funnyguy123 said:

I was looking at the list, do the DT770s pros really have a bigger soundstage than open headphones like AD700, K701 and HD598? I was looking at some of the reviews of the DT770 pros and I didn't see anyone mention anything special about the soundstage.

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Not at all. It has a large soundstage for a closed headphone. It still doesnt touch the soundstages of those you mentioned. However, it's imaging and positional cues are extraordinary, IIRC. Too bad there's too much bass bloat.

What's the difference between soundstage and imaging and positional cues? I was thinking about getting the DT770s. I'm a casual player so I don't think the bass will annoy me too much.
 

Soundstage is the virtual space all these cues inhabit. I say positional cues for gaming in virtual surround because it seems easier to understand in a gaming perspective (where enemies are located, etc), and imaging otherwise (I use the term imaging when talking about cues in a stereo feed, like when listening to music and picking out where instruments are located, etc). Sorry for the confusion.

So for me:

Positional cues: sound cues in virtual surround, usually for gaming/movies
Imaging - sound cues in stereo, usually in music
Soundstage: the space all sound inhabits in/around your head

That being said, the MA900 has some of the best stereo imaging I've ever heard. Some cues project pretty far out, which to me is rare, regardless of headphone. Stereo feeds tend to always sound in my head for the most part.

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ethan7000 said:

Where are you two buying your iCan's?

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from the German partner listed on their website. WOD Audio

Other people around here seem to treat positional cues and imaging as the same thing. Guess we're left playing the semantics game again...
 
Regardless, the point has been made that larger soundstages don't always equate to precise positional cues/imaging within that soundstage, for whatever strange reason that may be. Some people on these forums have been known to prefer headphone models with smaller soundstages than the usual open ones we discuss here because they find the imaging and positional cues to be superior.
 
Since audio is mostly subjective, I don't think anyone's going to completely agree there. All we can do is say what works and doesn't work for us while figuring out what may suit a person whose tastes differ from our own.

Well, that's because imaging and positional cues ARE essentially the same thing. I'm mainly referring to how *I* use the terms. To me, it doesn't sound right calling instrument placement in music as positional cues. Positional cues sounds like something you expect out of video games or movies. Like "Hey, I totally heard that you were behind me because these headphones have a great ability to pinpoint positional cues". Imaging just doesn't fit for me. It's also a lot easier to understand for those who don't know the audio jargon. Positional audio cues is pretty self explanatory. Imaging isn't.

Imaging does fit for me when speaking of music and instrument placement.

Imaging also sounds more legitimate as you're listening to a headphone's cues at default in stereo, no extra processing. Positional cues will be altered by virtual surround, etc, so I can't consider a headphone's imaging to be gauged when using virtual surround. So for that, I make a clear distinction in that a headphone's positional cue accuracy is either good/bad when using virtual surround...

To make it easy for you guys, I NEVER say imaging unless I'm referring to music on this guide.

In that case, I'll adopt your practice just to minimize confusion around here.
 
After all, a lot of people here test headphone imaging through music alone, talking about how much it resembles having the band on stage before them.
 
I've always looked for positional cues in games first and foremost when evaluating that sort of thing. The question I always ask is something like "Can you shoot someone through a wall just by listening to his footsteps?", which most likely isn't what they're thinking at all.

Pricejapan has very interesting prices for STAX headphones but the amps do not mix well with EU voltages and when you consider an EU amp you're back with horrendous prices. 
 
I forgot about the K701/K702/Annies/Q701 bass details, are they similar to the X1 as in one-noty? 

No, the AKGs have very well textured, articulate, and faster bass.

I favored the T1 for my console setup but I remembered the AKGs well in soundstage and detail (just not in bass) and I don't want more high end phones. 
 
I like the looks of the Annies very much but they are 750 Dollars here and the K712 is at 600. 

I usually use this as a baseline benchmark to tell how well a headphone is in projecting positional audio accuracy and soundstage -
 

 
If possible, I personally suggest downloading the mp3/wav files instead and play it through Foobar (or any player of your choice) with all DSPs disabled.
 
Wav file: http://www18.zippyshare.com/v/42398242/file.html
MP3 file: http://www18.zippyshare.com/v/13113568/file.html
 
Now I know that games are always more dynamic and there's no real way to measure how good positional accuracy and soundstage is without actually going through a variety of games.
 
Anwyays, enjoy and please close your eyes if you're trying it out.

So expensive.

No more high end headphones? How about trading my X1 and MA900 for your TH-900?

How about trading my X1 and Anniversaries for your HD800??
 

I meant additional. 
 
The TH-900 is too beautiful, it sings to me. I can be astonished by the HD 800s imaging and technical capabilities but the TH-900 sings, has euphonics and it images excellent. The stage is smaller than the Sennheiser but I am very sure nobody would complain. If I had to choose one it would be the Fostex.
 
I'll be making a price suggestion for the K712 now. Trying to bring it down to 500. Daman, the Annies are 489 in your county. You always have the better prices.

We can get it now for $400 through Razordog with a coupon.

The cheapest it was around $360 a few months ago and lasted for awhile, but they jumped back up.

The TH-900 is my dream headphone. No way I'd ever be able to afford it.