Battle Of The Flagships (57 Headphones Compared) UPDATE: Ultimate Ears UERM added (4/14/13) - Page 31

 

I guess I'm one of those people.

 

I'm just saying..  

Awesome job... I had a pit in my stomach scrolling through the ratings. Too bad the HE-60 wasn't included, but I more or less concur with your conclusions... from what I have heard, my music prteferences, etc.

 

We are all in your debt for even attempting such a mission.

 

Gracias.

 

PS - and you came to the right conclusion, in the end.   :-)

Kinda sucks that the W5000 sounds that bad. I have the (much) lower-end ATH-ESW9 and I like its sound signature. Upgrading from that, I was initially looking at W5000 but you owning the ATH-W1000, would you say that its (so much) better value for money wise than the w5000? Am afraid I cannot afford the W3000anv for now.

 

Anyway, superb thread. :-)

+1

 

Edited by Sahara - 11/3/12 at 9:48pm

I'm sure this has already been mentioned and that I'm probably butting into the middle of a developed argument here (I don't feel like reading 31 pages of anything past midnight), but that final photo of the original post has to be one of the greatest Head-Fi photographs of all time.

Right up there with Ari and his buxom R10's.

 

Ha, you post that in jest, but I suspect it's what a few posters would like to ask in all seriousness. Who knows, maybe someone will yet have the brass (and stupidity) to do so.

Amazing thread.

+1

+2 

 

honestly thank you so much for the work you've put into this. I might or might not ever finish reading about every single headphone that you've listed here simply because they were featured down in the review, but it does put into perspective just about all the notable headphones as of 2012. that you took 16months to complete it is certainly respectable. I do not think that 99.9% of this forum could or would be able to fork out the time or effort (or $$$$ hell $$$$) to do what you just did. thank you for your contribution.

Hi David,

 

On a pure resolution and detailed note, where does the SA5000 rank (Only dynamic drivers)? I just want to see to what price range does its detail match up to.

 

Thanks!

No and yes. But Grado's are Marmite. I've heard enough models to self respectively come to this conclusion. Now, if your now going to tell me that the HP2 sounds nothing like a Grado then I'll walk away shaking my head and get back to ironing my underpants.  

 

JFYI, RS1's are one of my fave headphones. They just don't do anything better than the LCD2's imo. :)

If the HP2's were below the HD800's, you would have hit the roof. Fact.

Had another good read, a few things that come to mind;

1. Sound quality rightfully isn't everything. For example the HE-6 drops "points" for its lackluster design, questionable build quality and uncomfortable nature, more so than other Hifimans due to it's price. This just further accentuates why this is one of the best reviews ever

2. That David favors cold or analytical headphones only goes to show how natural, transparent and outright awesome the LCD2 and LCD3 really are, at #12 and #8 respectively.

3. The HE-500 really is the sweet spot for price/performance. I'd also like to see the HE-400 as I'd guesstimate it would make the top 30.

4. I'm buying an LCD-3 and blaming David if my wife finds out.