[wallijonn]

AKG K501
To some these headphones lack bass. Connected to my Crown D60, which has a high damping factor, and a very low output impednace, the bass is much livelier and extends nicely. It is analytical in nature, with very little colouration, somewhat lacking in detail and transient reponse, but with very little high end harshness, possessing no midrange forwardness, nor lower bass bloat. An overall excellent headphone. As with any set of headphones, maximum transparency and detail can be acheived through class A amplification. Very comfortable, though some may find the earpads a little too coarse. Jazz and Classical seem to be their strong suites. High impedance.


Beyer Dynamic DT831
Another set of headphones which some say is bass lacking. The same stipulation applies here. They are very highly refined, possessing a very sweet sound, good transient response, good detail, good decay, and an overall even midrange. Some say that these can be bright. Their overall character is on the bright side. Instead of being midrange forward, where just the midrange is amplified, these seem to bring every nuance of the music out, thereby giving a very detailed sound. They are very sensitive to source matching and will greatly amplify bright sources. These are some of the easiest headphones to compare other headphones to as they allow the almost instantaneous minute differences to be differentiated. The earpads are not as comfortable as the AKG K501, being just slightly smaller than the AKG K501. Their strong suite seems to be vocals, country music, folk, bluegrass, violins, guitars, banjos, and pianos. High impedance.


Grado SR80
Very bright, forward sounding headphones. As is typical of all Grados their short comings are the pads which are abrasive, and the transducer which touches your ear. These are easily driven. The headband is mediocre, failing to apply an even lateral pressure at the ear cup end. Their strong suite seems to be rock and disco, along with vocals. They possess excellent transient response and decay. Can be sibilant with the wrong sources. Mate with dark sounding sources for an even sound. Be very careful mating to PCDPs. Low impedance.


Philips HP-910
The Philips SBC HP910 bass seems a little more bloated (compared to the DT831) but has very good extention. The DT831 sounds more refined, clearer, with strings sounding more "alive". Transient response was really good. But compared to the DT831, it sounded "veiled". It definitely has it's own colouration. It's nothing that one can not get used too. If you are into bells, triangles, etc. these will impress. They have excellent decay. The midrange seems recessed by no more than 0.3 dB (it sounds reasonably flat, with a slight peak at about 2KHz), not overly forward sounding. The bass will take a little taking used to. At times it seems to appear out of nowhere, depending on the recording. Poorly recorded music may sound bass mushy, approaching resonance bloat.

Through the Corda HA-1, with slight crossfeed, they produced very good sound, throwing the soundstage from "in the middle of your head" to a more spacious and lush soundstage.

You have to get the right amp for it. Has a great amount of bass and treble at low levels. It sounds good from an I-Pod. You should be able to detect different "grades" of bass response according to different volumes. It is easy enough to find the "sweet spot" where it sounds best at a certain volume level. Definitely to a bass head's liking. Their strengths seem to be rock, techno, eurodance, and disco, though classical pieces which contain oboes, kettle drums, triangles and bells will please. Flutes should sound outstanding on these headphones, as well as clarinets, and most wind and bell instruments. As these headphones are on the bright side, do not mate to bright sounding sources. Apex dvd players need not apply. Discreet transistors make them sound best, with tubes negating some of the high end energy. They have "eggo" ear pieces which are formed to follow the contour of the ear. They are very tight fitting, and, as most "eggo" headphones, ear comfort may conflict with optimum transducer placement. Those that can not afford a Sennheiser HD590 may wish to audition these and buy on a temporary basis. Grado owners may also find their sound acceptable. Low impedance.