Introduction:
Hello all! Recently, I have been seeing a lot of people in this forum, as well as, the others are talking about all these wonderful headphones a lot! Since I have this great opportunity to give all those headphones a listen, I thought why not make a comparison?
Without any further move, here we go.
Ultimate Ears UE6000:
Build Quality:
These are mostly made of plastic. Headband are coated with rubber. This is what you would aspect from these days headphones to minimize cost per unit and weight in general. It's earpads and headband cushion are made of soft leather to maximize comfort and help with passive isolation. One of the top propriety while sitting in public transport or walking on the street.
Comfort:
Earpads has surprisingly thick cushion to avoid your ears from touching the drivers on each side of the ear cups to so your ear will suffer less from clamping force and pains after long term of wearing. Deep cushion are not enough for friends with L-size ears. These have a great sense of width that will fit friends with L-size ears. Headband cushion is no exception too. As earpads and headband cushion are made of pleather, it does get sweaty and warm after a while under hot environment.
Style:
Something that modern people are looking for. These satisfy most friends who are looking for great style while on the public. Nothing much to say but excellent. It has 2 color choices that you can choose from that is white or black. Both have a blue color in it. Fantastic job with color choice.
Features:
In the package, straight out of the box, you get a detachable cable with remote and mic in it. I think this is a nice add as most the weakness of most headphones are cable. Once it got tangled badly, it will no longer produce sound anymore. Without detachable cable function, you would have to pay the price of new headphone instead of a less than $10 cable. Foldable design for easy portability and easily sits inside a pouch that is provided in the box. Active Noise Canceling that uses battery cells to power and it does cancel out plenty of noise. No worries! Ran out of battery? You can still run in passive mode. Excellent isn't it? You don't have to worry about power, tangled cable or not enough storage place in your bag. Great for modern lifestyle.
Sound Quality:
The main reason you purchase a pair of good headphone. UE6000 for example. Personally, I think these are designed for modern lifestyles from build quality to features and sound quality are no exception. It has a V-shape frequency curve. Bass are well extended and Basshead need not apply. Well extended yet controlled is the reason why UE6000 got popular. Stepping up to the mids, like it or not, it is recessed. As it goes higher and closer to the highs, it gets better and better. There's very little grain in sound but it is still there. Soundstage is what you aspect from a closed headphone. Details are similar to UE4000. When in Active Noise Canceling, the soundstage narrowed down. Overall, it's a good headphone for the modern lifestyle and music.
Sennheiser Momentum:
Build Quality:
Sennheiser Momentum is one of the best build quality headphone in its price range. It's as if you are in a Bentley car. The headband and earpads cushion are made of real leather. This is something rare. The adjustable headband is made of well finished stainless steel. I am really surprised when I first see these headphones. The first sight in love I must say.
Comfort:
Some might like these comfort while some does not. I'm in the middle of both. Friends with M-size ears might like it. Friends with L-size ears might find these are Full-size Supra headphone. You might like to try before you buy if you think you have L-size ears. Hopefully, someone who is brilliant from Head-Fi can introduce us a mod to widen the earcups. That's all about width. Now the depth which I find it deep enough to prevent your ears from touching the drivers inside. Like most closed headphones, your ears might get sweaty or/and warm after some times of listening music with it.
Style:
Real leather, stainless steel. What else do you need when you have both of those great materials? Still wanting more? Well, Sennheiser Momentum didn't disappoint you. For those friends who love luxury design, these are great! It comes with two color choices. Brown or black with red colored cable. The black/red color version was just recently introduced during the CES 2013. The build quality remains the same as the brown color version.
Features:
These canes pack with a handful of features. Detachable cable, hard carrying case and it comes with 2 types of cable; one with mic and remote the other without mic and remote. The star of these headphone features is it's headphone jack. You can twist it to the right angle that you like. From 180 degrees to 90 degrees. You can even stop at 45 degrees that is best of both worlds. You no longer have to worry anything else about the cable. Well done Sennheiser!
Sound Quality:
Did I mention that these are one of my favorite closed headphone? If not, now I will share with you. As always, I would love to start from the lows. It's well extended and satisfy basshead who is looking for good balance too. The lows could have been fantastic if Sennheiser are willing to put in better control to it. Mids are warm like most Sennheiser headphones. The highs are great with good sense of sparkle. Nothing sound abnormal overall. A very little grains sound was heard during my entire audition unlike most of the older Sennheiser headphones. Details are good and soundstage can be lacking in classical music. For Pops, it is more than enough. Overall, I find this a very easy to listen type of headphone.
Sony MDR-1R:
Build Quality:
At first, I thought these were made of aluminum but after a few good number of research, I realized these are mostly made of plastic. It has however a good finish that looks like aluminum. Headband and earpads cushion are made of pleather. Which I find it nice and comfy. Headband are easily adjusted with no doubts.
Comfort:
These have one of the best closed comfort headphone I ever tried. Wide earcups with a good sense of depth that prevent your ears from touch those exposed drivers inside although mine touch a little. The cushions are soft. With wide rooms for air, these do not get warm or sweaty that badly after long term listening.
Style:
As I said in an individual review of these. "Listen music with style." I prefer these sexy look over Sennheiser Momentum. It is however personal preference. One has luxury style the other has urban style. Depends on what you like but I really like this style.
Features:
When it comes to features, the biggest concern here is portability and durability. This has no exception. It comes with a carrying pouch. It folds flat for easy storage and the cable is detachable. Cables are not easily tangled too. Overall, fantastic features.
Sound:
It will not make my cup of tea if a pair of headphone look good but don't sound good. Sony MDR-1R fortunately, didn't disappoint me. I would describe this sound as warm and neutral. The lows are less in quantity comparing to Momentum but better in quality. Mids are warm and detailed although not as detailed as the UE6000. Highs are very responsible and not at all aggressive. Grains are at its minimum volume causing great clarity throughout my audition. Details and soundstage are second best in this comparison. These are mainly designed for modern music, therefore I don't really like it with Classical music, I find it lacking in some point that I don't know why. All and all, it is very smooth sounding.
AKG K550:
Build Quality:
Never did I heard any build quality problem from these headphones. It's mostly metal and very little plastic. There's a large word labeling "L" & "R" inside the earcups. Talking about earcups, headband and earcups cushion both using pleather. Fairly good quality ones again it don't look like it's going to break anytime soon.
Comfort:
Comfort is my second concern that comes right after sound. AKG really didn't an excellent job on designing the headphone comfort. It seals my ears without having any trouble. It has a good sense of depth and width that I have nothing to argue about. One thing that you might want to take note of if you are looking forward to use these for portable. It is massive! It does not come with any portable pouch. If it does not seal your head well, you might find it lack of bass and lows detail.
Features:
These fold flat for easy storage. Other than that, I have nothing much to say or find anything lacking except for detachable cable as these already has a strong build which does not need anything extra specially when it is meant to use at home.
Style:
Once again, these are meant for reference but this actually has some fashion. Very nice polish on the earcups and nice brush on the headband. Although the cable is not detachable, they place it at a very nice point that does not affect the style.
Sound:
These are one of my favorite sounding headphone at this price range! Lows are punchy and well controlled with good sense of warmness at the upper lows and lower mids. That being said, these actually have smooth and detailed mids. Highs might be a little artificial but not as much as UE4000. I can't hear any grains on these. It's very clean sounding. Details and soundstage is what earns the point most specially for a closed headphone. I don't think I had ever heard headphone that sound so clean before. Even the HD800 don't come close when it comes to "clean" to me.
Shure SRH 840:
Build Quality:
Not the best nor the worst. Wasn't all that happy with the build quality for the price. The plastic feels thin and the earpads feels cheap. Exposed cable on the headband look flimsy. I hope Shure is willing to upgrade these lines as I find it all have build quality issue and slight comfort issue.
Comfort:
For friends with L-size ears might find ears touching the drivers. It can be fixed with a few mods. The earpads are soft, really soft and a good sense of width. If you dislike strong clamping force, this headphone might not be for you as I find the clamping force on these pretty strong. Comfort in comparison to ATH-M50, the ATH-M50 have thicker earpads but fairly similar in quality. ATH-M50 earpads are slightly harder. Overall, I prefer ATH-M50 comfort over SRH 840 with deeper earpads.
Features:
If you are coming from ATH-M50, it does the similar things such as folding. Cables are detachable where as ATH-M50 are not. It fits in well with third party cable in case you dislike the coiled cable for portable use. I really like the cables as it is thicker than most stock detachable cable that I had come across. A nice soft pleather carrying pouch are included to keep your headphones safe inside.
Style:
These are not designed for friends who are looking for great style as these are not designed to be stylish. Not much to speak here but the ATH-M50 does look better to me.
Sound Quality:
It does not matter if it doesn't build good, look great if it sound excellent. Although it does not sound best in this comparison but it sounds great for the price given. There's a peak at around 100Hz which is the midbass in short causing slight harsh in the bass department and slight roll-off are there at the lows. Climbing up to the mids that Shures are well known for and SRH840 do not disappoint. It's smooth and very easy to listen. Highs are clear and not much sibilants here. Details are great but the soundstage fall short but wider than ATH-M50. In comparison, I prefer these over ATH-M50 at most aspects.
AKG K167:
Build Quality:
Much better than most headphones here although still made of plastic mostly. Plastic are pretty thick.
Comfort:
Love it. Velour, isolate plenty of noise and most importantly, ultra comfortable! Good sense of depth and I don't remember my ears touching the drivers. Very good width dimension. The headband cushion on the other hand are made of velour to slightly thinner but it is still comfortable overall and does not trap hairs at all. Overall, very comfortable.
Features:
Foldable design and the earcups are turnable to ease most DJs. Folds flat for portable design. I do wish AKG could include a carrying case.
Style:
One word. "AWESOME!" Really like the little tiny spot on the headband and the awesome logo on the earcups. Black color mostly and it really makes those tiny spots shine. Very cool looking in a dark room with a little light.
Sound Quality:
AKG specially designed it for DJs but to me, it actually plays well with most genres of music. Take the Sennheiser HD598 with more bass. The bass is tight and punchy but it carries out slightly harsh sound after each bass ended. The mids and highs are forward to me similar to HD598 but not as forward which means, less sibilants at 6KHz to 8KHz. Pretty clear at the top and turning down the bass with EQ will help improving clarity. Soundstage is great for closed headphones and details are pretty good.
Comparison:
Still can't make up your mind after reading 4 of the above reviews? Here's a direct comparison towards each other. To make it short, I will just make it simple. So here we go!
Build Quality:
AKG K550 = Sennheiser Momentum > AKG K167 > Sony MDR-1R > Sennheiser HD598 > Ultimate Ears UE6000 > > PSB M4U2 > Shure SRH 840
Sennheiser is really throwing in some real leather to Momentum's headband and earcups cushion. Headband adjuster there are made of stainless steel with nice finish. Really impressive. AKG K550 on the other hand are really sturdy. Mostly made of metal and very little plastic. Shure on the other hand plastic are too thin. The UE6000 feels sturdier with it's rubber coated design and thicker plastic also harder.
Comfort:
Sennheiser HD598 = AKG K550 > PSB M4U2 > Sony MDR-1R > Ultimate Ears UE6000 > AKG K167 > Sennheiser Momentum > Shure SRH 840
Although Sennheiser Momentum is full-size circumference, it does not cover my ears entirely and it feels more like full-size supra. Ultimate Ears has bigger and longer earcups compared to Sennheiser Momentum but it gets steamy quickly to me. It just fit in nicely with no extra space for larger ears. Shure on the other hand could have won Sennheiser Momentum if the cushions are thicker.
Features:
Ultimate Ears UE6000 > PSB M4U2 > Sony MDR-1R > Sennheiser Momentum > Shure SRH 840 > AKG K167 > Sennheiser HD598 > AKG K550
Sennheiser Momentum might have won Sony MDR-1R if it folds flat. Where as AKG K550 lacks a detachable cable which is quite disappointing to me. I think UE6000 won this category as active noise canceling is what modern lifestyle really need specially while in public transport. HD598 on the other hand, have a detachable cable compared to K550.
You may argue that, the M4U2 offer better features than UE6000 but for the big price differences, I actually aspect more on the Active NC.
Style:
Sony MDR-1R > Sennheiser Momentum = Ultimate Ears UE6000 = PSB M4U2 > AKG k167 > Sennheiser HD598 > AKG K550 > Shure SRH 840
Sennheiser Momentum and Ultimate Ears UE6000 both look good but in very different ways. Momentum looks luxury with it's brown color leather finish. UE6000 on the other hand look fancy with its glossy and reflective color & this is what most teenagers will be looking for. The PSB M4U2 and UE6000 style are quite comparable to me but hey! I like UE6000 white and blue color! Just a personal preference.
Sound:
AKG K550 = PSB M4U2 > Sennheiser HD598 > Sony MDR-1R > Sennheiser Momentum > AKG K167> Shure SRH 840>Ultimate Ears UE6000.
Sony & Sennheiser are all about personal preference. One might prefer Sennheiser Momentum over Sony MDR-1R but to me, I find Sony MDR-1R has wider soundstage and ted better details with better controlled lows. Ultimate Ears did pretty good in all categories but the limited soundstage and recessed mids left nothing much to compare. It is however, the headphone with lowest price in this review and offers one of the most features. Sennheiser HD598 and K550 are off different animals and I find both are nice but HD598 carries some sibilants.
I ones find the AKG K550 are equal to Sennheiser HD598 but after having to audition the PSB M4U2 again, because of the extra sibilants the HD598 carries, it got moved down to 2nd place in my mind. Please don't get me wrong! I still love them as a open headphone!
Billson 
Do share with me on which headphone you prefer the most out of all these headphones! Ones again, sound is very subjective and not everyone has the same taste.
Edited by BillsonChang007 - 5/7/13 at 5:43am
