Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › Biggest Listening Surprise After Doing Homework Here?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Biggest Listening Surprise After Doing Homework Here?

post #1 of 25
8/23/07 at 7:05pm
Thread Starter 
You'd think afer reading dozens or even hundreds of posts on a headphone or IEM you are interested in, that you would have a pretty good idea of what it will sound like...but that's not always the case. For me.......

Super Fi Pros: I had no idea how clear and crisp they sounded. But I never heard them described that way.
Reply
post #2 of 25
8/23/07 at 7:09pm
For me..the Grado SR225s was a big disappointment. They don't do as great for rock as it is made out to be on the forum. My HD580s do a fair job. The bass was the biggest disappointment of all. Hardly any extension. Coming to this from a Senn is very difficult to overlook.
Reply
post #3 of 25
8/23/07 at 8:40pm
Old PCDPs used as optical transports can sound really good.
A well designed c-moy can sound great.
I don't enjoy bass-heavy headphones much.
An HD580 played loud enough on the right amp can rock out as much as a Grado.
Reply
post #4 of 25
8/23/07 at 8:48pm
For me its the corda move. I know its not a headphone, but I think Meier's Corda move is the best purchase dollar for dollar that I've made. It's reasonably priced and I think it sounds better in many cases than amps I have that cost more than twice the price!

As far as headphones go.......the UE10s are my reference.
I've been talking headphones with you for years. Now I can help you with your purchase:) Sales Specialist & Headphone Guru @ Headphones.com
Reply
post #5 of 25
8/23/07 at 9:01pm
I was disappointed with the MS2i, expecting it to be the be-all, end-all of rock headphones. My HD650 do just fine.

My biggest surprise was with how amazingly good the ER4 sounds, my expectation was that all IEMs more or less sound alike and I was just blown away by how much better the ER4 sounded compared to my E3c.

I didn't hear a difference between the Audigy2ZS and the M-audio Transit, I expected at least an audible difference after following dozens of threads dicussing the importance of bit-perfectness (Audigy reclocks to 48khz).

I was surprised that the LDII++ sounds less involving than the LDII+, I expected a clear improvement and it wasn't.

I was disappointed with all thing Grado so far (SR60,125,225,325i,MS2i). I just don't see why there's such emphasis on their rock abilities while their lack of soundstage bothers me constantly.

I was surprised at how different the HD600 sounded compared to the HD650. Some on this forum have reported that they sound similar (which, in audiophile vocab, means almost indisguinshable), while I am confident to pick them out everytime in an ABX.

Wine. I tried listening while slightly intoxicated as some here have recommended. Overrated, I tell ya.
Reply
post #6 of 25
8/23/07 at 9:04pm
That there are so many flavors in the headphone world, and that a headphone amp existed, and could make such a dramatic difference.
Reply
post #7 of 25
8/23/07 at 9:04pm
My biggest surprise ever was how different the HD650s sounded from the descriptions that were given me. Based on what I had heard and what people had told me, I was sure it was going to be a very slow and dark headphone. Boy was I surprised when I found it is wasn't slow or dark at all, but very snappy and quite neutral.
Reply
post #8 of 25
8/23/07 at 9:12pm
The biggest surprise was how bad headphones can sound when people tell you the flaws. Before I did my "homework", I never really noticed the treble roll off in my E500s, since all I really cared about was how well they do instrument separation, soundstage and bass. Now after selling them and looking back at another E500 I came across not too long ago, I almost felt like "gee, why didn't I notice this back then."
Reply
post #9 of 25
8/23/07 at 9:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Assorted View Post
The biggest surprise was how bad headphones can sound when people tell you the flaws. Before I did my "homework", I never really noticed the treble roll off in my E500s, since all I really cared about was how well they do instrument separation, soundstage and bass. Now after selling them and looking back at another E500 I came across not too long ago, I almost felt like "gee, why didn't I notice this back then."
I second that. I was happy with them until reading here about the roll-off and starting noticing it. Bugger.
Reply
post #10 of 25
8/23/07 at 9:29pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Assorted View Post
The biggest surprise was how bad headphones can sound when people tell you the flaws.
Good point....so true. Kind of like if no one told you there was a "better" sound or if you never heard anything better you can really convince yourself that you have the best that you'll ever need.

But I must admit I found the E4 and E500 description pretty dead on. Yes, I was delighted to get them and hear them but all of the praise seemed accurate. Perhaps the Shure sound is just easy to describe (in addition to saying "rolled off highs").
Reply
post #11 of 25
8/23/07 at 9:39pm
Grados are the biggest disappointment. They give me a headache. My little dot 2+ kept arching in one tube and almost shocked me, emailed them and they sent me replacement tubes. Put them in, good for awhile, then BAM both arched. Terrible stuff. They had really good synergy with my SA3000s though. Made Led Zeppelin sound amazing.
Reply
post #12 of 25
8/23/07 at 9:48pm
^ so are you disappointed with the grados or the ld2+?!
Reply
post #13 of 25
8/23/07 at 9:49pm
Both.
Reply
post #14 of 25
8/23/07 at 10:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kramer5150 View Post
I don't enjoy bass-heavy headphones much.
An HD580 played loud enough on the right amp can rock out as much as a Grado.
Absolutely! I've been known to drag out my HD600 for classical rock, and set the MS-1 and MS2i aside a number of times!

I dunno where this myth got started of the Senns being a non-rock phone. But they sure can!
Reply
post #15 of 25
8/23/07 at 10:07pm
My biggest surprise is how little difference amps make on easy to drive headphones. I haven't heard an amp that makes my UM1 or im716 sound better than the headphone out of my iPod. Most just drive the volume too loud with just a nudge of the pot. I think most people just listen louder with an amp and they think it sounds better. I know that was my experience with my first amp. When I matched volumes there was no real improvement. Of course, quite a few headphones need a more powerful amp than the iPod. I'm not talking about them.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Headphones (full-size)
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › Biggest Listening Surprise After Doing Homework Here?