Skullcandy Aviator appreciation

Quote:

Originally Posted by psiness 

Back before I even thought of caring about what music sounded like, I only used Skullcandy's earbuds. We already know how horrible these are and obviously at their price point, there's nothing good to expect anyway. After reading Jude's post about the Aviators, however, I was compelled to purchase them and give them a shot. I'm pretty impressed with them. They have no where near the overblown bass garbage I used to tie the Skullcandy name with and while the rest of the spectrum doesn't exactly woo me in any sort of way, they do sound good and I'm not disappointed with the chance I took. Anyone else have an opinion? I've searched and only found one (excluding Jude's) so far.

I tried my friend's pair with my omnia i910+Fiio E5+FLAC files and was quite impressed with them. Considering there build quality, retro style and detailed, neutral sound sig/quality; I think there a good deal for the average listener and fun for the audiophile. Actually for audiophiles that already have a main setup and are looking for a fashionable pair I think their a good value too.

I have never tried them (nor do I want to), but I can see this thread going places

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alghazanth 

I have never tried them (nor do I want to), but I can see this thread going places

Nah, our 2 posts will be the last posts on this discussion. I imagine Jude's front page post killed the skullcandy hate lol

If you think im out to defend sc well, im not. My first pair of ink'd buds were broken when I bought them so I just returned them and haven't bought another skullcandy since. When I demo'ed a variety of headphones from the Dt770 250ohm to the D2000, a900 as well as the aviators; I bought the AKG K271MKII's because I wanted the best absolute soundquality for the money and was able to get them for $150 at J&R. I'd by the K271MKII's over again if I had to.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sylverant 

Nah, our 2 posts will be the last posts on this discussion. I imagine Jude's front page post killed the skullcandy hate lol

 

If you think im out to defend sc well, im not. My first pair of ink'd buds were broken when I bought them so I just returned them and haven't bought another skullcandy since. When I demo'ed a variety of headphones from the Dt770 250ohm to the D2000, a900 as well as the aviators; I bought the AKG K271MKII's because I wanted the best absolute soundquality for the money and was able to get them for $150 at J&R. I'd by the K271MKII's over again if I had to.

 

You should give the D2000's a try again.

The PortaPro's would smash them! ^ LOL @ your sig Alghazanth

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sylverant 

Considering there build quality, retro style and detailed, neutral sound sig/quality

 

They are more or less as colored as Ultrasone HFI 580s. Not neutral but I still like how they sounded. Fun sound and really nice stylish design.

Tried them at the apple store.. they sounded pretty good I thought, but my impression came after I tried the Beats Studio. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alghazanth 

You should give the D2000's a try again.

 

I plan to, but I'm kind of afraid of a full-size pair of headphones with the kind of bass people say they have. On the other hand the Pro700MK2 would probably give me a heartattack and stroke at the same time

I like the tightness/relatively uncolored sound of the K271 and the presentation of Klipsch S4 quite a bit, so maybe I'll get the D2000 when the S4 crap out on me.
 

Edit: Also, try to find the D2000 for less than $250. I couldn't afford to spend more than $150 at the time and was looking for a balanced, relatively uncolored option that would provide a night and day difference in soundstage size/imaging compared to the MDR-V6; the K271 fit the bill :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by wind016 

 

 

They are more or less as colored as Ultrasone HFI 580s. Not neutral but I still like how they sounded. Fun sound and really nice stylish design.

I don't know why I described them that way, If I had them to try alongside my K271 I probably wouldn't put them that way.

I actually really liked the Aviators' sound. The most surprising thing to me was they had a very sweet mid range.

As far as typical consumer-grade headphones, these are right at the top, and totally comparable to many Head-Fi favorites. I'll even go as far as saying I liked them more than the M50's.

If their build quality was better, I'd have absolutely no problem with throwing down the cash to buy a pair.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sylverant 

I plan to, but I'm kind of afraid of a full-size pair of headphones with the kind of bass people say they have. On the other hand the Pro700MK2 would probably give me a heartattack and stroke at the same time

 

I like the tightness/relatively uncolored sound of the K271 and the presentation of Klipsch S4 quite a bit, so maybe I'll get the D2000 when the S4 crap out on me.
 

Edit: Also, try to find the D2000 for less than $250. I couldn't afford to spend more than $150 at the time and was looking for a balanced, relatively uncolored option that would provide a night and day difference in soundstage size/imaging compared to the MDR-V6; the K271 fit the bill :D

I don't know why I described them that way, If I had them to try alongside my K271 I probably wouldn't put them that way.

I did an ungodly amount of research before buying the D2K's as my first audiophile can, and I too worried about the bass. I appreciate good bass but am not a basshead. There's no reason to worry, however. If you listen to anything engaging, energetic, aggressive like Metal, Hard Rock, Electronic, Rap, etc the Denon bass will blow you away and in my experience make it impossible to enjoy $1300 neutral cans The bass and overall signature is just unbelievable for Metal and Electronic in particular. The only match I've found thus far is their big brother the D7000, though I do have LCD-2's coming in. If your interests lie more on the Classical, Light Rock etc side of music then you want open headphones.

If you enjoy the S4 a lot, I especially recommend the D2000. The D2K+S4 were my home+portable combo and I absolutely loved them. At this point, having tried much more expensive headphones, I still love both. Really, just go for it.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kukuk 

I actually really liked the Aviators' sound. The most surprising thing to me was they had a very sweet mid range.

 

As far as typical consumer-grade headphones, these are right at the top, and totally comparable to many Head-Fi favorites. I'll even go as far as saying I liked them more than the M50's.

 

If their build quality was better, I'd have absolutely no problem with throwing down the cash to buy a pair.

The Aviators and M50 are both consumer "BASS BASS BASSSSSSSSSSS" headphones imo, just one is considered audiophile because it's Audio-Technica and apparently used in studios.

I was randomly in Best Buy about a month ago and checked out their headphone display. Every single one of the Beats By Dr. Dre headphones were broken, but there were a set of Sony XB500, Klipsch Image One and Aviators. I was not expecting much, but I was surprised that I liked the Aviators the best of them by far. I expected the Klipsch set to win out, especially after the employee told me that those were the best, but I found those to have a bloated bottom-end that muddied up the midrange considerably. The Aviators, in comparison, was much more tight, clear, airy and detailed. I didn't find them bass-emphasized much at all, but then again, I was comparing them to the Image One and XB500. Not sure if I'd pay $150 for them considering the other contenders in that price range, but I'd take them over the Klipsch's for the same price in a heartbeat. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alghazanth 

I did an ungodly amount of research before buying the D2K's as my first audiophile can, and I too worried about the bass. I appreciate good bass but am not a basshead. There's no reason to worry, however. If you listen to anything engaging, energetic, aggressive like Metal, Hard Rock, Electronic, Rap, etc the Denon bass will blow you away and in my experience make it impossible to enjoy $1300 neutral cans The bass and overall signature is just unbelievable for Metal and Electronic in particular. The only match I've found thus far is their big brother the D7000, though I do have LCD-2's coming in. If your interests lie more on the Classical, Light Rock etc side of music then you want open headphones.

 

If you enjoy the S4 a lot, I especially recommend the D2000. The D2K+S4 were my home+portable combo and I absolutely loved them. At this point, having tried much more expensive headphones, I still love both. Really, just go for it.

The S4 are still my go-to phones for metal, EDM and Rap. There big bass, surprisingly clear midrange and edgy lower-treble are perfect for these genres, though they make everything sound incredibly engaging, really. I'd love to have a full-size headphone that presents that sound in the excellent soundstage and depth that I've heard the D2000 have. Maybe I'll be able to find them used but in this case would rather burn them in myself. Cheh, and I've been pretty good about not overspending too. Thanks for my wallet headfi.

Also, I've already got classical covered, via my HD560 ovations. They don't have the 3D imaging of the K701/2 or HD800; but their tonal balance, neutrality  and soft yet detailed conveyance of texture is godly...ahem, I mean excellent. That word is better left to the $1500 flagships lol

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alghazanth 

The Aviators and M50 are both consumer "BASS BASS BASSSSSSSSSSS" headphones imo, just one is considered audiophile because it's Audio-Technica and apparently used in studios.

 

The Aviators are anything but consumer "BASS BASS BASSSSSSSS" headphones lol. Their midrange is the most prominent trait and a basshead would definitely not go anywhere near them.

I love my Aviators. Wonderful balanced sound. Good style and comfortable. Their only flaw is the lack of isolation. But nothing's perfect right?