Your biggest 'WOW' Factor Headphones

i only have some audio technica pro 700 mk2's and those even WOW ppl that wear beats baha.

I only have Sony XBA-4 with me. The other one of my headphone broke. The Sony really blows me at times with certain genre of music specially classical! 

 

Other headphone that I don't own but find it "WOW!" is the AKG K550 which I kind of prefer it over HD800 withBeyerdynamic A1 amp for it's clarity. HD800 hisses a lilttle with female vocals to me. Also the UE4000 with it's EXTREME details for the price. Prefer it over most of the headphones under $200 price tag. Last but not least, the Apple Earpods that I used to own but now gave it to by brother. Totally amazed for the price to perfomance ratio. Wasn't expecting this* much bass from earbuds at this price although sometimes might find it too much. :)

Personally I've thought of myself as an audiophile for a long while, listening to my old Senn PX100s and B&O A8s. 

I was wrong. 

After lurking on the forums for a bit I finally went to a store to demo some separate rigs. Went straight to the HD 600s and thought, 'ok, I can hear an improvement but the price really isn't justified' then the salesperson kindly offered me a pair of HD 650s and my mind was BLOWN. I just fell in love with the warm, lush and dreamy quality of the 650s. 

I bought them on the spot. 

Since then, I've demoed plenty more head phones such as the LCD 2/3s, HD 800s, Grado PS1000, Grado HP2 and whilst some I have considered sonically superior, they bring to mind my initial reaction with the HD 600s.

So I guess the HD 650s will always remain my babies even when I do choose to "upgrade". 

Obviously, I've been using my 650s to blow my friends away. My girlfriend is now trying to cut down on the clothes and buy herself some head-fi. (I'd say that's pretty successful) 

Although I find the secret to wowing people with your gear is actually with the recording quality. Pick a really well mastered lossless track designed to demo extremely high end hi-fis and the like immediately and they will notice the difference immediately. First impressions are key and if you play Ke$ha of the bat.... even I'd go running for my iBuds. 

650's for me, too. Before them, I thought I liked U-shaped sound signatures the best. I didn't really consider mids and thought a mid-centric headphone would sound too boring. Not sure why I even bought the HD650's knowing that they were mids centered, and having heard so many people call them boring, but I'm glad I did. The euphony of this headphone is incredible; I love how detailed and textured it can be without being fatiguing in the slightest bit.

A700X for me, When i got these phones i knew they wouldn't have the bass impact most of my earplugs in the past had, the clamp and wings is new to me most headphones i used sat on the ear and had next to none clamp, so naturally my last headphones kept slipping especially on hot days and i wanted something that'd be comfortable, non-fatiguing and not slipping all over the place.

 

For the WOW factor when i showed others these phones they definitely took a liking to them and enjoyed listening to them and felt they were quality and fun.

Edited by jake120 - 2/18/13 at 1:55am

 

Yeah, my sentiments exactly. My previous pair of headphones were the Pioneer HDJ-2000s which are very much U-shaped.

I remember reading somewhere on this forum a 'Chinese audiophile proverb' or some Schiit about how novice audiophiles crave bass, intermediate audiophiles crave treble and seasoned audiophiles crave mids. Whilst I don't agree with this completely, I really do love the smooth, textured mids or the 650s. It's truly a euphonic listening experience that has a dreaming quality I have yet to hear from other more 'superior' headphones. 

Their price/performance isn't THAT good especially with their terrible fit.

 

+1

Took them out for a run... kept falling out every ten steps! 

The first set of headphones that really wowed me big time was listening to the HD650 on a X-Can amp years ago. I remember it was such a warm, impressive sound, and it didn't take long before I bought a pair. Since then the most impressive headphone I've heard is the HE-6. 

Same issue with the fit that's why I pass it on to my brother but the SQ are impressive for the price of corse. My brother don't seem to have fitting issue. Lucky him! The SQ remind me of the UE6000 a little although the price are far apart. V-Shape. Pretty fun to listen to in the morning  for a good start up xD

first wow was tf10 with all the details. second was hd598 with its soundstage. third is the s500 with its allround capabilities.

Nearly passed up replying because I personally believe that headphones are such a personal thing and a thread like this could simply become a oneupsmanship series of posts. On reading the replies I could see that was not happening and it seems the HD650's get plenty of votes. I must listen to some soon. But then I felt compelled to put a vote in.

 

Frankly, most of the phones I've purchased Wowed me at first. That's probably why you buy them. But the headphone that continues to wow me are among my most humble... Sennheiser's HD25-II, the same one as the HD25-1 II but with the 2m straight tip cable. They just sound so good. While neutral, they're still fun. Just the right bass quantity, great mids and treble without sibilance except on poor mixes. Don't require an amp but respond well if you do. With my DX100, they sound brilliant. No hiss, good separation, not bad soundstage for a closed phone, and once you get them worked out, I can wear them for long periods despite the clamping force. The design is uncanny. I think the way the ear cups slide down the prongs means the pressure is equalised more than most phones. I'm a fairly big bloke so most phones I wear have the ear pads near the lower extremes which means many phones have excessive clamping because as they extend the pads get closer together so spreading them requires more force the further out they extend. Bit it is the SQ and value for money that make these little portables such a great buy. 

 

Thanks for giving me the chance to praise them...

Hm... my first "wow" moment came in the form of the Panasonic HJE900. Coming from an Ety ER-6i, it was a BIG change!

 

I soon sold them to "chase the sound" that I was looking for. Ended up buying a slew of IEMs, all of which didn't really have any incremental quality improvements over the HJE900. So I decided to find a good pair of cans; this is what lead me to purchasing a second hand Denon D1001. Once I got them, I immediately set to modding them, fully "markL-izing" them. That was my second "wow" moment.

 

After having the D1001 for awhile, I ended up getting back into the "search". Cans and IEMs came and went, all proving to sound good but not good enough to keep. The only headphone that I have now that is even remotely close to challenging my D1001's throne [upon my head] are these vintage SR325 that I just traded for. They sound remarkable!

 

To this day, I don't think I've ever heard a can with the same characteristics I find in my modded D1001... Hopefully the upcoming MI Meet will give me a much needed change 

X2 regarding the HJE900 (and also I bought the D1000 as well, chasing the sound I was looking for in a headphone). My second 'wow' moment came when I first heard the Yamaha PRO 500 just a couple weeks ago - sounds just as natural as, but more detailed than, my beloved HJE900. Never thought I would find that kind of sound in a hp.
Edited by roma101 - 2/18/13 at 7:35am