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RIP hifiman re0 (yes i am aware this is a full headphone thread)...sorry its long

post #1 of 21
8/17/10 at 4:30pm
Thread Starter 

*excuse me. I'm not very fond my writing skills...*

 

It was yesterday afternoon. I was bumming around at a nearby mall, enjoying the last week of summer before I go off to college. So there I was, getting overly excited about the 6$ shirts and 7.97$ jeans (clearance section) at old navy. I thought I was having a great day finding these sale items until the catastrophic event happened....oh yea, its that tragic to me.
 

Anyways, I was standing the the cashier and my phone vibrates. Oh this is exciting, I got a text from a friend! so I reached into my pocket to pull out my phone. And yes, my re0 wrapped around my sony a818 was in the same pocket,too. When I took out the phone, my sony + re0 dropped on the gray dull-looking concrete ground...initial thought was "oh well, I'm a fairly short person, that won't break anything"... Calmly, I picked it up and moved along to purchase my merchandise.

 

So I walked out from the store and I proceeded to my "bumming around". My ears were hungry thus I whipped out my re0 and shoved it in to feed my auditory nerves some yummy-ness...then I noticed something weird. my right ear wasn't getting its so called "food". That's I noticed my right earbud wasn't working. I was shocked. Really. It was working perfectly fine an hour ago! Maybe that drop broke my re0?  No way! I dropped it couple of times before but it still did it's job flawlessly...

 

I went back home and tried everything I can do to fix it. I changed the filters, cleaned it, etc. However, nothing seemed to work. I was reluctant to believe my re0 was broken, but yes, it's officially gone.

 

*sigh*

 

...

 

My birthday is coming soon. Well it's in october, but that's soon enough for me. I guess time goes by pretty fast when u are running around in college ,i.e, being productive. Therefore, I was doing some research since last month to upgrade my grado sr60i. I am looking at ultrasone 2500, akg 701, senn HD 595. Don't get me wrong, i love my grados but some days it can be very fatiguing. For example: Classical music sounds too "upbeat". I don't want my "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis by Ralph Vaughn Williams" sounding too in your face; thus, I use my re0.

 

Now, why exactly I mentioned re0?

I don't know. I'm still shocked that it broke; thus, I ranted here...

Anyways...

 

I'm looking for a full size headphone that sounds close to the re0 [clarity wise] but with a bit more bass body. I do love clean-airy trebles but sometimes warmness is acceptable. I did my research and am aware of the search button.

 

to make it short,

  • ultrasone 2500 seems to be very good with techno and have an interesting sound signature.
  • akg 701 have a very flat freq thus makes sound real as possible,
  • senn hd 595 is warm, I guess typical senn quality haha.
  • shure srh 440 sounds like re0  according to a person in this place...I apologize i don't remember who.

 

 

If you guys are curious, these are the genres of music I listen to:

70's stuff,  electronica, classical, indies, something very happy, house, elevator music, bit of rock, alternatives...etc.

 

Thank for reading! Comments are welcome!

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Shure SRH 440 Professional Studio Headphones (Black)
Sennheiser HD 595 Headphones
Ultrasone PRO 2500 S-Logic Surround Sound Professional Headphones
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post #2 of 21
8/17/10 at 4:43pm

Hmm, I'm sorry about your RE0. That really shouldn't of broke them, but accidents do happen.

 

Anyway, just curious, are you going to use an amp for any of these headphones?

 

If not, DO NOT get the K701 (I learned this the hard way). That's all the advice I can give you.

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post #3 of 21
8/17/10 at 4:47pm

go for the K701's  best bang for your buck!

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post #4 of 21
8/17/10 at 5:36pm
Thread Starter 

Katun, I have the nuforce mobile icon... I am not too familiar with amps but would that be strong enough to power akg 701?

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post #5 of 21
8/17/10 at 5:50pm

I've been researching this for a while too. Some say the Sony SA-3000. Some say the dt 880 with a tube amp. Some say the k601/k701 with an amp. If all fails, get a complementary phone, instead of an identical phone. I bought a grado sr 225 to complement my RE0 and both sound great.  

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post #6 of 21
8/17/10 at 6:17pm
Thread Starter 

Zero:

Before my re0 broke, I had my eyes on sr 225. However, my re0 is broken thus I have nothing to complement my grado. In addition, my Grado was used once in a blue moon. Since I don't believe I am a grado person, my plan was to buy something out of it's range. (I am sorry Grado fans!)

 

Also, I was looking at DT 880 but my research convinced me ultrasone is a favorable sound for me.

 

Thanks, buddy!

 

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post #7 of 21
8/17/10 at 7:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mmss939 View Post

Katun, I have the nuforce mobile icon... I am not too familiar with amps but would that be strong enough to power akg 701?


As far as I know, that wouldn't work too well. You will get volume, but that's about it. Then again, I have not tried that combo.

 

K701 is best paired with an expensive desktop type amp, one that costs $300 and up, such as the HeadRoom Micro.

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post #8 of 21
8/17/10 at 9:57pm
Thread Starter 


 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Katun View Post


As far as I know, that wouldn't work too well. You will get volume, but that's about it. Then again, I have not tried that combo.

 

K701 is best paired with an expensive desktop type amp, one that costs $300 and up, such as the HeadRoom Micro.

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/370729/promising-new-portable-headphone-amp-mobile-icon-from-nuforce

 

apparently mobile icon does a good job with akg 701

but then again, that's from one person's opinion...

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post #9 of 21
8/17/10 at 10:03pm

I can't speak for certain, but in my experience, the k701/2 is a real pain in the butt to drive...I can't imagine a nuforce icon mobile really being able to do much with it.  I absolutely loved my RE0s before they gave way to RE-zeroes, and now Livewires TRIPS; they're absolutely my kind of sound signature.  If you want that same clear, neutral, detailed sound only with better bass extension in a full-size can that you mobile will be able to power no problem, check out the Fischer FA-003s.  They are my absolute favorite closed can, and probably the closest to the RE0 sound signature I've heard in a full-sized headphone unamped.  I use them for tracking all the time, and often times I'll end up reaching for them over big boys like my SR325is or HD-650s even just for personal listening.  Really awesome phones.

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post #10 of 21
8/18/10 at 4:43am

Consider the PRO2900 or AD2000.

 

For something like the re0, maybe a reverse modded ms1.


Edited by Nachash - 8/18/10 at 4:44am
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post #11 of 21
8/18/10 at 7:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mmss939 View Post

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/370729/promising-new-portable-headphone-amp-mobile-icon-from-nuforce

 

apparently mobile icon does a good job with akg 701

but then again, that's from one person's opinion...

 

Of course it will work with it, but it just makes the volume louder. You want an amp that actually 'improves' the SQ, by improving separation, tonality, and clarity.

 

Well, he said he would place it a bit higher than the Total Airhead. I've read that the Total Airhead does nothing to the K701's sound, just makes it louder. So the Nuforce amp most likely doesn't make to much of an improvement. Besides, I can run my K701 straight off my MP3 player, so I don't need more 'volume' anyway.

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post #12 of 21
8/18/10 at 8:36am
Thread Starter 

dev avidon:

I would take a look on the fa-003. Fischer Audio seems pretty interesting . I had my eyes on the eterena before the re0.

 

Katun:

Hmm, I read that TBH or TAH is compatible with the akg 701s. source

If people say nuforce mobile icon is just as good as TBH, then logic tells me akg can be compatible with the 701s...
But I trust you.

 

 

If you and Dev say it's a pain in the butt to drive, I'll reconsider it. I am not planning to buy any amps anytime soon. I'm content  with my nuforce.

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post #13 of 21
8/18/10 at 8:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mmss939 View Post

Katun:

Hmm, I read that TBH or TAH is compatible with the akg 701s. source

If people say nuforce mobile icon is just as good as TBH, then logic tells me akg can be compatible with the 701s...
But I trust you.


The thing is, it does work. Both of those *will* drive the K701, but not to a level that makes the K701, the K701.

 

It may improve SQ a little, and give you a bit more volume (so you can turn down your source), but nothing spectacular.

 

The K701 really needs a $300+ amp to really sound like it should. Until then, you would be better of with the AD700 if you wanted to hear the K701's sound with no, or minimal amp.

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post #14 of 21
8/18/10 at 9:00am
Thread Starter 

Ahh, now I understand!

Thanks for clarifying!

I always thought you had some sort of grudge against the k701 because it felt like you didn't want me to buy it. Haha

 

Appreciate your advice!

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post #15 of 21
8/18/10 at 9:12am

Grudge? Well, not quite. I owned them for a week before getting rid of them this morning. I was doing many AB comparisons between them and my AD700 straight from my MP3. I found that they sounded almost exactly the same without a *good/expensive* amp. And the comfort of the AD700 was far superior, so I was a little befuddled.

 

So I asked myself, "Why and the heck do I have a $250 pair of headphones, if they sound the same as my $90 ones?" And that's why they're gone (took them away about 1/2 hour ago).

 

Just remember in all headphone purchases. For "more expensive" headphones, the headphone price alone is NOT all you will be paying. Because you have to make room for an amp (that usually costs as much, or more than the headphone) to unlock "the price" of the headphones. You won't be getting no where near the sound you payed for unless you shell out enough money to get an amp.

 

...and that is the exact reason my K701's are gone, because I don't want an amp. So my search for my next headphone continues..

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Shure SRH 440 Professional Studio Headphones (Black)
Sennheiser HD 595 Headphones
Ultrasone PRO 2500 S-Logic Surround Sound Professional Headphones
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Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › RIP hifiman re0 (yes i am aware this is a full headphone thread)...sorry its long