amp needs. I need to audition Stax headphones before I consider putting any more money into my dynamic setup.
And uh, I tried foobar's crossfeed plugin after all the rave here...can't say I'm impressed. Though it helps some songs gain a bit of a more forward soundstage, it does hurt dynamics. I didn't really notice it with my HFI-580, but on my K702, the bass impact is clearly diminished. Maybe I don't have it configured right?
Sticking with my Maverick D1 for now for DAC/amp needs. I need to audition Stax headphones before I consider putting any more money into my dynamic setup.
And uh, I tried foobar's crossfeed plugin after all the rave here...can't say I'm impressed. Though it helps some songs gain a bit of a more forward soundstage, it does hurt dynamics. I didn't really notice it with my HFI-580, but on my K702, the bass impact is clearly diminished. Maybe I don't have it configured right?
You should have asked here about the comfort level of the K701/702's. I could have told you that they hurt like a SOB
I'm thinking of either selling them, or modding them somehow to fill in the ridges, or else remove the ridges (which would make reselling them impossible I guess).
Your take is basically the same as mine though. Dead neutral, extremely revealing, and with bass that is as it should be. They almost reveal too much, because my music collection is a hodgepodge of middle of the road quality MP3's (for things like rare versions of songs, acoustic versions, live versions, etc) and they tend to make the deficiencies worse. On well done FLAC's though, they really shine. Head-Fi's flavor of the month quickly moved on to other things, but at $250 or so new ($200 used) you can't do much better.
(and they look fantastic)
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri
Member
Well, you're definitely looking in the right place if you're seeking balance. Only thing is, I hear the bass on the W4 is pretty much recessed/deficient, which is strange because it packs two drivers solely devoted to bass reproduction. I believe Nib95 owns them, and he uses EQ to address the issue. I'd toss in the SM3 and the UM3x in there for consideration as well. The former being my favorite universal.
Yeah, sometimes ultra-revealing equipment sucks because it can make a ton of your music sound awful. I haven't heard Stax, but it sounds like a natural evolution for the AK701 sound lovers. Extremely transparent and fast. They would probably be too lean for my purposes however.
Bitmap Frogs
Mr. Community
Apparently Stax just got bought by the Chinese. At least that's the news that's doing the rounds right now.
I've heard UM3X before and it's way too similar to the IE8 for me to consider them at this point. As for the SM3, good things are said about them but I can't audition them before buying them here so it's a no go for me too.
Going to head down later today to try the W4. Will post impressions.
Just spent about 40 mins with the Westone 4. On the whole, I'm a little disappointed. The W4 is definitely more balanced than my IE8. But it falls short in separation and loses a lot of clarity when the music becomes complex.
Just a little background, I listen primarily to Dream Theater, a progressive rock/metal band. Their music is considered to be heavy and very technical and each instrument (bass, guitar, keyboard, drums and vocals) contribute significantly to the song in different ways. Hence clear separation is critical when all five members are playing at the same time.
The W4 sounds fantastic when only two or three instruments are at the forefront but it becomes overly veiled and somewhat dark during the parts when there's heavy drums or keyboards layering the music.
Are there any suggestions as to which IEMs I should try next?
Just a little background, I listen primarily to Dream Theater, a progressive rock/metal band. Their music is considered to be heavy and very technical and each instrument (bass, guitar, keyboard, drums and vocals) contribute significantly to the song in different ways. Hence clear separation is critical when all five members are playing at the same time.
The W4 sounds fantastic when only two or three instruments are at the forefront but it becomes overly veiled and somewhat dark during the parts when there's heavy drums or keyboards layering the music.
Are there any suggestions as to which IEMs I should try next?
I love the airy sound of the Grado GR-8 but I have trouble recommending them because of that buzzing issue I found. still, I think they're worth a listen.
However, they use a very similar (if not the same) "moving armature" driver as the ortofon e-q5 and e-q7 and I think those might be worth trying. From what I read, those essentially sound the same as the Grado IEMs (and the ortofons are cheaper)
What I liked about the GR-8 specifically was a balanced sound that had a greater sense of space around instruments. also, they're tiny and didn't feel heavy in my ear. I think there's something behind this moving armature tech.
First off, like I said, when I switched out my chain, stuff became definitely more smooth. Yet at the same time I lost the impression of the orchestra "breathing". You know, a real feel of up and down during big swings.
In return, I gained calrity. Especially house tracks which use distorted voices it was very aparent, I was not what was correct, if one distorts or the other chain smoothes.
In some way it lost some of the xitement, though I know that is also an acoustic effect of distortion for this kind of music.
One of the strongest wtf I had when I crossauditioned SR-80i from my Sansa Clip+ vs the store setup. I usually thought that in terms of dynamics and stuff that thing sounds really good. After comparing it directly with the store equipment, the thing sounded straight out flat.
As for bias, my bias is "maybe, MAYBE someone finally built something that just wrecks at a price point". I have little income so I and I am an engineer on top and I sneer at some claims for cost-performance of high-end equipment. Then again, the whole reason there are hundreds of those companies is the ridiculous markup on their products.
I am the first to say I am all for properly testing stuff, and I mean serious testing of things like broadband behaviour, dictortion, dynamics under complex loads etc. I have only found one place which actually measures the complex impedance/load of speakers which can become seriously low and taxing for an amp, but you need to get the proper equipment.
I want amps measured how well they can handle sudden shifts into 2 complex Ohm (I'm sorry, been a long time and complex loads always puzzled the hell out of me though I understand the importance of reactive power.
I like no-nonsense companies like NAD, Yamaha and Denon because they try to simply provide good sound for a good price forgoing any audiophile shenanigans . It's not pure, it's not 100% neutral blahblah is often a substitue for "OMG, take out the foundation, that thing doesn't sound esoteric enough".
Stay tuned for further tests with my 2 chains somewhen in the near future.
Bitmap Frogs
Mr. Community
But the point is, as long as you know what's being tested, the results will be always biased. There's a guy that's been working on test groups for different products, has published studies on the bias and after 25 years doing that he still experiments bias when doing sighted tests. It's just our nature. Either you perform the test blind without knowing what's sounding or the results will be flawed.
In my reply to kevm3 I linked two reports of the biases sighted tests are tainted with, check those. What you hear in a sighted test is not what you're really hearing, is what you're hearing + your brain biasing the results.
So, after owning a pair of Beats by Dre PRO's (they were pretty cool...too much clamp) I sold them and was out of the headphone game for awhile.
That recently changed when I acquired a pair of AKG K702's. Just running them from my laptop through a Fiio E5(basically unamped) I am literally amazed. I don't recall the Beats ever paralyzing me in my chair as I listened to every song I own just to see how good they can sound (Brooks and Dunn have amazing production). They are a little light on the base for sure, but the bass boost on the E5 combined with a little bit of Itunes EQ magic has the sound perfect for my taste.
That said, while I researched everything else about them, I neglected to consider that these were open cans. The Beats were closed...and other than those I've only ever had IEM's, so the sound leakage on the K702's means I can't bring them to the library where I would really like to use them. I was set to return them (money being what it is...) But after experiencing just how awesome they are I have neglected that idea since I planned on buying the Fiio E7/E9 combo anyway.
That leads me to my question, I will be looking to purchase a closed-back pair of cans for use in school. IEM's are alright, I don't own a really nice pair or anything, I wouldn't be against them but I love the look of the AKG's and certain other brands of headphones and consider it sort of a badge of honor. I've had the AKG's and Beats in school one a few occasions and each time people made it a point to ask to hear them/what I look for in headphones and I kind of want that to continue (lame I know).
So, would you guys recommend:
Audio Technica ATH-A900's
Beyer Dynamic D770's
AKG 272HD's
AKG 271 MKII's
Relevant Info:
They will be run through the Fiio E7 at all times (even on my Iphone); I am VERY in to looks (AKG is my favorite aesthetics-wise, Beyerdynamics probably my least favorite); for on the go, a little more bass would be alright but I listen to all manner of music so as long as the bass isn't weak I'm okay; I also need them to be comfortable (grad-student = sitting for looooong periods of time). I find I can wear the 702's for up to 8-10 hours at a time and barely notice them, I like that...a lot...Also, a detachable cable would be nice from a maintenance perspective.
Go GAF!
That recently changed when I acquired a pair of AKG K702's. Just running them from my laptop through a Fiio E5(basically unamped) I am literally amazed. I don't recall the Beats ever paralyzing me in my chair as I listened to every song I own just to see how good they can sound (Brooks and Dunn have amazing production). They are a little light on the base for sure, but the bass boost on the E5 combined with a little bit of Itunes EQ magic has the sound perfect for my taste.
That said, while I researched everything else about them, I neglected to consider that these were open cans. The Beats were closed...and other than those I've only ever had IEM's, so the sound leakage on the K702's means I can't bring them to the library where I would really like to use them. I was set to return them (money being what it is...) But after experiencing just how awesome they are I have neglected that idea since I planned on buying the Fiio E7/E9 combo anyway.
That leads me to my question, I will be looking to purchase a closed-back pair of cans for use in school. IEM's are alright, I don't own a really nice pair or anything, I wouldn't be against them but I love the look of the AKG's and certain other brands of headphones and consider it sort of a badge of honor. I've had the AKG's and Beats in school one a few occasions and each time people made it a point to ask to hear them/what I look for in headphones and I kind of want that to continue (lame I know).
So, would you guys recommend:
Audio Technica ATH-A900's
Beyer Dynamic D770's
AKG 272HD's
AKG 271 MKII's
Relevant Info:
They will be run through the Fiio E7 at all times (even on my Iphone); I am VERY in to looks (AKG is my favorite aesthetics-wise, Beyerdynamics probably my least favorite); for on the go, a little more bass would be alright but I listen to all manner of music so as long as the bass isn't weak I'm okay; I also need them to be comfortable (grad-student = sitting for looooong periods of time). I find I can wear the 702's for up to 8-10 hours at a time and barely notice them, I like that...a lot...Also, a detachable cable would be nice from a maintenance perspective.
Go GAF!
But you have to understand the process of bias. I mean, if I review a 300 component vs a 2000 component I certainly won't be able to shutout my bias. But I am also angry, bitter and disillusioned with HiFi so my bias is much smaller than the people who are truly open. And I fucking DO hear the distortion/non-smoothing from my RX-797. I have a slew of headphone sources too and am used to a lot of sound signatures. I just recently changed my Quadral Rondo back to my Focus 140. I hear a lot of music from my Clip+ and MC-40. And I WILL tell you that in some respect that 100 combo beats out the 3000 setup and I am not simply talking soundstage. In pure tonality, in bottom density, I feel the 30 Clip+ wins over the 300 Mini-i. And they are toe to toe in dynamics... which is crazy since I have heard chains with headphones that blow the shit out of my Clip+. On the other hand, the Mini-i has a much finer rendering of sound.
Are you saying all of those are biased and hoax because the Clip+ is 30 and the Mini-i is 300??
As someone who loves his AKG K702, I'll go ahead and recommend the closed cans I really like:
Utlrasone HFI-580. They're the only closed cans I've used to date that have a nice wide soundstage like the K702. They also don't have any heavy upper bass hump, and as a result they sound revealing, yet energetic. They do have a lot more bass the the K702. They're definitely not as good for acoustic/classical, but they are pretty stellar cans for the price. If you listen to bass heavy music, you will LOVE these. I never liked electronic music until I listened to this. Very tight, fast, punchy, and controlled bass. It's definitely strong bass, but it sounds damned good.
They do look good, however the headband does stick out a fair bit on the head, so they're not exactly a fashion statement.
Also, I really did not like the AKG 271. Not much of a soundstage compared to the K702, flabby bass compared to the extreme control of the K702, and a very sibillant presentation. I also hated the DT770, though many do like them. I found them extremely hollow sounding...there was an extreme lack of midrange. I've never heard the A900s, but I would like to...they sound like they'd be up my alley.
Exodu5 thanks for the recommendation, I will have to give those a listen. When I'm out/about or in public I like to be listening to more bass-heavy music (hip-hop/electronic/vocal trance etc. etc) but when I'm sitting around studying I prefer acoustic/instrumental/classical background noise you know what I mean?
All accounts point to the ATH-A900's being right up my alley (possibly both of ours). Perhaps a little more subdued on the bass than you might like given your love for electronic, but at the same time you might find them a lot more versatile and be willing to sacrifice that bass punch for the ability to properly enjoy a few more genres.
I remember the days when sound got no better than the little white earbuds...
All accounts point to the ATH-A900's being right up my alley (possibly both of ours). Perhaps a little more subdued on the bass than you might like given your love for electronic, but at the same time you might find them a lot more versatile and be willing to sacrifice that bass punch for the ability to properly enjoy a few more genres.
I remember the days when sound got no better than the little white earbuds...
Keylime
ÏÎ¯Î»Ï á¼Î¾ÎµÏÎγλοÏÏον καί ÏεÏδολÏγον οá½Îº εἰÏÏν
Listening to the IE8s hardcore right now after I finally settled on some tips that fit my ears the best I can. It feels like I should really look into custom tips because my ears are definitely different from each other, and I can't seem to find perfect fits for either of them. I've got something going that at least is 90% effective I think.
The bass in these is actually really solid. Not as earthshattering as some of the reviews online seem to paint, but they definitely do a great job. I've got them turned up to half intensity on the bass because the top end of the spectrum seemed to muddy things slightly.
If what I've read about these is true at all (and I've seen it repeated enough that I think I believe it), these things benefit a shit-ton from burning them in. People that aren't believers in the concept of burn-in even report that they seem to open up after at least 50 hours of use.
Returned the Ultrasone Pro 900's by the way. I loved them, but since I'm going to be using my main set on the go 99% of the time, I really need something a bit more portable.
Maybe these will be it! The carrying case is kinda nuts with these things. Like a slide in cartridge design. Baller and totally unnecessary :lol
The bass in these is actually really solid. Not as earthshattering as some of the reviews online seem to paint, but they definitely do a great job. I've got them turned up to half intensity on the bass because the top end of the spectrum seemed to muddy things slightly.
If what I've read about these is true at all (and I've seen it repeated enough that I think I believe it), these things benefit a shit-ton from burning them in. People that aren't believers in the concept of burn-in even report that they seem to open up after at least 50 hours of use.
Returned the Ultrasone Pro 900's by the way. I loved them, but since I'm going to be using my main set on the go 99% of the time, I really need something a bit more portable.
Maybe these will be it! The carrying case is kinda nuts with these things. Like a slide in cartridge design. Baller and totally unnecessary :lol
Bitmap Frogs
Mr. Community
edited: wrong quote
Bitmap Frogs
Mr. Community
I'm saying any sighted test is inherently biased and the smarter and non biased you believe yourself to be the easier the bias will hit you.
Have you read those two links?
Sean Olive's is particularly interesting: experienced listeners like Harman's own engineers displayed the same bias as inexperienced listeners. Any non blind test when comparing equipment is void.
Bitmap Frogs
Mr. Community
Yeah, sorry dude =)
It's really telling how much placebo exists in the audiophile community. I was reading a friend's Absolute Sound magazine yesterday, and they were comparing different ripping programs for computer audio. They ripped a CD through ~10 or so different programs, and ran the files through EAC and checked that they were bit identical. All of the CDs were identical, bit for bit, in their rip. And yet, they found certain rips sounded better than others.
It's impossible for them to sound different. It's not like there's any jitter transmitted to a bit-perfect rip. Computer data is not time-domain sensitive.
It's impossible for them to sound different. It's not like there's any jitter transmitted to a bit-perfect rip. Computer data is not time-domain sensitive.
Bitmap Frogs
Mr. Community
The companies know, that's why they used to buy regular off-the-shelf components from the big ones and box them inside a pretty case (much like the recent oppo rebadge fiasco, which btw, until it was known, reviewers insisted it sounded different haha).
Nowadays audiophiles get their mouths wet seeing large arrays of beer can sized caps and that drives up costs =/
Oh yeah, I recently had someone tell me how an "audiophile" bnc cable sounds much better than the studio grade one I use.
Seriously, it's a cable studio's use, the guys who produce the songs you listen to through your 20k setup *facepalm*
People also complain about the quality of the internal windows mixer destroying audio but... I am not sure how audible this actually is. I did an rapid comparison of Mahler's 2nd opening like 5 time in both modes (WASAPI and DirectSound) for the first 30 seconds. Errr, this basically sounds the same.
For what it's worth, I don't think I could A/B WASAPI vs. DirectSound either. I use WASAPI anyways, because, well, why not?
edit: still listening plenty to my new K702s. Man, these things are very, very recording dependent. They're not going to do poorly mastered recordings any favors. And shit, I'm reevaluating my position on the bass yet again...if you're playing material that is demanding bass, the K702 will give it to you. Electronic music sounds surprisingly fantastic on these. These headphones are quite nimble.
edit2: case in point, compare Radiohead's OK Computer to In Rainbows. In Rainbows is awful. OK Computer actually sounds pretty good.
edit3: actually, I can't believe I'd be saying this...I feel like the K702 have maybe a little too much bass (though that could very well be my Maverick Audio biasing things...). I guess that means I'm ready for Stax.
edit: still listening plenty to my new K702s. Man, these things are very, very recording dependent. They're not going to do poorly mastered recordings any favors. And shit, I'm reevaluating my position on the bass yet again...if you're playing material that is demanding bass, the K702 will give it to you. Electronic music sounds surprisingly fantastic on these. These headphones are quite nimble.
edit2: case in point, compare Radiohead's OK Computer to In Rainbows. In Rainbows is awful. OK Computer actually sounds pretty good.
edit3: actually, I can't believe I'd be saying this...I feel like the K702 have maybe a little too much bass (though that could very well be my Maverick Audio biasing things...). I guess that means I'm ready for Stax.
Not sure this is an equipment issue...
For what it's worth, I don't think I could A/B WASAPI vs. DirectSound either. I use WASAPI anyways, because, well, why not?
edit: still listening plenty to my new K702s. Man, these things are very, very recording dependent. They're not going to do poorly mastered recordings any favors. And shit, I'm reevaluating my position on the bass yet again...if you're playing material that is demanding bass, the K702 will give it to you. Electronic music sounds surprisingly fantastic on these. These headphones are quite nimble.
edit2: case in point, compare Radiohead's OK Computer to In Rainbows. In Rainbows is awful. OK Computer actually sounds pretty good.
edit3: actually, I can't believe I'd be saying this...I feel like the K702 have maybe a little too much bass (though that could very well be my Maverick Audio biasing things...). I guess that means I'm ready for Stax.
You might as well cop a pair of Stax off the used market when you're ready so you have the ability to sell them for around what you paid if you find out that you end up not liking them. The only thing about Stax is I hear the amping can get expensive.
For what it's worth, I don't think I could A/B WASAPI vs. DirectSound either. I use WASAPI anyways, because, well, why not?
edit: still listening plenty to my new K702s. Man, these things are very, very recording dependent. They're not going to do poorly mastered recordings any favors. And shit, I'm reevaluating my position on the bass yet again...if you're playing material that is demanding bass, the K702 will give it to you. Electronic music sounds surprisingly fantastic on these. These headphones are quite nimble.
edit2: case in point, compare Radiohead's OK Computer to In Rainbows. In Rainbows is awful. OK Computer actually sounds pretty good.
edit3: actually, I can't believe I'd be saying this...I feel like the K702 have maybe a little too much bass (though that could very well be my Maverick Audio biasing things...). I guess that means I'm ready for Stax.
You've lost your mind.
Unless the K702 is incredibly different than the K701. I've never heard the K702, but I'm pretty sure it's basically identical.
Try ASIO or KernalStreaming via foobar. The difference is quite noticeable compared to DirectSound in my experience.
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