Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › SA5000 vs. K701 vs. others
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

SA5000 vs. K701 vs. others - Page 3

post #31 of 39
1/30/10 at 11:08pm
I owned K701, DT880 and still have SA5000.


First of all, ditch K701. The sibilance and wearting comfort is simply no acceptable.

DT880 250ohm 2005 edition is very good, except a little too light on bass impact.

SA5000 -- best of the bunch. I have two of them with one modded heavily. It is my day in day out default can to go to. Awesome in every aspects. Bettered my HD800 in bass impact but less soundstage and a tad bit of transparency.


Conclusion: go with SA5000.




EDIT:

That is, IMHO, a tall order since SA5000 has been competing with HE90, HE60, Omega II, R10, L3000, HD800, PS-1, PS-1000, W5000, AD2000, K701, HD650, HD600, DT880, DT990, RS-1, ......... cans that I've owned or still own.
Reply
post #32 of 39
1/31/10 at 12:14am
I think we have concluded it is SA5000 vs DT880 now This all depends on your tastes, you want a brighter phone, SA5000. With the Beyerdyamic, try getting the 600ohm model if you can't get the older one that bubba mentioned.
Reply
post #33 of 39
1/31/10 at 1:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ast View Post
I owned K701, DT880 and still have SA5000.


First of all, ditch K701. The sibilance and wearting comfort is simply no acceptable.

DT880 250ohm 2005 edition is very good, except a little too light on bass impact.

SA5000 -- best of the bunch. I have two of them with one modded heavily. It is my day in day out default can to go to. Awesome in every aspects. Bettered my HD800 in bass impact but less soundstage and a tad bit of transparency.


Conclusion: go with SA5000.




EDIT:

That is, IMHO, a tall order since SA5000 has been competing with HE90, HE60, Omega II, R10, L3000, HD800, PS-1, PS-1000, W5000, AD2000, K701, HD650, HD600, DT880, DT990, RS-1, ......... cans that I've owned or still own.
The SA5000 are great headphones.. I still regret selling them at times, but the DT48 betters them in most areas, & the SA5000 were getting less & less air time..
Reply
post #34 of 39
1/31/10 at 3:10am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by stang View Post
I think we have concluded it is SA5000 vs DT880 now This all depends on your tastes, you want a brighter phone, SA5000. With the Beyerdyamic, try getting the 600ohm model if you can't get the older one that bubba mentioned.
I'm very surprised my old thread was resurrected... Nonetheless, I decided on the DT880, basically because I was impatient and only had enough money at the moment to buy them. I wrote a short review, it's here.

I'm starting to wonder if I should return my Beyers and get the SA5k... While they're a very good set of cans, I'm starting feel some buyers (no pun intended) regret because they don't seem to have the same speed, detail, and ultimately, transparency that I imagined them having in comparison to the sound I remember coming from the SA5k. Should I? It would be a pity to waste money on something that I might not have gotten the best bang for.
Reply
post #35 of 39
1/31/10 at 3:23am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ast View Post
I owned K701, DT880 and still have SA5000.


First of all, ditch K701. The sibilance and wearting comfort is simply no acceptable.

DT880 250ohm 2005 edition is very good, except a little too light on bass impact.

SA5000 -- best of the bunch. I have two of them with one modded heavily. It is my day in day out default can to go to. Awesome in every aspects. Bettered my HD800 in bass impact but less soundstage and a tad bit of transparency.


Conclusion: go with SA5000.




EDIT:

That is, IMHO, a tall order since SA5000 has been competing with HE90, HE60, Omega II, R10, L3000, HD800, PS-1, PS-1000, W5000, AD2000, K701, HD650, HD600, DT880, DT990, RS-1, ......... cans that I've owned or still own.
What exactly did you mod on yours?



Btw, you're a very lucky person to own the R10. As idiotic as it sounds, does the SA5k compare at all?
Reply
post #36 of 39
2/2/10 at 2:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by clarinetman View Post
I'm very surprised my old thread was resurrected... Nonetheless, I decided on the DT880, basically because I was impatient and only had enough money at the moment to buy them. I wrote a short review, it's here.

I'm starting to wonder if I should return my Beyers and get the SA5k... While they're a very good set of cans, I'm starting feel some buyers (no pun intended) regret because they don't seem to have the same speed, detail, and ultimately, transparency that I imagined them having in comparison to the sound I remember coming from the SA5k. Should I? It would be a pity to waste money on something that I might not have gotten the best bang for.

Don't do it man. I was in your exact boat 6 months ago and fretted over the fact that I just had to buy the SA5000 to get the last word in speed, detail and transparency. My DT880 just wasn't good enough they said.

Long story short, the speed, detail and clarity of the SA5000 is overrated compared to even the 250ohm DT880 (not that I even think there's much diff). While the SA5000 is a spec cleaner and clearer, it's because of the de-masked bass and mids. The whole presentation is thinned out on the SA5000 because of the bowl shaped mid-range / flat bass and hence everything comes out a bit clearer sounding. I wouldn't call it faster though, the DT880 is plenty fast on it's own and I disagree with those who call it slow....maybe through a tube amp it is.

FWIW, if I had to pick one to bring with me to a deserted island with my electronica collection it would be the DT880.
Reply
post #37 of 39
2/2/10 at 3:02am
Speed, detail, clarity is not over rated. Many experienced head fiers agree, that the SA5000 is extremly fast. When it comes to the DT880 speed, you get mixed views. Some call the SA5000 speed electrostat like or comparable to the HD800. I never heard any praise like that concerning the DT880. Detail is close though. I just know I favor headphones that are fast, very detailed with great clarity. I sold the DT880 and kept the SA5000.
Reply
post #38 of 39
2/2/10 at 3:32am
I too sold my DT880s and kept my SA5Ks - I think more people should try the Sonys... I never found them to be harsh/dry/bass-shy - they're just a blast. The soundstage is not wide like the K701 or DT880 and I wouldn't call them lush but they are very engaging. I have a set of ATH-AD2000s on the way and I hope they share the good qualities of the Sonys...
Reply
post #39 of 39
2/2/10 at 9:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kool bubba ice View Post
Speed, detail, clarity is not over rated. Many experienced head fiers agree, that the SA5000 is extremly fast. When it comes to the DT880 speed, you get mixed views. Some call the SA5000 speed electrostat like or comparable to the HD800. I never heard any praise like that concerning the DT880. Detail is close though. I just know I favor headphones that are fast, very detailed with great clarity. I sold the DT880 and kept the SA5000.
Well, to the original OP: I guess you'll just have to buy both like I did - only way to be satisfied.....SORRY about your WALLET!

I personally don't think that we have the physical sensory capacity to hear whether a headphone is slow or fast from a purely technical standpoint. How we can hear the difference between 0.5msec and 2msec settle times after a transient is beyond me - especially during complex passages. In fact many "slow" headphones / speakers have terrific waterfall plots and vice versa. But then again, I'm one of those "objective" guys.

I stand by my theory that what we interpret as "fast" in the purely sonic sense isn't necessarily consistent with its actual / measurable capabilities. A warm bass response / mid response often provides a syrupy thickness that obscures complex passages, but when I A/B the SA5k with the DT880 on quick passages (I listen to ALOT of high bpm music and glitchy stuff), there's virtually no difference in the stacatto-esque nature between the 2 heaphones. Just my opinion, and in my setup.

Are rich and warm headphones ever interepreted as fast? Rarely.
Are thin, bass-light (relatively) headphones ever interpreted as fast? Usually.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Headphones (full-size)
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › SA5000 vs. K701 vs. others