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What would you like to see in future high end headphones?

post #1 of 57
7/12/11 at 12:35pm
Thread Starter 

Having owned the LCD-2, HD 800 and T1 for a while now I see all three have their own advantages and disadvantages. I think the HD 800s have a physical design that feels very  well thought out compared to the other two, which it should since it was in development for so long. The cable is light, the cups are big and spacious and overall the comfort is the best of the three for me. Note that my head is big, so I use the biggest size on all three headphones and the HD 800s win big on comfort. That the headband and earpads are easily removable also made it easy for me to clean them.

 

On the other hand the T1 feel slightly more luxurious with their materials and I like what the inside of the cups look like. The design does feel a bit lazy though since it's basically a premium version of the 770,880 and 990 design. The earpads do very easily touch my ears and they are only just big enough to fit comfortably.

 

Then there's the LCD-2 which is pretty heavy and do have a very functional feel to their design, but not nearly as refined as the HD 800s. I am speaking only of the construction and not the audio here. The cable is pretty heavy and unlike the HD 800s the cable noticably pulls the headphones down on your head. I think the earpads are more comfortable than the T1s and even with the weight the comfort is good, but not really to the level of the HD 800s. The sound quality I think had both pros and cons compared to the HD 800s as they do play deep bas extremely well, but it lacks the very open and spacious feel of the HD 800s which I guess are thanks in part to their very open design and driver alignment.

 

So just from a headphone construction standpoint I would like a headphone that somehow combined the extremely open and futuristic design of the HD 800s with planar magnetic drivers and it would have easily replacable and cleanable earpads and headband while also having a high quality cable that didn't add a whole bunch of weight to the headphone needlessly.I left out other high end headphones here since I have only had limited exposure to them.

 

What would you like to see in future high end headphones? While the sound quality is of course of the highest importance, the physical construction and just the small details that went into it start to matter a lot after a while if you're going to live with them for years.

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post #2 of 57
7/12/11 at 12:36pm

Miku on the cups.  =p

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post #3 of 57
7/12/11 at 1:32pm
Thread Starter 

If any company would do that then I guess it would be if Yamaha released a new line of orthodynamic headphones. More alternative stylings would be interesting.

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post #4 of 57
7/12/11 at 1:49pm


 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mad Max View Post

Miku on the cups.  =p


Quote:
Originally Posted by TheManko View Post

If any company would do that then I guess it would be if Yamaha released a new line of orthodynamic headphones. More alternative stylings would be interesting.


I think ATH has higher possibility to do that.. btw though acg culture design on the cups is nice idea, plain black design is also perfect to me.. (wood-cups hater here ==

 

Talk about future, I'd like to see 4-pin balanced plug to become popular ==

Btw for mid-hi end stuffs above certain price range, my priority is actually like comfort>build>look>sound..

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post #5 of 57
7/12/11 at 1:59pm

Ribbon headphones, definitely ribbon headphones.

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post #6 of 57
7/12/11 at 1:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kn19h7 View Post


 



I think ATH has higher possibility to do that.. btw though acg culture design on the cups is nice idea, plain black design is also perfect to me.. (wood-cups hater here ==

 

Talk about future, I'd like to see 4-pin balanced plug to become popular ==

Btw for mid-hi end stuffs above certain price range, my priority is actually like comfort>build>look>sound..



Sir, while I accept your opinion, I find that absolutely preposterous! Sound should always come first, IMHO.

 

A standard balanced plug does sound like a good idea, just like detachable cables being a standard, and more user friendly headphone maintenance, like easy pad and headband replacement, as well as mod friendly designs.


Edited by Roller - 7/12/11 at 2:00pm
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post #7 of 57
7/12/11 at 2:04pm

A dynamically variable frequency response that is "flat" by compensating to the Fletcher-Monsoon curve at different volumes. This way we can truly experience a perfectly flat headphone.

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post #8 of 57
7/12/11 at 2:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheManko View Post

Then there's the LCD-2 which is pretty heavy and do have a very functional feel to their design, but not nearly as refined as the HD 800s. I am speaking only of the construction and not the audio here. The cable is pretty heavy and unlike the HD 800s the cable noticably pulls the headphones down on your head. I think the earpads are more comfortable than the T1s and even with the weight the comfort is good, but not really to the level of the HD 800s. The sound quality I think had both pros and cons compared to the HD 800s as they do play deep bas extremely well, but it lacks the very open and spacious feel of the HD 800s which I guess are thanks in part to their very open design and driver alignment.

 

 



Are not HD 800s heavy?

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post #9 of 57
7/12/11 at 2:17pm

Wireless

 

no more cords.

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post #10 of 57
7/12/11 at 2:20pm

I want an O2 with more roomy earcups/earpads! I'd be happy with something like the LCD-2 earpads, you can fit a bus in them =P.

 

I think the O2's are good in terms of design, because the cable exit's are able to be fully rotated to any angle to get out of the way. The headband arcs are really just 2 strips of metal, so you can adjust the clamping pressure to whatever you like very easily. Earpads are rotatable for best fit but also replaceable or washable since they don't use any glue to be secured on. They're also quite light because it's a stat (yay no heavy magnets).

 

Miku on the cups would be pure win, but I don't think Stax shares the same viewpoint. Hmm, maybe for the SR-010.....or perhaps I can splash anodize the SR-009's milled aluminium pieces in Miku colours!

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post #11 of 57
7/12/11 at 2:21pm

HD-850

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post #12 of 57
7/12/11 at 2:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pigmode View Post

HD-850



HD-over-9000

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post #13 of 57
7/12/11 at 2:25pm

Denon AH-D8000

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post #14 of 57
7/12/11 at 3:00pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Redcarmoose View Post





Are not HD 800s heavy?


They are, but the weight is spread well across the big earpads and headband I think so you don't percieve the weight as much as you do with the LCD-2s. Also the cable doesn't weigh down as much so you can stand up with them on and unlike the LCD-2s you don't notice much drag from the cable.

 

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post #15 of 57
7/12/11 at 3:11pm

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Roller View Post

Sir, while I accept your opinion, I find that absolutely preposterous! Sound should always come first, IMHO.

 

A standard balanced plug does sound like a good idea, just like detachable cables being a standard, and more user friendly headphone maintenance, like easy pad and headband replacement, as well as mod friendly designs.

Quote:
Originally Posted by kn19h7 View Post


 



I think ATH has higher possibility to do that.. btw though acg culture design on the cups is nice idea, plain black design is also perfect to me.. (wood-cups hater here ==

 

Talk about future, I'd like to see 4-pin balanced plug to become popular ==

Btw for mid-hi end stuffs above certain price range, my priority is actually like comfort>build>look>sound..


Well, to me, comfort always come before sound for a serious headphone. Build quality and look become more and more important when going up the price range to justify the spending to myself. But of course, all these would be meaningless if I really don't like the sound.. ==

 

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