HD800: My favorite high end headphone at the meet. This headphone does it all for me. It was neutral but still natural sounding at the same time, and was fairly musical too. Its bass response was very linear, tight, and went low. The mids were quite detailed and had good timbre, but sounded a little too smoothed out and soft (but not recessed). The highs were great in my opinion, not too much for me. Alot of people say these headphones have too much highs and not enough bass. But really, I think they are just a little too neutral and flat for most people. The soundstage was very big (perhaps a little artificially stretched), but I liked the trick it played. Its amazing that headphones can have a soundstage like that. The imaging was fantastic. I think out of the 800, T1, LCD2, STAX, HE5, STAX, the HD800 was the most faithful to the recording out of all them. I would trust it as a studio monitor. It was quite accurate while not sacrificing too much fun.
LCD2: These headphones sound lovely and are very fun to listen to, made listening to music a blast. Very organic sounding. They sounded much like live music. The bass went ultra low and had impact you can feel, without being too overdone or colored. The bass wasnt exactly neutral but it was close enough. The bass is more natural and organic sounding then the HD800, anh had great texture. But the HD800 bass was more linear and sounded like headphone bass instead of pseudo-loudspeaker bass (like the LCD2). The LCD2 has more bass extension. There was a little too much bass bloat for me (call me crazy), but at the same time I feel like the bass would satisfy both bassheads and neutral types alike. The mids sounded organic, natural, and personal like the musician was playing next to you. The instrument seperation was awesome. It was easy to keep track of all the instruments and the music as a whole. The highs were very grain-free and unfatiguing, very crystal. But slightly recessed for my tastes. If the HD800 has too much treble and not enough bass, the LCD2 has too much bass and not enough treble. I think most people prefer the LCD2 because of this. I think the battle between the two comes down to personal preference. But if your a neutral freak like me, the HD800 wins in that respect. The LCD2 can be more satisfying and natural sounding, but the HD800 is the one that is more "correct" IMO. Overall the LCD2 sounded great but a little too dark.
T1: I didnt get to listen to these much, but I remember them having a great sense of bass impact while being less bloated then the LCD2. The mids had a rich sound with lots of body and impact, and fairly detailed. The highs were very linear and smooth sounding, and not recessed or bright. I dont remember much about the soundstage, but the imaging was very good. Mabey not as pinpoint as the HD800 but had a more realistic soundstage size. All in all a great headphone and IMO a true competitor to the other big 2. I wish I spent more time with it.
H5-LE: I didnt test them with my own music and spent only a few moments with them, so its hard to say. But the impression I got from them was a less refined LCD2 with a similar sound signature. Thats all I can say really.
Beats IEMS: Not my cup of tea. I compared them directly to my Bose IE and while the Dres dont sound terrible at all, they had a similar sound. But my Bose sounded better than them in almost every respect. End of story.
Portapros: The best value for the money headphones Ive ever heard, period. Didnt spend much time but I would compare them to the grado type sound. But much cheaper. I will be suggesting these to friends who want a taste of audiophile high end sound but dont want to spend the money. They are not for the kid who wants subs in his ears. For that I will still suggest the $10 coby CV 200. But if they want actual sound quality for cheap, its all about the portapros.
Sony PFV-R1: I was very suprised with these, I didnt expect them to sound that good. I cant belive these dont get more love on head-fi. The soundstage was very good and had depth. They are detailed and fast in the midrange. They actually sounded fairly neutral across the range, but didnt really have the right timbre, it sounded slightly plastic overall. The midbass had decent slam for being a neutral sounding headphone, but didnt have very good extension down low. The highs were crisp, fun, and unfatiguing but it sounded like there was a weird sheen to them. These headphones are discontinued, but you can find them at around $200. They are unique but good sounding especially at that price.
After the meet was said and done, I still like my DT48 the best overall. It is simply an invaluable headphone that nobody understands.
Edited by EYEdROP - 4/26/11 at 12:17pm
how is the cs600 ?
