kuhchuk
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2013
- Posts
- 183
- Likes
- 22
Preface
This is a work in progress, primarily to help me organize my thoughts about my current stable, and to help me decide which cans should be culled from the herd and which cans I may want to look into in the future. I am posting it here in the hopes that it will help others make somewhat more informed decisions, although this should not be mistaken as a "end-all, be-all," shootout of cans in this price range. For now, it will consist of my three pairs of full-size, circum-aural headphones, but will more than likely be expanded in the future as I try out new headphones.
Please also keep in mind that all of this is based on subjective listening analysis. I don't have the equipment to volume match my gear, and I'm only giving my own opinions. We all hear differently, so feel free to disagree with me, and maybe start a conversation about it. And bear in mind that my opinions might also change over time. I try my best not to be a stubborn jerk.
Sources
The sources used for all headphones will be an O2/ODAC stack and my LG G3 unless stated otherwise. Some in the crowd may believe that different amps or dacs may be better suited to a particular headphone, and that's a very real possibility. However, I prefer to have equipment that is audibly transparent and does not cost half a year's salary. The O2 has more than enough power for all the headphones listed so far, and can easily drive all of them to downright uncomfortable sound levels.
The amp and DAC on my phone have proven to be adequate for most headphones, although the amp does struggle to provide enough power for others, but more on that later.
Musical Preference
Of course, some headphones seem to do a better job in some genres than others, so a quick snippet of musical taste and a few sample tracks seems to be a good idea in a review of speakers or headphones.
To start, my taste in music is rather different from the average Joe. I'm quite drawn to the strange and experimental, but this curiosity spans many genres. Lately, however, I've been listening to a lot of math rock, math pop, etc., as well as lots of different metal and a bit of industrial. I'm an infrequent classical listener with a cursory knowledge of the genre, but I do immensely enjoy Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.
I will provide links to some sample tracks that I think show strengths or weaknesses of a given set of cans (on Bandcamp when available, and Youtube if not).
Without further ado, let's begin.
Audio Technica ATH-M50 - Purchased for $99 + Shipping from Massdrop
The Audio Technica ATH-M50 has long been seen as a great bang-for-your-buck entry into the world of head-fi. They're easy to drive, rugged, and much more detailed than what the average Joe is used to.
Build Quality - 8/10
These things are tanks. While they may not use the absolute highest quality materials in the world, I have no doubts about their durability. You can bend and twist the headband surprisingly far without damaging it, and I've never had a problem with these kicking around in a bookbag. The M50's are built to last. Another minor problem is that they can be a little bit creaky when adjusting them, but after you've got them in place, this isn't much of an issue at all.
Comfort - 6/10
These things are not the most comfortable headphones in the world. The stock pleather pads can get a bit hot and sweaty, and my right ear never fits perfectly within the cup without brushing the top. Clamping force seems to be pretty much ideal for my head, though. It's a nice balance between a comfortable fit and not having them fall off your head. Minor pressure point issues arise with the headband, but nothing really worth complaining about. Simply taking them off for 30 seconds every 30 minutes or so usually clears up any issues.
Clarity, Soundstage, and Instrument Separation - 7.5/10
The overall soundstage is average at best, and instrument separation sometimes suffers because of it in particularly complex, layered passages. For your average Top 40 listener, this shouldn't be an issue. Clarity and resolution however, really do redeem this category quite a bit. The precision with these cans is quite excellent, and you can pick out most details fairly well.
As an aside, the M50's are currently the only closed pair of headphones in this roundup. As such, I'm not going to bother covering isolation. These will isolate much better than the other two, but for home listening in a quiet environment, this won't make much of a difference.
Sound Signature - 6/10
The bass seems relatively flat, and maybe ever so slightly elevated, but they're certainly not bass cannons by any means. The mids seem to be very mildly recessed, with treble that seem to be slightly elevated, with subtle hints of sibilance every now and then. Overall, I'd say it's a very subtle V-shaped response, but still very close to neutral. This makes them quite a bit better for applications like monitoring than some of the other headphones I'm comparing them to, but I generally prefer a bit more emphasis on the mids, and if I can get a bit more out of the bass while I'm at it, then I'm a happy camper. Your mileage may vary, of course, but for me the sound signature found on the M-50's isn't quite to my taste.
Overall Impressions - 7/10
Good all-rounders. In my opinion, they don't exactly shine or falter in any given genre, which is at the same time their strength and their weakness. They seem equally at home with classical as they do rap or even metal.
When you can find them on sale, the M50's provide a good value for the money. I have no problem recommending them at the $100 price point for a pair of closed cans, but would not pay much more than that, and would recommend checking out open cans if the intended use case is for at-home listening. I do think that these headphones are rather over-hyped, but don't let that turn you away from this set of headphones. If you're coming from $20 Sony's or the earbuds that came with your phone, you probably won't regret buying these in the slightest.
Music listened to during the writing of this review:
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - Grand Opening and Closing
Maps and Atlases - You & Me & The Mountain
Clever Girl - No Drum and Bass in the Jazz Room
Demonic Death Judge - The Descent
Sennheiser HD 558 - Purchased for $90 + Shipping on eBay
The Sennheiser HD 558 replaced a much loved staple of the Sennheiser lineup, the HD 555 in 2010, and has gone on to become a staple itself. It's lightweight, comfortable design, excellent sound quality, and understated, elegant looks continually draw people to the 558. They're easy enough to drive without an amp from many devices, although they might not reach sufficient volume on older devices.
As an aside, with a Phillips head screwdriver and 5 minutes of your time, you can draw a bit more out of these headphones with the "foam mod." As with every change you make to a pair of headphones, it has it's advantages and disadvantages, which I'll cover later, but I recommend trying it out if you own a pair of these excellent cans. If you don't like the changes, you can easily return them to stock. In this review, I will be comparing the 558's in the modded form, as I think it's well worth the trade-off.
Build Quality - 9/10
As with the M50's, the construction of the HD 558's are quite solid. I would definitely be more comfortable thrashing the M50's around, but these are solid all the same. The reason these score higher for build quality than the M50's is the quality of the materials used. Everything has a much more premium feel on the 558's, from the plastic used for the driver housings to the thin, soft, vinyl-like substance covering the headband. The removable cable is also a plus, ensuring you don't need to replace your entire pair of headphones or break out a soldering iron or some electrical tape if your cable is damaged. The use of velour earpads instead of pleather is also a nice touch, which leads nicely into comfort.
Comfort - 9.5/10
These are by far the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn. The ear pads have just enough give, the headband is nicely padded with the same cushion material as the ear pads, and the clamping force is again in the Goldilocks zone. My only complaint is that the back of my ear sometimes brushes the protrusion in the driver housing towards the rear of the cups. If not for that small issue, I'd give them a perfect score on the comfort front.
Clarity, Soundstage, and Instrument Separation - 8/10
Again, the 558's are going to trade blows with the M50's. While the 558's definitely win on soundstage and instrument separation, overall clarity and resolution goes to the M50's. This can make the 558's slightly more forgiving of bad recordings, and an absolute treat for live recordings and binaural music. It is important to note, however, that the soundstage and instrumentation do benefit a fair bit from the foam mod. It's not a night and day difference, but it's enough to warrant the mod, in my opinion.
Sound Signature - 9/10
One of the trade-offs of the foam mod is the slight reduction in bass emphasis in a pair of headphones that are already slightly light on the bass. These are not going to be the ear-thumping, skull-rattling headphones that some of you dream of. However, what they lack in quantity, they really do make up for with quality. The bass is rather tight, and with the excellent instrument separation, it isn't hard at all to focus in on some tasty bass lines. However, the emphasis here is on the unbelievably alluring mids and the treble that walks a nice balance between smooth and crisp. Female vocals, guitars, and brass instruments can be absolutely sublime, and I detect very little sibilance from these cans. Overall, the only changes I would make to the sound signature would be to add a bit more bass presence, assuming I could leave everything else the same.
Overall Impressions - 9/10
In my opinion, these headphones are nearly perfect. They're comfortable, well built, and sound almost exactly how I want my headphones to sound. They seem to handle all genres pretty well, but definitely excel in some more than others. Obvious strong suits include math rock and math pop, both known for their very sweetly tuned guitars, any female vocals, classical, and any recordings that benefit greatly from good sounstage, such as binaural recordings.
This is currently my favorite pair of headphones on the planet, and is currently the first pair of headphones I recommend for at home listening. Using my phone as a source, I can drive them to my ideal listening volume with about 10% of the amp's headroom to spare, so anyone with a decent phone should have no issue using these when moving about the house. These are definitely going to be a staple of my stable for quite some time.
Music listened to during the writing of this review:
Bent Knee - Shiny Eyed Babies
The Fall of Troy - The Fall of Troy
This Town Needs Guns - This Town Needs Guns
HiFiMan HE-400 - Purchased for $299 on Amazon
The HiFiMan HE-400 are by far the most unique pair out of the ones I'm reviewing today. For one, they use planar magnetic drivers instead of the dynamic drivers of the other two. They're also the only pair that I paid more than $100 for, and their sound signature is much different from the other two. This is neither a good or a bad thing, as both technologies have their merits and their faults.
This is definitely a pair of cans that will make you consider an amp. I can just barely get the volume I want out of my phone in a quiet environment, although my O2 has enough juice on high gain to make your ears bleed. I suspect that a fair number of modern motherboards and inexpensive sound cards and amps (such as some of the cheaper FiiO products) will suffice unless you like to crank your music really high.
Build Quality - 7/10
There are certain aspects of the build quality that HiFiMan absolutely nailed - the driver housings are friggin' tanks, the mechanisms that allow the housings to rotate on two different axes are dead solid, the stock cable (although too long for my taste) is absolutely studio or stage worthy, and despite complaints about the cable connectors, I haven't had any issues with them. However, there is one glaring weak spot in the construction of these fine headphones - the headband. Or more specifically, the way that the driver assemblies attach to the headband. I know that the rivets connecting them are quite strong, but the plastic (possibly fiberglass?) covers that match the driver enclosures give me cause for concern. I'm not sure if this is a common issue or if it's just my pair, but those covers are starting to come unseated from the headband. A little bit more padding in the headband would be appreciated, but not strictly needed, and most people seem to find that you need to bend the headband to fit your head better, as they come from the factory with a clamping force comparable to what I would imagine my head would feel like if Andre the Giant decided to crush it with his bare hands.
Comfort - 7/10
After you get these things adjusted, they're not too bad. They're definitely on the heavy side at approximately half a kilo, but with some careful bending of the headband, you will barely feel any pressure points as you can get the weight to be pretty evenly distributed. The foam in the stock pads could be a little bit softer, and I just plain didn't like the velour pads. Not too shabby, but definitely not winning any awards for comfort here.
Clarity, Soundstage, and Instrument Separation - 9/10
Due to the nature of the planar magnetic drivers, these are very precise, crisp sounding headphones. They'll definitely bring out details (and mistakes) present in a recording that you may not have noticed before. Instrument separation is also stellar, and the soundstage is somewhere between the M50's and the 598. Overall, pretty damn good with the details.
Sound Signature - 8/10
These are definitely the most bass heavy cans in my stable at the time of writing. The treble is also fairly pronounced (with one somewhat annoying spike that can sometimes make cymbals a fair bit sibilant), making this a more pronounced version of the V-shaped sound signature. All parts of spectrum seem to be equally clear and precise, though, which is one thing that makes this pair of headphones special.
Overall Impressions - 8/10
There's something to be said for planar drivers. They've got this really addicting quality to them that I can't quite put my finger on. It's definitely partly due to the overall precision of them, but beyond that, I can't really express myself well enough. They've got their fair share of strengths and weaknesses. They're definitely great for metal and rock, but would not be my first choice for classical or acoustic work.
Music listened to during the writing of this review:
The Fall of Troy - Ghostship Demos
Mastodon - Crack the Skye
Three Trapped Tigers - Numbers 1-13
Comparisons and Summary
So each of these headphones have their strengths and weaknesses, to be sure. The M50's are the only pair among the bunch that I would even consider for mixing or other studio work, but don't quite tickle me in a way that the other cans don't already. The HE-400 sounds amazing with some genres, but definitely fall short in others. And the 558's are great all-rounders that really shine in the mids, but aren't necessarily fit for studio or stage duty. None of these are bad headphones by any stretch of the imagination, but I think I'll probably be giving the Audio Technica's the boot soon. I feel that the 558's out-perform the M50's on it's own strengths with fewer drawbacks of it's own. They just feel kind of redundant at this point.
The 558's are going to be a long-term staple for sure, and I can't see myself giving up the addicting sound of the HE-400's.
Coming Soon!
I've been craving something with a bit more bass heft lately, and after a few days of deliberation, decided to try a pair of the HD-439's with the bass mod. I've already got the cans and have finished the modding, but I'm awaiting replacement pads. The ones that came with it were absolutely filthy, and I didn't want to even wear the things, but I guess that's par for the course when you pick them up used on eBay for $20. I'll be adding my thoughts as soon as the pads come in.
I value your opinion!
Feedback is a useful tool. If you have any ideas on things that I might change, or simply want to give a few words of encouragement, feel free to drop a few lines.
I also wouldn't mind hearing some recommendations on cans that you think I might like based on the review found above.
This is a work in progress, primarily to help me organize my thoughts about my current stable, and to help me decide which cans should be culled from the herd and which cans I may want to look into in the future. I am posting it here in the hopes that it will help others make somewhat more informed decisions, although this should not be mistaken as a "end-all, be-all," shootout of cans in this price range. For now, it will consist of my three pairs of full-size, circum-aural headphones, but will more than likely be expanded in the future as I try out new headphones.
Please also keep in mind that all of this is based on subjective listening analysis. I don't have the equipment to volume match my gear, and I'm only giving my own opinions. We all hear differently, so feel free to disagree with me, and maybe start a conversation about it. And bear in mind that my opinions might also change over time. I try my best not to be a stubborn jerk.
Sources
The sources used for all headphones will be an O2/ODAC stack and my LG G3 unless stated otherwise. Some in the crowd may believe that different amps or dacs may be better suited to a particular headphone, and that's a very real possibility. However, I prefer to have equipment that is audibly transparent and does not cost half a year's salary. The O2 has more than enough power for all the headphones listed so far, and can easily drive all of them to downright uncomfortable sound levels.
The amp and DAC on my phone have proven to be adequate for most headphones, although the amp does struggle to provide enough power for others, but more on that later.
Musical Preference
Of course, some headphones seem to do a better job in some genres than others, so a quick snippet of musical taste and a few sample tracks seems to be a good idea in a review of speakers or headphones.
To start, my taste in music is rather different from the average Joe. I'm quite drawn to the strange and experimental, but this curiosity spans many genres. Lately, however, I've been listening to a lot of math rock, math pop, etc., as well as lots of different metal and a bit of industrial. I'm an infrequent classical listener with a cursory knowledge of the genre, but I do immensely enjoy Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.
I will provide links to some sample tracks that I think show strengths or weaknesses of a given set of cans (on Bandcamp when available, and Youtube if not).
Without further ado, let's begin.
Audio Technica ATH-M50 - Purchased for $99 + Shipping from Massdrop
The Audio Technica ATH-M50 has long been seen as a great bang-for-your-buck entry into the world of head-fi. They're easy to drive, rugged, and much more detailed than what the average Joe is used to.
Build Quality - 8/10
These things are tanks. While they may not use the absolute highest quality materials in the world, I have no doubts about their durability. You can bend and twist the headband surprisingly far without damaging it, and I've never had a problem with these kicking around in a bookbag. The M50's are built to last. Another minor problem is that they can be a little bit creaky when adjusting them, but after you've got them in place, this isn't much of an issue at all.
Comfort - 6/10
These things are not the most comfortable headphones in the world. The stock pleather pads can get a bit hot and sweaty, and my right ear never fits perfectly within the cup without brushing the top. Clamping force seems to be pretty much ideal for my head, though. It's a nice balance between a comfortable fit and not having them fall off your head. Minor pressure point issues arise with the headband, but nothing really worth complaining about. Simply taking them off for 30 seconds every 30 minutes or so usually clears up any issues.
Clarity, Soundstage, and Instrument Separation - 7.5/10
The overall soundstage is average at best, and instrument separation sometimes suffers because of it in particularly complex, layered passages. For your average Top 40 listener, this shouldn't be an issue. Clarity and resolution however, really do redeem this category quite a bit. The precision with these cans is quite excellent, and you can pick out most details fairly well.
As an aside, the M50's are currently the only closed pair of headphones in this roundup. As such, I'm not going to bother covering isolation. These will isolate much better than the other two, but for home listening in a quiet environment, this won't make much of a difference.
Sound Signature - 6/10
The bass seems relatively flat, and maybe ever so slightly elevated, but they're certainly not bass cannons by any means. The mids seem to be very mildly recessed, with treble that seem to be slightly elevated, with subtle hints of sibilance every now and then. Overall, I'd say it's a very subtle V-shaped response, but still very close to neutral. This makes them quite a bit better for applications like monitoring than some of the other headphones I'm comparing them to, but I generally prefer a bit more emphasis on the mids, and if I can get a bit more out of the bass while I'm at it, then I'm a happy camper. Your mileage may vary, of course, but for me the sound signature found on the M-50's isn't quite to my taste.
Overall Impressions - 7/10
Good all-rounders. In my opinion, they don't exactly shine or falter in any given genre, which is at the same time their strength and their weakness. They seem equally at home with classical as they do rap or even metal.
When you can find them on sale, the M50's provide a good value for the money. I have no problem recommending them at the $100 price point for a pair of closed cans, but would not pay much more than that, and would recommend checking out open cans if the intended use case is for at-home listening. I do think that these headphones are rather over-hyped, but don't let that turn you away from this set of headphones. If you're coming from $20 Sony's or the earbuds that came with your phone, you probably won't regret buying these in the slightest.
Music listened to during the writing of this review:
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - Grand Opening and Closing
Maps and Atlases - You & Me & The Mountain
Clever Girl - No Drum and Bass in the Jazz Room
Demonic Death Judge - The Descent
Sennheiser HD 558 - Purchased for $90 + Shipping on eBay
The Sennheiser HD 558 replaced a much loved staple of the Sennheiser lineup, the HD 555 in 2010, and has gone on to become a staple itself. It's lightweight, comfortable design, excellent sound quality, and understated, elegant looks continually draw people to the 558. They're easy enough to drive without an amp from many devices, although they might not reach sufficient volume on older devices.
As an aside, with a Phillips head screwdriver and 5 minutes of your time, you can draw a bit more out of these headphones with the "foam mod." As with every change you make to a pair of headphones, it has it's advantages and disadvantages, which I'll cover later, but I recommend trying it out if you own a pair of these excellent cans. If you don't like the changes, you can easily return them to stock. In this review, I will be comparing the 558's in the modded form, as I think it's well worth the trade-off.
Build Quality - 9/10
As with the M50's, the construction of the HD 558's are quite solid. I would definitely be more comfortable thrashing the M50's around, but these are solid all the same. The reason these score higher for build quality than the M50's is the quality of the materials used. Everything has a much more premium feel on the 558's, from the plastic used for the driver housings to the thin, soft, vinyl-like substance covering the headband. The removable cable is also a plus, ensuring you don't need to replace your entire pair of headphones or break out a soldering iron or some electrical tape if your cable is damaged. The use of velour earpads instead of pleather is also a nice touch, which leads nicely into comfort.
Comfort - 9.5/10
These are by far the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn. The ear pads have just enough give, the headband is nicely padded with the same cushion material as the ear pads, and the clamping force is again in the Goldilocks zone. My only complaint is that the back of my ear sometimes brushes the protrusion in the driver housing towards the rear of the cups. If not for that small issue, I'd give them a perfect score on the comfort front.
Clarity, Soundstage, and Instrument Separation - 8/10
Again, the 558's are going to trade blows with the M50's. While the 558's definitely win on soundstage and instrument separation, overall clarity and resolution goes to the M50's. This can make the 558's slightly more forgiving of bad recordings, and an absolute treat for live recordings and binaural music. It is important to note, however, that the soundstage and instrumentation do benefit a fair bit from the foam mod. It's not a night and day difference, but it's enough to warrant the mod, in my opinion.
Sound Signature - 9/10
One of the trade-offs of the foam mod is the slight reduction in bass emphasis in a pair of headphones that are already slightly light on the bass. These are not going to be the ear-thumping, skull-rattling headphones that some of you dream of. However, what they lack in quantity, they really do make up for with quality. The bass is rather tight, and with the excellent instrument separation, it isn't hard at all to focus in on some tasty bass lines. However, the emphasis here is on the unbelievably alluring mids and the treble that walks a nice balance between smooth and crisp. Female vocals, guitars, and brass instruments can be absolutely sublime, and I detect very little sibilance from these cans. Overall, the only changes I would make to the sound signature would be to add a bit more bass presence, assuming I could leave everything else the same.
Overall Impressions - 9/10
In my opinion, these headphones are nearly perfect. They're comfortable, well built, and sound almost exactly how I want my headphones to sound. They seem to handle all genres pretty well, but definitely excel in some more than others. Obvious strong suits include math rock and math pop, both known for their very sweetly tuned guitars, any female vocals, classical, and any recordings that benefit greatly from good sounstage, such as binaural recordings.
This is currently my favorite pair of headphones on the planet, and is currently the first pair of headphones I recommend for at home listening. Using my phone as a source, I can drive them to my ideal listening volume with about 10% of the amp's headroom to spare, so anyone with a decent phone should have no issue using these when moving about the house. These are definitely going to be a staple of my stable for quite some time.
Music listened to during the writing of this review:
Bent Knee - Shiny Eyed Babies
The Fall of Troy - The Fall of Troy
This Town Needs Guns - This Town Needs Guns
HiFiMan HE-400 - Purchased for $299 on Amazon
The HiFiMan HE-400 are by far the most unique pair out of the ones I'm reviewing today. For one, they use planar magnetic drivers instead of the dynamic drivers of the other two. They're also the only pair that I paid more than $100 for, and their sound signature is much different from the other two. This is neither a good or a bad thing, as both technologies have their merits and their faults.
This is definitely a pair of cans that will make you consider an amp. I can just barely get the volume I want out of my phone in a quiet environment, although my O2 has enough juice on high gain to make your ears bleed. I suspect that a fair number of modern motherboards and inexpensive sound cards and amps (such as some of the cheaper FiiO products) will suffice unless you like to crank your music really high.
Build Quality - 7/10
There are certain aspects of the build quality that HiFiMan absolutely nailed - the driver housings are friggin' tanks, the mechanisms that allow the housings to rotate on two different axes are dead solid, the stock cable (although too long for my taste) is absolutely studio or stage worthy, and despite complaints about the cable connectors, I haven't had any issues with them. However, there is one glaring weak spot in the construction of these fine headphones - the headband. Or more specifically, the way that the driver assemblies attach to the headband. I know that the rivets connecting them are quite strong, but the plastic (possibly fiberglass?) covers that match the driver enclosures give me cause for concern. I'm not sure if this is a common issue or if it's just my pair, but those covers are starting to come unseated from the headband. A little bit more padding in the headband would be appreciated, but not strictly needed, and most people seem to find that you need to bend the headband to fit your head better, as they come from the factory with a clamping force comparable to what I would imagine my head would feel like if Andre the Giant decided to crush it with his bare hands.
Comfort - 7/10
After you get these things adjusted, they're not too bad. They're definitely on the heavy side at approximately half a kilo, but with some careful bending of the headband, you will barely feel any pressure points as you can get the weight to be pretty evenly distributed. The foam in the stock pads could be a little bit softer, and I just plain didn't like the velour pads. Not too shabby, but definitely not winning any awards for comfort here.
Clarity, Soundstage, and Instrument Separation - 9/10
Due to the nature of the planar magnetic drivers, these are very precise, crisp sounding headphones. They'll definitely bring out details (and mistakes) present in a recording that you may not have noticed before. Instrument separation is also stellar, and the soundstage is somewhere between the M50's and the 598. Overall, pretty damn good with the details.
Sound Signature - 8/10
These are definitely the most bass heavy cans in my stable at the time of writing. The treble is also fairly pronounced (with one somewhat annoying spike that can sometimes make cymbals a fair bit sibilant), making this a more pronounced version of the V-shaped sound signature. All parts of spectrum seem to be equally clear and precise, though, which is one thing that makes this pair of headphones special.
Overall Impressions - 8/10
There's something to be said for planar drivers. They've got this really addicting quality to them that I can't quite put my finger on. It's definitely partly due to the overall precision of them, but beyond that, I can't really express myself well enough. They've got their fair share of strengths and weaknesses. They're definitely great for metal and rock, but would not be my first choice for classical or acoustic work.
Music listened to during the writing of this review:
The Fall of Troy - Ghostship Demos
Mastodon - Crack the Skye
Three Trapped Tigers - Numbers 1-13
Comparisons and Summary
So each of these headphones have their strengths and weaknesses, to be sure. The M50's are the only pair among the bunch that I would even consider for mixing or other studio work, but don't quite tickle me in a way that the other cans don't already. The HE-400 sounds amazing with some genres, but definitely fall short in others. And the 558's are great all-rounders that really shine in the mids, but aren't necessarily fit for studio or stage duty. None of these are bad headphones by any stretch of the imagination, but I think I'll probably be giving the Audio Technica's the boot soon. I feel that the 558's out-perform the M50's on it's own strengths with fewer drawbacks of it's own. They just feel kind of redundant at this point.
The 558's are going to be a long-term staple for sure, and I can't see myself giving up the addicting sound of the HE-400's.
Coming Soon!
I've been craving something with a bit more bass heft lately, and after a few days of deliberation, decided to try a pair of the HD-439's with the bass mod. I've already got the cans and have finished the modding, but I'm awaiting replacement pads. The ones that came with it were absolutely filthy, and I didn't want to even wear the things, but I guess that's par for the course when you pick them up used on eBay for $20. I'll be adding my thoughts as soon as the pads come in.
I value your opinion!
Feedback is a useful tool. If you have any ideas on things that I might change, or simply want to give a few words of encouragement, feel free to drop a few lines.
I also wouldn't mind hearing some recommendations on cans that you think I might like based on the review found above.
