*** I'm reviving this thread instead of starting a new one. Please skip to post #40. ***
 
 
After listening to most of these and reading about all of them, I’d like to compile a general impression of them along with your inputs. This is for my own benefit as I have yet to finalize my selection, but I'm sure it will help others as well. All of these are circumaural, closed-back, and available from most large retailers with easy return policies. They also all seem fairly smooth, have slightly more bass than dead-neutral, are geared towards listening pleasure verses critical listening, don't need an amp, and are available for $200 or less.
 
Shure 840: Rich, balanced, nice separation, intimate (smaller soundstage, and somewhat close up to it), great detail, neutral-ish, refined, best for studio?
Sennheiser Momentum: Balanced, pleasing, great with modern music, smallest earcups, super lightweight, intimate soundstage, mostly neutral but somewhat warm
Sennheiser HD380: Very detailed, pretty flat response, best for classical, one of the most revealing, great for studio use?
Audio Technica M50x: Most bass, recessed midrange, V-ish frequency response, somewhat bright treble, wide soundstage (albeit somewhat distant)
Sony MDR-1R: Most comfortable, forward midrange, neutral and pleasing but not the most engaging, no apparent faults, warmest
 
And in terms of a liquid-smooth presentation, being immersive for modern genres, non-fatiguing highs, overall enjoyment, and that ice cream for your ears sweetness, how would you rank these in order?
 
For me, right now, it would be:

• Momentums
• Shure 840
• Sony MDR-1r
• HD380
• M50x
• __________ (left blank for "other" - please state)

From your list, I would go 
 
1. MDR-1r
2. Momentums
3. M50x
4. Shure 840
5. Never heard the HD380s! Sorry ):
 
 
JVC SZ2000s or used W1000X/esw9 are very very sweet to my ears. Pure "Ice cream" (;
 
Hope this is useful!
 
Edit: Sorry, my 3 suggestions may be hard to find at any big retailers. I can try to think of more that big stores may offer.
Again, I apologize!

milk - Haha, well that's a bummer. ;-p I'm also interested in checking out the Koss Pro4s, but it's kind of the same situation, hard to obtain for evaluation right now.
 
I am surprised to see you put the M50x ahead of the 840 in terms of the listed goals. It's hard for me to put my finger on the Shure 840 sound... one second I want to call it semi bright and the next, somewhat dark.  Nevertheless, it's still pretty liquidy, rich, and you feel like the music is playing right in front of you.
 
With the M50x, I found that the soundstage seemed further away. Instruments were harder to deconstruct from each other than with the Shure 840, but somehow that made it appear slightly more cohesive than the Shure. And that definitely gave me the impression of a smooth overall presentation and non-fatigue, but I'm not sure if I'd say it was sweeter than the Shure.
 
Which from that list have you spent the most time with, and can you elaborate behind your decision for the Sony?

Hey man,
 
I guess I was straying a bit off of the goal of the sweet creamy flavor you were looking for. I was almost referring that people find the M50X more enjoyable as they have a meatier low end which to me really adds some of the sweet sound.
 
I was majorly and still am somewhat of a mid-range-head and I love all of the Shure line up! though the 840s  I mean PURELY midrange they may even beat out the momentums too, but like the M50x they just have some meat in the low end and slightly smoother tamed treble which makes the mids so intimate and easy to focus on. I mean I didn't really like the M50Xs. I feel they aren't worth their hype and sound a bit off to me in many ways, but I do enjoy the meatier lower mid range and bass. I feel it adds to the immersive sound and weighty male vocals. To be honest, in any case, if I were going to try to start an enjoyable climb in this hobby, I would stray from the M50Xs and start with cans that will give a better sound signature that carries out up until end game, and with your other cans, they do just that. (Mid range based cans can stretch to HD650 - W1000X - HE500, and so on)
 
The Sonys are just extremely warm and lush sounding. Rolled off treble, present, supporting bass, and a very heavy forward mid range. These sound extremely sweet and are a treat with vocals. They do lack detail with the immense warmth, but I find them to be quite great for pure enjoyment purposes!
 
The momentums aren't all in focused on the mids like the 840s but they have this very sweet, dark sound with a weighty low end and a forgiving fun mid range that makes vocals sound very sweet and easy to listen to. The rolled off treble really leaves the sound to the low-end to midrange which just gives a warm, non fatiguing sound. I think these are better overall cans than the Sonys though.
 
Out of your list, and with my better understanding of what you want, I'll leave you with this:
 
Shure 840 - Just all out smooth forward sweet lush mids. These are the mid kings but don't have quite enough bass for me to COMPLETELY fall in love with weightier vocals and deeper string instruments.
 
Momentums - Your description is close for these. These are pretty dark, intimate and have not as forward of a midrange but just a somewhat veiled sound that really spotlights the bass and mids. Treble is certainly there but not nearly the star of the show. Probably the best of the 3 for all rounders IF you need your bass. If not, 840s.
 
Sonys - Warmest and most present mids. All focus on vocals and intimacy. They can be a bit sleepy and hard to REALLY get into, but just a real pleasure for smooth warm and somewhat dark mids. Rolled off treble, but these also have a popular mod that can help a bit with the overall sound!
 
For pure pleasure that isn't fatiguing, I would go Momentums, and then a tie between 840s and sonys for one being a bit boring after a while with no bass (840s) and the Sonys being a bit too unengaging and sleepy and warm.
 
Now I don't want to drive you into anything you aren't interested or comfortable with, but if you decide to dip your toe into slightly not originally thought of areas and try one of the ones I recommended I'll happily offer more thoughts and reasons for them. Plus I'm sure you can get a great return policy with Amazon, or a warranty from authorized dealers online.
 
 
I'm typing this a bit on the go (can you believe it? Ugh!  ) so tell me if anything didn't make sense to you or if you need anymore details or thoughts or general questions.
 
Always happy to help!
 
P.S. I've probably spent the most time with the momentums and I still own them which says something. Though I'll actually probably sell them soon. Expensive upgrades... Gotta love it..  

Great information, thank you milk! The alternatives you listed seem a little out of my budget, so I probably won't be dipping my toes into that pool, yet. I'm already trying to not dip my toes into the on-ear pool again and complicate matters even further, as I've found many potentials fits for me in that category, the V-MODA XS being one of them. My current headphones, though, are cheap on-ear Sony's, and after wearing them for a while, my ears get too uncomfortable. And the clamping force isn't even strong on them. Anyway...
 
I do love an emphasized ~20-~50 hz bass region, with the rest of the frequency curve gradually declining thereafter... and I'm somewhat of a bass head with my car's system, hehe. At home though, I like everything to sound more balanced, with a much slighter subbass emphasis, which is my main reason for not considering the V-MODA M100. I still like rolled off highs before sibilance or harshness can be present, and definitely a lush midrange.
 
Would you say that the Shure 840's bass is still more present than dead-neutral? I mean it's definitely not lean like some other brands/models (and more emphasized than even the 940 right) but definitely less quantity than the M50x, Momentums, and perhaps the Sony's? And then there's bass quality, articulation, and depth, which are more subjective to answer. How would you say the 840 performs in that regard?
 
Compared to the Momentums, I do like how the other four can fold-up and become more compact. It's little things like that that distract me from focusing on pure sound, lol. And compared to the AT M50x, I do like how the others are less hyped. I can't tell you how many times I nearly jumped right away on the M50x's in the beginning, only to be held back by wanting something less common. Of course, popularity shouldn't be the deciding factor in purchasing headphones, but it still impacts my decision in one way or another.
 
Thanks again for your thoughts. I almost like the research phase of any endeavor more than the end result, and talking about headphones/speakers/audio/music is something I can do for a long time. 

Sure thing, buddy!
 
Oh yeah, lush midrange and general sub bass region is my forte. I wish I got more into car systems but my cars stock system is much more impressive than I expected, so I may just throw in some subs, though the bass is already almost overkill for me! And the M100s were meh to me. I can recommend them because they did do some things right that people can appreciate more than me, but it had much less bass than I had interpreted (seems to happen with a lot of cans hyped about bass on here. Especially the Ultrasone Pro 900... lol.. what a bad turn out from ravings on its bass).
 
I would say it is near neutral. You'll hear it on some tracks when needed and it isn't anemic but its pretty neutral. I guess the bass is at the line where no one can complain about it not having enough bass but rather just too little for their tastes (if that makes sense) its more about just not expecting a ton of bass and knowing they will not interfere or even stick out too much in the sound. I heard more bass than the 940s. I feel part of it is being that it tries to be more neutral to a bit more lush in the upper bass and full mid range as the 940s were much more treble focus to be and bass was a bit more anemic. The 940s went for a much more treble and detail focused sound. Rather impressive... but not really my dig for most music or games. They will have less bass than the momentums, sonys and m50xs but meh, those are a bit more consumer based cans where it is boosted noticeably/comfortably rather than relying on quality to be appreciated. I find the 840s bass QUALITY to be the best of your bunch though. The Sonys aren't that articulate or deep, the momentums weren't bad but pretty dark and made for much more modern music as you've stated, the M50Xs are beefy and have decent bass but again they sounded off to me and are over hyped to me. I can tell you're getting better at knowing this, but I'd probably stay away from the M50Xs. If you get REALLY curious some day, the M40Xs are the same with slightly worse bass for near half the price. Meh.
 
I'm totally with you on that, sometimes the little things make you appreciate a headphone so much that sound kind of comes with the mood and ease of use on how ergonomic the cans are! At first I almost couldn't stand the HE400s sound but not because of it's sound quality, but rather its odd flexibility with the cups, the bad comfort, odd shape, really just physically annoying headphones haha, though I sucked it up (and got a headband cover) and gave it some serious time. Also, trying new things is good. Sometimes hype is good! Some newbies have found their love in the M50X or people have reached their nirvana first stab with the HD650 but others find it ridiculously lazy sounding for the price. It points people in 2 directions which is high risk - high reward. I got my friend to go with the HIGHLY underrated M-Audio Q40s rather than the M50Xs. I pointed him in an honest direction, not a hyped one. I've never seen such satisfaction!
 
Of course buddy, always enjoy helping people. When I started out, I got plenty of help on all sorts of endless questions I had, and now that I have gained so much knowledge and have gotten to such points in this audio stuff, the least I can do is give back! Plus I totally agree with you, there are some cool people like you that are sometimes fun to just talk about some cans with and find what really suits one another. It really keeps this hobby alive and interesting!
 
Always happy to help, man!

^I think it’s safe to say that I won’t be getting the M50x. And the way I feel about the Sony’s… I’d probably find them enjoyable, but I feel like they may be too safe as my go-to. I enjoy a warm, laid-back sound, a lot in fact, but I’m not always going to be curled up next to the fireplace listening to Rhye or something. If I were buying multiple headphones, it would be fun to explore owning distinctly different signatures, but since this one will be my first real phones, I want to get something more versatile that will sound more immersive than the Sony.
 
What do you think about the NAD HP50? They seem to check all my boxes and I would definitely try them out based on what I’ve heard from others, but I question if they compel me enough to justify the extra $50 at this moment. I’m in the middle of my next car audio build and it’s quickly eating up my money, lol. I definitely recommend exploring that domain, but be prepared for another slippery slope.  
 
I also really like the sound of Focal cans, but reported durability issues (as well as price) have deterred me. And that’s a real bummer.

Good choice buddy! And yea multiple headphones help a lot.

I've never heard the NAD hp50s. I hear they are pretty good. Neutral with a little elevated bass. They're ugly as all hell but I mean I've heard great things! Yeah haha there are endless choices in car audio. I will start looking more into it. I drive quite a bit so might as well enjoy it!

I've never heard of the Focal cans either! You're stumping me! Haha. Just from what I read, I took the sonys and momentums over them but still seem like great cans. Can't judge until I hear em though.

Tell me if you have any other thoughts!

That is my impression with the HP50's as well. Same with them looking ugly, lol.
 
I'm still relatively new here, but is it always this quiet in this section of head-fi? Perhaps I should have picked more mainstream/accessible models to discuss. Joking, of course.

I only have experience with Momentum's and M50X. I'd say the Momentums are much "sweeter" sounding with better resolution but there was something missing in the high's that I personally enjoy so I found myself turning up the volume to hear those highs(that's when I know the headphone isn't for me). Also the earpads are too small to be comfortable as around ear unless you have smaller than average ears and personally this disqualifies them for me even before the rolled off highs. 
 
M50X is the best in a way because It's so easy to settle for that "package" that you get with the looks and fun but measurably/adequately represented lows, mids, highs but in true sound quality/resolution they are inferior to most likely all the others.
 
From reviews: I would think SRH840 would have slightly too sharp highs for you. MDR-1R seems like the perfect signature for you and everyone seems to like it.
 
I have the HD 380 coming which is scary reading reviews saying they have amazing clarity while others say they are boring and lifeless. One of the reasons I got them is the big earpads look very comfortable. 

"And in terms of a liquid-smooth presentation, being immersive for modern genres, non-fatiguing highs, overall enjoyment, and that ice cream for your ears sweetness, how would you rank these in order?"

Based on this and having owned or currently owning all the headphones you mentioned, it sounds like you like a warm, laid back, easy to listen, comfortable, neutralish experience.

1) Sony 1R
2) Momentum
3) Shure
4) M50x
5) Senn 380

The soundstage and actual physical comfort of the 1R is miles ahead of the others IMO. Very immersive, with really good depth and above average width, height is very good too with it's forward mids. Kinda that triangle effect of the sound, with the vocals at the very top and a fairly strong bass and diffused treble surrounding it. Hardcore audiophiles prob won't like it too much due to rolled off treble and lower mid warmth and the average consumer won't either due to not being a super bass cannon, which means for folks reside in the middle ground these are just about perfect.

In terms of technical ability, true clarity, resolution, stereo imaging, seperation,tonal balance, neutrality, timbre etc. the Momentums by a mile IMO.

M50x sounds a little glossy and artifical, lower mids lack warmth and sound thin, are recessed, upper mids are raised making it sound even thinner and yet still recessed being so close to the upfront treble. In other words they sound very uneven, even though they still are fairly accurate in balance and good detail extraction, but they certainly aren't laid back. Bass and treble are good and no qualms with either, mids are clear but lack realism. Deal breaker for me

Shure 840 are heavy, not as comfortable and the treble is splashy and peaky, mid bass bloat and weak sub bass extension, mids are excellent but somewhat clouded and too warm thanks bass bleed, upper mids terrific. Good headphone but it doesn't compete nowadays IMO.

Senn 380, clamps like hell, crappy pads, boxy sound cupped mids coloration, strange treble, boring, stay away.

As for other options in the under $200, creative aurvana live takstsr pro80, don't let the price fool you they more than hold their own, both sport strong bass capable mids and present but not harsh treble. More traditional neutral headphones are AKG 545 and Brainwavz HM5(I'd take both of these over the Shure for example, given soundstage and overall neutrality.

Yes lots of good options and honestly you can't really go wrong. Hope that helped

ahunatu said:

  I only have experience with Momentum's and M50X. I'd say the Momentums are much "sweeter" sounding with better resolution but there was something missing in the high's that I personally enjoy so I found myself turning up the volume to hear those highs(that's when I know the headphone isn't for me). Also the earpads are too small to be comfortable as around ear unless you have smaller than average ears and personally this disqualifies them for me even before the rolled off highs. 
 
M50X is the best in a way because It's so easy to settle for that "package" that you get with the looks and fun but measurably/adequately represented lows, mids, highs but in true sound quality/resolution they are inferior to most likely all the others.
 
From reviews: I would think SRH840 would have slightly too sharp highs for you. MDR-1R seems like the perfect signature for you and everyone seems to like it.
 
I have the HD 380 coming which is scary reading reviews saying they have amazing clarity while others say they are boring and lifeless. One of the reasons I got them is the big earpads look very comfortable. 

Click to expand...

 
The earpad thing with the Momentum is definitely a bummer. I read that someone had emailed Sennheiser about it and they replied back saying they are meant to sit slightly on the ear... so who knows.
 
I've listened to the SRH840 and M50x back to back. The SRH840 did appear bright at first, but I think it was because of the forward mids which I wasn't used to at first. The SRH840 and M50x seem to have opposing sonic signatures, but nothing about the SRH840 sounded harsh or too sharp to me. Granted, I was only able to skim through a handful of songs, but everything I heard sounded pretty liquidy to me. I just don't know if I'd want them for my one and only pair. I'm just not sure if they are versatile enough for the genres I listen to.
 
The M50x, on the other hand, fit me like a glove. Super comfortable. They sounded more casual and distant than the SRH840, which I dunno might over time equal less fatigue, but that's debatable, especially since many people report their treble leaning towards bright.
 
The MDR-1R seems like it's highs are even more rolled off than the Momentum, don't you think?
 
When are you getting the HD 380's? I'd love to hear your initial impression of them.

omgladygaga said:

"And in terms of a liquid-smooth presentation, being immersive for modern genres, non-fatiguing highs, overall enjoyment, and that ice cream for your ears sweetness, how would you rank these in order?"

Based on this and having owned or currently owning all the headphones you mentioned, it sounds like you like a warm, laid back, easy to listen, comfortable, neutralish experience.

1) Sony 1R
2) Momentum
3) Shure
4) M50x
5) Senn 380

The soundstage and actual physical comfort of the 1R is miles ahead of the others IMO. Very immersive, with really good depth and above average width, height is very good too with it's forward mids. Kinda that triangle effect of the sound, with the vocals at the very top and a fairly strong bass and diffused treble surrounding it. Hardcore audiophiles prob won't like it too much due to rolled off treble and lower mid warmth and the average consumer won't either due to not being a super bass cannon, which means for folks reside in the middle ground these are just about perfect.

In terms of technical ability, true clarity, resolution, stereo imaging, seperation,tonal balance, neutrality, timbre etc. the Momentums by a mile IMO.

M50x sounds a little glossy and artifical, lower mids lack warmth and sound thin, are recessed, upper mids are raised making it sound even thinner and yet still recessed being so close to the upfront treble. In other words they sound very uneven, even though they still are fairly accurate in balance and good detail extraction, but they certainly aren't laid back. Bass and treble are good and no qualms with either, mids are clear but lack realism. Deal breaker for me

Shure 840 are heavy, not as comfortable and the treble is splashy and peaky, mid bass bloat and weak sub bass extension, mids are excellent but somewhat clouded and too warm thanks bass bleed, upper mids terrific. Good headphone but it doesn't compete nowadays IMO.

Senn 380, clamps like hell, crappy pads, boxy sound cupped mids coloration, strange treble, boring, stay away.

As for other options in the under $200, creative aurvana live takstsr pro80, don't let the price fool you they more than hold their own, both sport strong bass capable mids and present but not harsh treble. More traditional neutral headphones are AKG 545 and Brainwavz HM5(I'd take both of these over the Shure for example, given soundstage and overall neutrality.

Yes lots of good options and honestly you can't really go wrong. Hope that helped

Click to expand...

 
 
I'm jealous of your headphone collection, and appreciate your input too.
 
I definitely enjoy a warm, laid back, easy to listen, comfortable, neutralish experience, as you said. But as these will be my only/primary headphones for most of this year, I'm starting to think I want something that is more versatile, engaging, and dynamic. For reference, my home speakers are currently Ascend Acoustics Sierra-1. They are very forgiving, sound good with pretty much any genre, and are definitely easy to listen to and laid-back. However, for my next home speakers, I will be shooting for something a tad less laid-back, with more airy highs, transparency, dynamics, and liveliness... but still smooth and non-fatiguing. Probably something from Dynaudio or Focal Aria.
 
..."and the average consumer won't either due to not being a super bass cannon" hehe, for sure. I mean, I hardly listen to acoustic stuff...bass is a huge component of the genres I listen to, and it is important to me, but more so the quality. I'd rather have O.K. bass and 1st class mids/highs than 1st class bass and O.K. mids/highs. Bass extension is important for me though. I'd much rather have nice 20-40hz extension rather than awesome 40-80hz performance but a drastic drop in the 20-40hz. And so to hear you say the Shures lack sub bass extension is worrisome.
 
Bummer to hear that about the HD 380. Strike 1, I guess.
 
The price of the Creative and Takstar models you listed do raise concerns, lol, but I will check them out. Didn't even know Creative was still around... only have experience with their soundcards, like 15 years ago.
 
I did research the AKG 550, and it's seal/fitting issues turned me off, but so did what I read about it sonically. I've begun researching the 545, and it seems like AKG did deviate a bit from the 550 sound with the 545 model. Did they also improve the seal/fit issues?
 
I bookmarked the Brainwavz a while ago when I first started my quest, but forgot about them. Hmm...
 
You have definitely helped, but you've also sparked more questions, lol.

I think most of these cans are on the Wall of Fame...??

Also, just to cover my bases, my head is pretty huge. My hat size is 7 7/8 or an 8. Which means I pretty much never wear a hat because they are always 7 3/4.
 
And for my music style, it would probably be easier if I just posted a few of my favorite songs.
 
Caribou - Back Home (Might be my favorite of the year, love everything about this song, song wakes up at 1:13 just fyi)

 
 
Daft Punk - Instant Crush (love the whole RAM album, especially Touch and Giorgio, but those have super long intros so here's this one instead )

 
Jamie XX - Girl (love the bass in this song, and everything about it hehe)

 
Jon Hopkins - Breathe This Air (can't get enough of it, his song Disappear feat. Lulu is amazing too)

 
M83 - Midnight City (so good, top notch recording quality)

 
 
A lot of my music is lossless, but I won't really be listening to thaaat much of it on my headphones. I'll mostly be using them for music discovery, which I like to do at night on blogs like earmilk, prettymuchamazing, gorillavsbear, pitchfork, etc... so we're talking about Youtube/Soundcloud quality... with the occasional gaming session (CS/FPS).