Most overrated headphones? - Page 5

While it's not overrated by real audio enthusiasts, I made the mistake of purchasing Bose QuietComfort 2 headphones about 6 years ago.  What a waste of 300 dollars!  A lot of reviewers gave the impression that they sounded wonderful and that they were actually good at cancelling out noises (hence my mentioning them in the overrated thread).  A $40 pair of Sony headphones I had sounded better and the noise cancellation was no better than what I could get in a set of closed cans.  I want to talk myself out of purchasing them back then, but it's just too late for that.  I guess a late conversion is better than no conversion though.  I've seen the light, and it's coming from Audio Technica!

£20 Phones are not going to be for audiophiles...thats what £600 big jumbo german phones are for, PortaPro's are fun, cheap and light...I think I'm a bit deaf because I really Iove how they sound..esp when amped, they go pretty loud too compared some of my other portables (ahh thats why i'm deaf!).

 

I can see how the PortaPro's are overrated though, as too the ATH-M50...as which I have now changed my mind...the M50 is overrated - not so much on how good they are, just every thread asking for a good bassy phone has someone recommending them...I was looking for a shower cap the other day and someone recommended them..

Yeah I agree 100%. Funny though I think besides detail and clarity to me the bass is the best part of the Koss PP - but I can't help but think that if I like the Koss PP this much, I cannot even begin to imagine how good the £100 and above headphones sound nor how delighted I'll be with say any of the Beyer headphones for example. Or if I'll think the £100 and above headphones are overpriced for what you get compared to £20 in favor of the Koss. Are they really so much better ? If so I can only imagine. And if that's the case I'd gladly pay the price of admission. 

 

 

Quote:

Wow there seems to be a lot of Sennheiser hate. I just wanted to post to say that just because you don't like the sound sig of headphones doesn't mean they aren't excellent. I love the HD 650s. Of course many people think Sennhesiers have very good SQ - because they do.

 

I hope to get a chance to try some Grados and Audio-Technicas in the future, but I've read so many weird things about AKGs I don't want to bother with them.

Yeah, it wasn't a response to my post at all, right.  No worries, I fixed the problem.  Can't misinterpret what you can't see.

Edited by Anaxilus - 8/31/10 at 12:46pm

Well, I don't think you can say that about their entire line.  The HD25 is a departure from their house sound to a degree.  I don't think its inaccurate to say you find a proportion of Sennheisers line to be overrated.  Same could be said for many others manufacturers.  Sennheiser and Shure certainly have a reputation to preserve and I don't think many of their models do that.

koss portapro

My point is though to me, they're not even worth the price that they're given.  Sure there are plenty of headphone that are worse for more money but to me the PortaPros aren't worth anything.  I wouldn't pay a single dollar for them the 2nd time around because to me there's no detail in those headphones.  Just bloated, muddy bass.  

 

Of course I'm not comparing their sound quality to my HD600s or JH13s but I'd rather take an Apple earbud over the PortaPros.  It could just be my preference or I have a faulty pair but they're terrible.

I completely agree!  
 

I find it interesting that the K701 is "overrated". It's not like they advertise their headphones to be for audiophiles. They are made to target the recording/mixing/mastering industry, and not really created to have a "pleasing" sound.

 

Just my 2c.

 

But as a disclaimer, I own a pair of K702's.

Well if  you consider the people who dont know a lot about headphones and only pay attention to the media i'd have to go with the Beats being the most overrated because way to many of my friends try to explain to me that they're are the best headphones on the market, when obviously they're not. I then preceed to let them listen to my M50 which is three times less in cost and a lot better in sound quality.

All the IEM's I have ever had unfortunately. Especially the most recent. 

blackzarg, the K-701 was marketed heavily towards the audiophile crowd. Look at the various pro headphones like the DT48 and MDR-7509HD. Have you ever heard of the Sennheiser HFA-200? Look it up. Those are studio cans and there's a very good reason why you don't hear much of them here other than a handful of enthusiasts. When a manufacturer packs a pair off to "Stereophile" and the other audio rags, you can be sure they're courting the audio nuts instead of the pros.

The K-701/2 sure doesn't sound like a studio headphone, either. It was tuned to please the audio crowd, though not all of us enjoy it.

Would that be the Shure 110 in your sig?  That would explain a lot.

 

@ Uncle Erik

 

The Sennheiser HDA-200 looks interesting.  Based on Peltors huh.  Hmm.....

Edited by Anaxilus - 8/31/10 at 7:20pm

Actually I must admit, the SE110's were the LEAST disappointing. Let me explain myself:

I got them for $40 new. They have thick cable (damn my SuperFi 5vi's to hell). They are very durable. They have sweet highs but no bass.

Let's move on to my UE:

I got the for $55 open box. They have a scarily thin cable. They look fragile. They have average (sometimes harsh) highs, acceptable mids, and more bass than the SE110 but less punchy. Also they are low impedance so driving them with my PC is a NO-NO.

What impresses me the most about the UE is that NOTHING is emphasized in the music. The only part that would stand out at all would be a harsh clap or snare (yes, snare). 

How did these headphones get suck great reviews? Granted, I did not use them with a decent source (Droid and onboard sound card) but they shouldn't sound even close to my SE110 when you look at the reviews.

 

Just in case you misunderstand, I do like my UE's more. More stylish, comfortable, noise isolating, and some clearer mids and more bass.