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Comparisons: 36 of the Top Closed/Portable Headphones Around
Aug 13, 2014 at 2:19 AM Post #2,401 of 4,373
I'm digging my P7's. Picked up a pair at Bestbuy with a 30 day open box return policy!
 
Anyway...
I tried the Momentums first, felt like I had to tuck my ears into the cups. So I instantly crossed those off my list.
Heard the HP50's had relatively smallish cups too compared to the P7, and I felt I'd enjoy a more U shaped EQ like with the P7. The P7 was also so gorgeous I wound up wanting to try that one first, so I went ahead and bought em!

I only have two qualms... and hopefully some of you who've owned it a while might be able to offer an opinion on, but...

The first is that I feel like they run a bit quiet...? Like they need a solid amp to drive them, which doesn't seem right, given their low impedance.  It's amazing how great they're able to sound plugged directly into my phone, but something's just felt off.. On my Macbook Pro and on my HTC One, I feel like I have to have em at >60% volume to get them to sound fullish, and then once they're at that volume, they're still a hell of a lot quieter than my old beat up HD280s at the same volume.   It's been suggested to me that E18's actually help the mids to open up quite nicely, making them sound fuller.. I 've read others have paired them with the E17, and E07K too, so I've read a lot of reviews and user reports saying they scale up nicely..! At the moment though, I feel like they may be falling short in that regard because I may have actually strained my ears some from recent weekend-long music festivals ...and have not quite given my ears a break.. I should probably take a day or two off listening and see if that helps... but I've been so excited to play with the P7's its hard, haha.  I guess I'm just wondering if anyone else has felt like their headphones have felt not-so-full-sounding...? or whether its just my screwed up ears.. Or even just me not adjusting quite yet to the phones default eq...
 
Second, I've read people raving about the comfort, and I've also seen others, like OP, give comfort a mediocre-ish rating.  I find myself wanting the cup cushions and headband to soften up and hope that increases the comfort after some regular use... anyone find that comfort increased over time? Or the opposite? I don't think it's the clamping... if anything that feels loosish, cause I have a narrow head, haha.
 
Should I return them and try a more neutral HP50?
 
(These are my first headphones stepping into a midrange price level, and I must say the difference between them and my first ~$100 pair of closed back headphones, the HD280's, is night and day! It's great.)
 
Aug 13, 2014 at 7:46 AM Post #2,402 of 4,373
johsh said:
  I'm digging my P7's. Picked up a pair at Bestbuy with a 30 day open box return policy!
 
Anyway...
I tried the Momentums first, felt like I had to tuck my ears into the cups. So I instantly crossed those off my list.
Heard the HP50's had relatively smallish cups too compared to the P7, and I felt I'd enjoy a more U shaped EQ like with the P7. The P7 was also so gorgeous I wound up wanting to try that one first, so I went ahead and bought em!

I only have two qualms... and hopefully some of you who've owned it a while might be able to offer an opinion on, but...

The first is that I feel like they run a bit quiet...? Like they need a solid amp to drive them, which doesn't seem right, given their low impedance.  It's amazing how great they're able to sound plugged directly into my phone, but something's just felt off.. On my Macbook Pro and on my HTC One, I feel like I have to have em at >60% volume to get them to sound fullish, and then once they're at that volume, they're still a hell of a lot quieter than my old beat up HD280s at the same volume.   It's been suggested to me that E18's actually help the mids to open up quite nicely, making them sound fuller.. I 've read others have paired them with the E17, and E07K too, so I've read a lot of reviews and user reports saying they scale up nicely..! At the moment though, I feel like they may be falling short in that regard because I may have actually strained my ears some from recent weekend-long music festivals ...and have not quite given my ears a break.. I should probably take a day or two off listening and see if that helps... but I've been so excited to play with the P7's its hard, haha.  I guess I'm just wondering if anyone else has felt like their headphones have felt not-so-full-sounding...? or whether its just my screwed up ears.. Or even just me not adjusting quite yet to the phones default eq...
 
Second, I've read people raving about the comfort, and I've also seen others, like OP, give comfort a mediocre-ish rating.  I find myself wanting the cup cushions and headband to soften up and hope that increases the comfort after some regular use... anyone find that comfort increased over time? Or the opposite? I don't think it's the clamping... if anything that feels loosish, cause I have a narrow head, haha.
 
Should I return them and try a more neutral HP50?
 
(These are my first headphones stepping into a midrange price level, and I must say the difference between them and my first ~$100 pair of closed back headphones, the HD280's, is night and day! It's great.)
Click to expand...


The P7 is the only one in the list I have not tried, that I wanted to try. If you can get over the borg look the HP50 are all of the way around awesome.
 
Aug 13, 2014 at 12:44 PM Post #2,403 of 4,373
I have never paid any attention to the volume levels required to get the sound I want, so I can't comment much on that.
 
As for comfort, I've never been unhappy with them.  I can easily sport them for several hours at work with no problems.
 
On the HP50 vs P7, I do think it's a U/V shape vs more of a flat sound.  I personally tried the HP50 and much preferred the signature of the P7.  I do find myself wanting to try the HP50's again, but not at the cost of a divorce.  The wife is tired of my "earphone" hobby.  So I'm trying to lay low for a while. :wink:
 
Aug 13, 2014 at 1:51 PM Post #2,404 of 4,373
johsh said:
  I'm digging my P7's. Picked up a pair at Bestbuy with a 30 day open box return policy!
 
Anyway...
I tried the Momentums first, felt like I had to tuck my ears into the cups. So I instantly crossed those off my list.
Heard the HP50's had relatively smallish cups too compared to the P7, and I felt I'd enjoy a more U shaped EQ like with the P7. The P7 was also so gorgeous I wound up wanting to try that one first, so I went ahead and bought em!

I only have two qualms... and hopefully some of you who've owned it a while might be able to offer an opinion on, but...

The first is that I feel like they run a bit quiet...? Like they need a solid amp to drive them, which doesn't seem right, given their low impedance.  It's amazing how great they're able to sound plugged directly into my phone, but something's just felt off.. On my Macbook Pro and on my HTC One, I feel like I have to have em at >60% volume to get them to sound fullish, and then once they're at that volume, they're still a hell of a lot quieter than my old beat up HD280s at the same volume.   It's been suggested to me that E18's actually help the mids to open up quite nicely, making them sound fuller.. I 've read others have paired them with the E17, and E07K too, so I've read a lot of reviews and user reports saying they scale up nicely..! At the moment though, I feel like they may be falling short in that regard because I may have actually strained my ears some from recent weekend-long music festivals ...and have not quite given my ears a break.. I should probably take a day or two off listening and see if that helps... but I've been so excited to play with the P7's its hard, haha.  I guess I'm just wondering if anyone else has felt like their headphones have felt not-so-full-sounding...? or whether its just my screwed up ears.. Or even just me not adjusting quite yet to the phones default eq...
 
Second, I've read people raving about the comfort, and I've also seen others, like OP, give comfort a mediocre-ish rating.  I find myself wanting the cup cushions and headband to soften up and hope that increases the comfort after some regular use... anyone find that comfort increased over time? Or the opposite? I don't think it's the clamping... if anything that feels loosish, cause I have a narrow head, haha.
 
Should I return them and try a more neutral HP50?
 
(These are my first headphones stepping into a midrange price level, and I must say the difference between them and my first ~$100 pair of closed back headphones, the HD280's, is night and day! It's great.)
Click to expand...

I, also, prefer the signature of the P7s to the HP50s. Although the HP50s are a fine headphone in their own right and do some songs better justice than the P7s. Like Lana del Rey, for instance, sounds better through the HP50s. The mellifluous tones emitted from her decidedly synthetic face really engulf you with the HP50s. The soundstage is wider with the HP50s, but does not possess the depth the P7s do. Consequently, everything seems to mesh together with the HP50s. I found the three dimensionality of the P7 sound to a be a trump card.
 
As for driving them, the HP50s are a more efficient headphone but I found the P7s easy to drive from my MacBook Pro with nothing in between. I like to listen to my music at near ear deafening levels and I would never go (particularly close) to 100% with the P7s (lest more ear damage). They sounded rich and full to me. Bear in mind, I'm someone who is conscious of volume. The HD598s I found a lot harder to drive than the P7s. 
 
As for fit, I may be inclined to give the HP50s a 4/10 on the comfort front, and the P7s a 5/10. Each company takes a different approach to delivering discomfort. I find the HP50s to be more comfortable than the P7s upon putting them on but less so over extended listens. The P7s don't have the clamping pressure of the HP50s but they are a big, awkward fitting headphone. The cups of the P7s are deeper than the HP50s. 
 
I personally found the P7s a bit more comfortable than the HP50s but both left a lot to be desired in terms of comfort. Some find the HP50s more comfortable than the P7s, my Dad did (he couldn't stand the fit of the P7s though he thought they sounded superior). Your mileage may vary. Some find the HP50s supremely comfortable. Your best bet is try the HP50s for yourself, perhaps buy them from one of the many places with a good return policy. 
 
Aug 14, 2014 at 10:23 AM Post #2,406 of 4,373
If you add a short cable to Sennheiser HD7DJ headphones they make a decent portable. 
 
Aug 17, 2014 at 1:49 AM Post #2,411 of 4,373
Great review!! And I couldn't' agree more, the V-Moda's are my personal favourite!! It's too bad they don't make the XL ear pads for the XS series to provide more isolation, They work great on My M-100's!!  
 
Aug 17, 2014 at 9:17 AM Post #2,412 of 4,373
The XS scale really well. I was a little disappointed with them at first on my portable rig as I felt the bass was a little confused about what it wanted to be and it never seemed to be quite right. My brain has finally burned into their sound and I like them very much now. I still have my M80 so I hope to do a comparison soon. Back to the notion of scaling well. When used with my home rig I was pretty damn impressed with the little XS. Certainly a major step forward in pretty much every aspect of sound quality so obviously they scale quite well. I wish I had my NADs still, but by the time my A18 had arrived they were long gone.
 
Aug 17, 2014 at 8:52 PM Post #2,413 of 4,373
Funny, now after Tyll's review of the Solo2, I really wanna hear them. 
tongue.gif

 
Gonna have to sell some gear...if anyone is interested in the Sony MDR-10RNCs, please let me know (listed in my signature below).
 
Aug 17, 2014 at 9:57 PM Post #2,414 of 4,373
macedonianhero said:
  Funny, now after Tyll's review of the Solo2, I really wanna hear them. 
tongue.gif

 
Gonna have to sell some gear...if anyone is interested in the Sony MDR10RNCs, please let me know.
Click to expand...

 
Please do! I would love to see your thoughts about the Solo 2 and how it fits to your comparison chart.
 
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