Well, it’s about time I post my impressions.
First thanks to all of the movers and shakers who made this meet possible. Old Pa was a gracious co-host and were the members of the ASM. Tyll and the rest of the Headroom crew were full of life and very friendly--just as I knew they would be.
Anyway, onto the impressions. I set out for this meet planning to focus more on headphones and less on sources, amps or interconnects--so forgive me if I don’t mention them much. That said my favorite testing rig was most definitely the newly redesigned Headroom Max models with the Wadia CD player as the source (sorry, I can’t remember the model--I’m more of a computer source guy). This rig had the power and detail and slightly warm tonal character that I fell in love with almost instantly. Anyway, onto the phones. Please note, though, that of course all of these impressions are cursory--made, many times within a few minutes, usually without A/B comparisons and in rather noisy meet conditions. I reserve the right to retract anything I state here.
HD650: Almost everyone loves these phones but I still don’t care for them. I’ve owned them twice in the past and always found them too slow, bassy and warm. I thought the same here--plugged them into the balanced Max (via balanced Cardas cable) and had the same impression. The HD600s are just more my cup of tea--to my ears they a more airy sound with more balanced bass response without being too stuffy and laid back sounding. After plugging the HD600s into the Max it was an instant “that’s more like it” feeling. I’m finally convinced that the HD650s just aren’t for me--still with most people preferring them to the HD600s it probably won’t be long until I start doubting my impressions and want to try them again.
But, that said I don’t think the Cardas cable is an especially good mate for the HD650--I thought the same on my home rig and thought the same here (it‘s too warm, thick and laid back sounding--trait’s the HD650s already have too much of, to my ears). Actually I’ve never liked the Cardas cable’s sound much anyway. I just don’t like the tonal character of this cable (it’s like a warmish-neutral and always comes off as really false and unpleasant). Also to my ears the Cardas lacks definition--it’s a little blurry sounding. In many respects the Cardas is an improvement above the sound of the stock HD580/600 stock cable but I don’t like it’s sound compared to the stock HD650 cable nor the Equinox or Ohelbach. Which brings me to my next impressions.
HD595 with Cardas cable: I think the HD595 would sound absolutely gorgeous with an Oehlbach cable attached so I had high hopes for the Cardas here. Actually I think both cables sound somewhat similar--only with the Oehlbach preserving the naturally dark and warm character of Sennheisers and providing a lush, full bodied sound without blurring things over too much. Maybe, just maybe, I thought the Cardas cable would mate well with the HD595s but, alas, I was sorely disappointed. IMO the Cardas makes the HD595s sound worse than with their stock cable because it exacerbates their worst flaw and throws a kink into their key strength. To me what is so appealing about the HD595s is that they take the already pleasing conventional Sennheiser sound and remix it--making it a little lighter on its feet, faster and more upfront sounding--but, in exchange they loose a little of the refinement, detail and presence in the bass all of which are Senn trademarks. I think an Oehlbach paired with the HD595 would improve these traits while still keeping the lively character of the phones. But the Cardas made the lack of refinement of the HD595s even worse--leaving an overly blurry sound with only slightly more body than the stock cable. They also removed the liveliness of the HD595s--one of the key strengths of these phones. This is to say nothing of the tonal character of the Cardas, which as I mentioned above I just don’t like. Also the recessed highs of the HD595 were made even worse by the Cardas. Not a good pairing, IMO.
DT880 with Cardas: I liked this combination in the sense that the Cardas tamed the forward highs of these phones--in the high end they were very balanced and pleasant sounding. However in every other aspect I prefer the stock cable. Sorry, I’m just not a Cardas guy.
Sr325i (reversed bowls): Love at first listen! Lively, detailed and punchy with a deliciously warm tonal character. I find it funny that I loved these phones so much because I’m not much of a fan of the sr225--which sounds less detailed, lumpy across the frequency range and lacking in bass extension to me. But on the Headroom Max the sr325i were outstanding. Everything seemed pretty well in balance except they might have just a tinge too much bass, and the highs were ever so slightly forward for my taste. Still, I got to get me one of these in the near future.
MS2 (original version, reversed bowls): Very respectable and very different from the sr325i. The tonal character of the MS2 is much more neutral and has a slightly more balanced bass and highs. Yet, it seemed to lack an energy and punch compared to the sr325i that had nothing to do with their difference in frequency response--it sounded every so slightly laidback in comparison. I preferred the sr325i at the meet but I’m going to have to demo both of these phones at home for an extended period of time to know for sure which is my preference.
CD3000 vs. SA5000: These phones share the stock Sony tonal character (neutral, although sometime too sterile sounding depending on the synergy with the rest of the rig) but otherwise are very different from each other. While the CD3000 has an effortless, airy sound with a large soundstage and good separation the SA5000 has a very small soundstage with really bad separation (IMO, of course) and an overly dense sound--not nearly as airy and effortless as that of the CD3000. As for detail the SA5000 sounds more detailed and refined in the midrange (the CD3000 sounded decent here but a little blurry) while the CD3000 sounded much more detailed in the bass. They both sounded mediocre in treble detail--both a little overly forward and “splashy.” Overall I preferred the CD3000 at the meet for it’s more airy and even sound (the undetailed bass of the SA5000 really clashed with it’s hyper detailed mids) but I’d have to do more listening to really be certain. I also found the CD3000 to be more comfortable--a little lighter than the SA5000 and with much softer and more ergonomic pads. The CD3000 is also much easier to wear around your neck--the SA5000 is like a neck brace.
K1000: I listened to these with a Audio Valve RKV MKII as the amp, I forget what was the source. Although I didn’t spend enough time with them to form much of a worthy opinion (nor did I listen to them with my own music) I really wasn’t impressed (sorry Old Pa!). They definitely had a large soundstage, that’s for sure, but besides that they sounded very thin, peaky in the highs and very weak in the bass. Perhaps it was just the meet conditions since K1000s have a rep of not performing well at meets. Honestly I used to think such a thing was a load of bull but now I understand why some feel this way. Since the K1000 do not sit on your ears they do not create a seal which can help keep their own sound energy in and external sound energy out. Even most conventional open phones do a good job of drowning out external sounds while playing music, but not the K1000. I could still hear everyone talking while the music was playing. I now understand why many say you need absolute quite to really appreciate the K1000s. Because of this I don’t think my opinions hold much water--I need to try them in a quite room for awhile to hear what they are really capable of. Still, because of this I don’t think the K1000s would every be my cup of tea since drowning out the sounds of the world (and roommates!) are one of the major reasons I like headphones so much.
