Recommendations for Best headphones on the market (new and old)

[bkelly]

Dreamslacker,

One of the reasons I brought up the possibility of them needing breaking in was because I have heard that the 590's actually sound a lot like the 570's and since you seem to like the 570's it seemed likely that you would like the 590's.

Lodo,

I disagree with that often repeated claim that the 600's are best suited for classical musicc. I think because of their slightly tame and somewhat sophisticated nature people always assume they may be better for "softer" more "sohpisticated" music (I realize that not all classical is music is "soft" and "sophisticated"). However, I think that just compounds the problem. I do just the opposite. If the music is too aggressive I listen to it with the 600's and if it it too tame I use the 590's. The one exception to this is that I'd rather hear more complex electronic music on the 590's just becuase of the detail and ultra sterophonic nature of that kind of music but other than that the above formula works most of the time. I have said elsewhere that even though these phones are sonically from the same family there is enough difference between them to merit owning both.

I should say that the 600 seems to grow on people more than any other headphone that I am aware of. When I first heard them I thought they were really very over-rated but after owning them for about a six weeks and listening to them while the 590's went back to Sennheiser for repair I came away with a different attitude about them. There are still not my absolute favorite but I do genuinely like them and can't imagine the day when I won't have them around.

So, that should give you something to think about before you make your next move.

Oh, by the way, none of this stuff is perfect and there is a lots to be said for the symmetry between the phones, cables, sources and amplifiers.

I hope that helps.





Best
Brian

[lodo]

Brian--If ya get a chance, my last post is under Senn's Pads. I finally took mine off, and gave a prelimenary opinion. I should also add to what I said in the other thread, that I think taking the pads off shrunk the soundstage perfectly which I feel is good for rock.

[LTUCCI1924]

Audio-Technica ATH-A100Ti Limited Edition Art Headphone
These cans are a real work of art. They are 53 mm drivers. They are 38 ohms. Out of my Max Out META42 they have immense energy. They are very quick and are very natural sounding. The highs just go till they are played out. No roll off. The mids are in your face like you are on the stage. The bass is not over done but very natural sounding. The entire sound is overall very natural and pleasant and a real WOW factor. No cable upgrade needed and no modes to do to the cans. They are very conferable and put a spark or life into the music.

[ai0tron]

HD600

My favorite headphone, it is smooth, accurate, and enjoyable. The bass is solid down to 40 hz as far as I can tell and the treble is extended and controlled out to 18,000 hz, what it does beyond either of those extremes I cannot hear well.

I think these headphones sound the best with piano and VERY well recorded stringed instruments. I am not so impressed with their rendition of symphonic pieces, they tend to sound just a little small, but it may be the nature of the headphone soundstage that creates most of that effect. With the solo piano however there is IMO not a single headphone that can touch what this headphone will do, crisp yet softly beautiful, ethereal but unflinching. Chopin's Grand Pollonaise is delicate, and meaningful. His preludes soar as easily as they come to a tender rest. The decay of the notes is magical, there is a sensation of life to each note, and that translates into a sensation of reality, a striking reality that is sometimes hypnotically beautiful. For strings, they do tend to overemphasize bad recordings. Violins sound the best descending down to cellos. My favorite instrument is the cello and it sounds fantastic with the headphones but sometimes they do get a little strained when the musician really digs in and plays aggressively.

Female vocals are also an incredible strength of these headphones. Eva Cassidy's carefully intoned voice caresses in a way that is more than just real, it's like she is transported into your room, into your bed, lying there with you as she sings intimately in your ear. The nature of a soft exhale, the sound of air in the throat, the sound of the lungs, its all there, but its there in a way that shimmers. Every aspect of the process which results in a voice, from the exhalation of air, to the flitting tongue, is reproduced in a way that combines to create a sound that is more than just a bunch of details.

For electronic music these are also excellent, but you start to see places where these cans fall somewhat short. They are fantastic for rendering complex electronica or anything with a heavy beat. But when you get into the grunge of a TB 303 the sound is just a little to clean, it's like the headphones take away a little bit of the musical noise that made the 303 such a fantastic instrument.

For rock these vary between great and bad. Rock recordings are often equalized very weirdly and the HD600's can reveal this unforgivingly. Also, the grunge of the guitars often is just too smooth. For an indie-rock group like pavement however, the sound is near perfect, the vocals sit up front and are finely detailed, the drums pop with authority, and the guitars which are not too grungy sound full bodied... But still, there is a certain "jive" which is missing.

These are also great for ambient music. Anything with slowly rising and falling synths will be portrayed very well. If an ambient synth had a voice in the natural world, like the sound of wind, it would be presented by these headphones with a scary realness.


In short, these headphones really excell with calm music, with slow moving music or fast music that has explicitly defined notes such as a synthesized bass line, or a drum solo, and with musical textures that are fine to very fine!! Heavy course textures such as what would be found in grunge rock tend to be smoothed out to much to be fully enjoyable.


These headphones are very revealing and will only shine their brightest with the best components. The most important things are in fact the source and the amp. It's a battle between those two, but I think the amp wins out in the case of the HD600's by a hair. They simply require alot of power for headphones. Not for high volume but for low volume listening where they can sound dynamically compressed if not properly powered!! This is very important, alot of people post about compressed sound, hashed highs, etc... With the proper amp this dissapears greatly! I have owned the Melos SHA-1 and I believe that even it lacks the power to fully drive the HD600 at very low volumes. People do not realize that these headphones will NOT sound great out of your soundcard or equivalent piece of **** amplifier, if you think they do you do NOT know what trully awesome sound is!


I also own the Cardas cable and can state with ease that it is not only an upgrade to the stock cable but to the Clou Red as well which I owned previously. It helps to give a faster more detailed bass response, somewhat deeper bass, and less of a midbass hump. It also gives a fuller sound to the midrange and a more extended less hashed sounding high end. Improvements across the board IMO.

[AIM9x]

This one's easy for me. Etymotics ER-4S (I have P with adapter cable, but I never use them w/o the 4P-4S adapter) and KSC-35s. I got the KSCs for 35 dollars and I have used them more than any headphones I've ever owned (haven't even had them a year yet). I could go for a nice pair of closed phones (etys drown out too much noise in most practical situations), but I am severely low on funds right now. I had a pair of V6s last year that I sold on this board. They suited me well (although a little bright).

[zoboomofo]

My opinion echoes carlo's and Kryogen's regarding the Grado SR-125 headphones. I can only afford the 125s (or that's what my bank statement tells me.) The sound is immensely enjoyable out of its compliment: the 47 amp - warm, and bright at the same time. They can be occasionally painful on cymbals, but damn they rock! . Sure they sound a bit smeared on my system, but they're my preferred choice over the HD 580s in this price range. To contrast ai0tron's description of the Sennheiser HD600, these 125s are dirty, in a sweet perky kind of way - like Christina Aguillera. My favorite combo for listening to these on has been through the Arcam Alpha 9, and Naim Headline - killer attack, liquidy highs, and black spaces. Kirk Hammett has never sounded so good to me before. There was tremendous presence on this setup despite the Grados wearing flat pads; these make the phones more laid back. I do most of my listening to rock, and pop, so these phones suit them well. Classical and Jazz aren't so great. Timbres and spacial cues start to bother me lots with these 2 styles.

Bottom line = fun, intimate, and loud, but not as refined or as spacious as the Senns: the Grado SR-125 is a fantabulous bargain!

[Beagle]

Originally posted by zoboomofo
Bottom line = fun, intimate, and loud, but not as refined or as spacious as the Senns: the Grado SR-125 is a fantabulous bargain!

Yes, it certainly is. I have been using the 125 a lot lately and enjoying every minute of it. I am a full-time Grado person, for now. I sold my HD600 because they were ultimately too bulky, too laid back and boring. The Grados are much more detailed, transparent and dynamic.

Again, I make this statement after listening to sounds of real instruments playing in front of me, as opposed to comparing one headphone to another to measure levels of brightness etc. I'll use the Patricia Barber "Modern Cool" SCAD for reference.

So, it's kind of fun to listen for a while to the SR80, then hear an improvement going to the 125, more refinement going to the 225, and a 'big cozy room with great speaker sound' going to the RS-1.

My AKGK501? That's my 'big auditorium concert 'phone.

[LTUCCI1924]

Audio-Technica ATH-A1000 Limited Edition Art Headphone
Built amazingly and are artful looking and strong and great looking headphones. Headband is two arms on ball barring pivots with padding under them for great comfort. They put no pressure on the head but just rest on the side of the head. Ear cups are large and cover the entire ear and are very easy to ware for hours at a time.
The drivers are angled in the center right side of ear pad. Because of the angled drivers and large ear cups the sound stage is huge and full of great sound.
SOUND the highs are very high and no cut off but is not screech in any way. They just play out their length of sound.
MIDS are very strong and in your face like you are on the stage but very sweet and real.
LOWS Bass is always there but not in the way but when the bass is used in the song you will know it.
This is after a few hours of listening.
PINK FLOYD Another brick in the wall. There sounds like a hundred kids singing and they left the headphones and were out side of then.
FLEETWOOD MAC you can head her tambourine though out the song. The drums are awesome and the guitar is amazing.
YANNIE LIVE The orchestration is like you are the conductor and on the right is the flute and a little to the left is the clarinet in the middle is the drums and on the left is a violin a little to the right of it is the tuba and the piano is just there mostly on the right but goes to the middle and back.
KAREN CARPENTER Superstar smooth sweet and very clear with a bass guitar backing her up and then the mixes that her brother is know for. What a thing to hear for sheer beauty of music. This really shows off the mids.
NEIL YOUNG with CRAZY HORSE Cal girl in the sand. On the left rhythm guitar. In the middle drums. On the right lead guitar. It sounds like the three of them are trying to grab the lead position and be dominant over the other two. What a riff they get into. Awesome sound by great musicians.


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[SliPkNoT]

I would say the Sennheiser HD600s because a lot of people still think that they are the best dynamic headphones. Of course, we know that the Sony R10s are the best. I am still waiting to find a used pair myself.

[Chivalry]

well being relativly new to the world of headphones... i can only comment on the HD580 which i have,, but waiting for a maxed meta to be built to truly get the full benefit of them... but most suprisingly.. i recently bought a pair of KOSS Portapros.. and can honestly say with no amp and just plugged strait into my portable minidisc they sound amazing !... cmon.. lets hear it for the portapros!