Aussie & NZ Head-Fiers Corner - Page 8

Quote:

Originally Posted by nikp 

I'm heading over to A2A today to try out some headphones and buying one I hope. 

lucky bastard! haha... keep us up to date mate!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gwarmi 

Oh bummer Nikp ~ I was going to head down there today as I'm awaiting the delivery of my Audiophilleo-2 - (dang, Aussie Post)

 

Would've been good to meet you ~ what are you planning on getting?

I got myself a Shure SRH940. I tried a lot of headphones today - Beyers, Sennheisers, Ultrasones, Audio Techinicas, LCD-2 and much more ( I can't remember all of them). I'll post my impressions when I get home.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nikp 

I got myself a Shure SRH940. I tried a lot of headphones today - Beyers, Sennheisers, Ultrasones, Audio Techinicas, LCD-2 and much more ( I can't remember all of them). I'll post my impressions when I get home.

 

Looking forward to it.  I might be in the market for some new headphones soon too.

Enjoy it Nick.  Will be interested to see if your impressions change after a few weeks (I don't want to pre-empt anything through).  I loved mine at first - then the 'honeymoon period' passed very quickly.  Will be interesting to see how you compare them - especially with the DT880s.

Okay here we go. I'll make my impressions as simple and straight forward as possible and I'm not going to explain every aspect of the headphones thoroughly because I'm trying to enjoy them (not analysing them). If you have questions, I'm more than happy to explain them in more detail.

These are my first impressions and are purely my honest subjective opinions. Big thanks to George @Addicted2Audio for the pleasant experience! I'm a lucky Melbournian!

Okay first of all, all of these headphones were tested by the same source, DAC, amp and ears . They have been properly burned in except for the SRH940 because it's new out of the box.

Audio Technica

ATH-M50

This is the so called studio headphones from Audio Technica. In reality, they're not. I think they're far from neutrality. The M50s did well across the whole frequency range but did not have any "specialty." They're nice cans.

Pros: Fun and inexpensive

Cons: Bloated bass, needs more clarity

Ultrasones

Ultrasone Edition 10
Ultrasone Edition 8 limited edition
Ultrasone Pro 750
Ultrasone Pro 900

I use the Pro 750 for live mixing and it's good at what it does. However, I don't like any of their sound signatures. When I hear them, deep down I know they are very capable headphones but they just fail to impress me.

Pros: Analytical 

Cons: Analytical

Beyerdynamic

Beyerdynamic DT880 Premium

Beyerdynamic T1

High quality products as usual. Of all headphones I've tried, I find that Beyerdynamic has the best build quality. Like the Pro, DT880 is neutral and did an excellent job in every category. The only thing that distinguish the T1 from DT880 is the spacious soundstage. In other words, T1 is an enhanced DT880.

Pros: Solid build

Cons: Expensive (T1)

Sennheisers

Sennheiser HD800

All I can say is,"WOW!" The HD800 struck me like an oak tree falling on top of me. They sound amazing and is definitely the best headphone I've heard so far. I am speechless and I can't criticise any sound element of the HD800. However, I really wish the HD800's build quality is as fantastic as the Beyers.

Pros: Amazing SQ, Huge soundstage

Cons: Build quality could be better

Sennheiser HD600
Sennheiser HD650

Long story short, the HD600 sounds better than the HD650. Nothing more to say here. The HD650 is far too laid back and veiled. I guess it's okay but I wouldn't pay a lot for a headphone with a  sound quality that can be had in an IEM (IE7). The HD600 has a neutral signature and is one of the best headphones out there.

Pros: Great SQ and soundstage (HD600), Relaxing and non fatigue (HD650)

Cons: Build quality could be better, veiled (HD650), tiny soundstage (HD650)

Audeze

LCD-2

I've been very curious about this planar magnetic headphone for a long time. They sound very good but fail to indulge me in any way.

Pros: Great SQ

Cons: Overpriced

Shure

SRH940

SRH840

The SRH940 is much more neutral than the 840 IMO. At first when I heard the SRH940 out of the box, it sounded .. boring and lifeless. However, after a quick burn in (20 minutes?), it opened up and I started to love them over the SRH840. The 940 is an improvement in every aspect of its little brother except for bass (quantity). It makes sense because the 940 is much more neutral than the 840. Once again, Shure dominated the MIDS territory and mids are just extraordinary in these cans. The SRH940 did an excellent job and I can say I'm fairly impressed with them. 

Pros: Foldable, inexpensive, awesome mids

Cons: Hot ears! (SRH940)

Conclusions:

Closed vs Open

Closed and open cans are two different things. Closed headphones are much more intimate while open headphones were big on soundstage. I just cannot rank them together - they're a different breed.

Dynamic vs Planar magnetic

There is nothing special about planar magnetic headphones.

Rankings (purely SQ):

Closed headphones:

1. Ultrasone _____ ( I can't remember the one Ultrasone that stood out to me, I think it's edition 8)

2. SRH940

3. Other Ultrasones

4. SRH840

5. ATH-M50

Open headphones

1. HD800, T1, LCD-2

2. DT880, HD600

3. HD650

Personal Preferences:

I would love to have (other than DT880 and SRH940 which I already bought and am happy with):

1. HD800 - Simply amazing. Numero uno.

2. HD600 - A perfect match for my DT880.

I'm indifferent with:

1. ATH-M50 - They're okay.

2. Ultrasones - I wouldn't get them for personal listening but they did very well with live mixing

3. T1 - They're great but I like the DT880 better

Headphones I would not buy (considering price, SQ and personal preference)

- HD650 (pure rubbish)

- LCD2 (They sound great but considering their price I would rather go for the HD600/DT880 anytime)

- SRH840 (because I have the SRH940)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gwarmi 

I have this little feeling Nikp you might like to hear a Grado at some stage  You appear to rank your mids, clarity, with extended treble above most

other attributes, a bit like me..

 

Totally agree on your sentiments with the LCD-2 and HD800, the latter is the only Sennheiser likely to prise away my hard earned $$dosh$$

Yes, I would love to hear Grados if it's anything like the HD800. Btw, there is one classical song in my library that only a few headphones can "play it well". The headphones are: HD800, HD600 and DT880. I wonder what they have in common.

Thanks Nikp for the impressions

can you tell us which DAC/Amps do you use in this test ??

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gwarmi 

Neutrality and clarity I'd say ~ Grados are famously colored but since they're the only high end headphones on the planet to leave the factory 'tuned by ear'

it's a love or hate thing. That said even the biggest haters love the mid range, sound stage depth (not big on width or height unless you hear the GS1000

or PS1000) and mid bass impact. Very clear sounding, no veil what so ever here :-)

The T1 and LCD-2 also have great neutrality and clarity too but somehow they did not satisfy the piece. I'm still trying to find this lost piece in my music library.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lejatte145 

Thanks Nikp for the impressions

 

can you tell us which DAC/Amps do you use in this test ??

Amp is the GoVibe Peak and the DAC is the GoVibe miniusb DAC.

Nick

Nice impressions.  Again - interested to hear how you view the 940's in about 4 weeks.  Sounds like the HD600 wowed you like it did me.  For it's price, I really find it hard to beat value + SQ in an open can.

BTW - I agree with Gwarmi - you should definitely try something from the Grado family at some stage.  As our tastes in cans are somewhat similar (DT880/HD600 ..... we'll forget the SRH940 vs 840 for the moment ), I'd suggest starting with the Alessandro MS1i.  100 USD delivered (from their website).  If you like the sig - see if you can get them woodied.  It will make a nice complimentary can  for your DT880 (more coloured toward the mids and highs, while still having nice mid-bass, and very up-front presentation).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brooko 

Nick

 

Nice impressions.  Again - interested to hear how you view the 940's in about 4 weeks.  Sounds like the HD600 wowed you like it did me.  For it's price, I really find it hard to beat value + SQ in an open can.

 

BTW - I agree with Gwarmi - you should definitely try something from the Grado family at some stage.  As our tastes in cans are somewhat similar (DT880/HD600 ..... we'll forget the SRH940 vs 840 for the moment ), I'd suggest starting with the Alessandro MS1i.  100 USD delivered (from their website).  If you like the sig - see if you can get them woodied.  It will make a nice complimentary can  for your DT880 (more coloured toward the mids and highs, while still having nice mid-bass, and very up-front presentation).

Hey,

The SRH940 is not burned in yet so yeah. I will post my impressions after a few weeks (Just remind me to ). Yes we seem to have similar tastes. I'll have a look at the MS1!

About the SRH940 vs 840, I really want to know what I'm missing. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by nikp 

 

About the SRH940 vs 840, I really want to know what I'm missing. 

 

Different ears, different preferences - you can't change what you like and don't like.  I'm very much into natural/balanced sound (even though the two don't go together sometimes).  I personally found the SRH840 sounded a lot more natural than the SRH940 (940 to me very warm - but sweet and dry rather than dark - very coloured).

I could absolutely enjoy the 940 with female vocals, folk, jazz, and some classical.  Didn't do it for me with rock.  And eventually I want one good open can (HD600), a contrasting fun can (so far the MS1i), but I'd like one neutral closed can that will do any genre.  I may yet go back to the SRH840 - but I want to try the FA-003 first.

And to answer your above question -  you're missing nothing - congrats on the SRH940 ..... enjoy them!