Eagle_Driver
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2001
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I arrived at the meet location a bit late, due to the sluggish public transportation. I have listened to on my amped portable equipment (in addition to the headphones that I brought to the meet) the AKG K271S and K501, the Beyerdynamic DT880, the Grado HP1000 (Tuberoller's), the Sennheiser HD 595 and HD 650, and the Sony MDR-CD3000.
The AKG K271S didn't impress me as much as it did on the previous Head-Fi meet. The sound struck me as being cold and honky. The K501, however, sounded great in the mids and highs - and would have been ideal to my ears had it delivered a little more bass response.
The Beyer DT880, like the AKG K271S, didn't impress me as much as it did when I had previously heard it. It, too, sounded a little off to my ears.
I came into the meet hoping to love the Sennheiser HD 650. But to my surprise, it isn't the upgrade from an HD 600 that many have claimed it to be (but maybe it's my equipment that can't take full advantage of the HD 650's improvements anyway) - it sounded different from, but not better or worse than, my HD 600. The HD 595 to my ears sounded similar to the HD 650, but with more sizzle in the highs. (Duh.)
The Sony CD3000 sounded pretty good on my equipment, but not good enough to justify coughing up $400 on it. 'Nuff said.
I've also listened to the electrostatic Stax Omega II. It, too, sounded pretty good - but then again, it's way too expensive for my wallet, and my hearing isn't quite good enough to distinguish between "excellent" and "outstanding".
The biggest highlight for me is listening to two of my headphones - the Cardas-cabled HD 600 and the AKG K240S - on Ray Samuel's prototype Emmeline SR-71. I was amazed at just how much output power could be extracted from a long-battery-life amp that measures barely larger than a pack of cigarettes!
Look for me on the waiting list for that SR-71 amp when the production version comes out in about a month or so. (It will very likely replace my Headroom Total Airhead as my portable amp of choice.)
As for other Head-Fiers' impressions of my headphones, it's the Grado SR-225 that got listened to the most. But the surprise of this meet, as far as my headphones are concerned, is the AKG K240S. The people who had heard it could see how that 'phone has been called the "Groovalizer" - it sounded full and quite musical, though not necessarily neutral.
Anyone else? Please feel free to respond with your impressions.
Eagle_Driver
The AKG K271S didn't impress me as much as it did on the previous Head-Fi meet. The sound struck me as being cold and honky. The K501, however, sounded great in the mids and highs - and would have been ideal to my ears had it delivered a little more bass response.
The Beyer DT880, like the AKG K271S, didn't impress me as much as it did when I had previously heard it. It, too, sounded a little off to my ears.
I came into the meet hoping to love the Sennheiser HD 650. But to my surprise, it isn't the upgrade from an HD 600 that many have claimed it to be (but maybe it's my equipment that can't take full advantage of the HD 650's improvements anyway) - it sounded different from, but not better or worse than, my HD 600. The HD 595 to my ears sounded similar to the HD 650, but with more sizzle in the highs. (Duh.)
The Sony CD3000 sounded pretty good on my equipment, but not good enough to justify coughing up $400 on it. 'Nuff said.
I've also listened to the electrostatic Stax Omega II. It, too, sounded pretty good - but then again, it's way too expensive for my wallet, and my hearing isn't quite good enough to distinguish between "excellent" and "outstanding".
The biggest highlight for me is listening to two of my headphones - the Cardas-cabled HD 600 and the AKG K240S - on Ray Samuel's prototype Emmeline SR-71. I was amazed at just how much output power could be extracted from a long-battery-life amp that measures barely larger than a pack of cigarettes!
As for other Head-Fiers' impressions of my headphones, it's the Grado SR-225 that got listened to the most. But the surprise of this meet, as far as my headphones are concerned, is the AKG K240S. The people who had heard it could see how that 'phone has been called the "Groovalizer" - it sounded full and quite musical, though not necessarily neutral.
Anyone else? Please feel free to respond with your impressions.
Eagle_Driver
