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The Neutral / Balanced Thread - Page 17

Poll Results: Best Neutral IEM and Headphone 2011 (Pick 1 IEM and 1 Headphone only)

This is a multiple choice poll
  • 16% (30)
    Etymotic ER-4S
  • 2% (5)
    Hifiman RE-272
  • 4% (8)
    Shure SE425
  • 0% (1)
    Sony EX510
  • 5% (11)
    Vsonic GR07
  • 3% (6)
    Westone UM3X
  • 8% (16)
    Audeze LCD-2
  • 12% (24)
    Sennheiser HD600
  • 10% (20)
    Sennheiser HD800
  • 6% (12)
    Beyerdynamic DT880
  • 3% (6)
    Shure SRH 840
  • 9% (17)
    AKG 702
  • 8% (16)
    Stax SR-009
  • 0% (0)
    Denon DN-HP1000
  • 0% (0)
    ESP950
  • 9% (18)
    Ultimate Ears Reference Monitor Custom
  • 2% (5)
    Unique Melody Miracle
  • 1% (3)
    KRK-KNS8400
  • 1% (3)
    Koss ESP950
185 Total Votes  
post #241 of 348
11/11/11 at 1:34am
you can throw in pair of AKG 240 sextetts as well.specific production model..i can't accurately say since opinions very and all i owned in the past and still own are LP production models,but to me personally they're defiantly a neutral sounding headphone. can throw in pair of beyer DT48A and DT48S as well since i do not see it in the list.
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post #242 of 348
11/11/11 at 1:37am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by RexAeterna View Post

you can throw in pair of AKG 240 sextetts as well.specific production model..i can't accurately say since opinions very and all i owned in the past and still own are LP production models,but to me personally they're defiantly a neutral sounding headphone. can throw in pair of beyer DT48A and DT48S as well since i do not see it in the list.


Thanks mate!

 

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post #243 of 348
11/11/11 at 2:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bcasey25raptor View Post

Looks neutral to me. Either that or mid rangey.

graphCompare.php?graphType=0&graphID[]=1163

 

I'd call it as mid focused. A 20dB drop from 170-180hz to 20hz could be considered a steep early drop off. Also the highs peak at -5dB past 2k.

But then again i'm comparing to the K701s. Which are x3-x4 times as expensive. So for the price....ehhh. I'm on the fence.

 

Cnet's review called them, "balanced for the most part". *shrugs*
 

 

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post #244 of 348
11/11/11 at 2:08am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tetsuma View Post

 

I'd call it as mid focused. A 20dB drop from 170-180hz to 20hz could be considered a steep early drop off. Also the highs peak at -5dB past 2k.

But then again i'm comparing to the K701s. Which are x3-x4 times as expensive. So for the price....ehhh. I'm on the fence.

 

Cnet's review called them, "balanced for the most part". *shrugs*
 

 


Hmm.. I need just one more confirmation to take those off the list.

 

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post #245 of 348
11/11/11 at 9:02am

As some with a lot of experience with the HD448, I can't say that it is neutral.

 

If anything, it is a mid-centric headphone with a little roll off in the lows and definitely some roll off in the high treble to my ears.  I don't mean upfront mid-centric, I mean rich mid-centric.  Also, the HD448 is too colored to be considered neutral to me... it is very warm and dark in the mids and has some of the softest treble while still retaining some quality.  It is an excellent sub 100 dollar performer

 

All that said, I love my HD 448.  It is still tops on my list of "plug and play" headphones for now. 

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post #246 of 348
11/11/11 at 4:04pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by R-Audiohead View Post

As some with a lot of experience with the HD448, I can't say that it is neutral.

 

If anything, it is a mid-centric headphone with a little roll off in the lows and definitely some roll off in the high treble to my ears.  I don't mean upfront mid-centric, I mean rich mid-centric.  Also, the HD448 is too colored to be considered neutral to me... it is very warm and dark in the mids and has some of the softest treble while still retaining some quality.  It is an excellent sub 100 dollar performer

 

All that said, I love my HD 448.  It is still tops on my list of "plug and play" headphones for now. 

 

Taking it off the list. I'm starting a poll on the best neutral iem/hp of 2011. Can you list any possible candidates? smily_headphones1.gif 
 

 

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post #247 of 348
11/11/11 at 8:09pm
Thread Starter 

Added a poll on Best Neutral IEM and HP 2011.

 

Rules:

Vote on the poll 1 IEM and 1 HP only

 

Try to judge the "best" by taking into account the SQ, comfort, price, etc.

Anyone is free to vote and I hope we'll get enough votes. dt880smile.png

 

If it's not on the list, just post it here.

 

Have fun!

 

IEM/HP List:

 

  • Etymotic ER-4S
  • Audio Techinica ATH-CK10
  • Hifiman RE252
  • Hifiman RE272
  • Shure SE535
  • Shure SE425
  • Sony EX510
  • Vsonic GR07
  • Westone UM3X
  • Audeze LCD-2
  • Beyerdynamic DT880
  • Sennheiser HD800
  • Sennheiser HD600
  • Shure SRH840
  • AKG 702
  • STAX SR-009
  • Audio Technica W11R
  • Hifiman HE-4

Edited by nikp - 11/12/11 at 1:23am
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post #248 of 348
11/11/11 at 8:49pm

Voted SR009 since it's the only right answer :)

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post #249 of 348
11/12/11 at 9:06am

SR-009 is indeed a strong contender.

 

You're missing a few important competitors though:

Beyerdynamic DT1350

Sony MDR EX1000

Sony MDR EX600

Westone 4

Phiaton MS400

 

and more...

 

Personally, I find the Stax far too finicky when it comes to amping - just like most all electrostatics.

I'd pick Phiaton MS400 for the general usage, so I didn't place a vote on the headphone.

 

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post #250 of 348
11/12/11 at 9:15am

Phiaton MS400 as a contender for neutral and balanced?  The MS400 has a very sucked out upper midrange dip.  A big dip.  A grand canyon of a dip.  The upper mids are just gone.

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post #251 of 348
11/12/11 at 10:14am

Pretty limited on who can vote here.  I can't imagine a large portion of the population on these forums have even heard a properly amped LCD-2/HD800 let alone a SR-009 rig.

 

 

Should probably split the poll into two - one for high end rigs and one for people who don't have a money tree planted in the backyard.

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post #252 of 348
11/12/11 at 1:44pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by AstralStorm View Post

SR-009 is indeed a strong contender.

 

You're missing a few important competitors though:

Beyerdynamic DT1350

Sony MDR EX1000

Sony MDR EX600

Westone 4

Phiaton MS400

 

and more...

 

Personally, I find the Stax far too finicky when it comes to amping - just like most all electrostatics.

I'd pick Phiaton MS400 for the general usage, so I didn't place a vote on the headphone.

 


You can just vote for the MS400 here since I cannot in any way edit the poll. So W4 and MS400?

 


 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Anathallo View Post

Pretty limited on who can vote here.  I can't imagine a large portion of the population on these forums have even heard a properly amped LCD-2/HD800 let alone a SR-009 rig.

 

 

Should probably split the poll into two - one for high end rigs and one for people who don't have a money tree planted in the backyard.


Yeah true, but take their price account into consideration. Average them out and you'll be surprised. 

 

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post #253 of 348
11/12/11 at 2:07pm

Ultimate neutralness, would be 20hz-20khz -/+3 but the human ear hears midrange better than bass and high treble frequency so a bit of a u curve would sound netral to our ears, but I don't think headphones or speakers are capable of such neutralness  it's easy to pick out neutral headphones from the headphone.com graphs the hd448 is far from netral way too much bass roll and treble dip of around -13db and the highs are -5db down.

Is it allowed to discuss speakers aswell I like netral speakers more than netral headphones my behringer truths are quite netral

behringer_truth_spl.gif

 

 

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post #254 of 348
11/12/11 at 2:10pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by JRG1990 View Post

Ultimate neutralness, would be 20hz-20khz -/+3 but the human ear hears midrange better than bass and high treble frequency so a bit of a u curve would sound netral to our ears, but I don't think headphones or speakers are capable of such neutralness  it's easy to pick out neutral headphones from the headphone.com graphs the hd448 is far from netral way too much bass roll and treble dip of around -13db and the highs are -5db down.

Is it allowed to discuss speakers aswell I like netral speakers more than netral headphones my behringer truths are quite netral

behringer_truth_spl.gif

 

 

 

Anything mate. I'm glad you brought it forward!
 

 

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post #255 of 348
11/12/11 at 2:21pm

Voted 009. A second place vote would go to the UERM, but that IEM is not on the list. LCD2 - LOL - that's hardly neutral. Pleasant and forgiving yes, neutral no. Same thing with HD800. HD800 goes the other way - too bright.


Edited by purrin - 11/12/11 at 2:23pm
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