swartzy.baby
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2008
- Posts
- 82
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- 24
Another one of *those* threads I'm afraid. But you all love talking about headphones, so I hope you don't mind.
A brief description of what I'm looking for:
I'm looking for either a full-size or on-ear headphone to use mostly via direct hookup to my Asus Xonar DX sound card, but will also be used straight from the iPhone and/or laptop, and occasionally out of the A/V receiver. I am not interested in spending more than, say, $150 total, for the foreseeable future, so a requirement is that they sound fantastic straight out of the least of these sources. As a reference point, I tried the HD 595 a while back, and they did not sound good enough straight out of the computer, or portable player. The bass was thin, the sound unexciting. They were a total different animal when powered by my A/V receiver. They also leaked too much sound. No matter the volume, my wife could hear what I was listening to. I suppose that leads me to another guideline - sound leakage must be reasonable.
The phones I've had for the past 6 years, and come back to no matter what else I've tried so far, are the Sennheiser HD 497. They have a super smooth, warm, rich flavor that I love. If I could change two things, it would be to add a bit of midrange and treble detail, and to make them not hurt my ears after an hour or so.
I have tried, and owned for various lengths of time, the likes of Denon AH-D1001, Ultrasone HFI 550, Sennheiser HD 448, HD 595, HD 555, and 485. Of these, the Denons were probably my favorite. Super easy to power, great sound, very comfy. The 485's my least favorite, way too much bass. The 448's are the most recent try-and-return phones. They had a lovely midrange and treble, and extremely detailed bass, but there just wasn't enough bass presence for my liking. The Ultrasones were also great, but there was just something about the sound overall that I couldn't get used to. They sounded fantastic on acoustic material, but less so on rock (which I tend to gravitate towards). And my ears got sweaty wearing them.
So, here we are now. I'm semi-interested in trying out the Grado SR60i, or Alessandro MS1, but have heard reports of discomfort, which is a huge deal. They also look a little..well, hardcore, I guess. Not bad per se, but definitely not everybody's cup o' tea, and I don't think mine. I'm also thinking about re-trying the Denon AH-D1001, and since Amazon's return policy is amazing I might do that regardless.
I looked into the Audio Technica AD700, but reports of thin bass scared me away.
I've also been looking/trying out IEM's, but have had zero luck there. I've gone through Denon AH-C351,551,751. Can see myself trying out the 710, any impressions on those compared to the others? I remember liking the 551 more than I did the 751. The 751 sounded significantly more muffled or something in the midrange to me, which I wasn't expecting. I've also tried out Sennheiser's IE7, which are probably the best of the bunch, but I couldn't get a consistently good fit, and with the varying fits the sound changed pretty drastically.
If I had to describe the sound I'm looking for, I'd say I enjoy a warmer than neutral sound, with a slight emphasis on the midrange, and powerful, deep (but not disgusting, a la 485, or Bose In-Ear Triports) bass. I think the bass of the Denon AH-D1001 is just about right. If only I could add in the midrange and treble of the 448.
So, to wrap things up. I'm looking at the AH-D1001 again, as well as skeptically looking at the SR60i and MS1. Any others I should read up on, given the short novel I wrote above?
A brief description of what I'm looking for:
I'm looking for either a full-size or on-ear headphone to use mostly via direct hookup to my Asus Xonar DX sound card, but will also be used straight from the iPhone and/or laptop, and occasionally out of the A/V receiver. I am not interested in spending more than, say, $150 total, for the foreseeable future, so a requirement is that they sound fantastic straight out of the least of these sources. As a reference point, I tried the HD 595 a while back, and they did not sound good enough straight out of the computer, or portable player. The bass was thin, the sound unexciting. They were a total different animal when powered by my A/V receiver. They also leaked too much sound. No matter the volume, my wife could hear what I was listening to. I suppose that leads me to another guideline - sound leakage must be reasonable.
The phones I've had for the past 6 years, and come back to no matter what else I've tried so far, are the Sennheiser HD 497. They have a super smooth, warm, rich flavor that I love. If I could change two things, it would be to add a bit of midrange and treble detail, and to make them not hurt my ears after an hour or so.
I have tried, and owned for various lengths of time, the likes of Denon AH-D1001, Ultrasone HFI 550, Sennheiser HD 448, HD 595, HD 555, and 485. Of these, the Denons were probably my favorite. Super easy to power, great sound, very comfy. The 485's my least favorite, way too much bass. The 448's are the most recent try-and-return phones. They had a lovely midrange and treble, and extremely detailed bass, but there just wasn't enough bass presence for my liking. The Ultrasones were also great, but there was just something about the sound overall that I couldn't get used to. They sounded fantastic on acoustic material, but less so on rock (which I tend to gravitate towards). And my ears got sweaty wearing them.
So, here we are now. I'm semi-interested in trying out the Grado SR60i, or Alessandro MS1, but have heard reports of discomfort, which is a huge deal. They also look a little..well, hardcore, I guess. Not bad per se, but definitely not everybody's cup o' tea, and I don't think mine. I'm also thinking about re-trying the Denon AH-D1001, and since Amazon's return policy is amazing I might do that regardless.
I looked into the Audio Technica AD700, but reports of thin bass scared me away.
I've also been looking/trying out IEM's, but have had zero luck there. I've gone through Denon AH-C351,551,751. Can see myself trying out the 710, any impressions on those compared to the others? I remember liking the 551 more than I did the 751. The 751 sounded significantly more muffled or something in the midrange to me, which I wasn't expecting. I've also tried out Sennheiser's IE7, which are probably the best of the bunch, but I couldn't get a consistently good fit, and with the varying fits the sound changed pretty drastically.
If I had to describe the sound I'm looking for, I'd say I enjoy a warmer than neutral sound, with a slight emphasis on the midrange, and powerful, deep (but not disgusting, a la 485, or Bose In-Ear Triports) bass. I think the bass of the Denon AH-D1001 is just about right. If only I could add in the midrange and treble of the 448.
So, to wrap things up. I'm looking at the AH-D1001 again, as well as skeptically looking at the SR60i and MS1. Any others I should read up on, given the short novel I wrote above?
