The diary entries of a little girl nearing 30! - Page 408  

 

Thanks for all and for the CTRL tip, very handy. It sounds good to me, enough to buy it? well lets wait and see....

 

Oh, and the Theater view is cool, esp, on my plasma.

 

Sounds good.  I'm thinking of a used one from Amazon.  They're pretty cheap that way.

 

 

The V Modas are looking pretty good then.  I think I'm mostly looking for some decent isolation, durability, portability, and something that's easy to listen to and isn't fatiguing even if it sacrifices some detail or fidelity.  If I was able to sit down and just listen to the music I'd use my PFE232s.  I like the ESW9's looks and their midrange timbre but I think I have to rule them out based on durability and isolation.

 

I've been using my KSC 75s lately when I worried about my IEMs getting caught on something and damaged or drenched in sweat but I've had to crank the volume a lot sometimes since they have no isolation.  I'm not sure that a cheaper option will hold up for very long.  Headbands and slider mechanisms offer a lot more places for stuff to go wrong.  Maybe I should go through Joker's thread and see if I can find something cheaper.

 

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I stopped by Best Buy again today and took a listen to what was on display.  The best two were the Senn HD439 and ESW9.  The Senn was like $100 too.  Honorable mention might go to the Bose QC15 or Beats Pro if I could have listened to them with my own music.  The QC15s own if you need ANC.  They kick the soul and Beats to the curb in both isolation and sound.

 

Bose's silly demo station limited what I hear from them but they seemed to have tastefully boosted bass with decent quality through the rest of the spectrum.  Definitely the way to go if you want ANC.  Passive isolation is cheaper and better for SQ but in full size phones it's no good at all for lower midrange and bass frequencies.  You'd never figure out that the Beats studio or the TOTL Soul had ANC unless someone told you.  They're not even that good for a full size closed 'phone.  The OEs had the kind of overly punchy bass that sound great for a while and the really gets on my nerves.  The AEs seemed to have a more balanced FR than the other two but had less clarity.  All the Boses seemed pretty lightweight and fragile but that probably helps a lot with their great comfort.

 

The whole Soul line was so-so.  Kind of dull and a little veiled.  The build wasn't so hot either.  The Beats looked better in that regard.  Might be worth it if they were cheaper than the HD439s or something.

 

The Klipsch Image One had lots of bass but tuned well enough to not be too muddy or obnoxious.  The mids weren't doing it for though.  A little dull and veiled.  The treble was better but the mids ruined it for me.

 

I didn't like the Phillips Downtown at all.  Dull, veiled, and grainy through the mids and treble.  The Uptown was much better.  Closer to the Senn's SQ but more expensive.  Someone could find the looks or the build worth it though.  The uptown was pretty inefficient though.  It was the only one that need high gain on my UHA-4 And I almost maxed out the volume.

 

I don't know if the Beats are really supposed to sound like that or if it's just the crappy tracks they were playing through the demo station.  A double bass in a jazz combo isn't supposed to *thump* like it does on the Studios.  Even my XB700s don't do that.  It keeps the tone right and gives you a larger than life deep and tactile feel.  The Pro looked well built and sounded the best of the beats lineup but it's silly expensive for how it sounds.  It also clamps pretty hard.Other than more overly punchy bass, not much stood out about the Solo or Mixer.

 

The HD439 was tied with the ESW9 for the best sound. It had even and clear mids, the cleanest treble of the bunch, and maybe just a slight bass emphisis.  The fit and finish seemed good but at the same time it also felt cheap.  Something about its plastic just felt "off" to me.  Alo, it probably doesn't have the looks to get much traction in this kind of market.

 

Some other models of note without one on display were the Marley Exodus, Sol Rebulic Tracks, Koss DJ100, and the K550 I mentioned last time.

 

No V Modas though...

Hey Koonhua I've tried the program and it's pretty nice. The thing is I still prefer Media Monkey for the sound. Not sure but for some reason the presentation on Media Monkey is more intimate, this is very noticeable on the vocal range although its more than just that. At least this is the case for me. Thanks for pointing me to this program. I do like the sound slightly more than Foobar though :P

Good Morning! It has been a long week... what'd I miss?

 

 

Interesting... I always thought the looks of the Uptown > Downtown. Might be a good gift item...

 

Actually, that does seem to stir a memory, and I think it indeed might be Sony. Hmm.

 

I wonder if I will be able to spot this DJ headphone next time I'm at the Sony stall.

 

 

That IS a pretty awesome desktop. Usually my desktop backgrounds are desolate factories or other somewhat depressing images. No idea why, I just like them.

 

 

You have XB700's? How are they? Out of curiosity I put a bid down on some XB500's yesterday. 

 

I think it might be some kind Denon?  Not sure.

 

The XB700 is really focused on the sub bass.  It has rumble instead of punch and retains reasonable definition instead of turning into one-note cheap car sub kind of stuff.  Most subs don't even go that low.  You'd probably have to get one of those crazy rotary woofers or something to get 5hz out of a speaker.  I like the tone of the mids too, which is something I'm a little picky about.  It's not all that detailed or transparent but it has a warm tone with pleasant distribution of distortion products.  The highs are elevated a little but not nearly as much as the bass giving it a lopsided smile curve and making it suitable for low volume listening.  It's more grainy and splashy up there but it doesn't really get harsh unless you crank it.  It also has a surprisingly wide soundstage though there's very little depth.

 

Something else I've heard that's in a similar category is the Beyer DT770 Pro 80.  It's focused more on mid to upper bass punch and is clear throughout the spectrum with faster transient response.  I like the XB700 better though.  I prefer the XB'700's sub bass and the Pro 80 has the usual 9-10khz Beyer treble peak which I don't like much.  Most important to me was the midrange.  The Pro80's may have been cleaner and more detailed but it was just "off".  It had a metallic timbre and a big dip in the upper mids that ruined female vocals for me.  The 770/600 was better in that area with a smaller dip and less metallic timbre but I'd still prefer the XB700 for anything with female vocals.

I use JRiver Media Center as well. Very nice program.

Focal Spirit One headphones do not perform well, IMO. If you read my review you know what I think, but a few highlights are that they lack any form of clarity, are 'dead' overall regarding musical enjoyment, and have quite a lot of pressure on the ears. I found the ESW9 to better them in every aspect, and the M-80s to better the ESW9 in all aspects except midrange, especially vocals.

 

It does, doesn't it. The plummeting sensation I felt when getting into or out of a commitment would catch me off guard. But things would turn out all right. I hope they turn out all right for you too.

Bought a baggie of loose d-sub pins on the assumption that they might make good conductors for headphone cable plugs for my 4.A. Also cheaper, since the best price going for Westone-style plugs seems to be around $8 plus shipping for a pair -- considering that money buys a couple short wires thrust through a piece of badly-moulded plastic, it's silly and a little offensive.

 

Anyway, d-sub pins aren't going to work, they're about 30% too large in diameter. I'll have to find that box of old computer cables I've got lying around somewhere, and see if there's a serial cable or VGA cable that could be sacrificed for its pins. I keep wondering what the professional cable builders use for Westone-style plugs - some of 'em are clearly making their own from scratch, but others have neatly-moulded plugs of varieties I'm not seeing available to hobbyists. Frustrating.

 

Thanks for the comparison.  I really like the the ESW9's vocals but it's going to be too fragile for what I'd want to use them for.

 

I looked on Joker's portables thread and the only thing that stood out  as reasonably durable and halfway isolating was the K81DJ but I think it might be too uncomfortable.  I think the 1350's not so comfortable fit and finicky positioning was part of why I didn't use them too often.

 

I'm not really interested in the HD25 because purrin didn't like it and I'm usually bothered by the same kind of ringing and treble peaky-ness that he hates.

@ a_recording

Go for the XB700, I own both the 500 and the 700 and the 700 is by far a better headphone. The 500 is a pocket bass monster with veiled mids and small intimate sound stage. The only thing they have over the 700's are they're more aggressive sounding.

 

There's a bit of a suggestion in some reviews that the highs are a little harsh though... but as for the XB500 if I can get it for $30 bucks I won't complain XD

I won't say sorry, because it seems like you feel like you're treading a necessary path.  But if I can give any advice, it is: Be strong, be easy on yourself, be kind to yourself, and learn again to define yourself by who you are and not by another person.  But, as a cautionary tale, don't get too comfortable that way either. 

 

On a side note, this thread is a very special (virtual) place, and many of us appreciate you being here, so again, please be strong. 

 

(I never really introduced myself into the thread; I just kinda showed up and started making comments after lurking for a long time, and then started drinking your beer without asking.)

 

As the great Amanda Palmer put it, "I don't want to live my life on one side of an ampersand."