Sennheiser HD 800 VS Grado PS 1000 - Page 5

Quote:

Originally Posted by wink 

Rhythm by itself is not music.

I don't think any of us has the right to define what is or is not music.

Why don't you make a list of sound related pros and cons of your SR60.  There is no best.  Only preference.  Best way to tell us your preference is to make this kind of list about a well known phone that you own like the SR60.  If you have others, do it for them as well. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by mailboy 

The OP can feel confident about owning three of the largest headphones currently in production, if nothing else.

Word. Of the 60 or 70 full-size headphones that have cycled through the house, the LCD-2 are the only ones that made my wife laugh out loud. The other two came close. (Actually, the Lamdas managed to crack her up too, but when she first saw me wearing them, I happened to be advancing a track with the controller on the PlayStation I had them hooked up too, so it's impossible to know whether the headphones alone would have done it.)

If you can't audition the HD 800 or the PS1000, I would go with the PS1000. I really liked the HD 800, and respect it a great deal, but did not end up keeping it. The soundstage is stunning, but its highs can be somewhat edgy, and its bass presentation is slightly below my personal expectation. The PS1000 is unlike any other Grado, in that it has a huge soundstage and is not as forward, as well having great bass and microdetail. It is the best headphone I personally have ever heard. I listen to alot of hip hop and soul. Good luck.

It's funny, but searching google images on these 3 phones, I don't see anyone wearing the LCD-2, one girl wearing the PS1000, and plenty of different people wearing the HD800. Seeing people wearing the Sennheisers makes me see the LCD-2 as the perfect choice. Anyway,here's a nice review I found on the Audez'e.

http://www.headphonista.com/audeze-lcd-2/

Quote:

Originally Posted by CatboyMac 
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by wink 

If that's all you listen to, forget Hifi and go buy yourself the Beats by Dr. Dre...

 

You're wasting your time here...   seriously.

 No need to be so snooty, the man is just asking for advice.

I agree!!

I've heard several O2 revisions with several amps including HEV90 with a bias signal adapter connected to the 007tII at the same time. The HE90 surely, too.All of this has kept me unexcited about the electrostats while I have to admit that the oldest O2's were good all-rounders. But the newer, the worse, with the worst MkII at the end. The HE90 is a higher league than any of the O2 family but I'm sure I would go to the old brown-champaigne O2 more often due to good balance and fun. However listening to the PS1000 makes me thing I lose nothing while I could point each time with any electrostat what I found wrong or missing. So, it's your choice. Electrostats present "safe" sound while I'm closer to the presentation kind of "show no mercy", read AKG K1000, Grado PS1000,. Ultrasone Edition 10 or even 8.

Why you still recomend Ultrasone 10 and 8. We had one on the meet and almost everyone did not like it. There are sure many better headphone and less expensive than Ultrasone.

Seems like group think is quite common in meet conditions?. Why is there more consensus in meet conditions then when everyone listens at home on different headphones?

Noticed this quite a few times regarding different headphones every time everyone unite against or for :)

I read the whole thread and by his comments I just don't feel he is being serious. Many good points have been brought up about the 2 proposed models, and now he is talking about getting an Orpheus.

I think if Blade007 really likes music and really wants good headphones for his music, well just get your pro900 for hip hop, then a RS1 for metal. After that he can buy ed10, ps1000 , T1 and hd800 for the bling factor.

I hate to introduce another choice, but I have to: the Audio Technica ATH-AD2000.  I asked my twenty-something niece to burn me a rap CD I could "get in to", and she did -- very mainstream stuff, Jay-Z, Kanye, fiddy -- 20 random tracks, I really loved it.

I didn't bother with the Orpheus, a non-starter.  So here is the list of what I tried over a two day period -- the DAC in all cases (except the beyer amp, which has the DAC built in, and the RWA Isabellina, also has its own DAC) was the one built-in to the Wadia 781i, which has rolled off highs no doubt.  I will try again with the Benchmark, but I wanted to post first and take the flames.

O2 Mark 1 and O2 Mark 2 (Spritzer Mod) and Baby Orpheus HE60s driven by Kerry BHSE and 717 and SRM 1/Mk 2 ... all combos ... NOT the right choice.  Too smooth, no raw.  Need raw for this music to work.

T1's -- excellent.  880/250 and 880/600 ... sounded the same as each other, slightly less detailed than the T1's.  Listened both off the beyer amp and my QES special-built for beyer phones.

HD800s' -- totally the wrong choice for this music IMHO ... why would we tell the OP this is a rap phone?  It's just not.  Better listen to it before buying.  Tried with a Beta 22 and a Head-Direct EF1 with a tung sol -- both amps voiced orginally for the HD600 so I though this should work.  Didn't.

GS1000s -- Terrible.  Unlistenable.  I replaced the bowl pads with flat pads so this could be my fault, but I thought on other music the headphile flat pads improved the sound.  Just awful.

button RS-1's -- much better, a contender.

K1000s (using a RWA Isabellina optimized by Vinnie for the K1K's, using the HiRez Wolfson DAC) -- really really great.

K701's with an M^3, Beta 22, and EF1 -- excellent, a contender.

Dennon D2000s and D7000s off the same three amps .. OK, nothing special.

AHT-AD2000.  OMG!  Now I was "in the club".  Visceral, real -- the music worked.  There should be federal and state statutes that prohibit a 62-year-old fat white guy from dancing to this stuff, but there ain't, so I did.

The final box score IMO:

AD2000 > K1K > RS-1 > T1 > K701 > 880s > Denons.   Failures: HD800, GS1000.   Wrong Concept: Stax and Orph.

I am prepared for the flames.  I am sorry that I had no Ultrasone to try ... Dev's got my Pro 750s.  I bet Ultrasone would have done well.   And I forgot to try the HF2's ... maybe when I switch DACs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wavoman 

 

 

AHT-AD2000.  OMG!  Now I was "in the club".  Visceral, real -- the music worked.  There should be federal and state statutes that prohibit a 62-year-old fat white guy from dancing to this stuff, but there ain't, so I did.

 

 

 

Funny stuff... I do like this headphone a lot. It's got the best speed of any dynamic I heard, and I've heard em all except Qualia. It's great for dance, electronica, or pop. IMO the bass is a little light for hip-hop though. OVerall not better than K701 or RS-1. But for pop and electronica, especially Jpop, the AD2K is my top choice, I mean, I'd rather have it than anything else. 
 

Some people like Grado for hip hop, some don't. A lot less people like the hd800 for hip hop. You have 2000 songs to chose from and not all popular stuff. They've decided you need an amp for these big style cans. I've heard good recommendations here, and also a lot of stuff that only a select few will know. The LCD-2 sound like the biggest cans you can buy, lol. Many people love them, as do a couple people here love the RS1i, which aren't really big. One of my friends has the RS1i and they are hella cool. Best Grados some say, and $700- you got a new pair, money left for a good amp and dac. It sounds like that's the way. The PS1000 are heavy. Grados have their weak points, and the heaviness might cause it to break where the plastic L and  R hooks to the head strap, which I've seen. The Sennheisers, though ugly, is a good choice to me, because I believe it is the most likely to change your musical taste, not that you listen to bad music. But hey, these phones all do something right. The Sennheisers, an amp/dac and an HD radio would expand your musical taste a lot. You may discover you like opera music or something. Nobody has to know.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by wavoman 

I hate to introduce another choice, but I have to: the Audio Technica ATH-AD2000.  I asked my twenty-something niece to burn me a rap CD I could "get in to", and she did -- very mainstream stuff, Jay-Z, Kanye, fiddy -- 20 random tracks, I really loved it.

 

I didn't bother with the Orpheus, a non-starter.  So here is the list of what I tried over a two day period -- the DAC in all cases (except the beyer amp, which has the DAC built in, and the RWA Isabellina, also has its own DAC) was the one built-in to the Wadia 781i, which has rolled off highs no doubt.  I will try again with the Benchmark, but I wanted to post first and take the flames.

 

O2 Mark 1 and O2 Mark 2 (Spritzer Mod) and Baby Orpheus HE60s driven by Kerry BHSE and 717 and SRM 1/Mk 2 ... all combos ... NOT the right choice.  Too smooth, no raw.  Need raw for this music to work.

 

T1's -- excellent.  880/250 and 880/600 ... sounded the same as each other, slightly less detailed than the T1's.  Listened both off the beyer amp and my QES special-built for beyer phones.

 

HD800s' -- totally the wrong choice for this music IMHO ... why would we tell the OP this is a rap phone?  It's just not.  Better listen to it before buying.  Tried with a Beta 22 and a Head-Direct EF1 with a tung sol -- both amps voiced orginally for the HD600 so I though this should work.  Didn't.

 

GS1000s -- Terrible.  Unlistenable.  I replaced the bowl pads with flat pads so this could be my fault, but I thought on other music the headphile flat pads improved the sound.  Just awful.

 

button RS-1's -- much better, a contender.

 

K1000s (using a RWA Isabellina optimized by Vinnie for the K1K's, using the HiRez Wolfson DAC) -- really really great.

 

K701's with an M^3, Beta 22, and EF1 -- excellent, a contender.

 

Dennon D2000s and D7000s off the same three amps .. OK, nothing special.

 

AHT-AD2000.  OMG!  Now I was "in the club".  Visceral, real -- the music worked.  There should be federal and state statutes that prohibit a 62-year-old fat white guy from dancing to this stuff, but there ain't, so I did.

 

The final box score IMO:

 

AD2000 > K1K > RS-1 > T1 > K701 > 880s > Denons.   Failures: HD800, GS1000.   Wrong Concept: Stax and Orph.

 

I am prepared for the flames.  I am sorry that I had no Ultrasone to try ... Dev's got my Pro 750s.  I bet Ultrasone would have done well.   And I forgot to try the HF2's ... maybe when I switch DACs.

 

 

AD2000 are my best rock cans along with Sr507 ,but no way for the Hiphop or RnB.

DX1000 and LCD2 are a lot better to my ear,the Bass alone win against the Clarity and forward sound nature of the two mentioned above. 

By the way it's up to the listeners how they want their music sounds ( I can't even enjoy my LCD2 rev2 +endorphin cable with many RnB  records,because of lacking of bass quantity)

If you need kind of subwoofer Bass, DX1000,LCD2 or even ED8, HD650 could be better than the HD800 or AD2000.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tvrboy 

 

IMO the bass is a little light for hip-hop though. OVerall not better than K701 or RS-1. But for pop and electronica, especially Jpop, the AD2K is my top choice, I mean, I'd rather have it than anything else. 
 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolcat 

AD2000 are my best rock cans along with Sr507 ,but no way for the Hiphop or RnB. 

If you need kind of subwoofer Bass, DX1000,LCD2 or even ED8, HD650 could be better than the HD800 or AD2000.

 

I think I must be reacting to the speed, or whatever it is that leads tvrboy and coolcat to declare the AD2K the best rock can.  There was not a lot of bass in the tracks on the CD burn, so maybe that's why I like the AD2K so much.  A touch of EQ could solve the bass problem, no?

I stand by my choices for me -- the punch when they spit "I've got 99 probems but a ..." and "I ain't saying she's a golddigger, but you don't see her messin with no ..." -- was ELECTRIFYING, to say the least.  I had the volume way, way up BTW.

I made it clear I know nothing about the breadth and depth of these genres, I just wanted to report that the HD800 is wrong, and put the K1K, the K701, and the RS1 in the limelight along with the AD2K.