Very specific headphone tailored to electronic music. Ultrasone XXX, DT880, HD650, DT990 on a... - Page 2

HD650's would be a good choice.  They're not dark at all, not by any standard. Those who say its dark either never heard it, or heard it on bad setups, or they simply don't like a neutral sound that is closer to speaker sound reproduction,  but instead they prefer overly bright sound that you get from 90% of headphones.

Anyway, they work great for electronic music or any bass heavy music. They're not bass when its not needed, they control their bass very well, but when needed, they deliver. They have incredibly strong punch, but very controlled, very solid, and it doesn't ruin the rest of the frequency range. Imagine its sound like a pair of bookshelf speakers + a small subwoofer. 

Of all the headphones you mentioned, I'm pretty sure they would be the best.  DT880 - no, they're simply too clinical, bright and bass light, DT990 - could work, but still too bright, has slightly recessed mids, doesn't have as much punch as HD650 and overall not as refined. Ultrasone...don't know, never heard any.  IMHO HD650 are the most balanced and overall great headphones at that price range if you could get them for around $300, they work great with any genre, just please don't get caught up in the stories of people who haven't heard them and claim they sound "muffled",  "like you have a pillow between your ears and headphones",  "slow, doesnt work for anything else but classical", etc., because that's all utter nonsense.

I'd check out the 600 or 650 with a good amp. The 600 is more neutral, but I prefer the 650 as it's more 'fun' to me. They're both really comfy, and will sing when attached to a decent amp. 
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by hyogen 

 

I avoid stuff marked for "bassheads" as well.  I think I like really neutral balance... I've asked the guy who recommended to me specifically the HTF600 what I should shoot for for my next upgrade (probably for 5-10 years).  What do you think it should be?  Is it the DT880 which Iiked so much?  I suppose if the HTF600's end up not being capable of tiding me over for a year or so, then I may exchange them for a set of ultrasone for $160-200 like you suggested, or go up to a DT880 (will look into the D70) 32ohm....or get a relatively cheap amplifier like the fiio E8 or E11 for the 250ohm version.  for mobile mobile use, I always have my Triplefi 10's.  But most of the time I'll be using my phone to listen to music.  Open cans are ok because I can just go to a secluded part of the library :)

The 650 are vastly different from every other Senn. headphone. Much more low end definition and heft. Considering the logical upgrade path from the 650 based on signature is the LCD 2 (which is the EDM king, IMO) it makes sense. 
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by jiggawhat 

Hm, I was always under the impression that the HD 650 was not well-suited for electronic music (or any type of Sennheiser for the matter)

Quote:

Originally Posted by jiggawhat 

Hm, I was always under the impression that the HD 650 was not well-suited for electronic music (or any type of Sennheiser for the matter)

Why wouldn't it be?

My HD 580s would beg to differ...

Quote:

Originally Posted by jiggawhat 

Hm, I was always under the impression that the HD 650 was not well-suited for electronic music (or any type of Sennheiser for the matter)

To get you closest to the DT880? I'd have to say the DT880...

Within your budget, I'd just settle down and wait for the Beyerdynamics to go on sale again; ~$200 is not uncommon for the Premium line headphones, and the DT990PRO seems to like to over around $200. Granted, I have not heard any of these, but since that's what you're saying you like - get what you want in the first place. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by hyogen 

 

i'm quoting myself here...but like I have said earlier today, I don't understand why people who like trance want so much bass, when it's already so transparent and easy to hear.  

 

also, the HTF600's which were recommended to me highly for trance are clearly lacking detail in especially mids and highs..(which I have no idea why that would be ideal by any means for trance).......and is touted to have amazing bass, which again is not too important to me!  

 

 

 

so any last suggestions for what I'm looking for preferably less than $175 (used option is ok too) that will get me the closest sound to the DT880s (and my Triplefi 10s)?    now i'm starting to look at the superlux hd668b...  

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by hyogen 

this is really helpful.  thank you.  how about the ultrasone pro 550 compared to the HFI-780?  and is this or the 780 a bit mid recessed to enjoy trance to the fullest?  again lacking in bass quantity is fine by me :)

I haven't heard the PRO550 so I can't comment on those, if they are similar to the PRO900 in that they share the heavier drivers you will need an amp to get the best out of them. The 780s work fine directly out of a mobile device and don't see much of an improvement when powered by an amp. Headphones like the 780s, DT990s, PRO900s, D2000s will all suffer from recessed mids to some extent because they all have elevated bass. With this bass exaggeration you often find the highs are also boosted to try and 'bring out' some of the detail to save the phones from being overly muddy. If you want absolutely flat your options are Sennheiser HD600 which as I mentioned is a bit too laid back for trance. Beyerdynamic DT 880 which needs a good amp for their better 600 Ohm model and the Sony MDR-SA5000 which doesn't need an amp however it will sound very bass-light and airy without one. You could also consider the Sony MDR-SA3000 which is a bit cheaper and because of the cotton ear pads has a little less bass, again paired with an amp it will hit that neutral spot.

I understand where you're coming from not wanting the typical bass-dominant headphone for trance. I'm all about neutral and find that in the DT 880, SA5000 and HD800 however when it comes to trance so much of it is either poorly recorded or recorded for 'sub-woofer systems' that you need a headphone with a slight exaggeration; I prefer Denon D7000 for it's impact with this genre, I wouldn't really recommend the D2000 as they are quite muddy and bottom heavy. A HFI-780 or perhaps the slightly more balanced HFI-680 would suit you just fine. I will add some people do find Ultrasones uncomfortable, personally it didn't bother me but the contrast between those and the DT 880 for instance are like night and day.

I found the HD600's to be quite good with just purely "trance", but might've been mentioned you might need an amp with the synergy to pair with to have it sound best, also I would also tend to avoid any tube amp's for this matter as it colors the sound (add's more vivid quality to the treble, bass boast slightly and warm signature) which in the end colors the almost neutrality of the HD600, from what I've read you don't want that. lol at the poster above who said the HD650's aren't a dark sig headphone, probably its because you have your MKV paired up and that amp itself colors the sound very badly of the HD650 which is a slightly dark sig, balanced neutral headphone. And another lol to those who says the HD650 isn't fast or the HD600 isn't sonically fast for electronic music, like seriously "have you"listened to the HD600 or the HD650 before? Opinions don't count because you've merely read and speculated from a few opinions written by people and taken it as fact when you have not heard it.

The HD650 are good for music with vocals and classical and is not bass-light in anyway, the bass produced is tight and controlled and tries to mimic the neutral point of bass in the song, not emphasising it in anyway. I find the HD650 to be very well suited for music genres such as classical and very good with vocals, there is no harsh or sibilance when the singer sings or talks, reproducing very lifelike vocals. Again, if your after neutrality, the HD650 is good at this, from experience paired with a fast, clear and transparency of a Red Wine Audio amp.

The Sony SA-3k/5k are also other good and airy like headphones that do well with just trance, the 5k I found has a similar treble range and same airy and slightly warm signature of the HD800's, some people find the HD800 lifeless and cold, I do not.. I'm not exactly too sure about the 3k, but from what I've seen with the drivers used in the two, the 5k just has leather earpads, slightly different build structure and sturdier and little less dampening with the O ring around the driver's backside.

I don't know, but if your after the neutral side of trance and require a headphone for it, supposedly the AKG K1""/2"" ranges are pretty neutral but some consider it bass-light. As again, this statement I've just made, I'm not to sure, I've heard the HD272 MKII once and found them to sound very alike the SRH940's which also sound a bit like the HD650 but with a slight bass hump on the equaliser band towards 30hz.

I rushed this post out before doing something else, sorry if your find somethings part of it not making sense to you or reworded wrong.

Hope this clarified a few thing OP.