On a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being worst and 10 being best... | Page 2 | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

JMT · Dec 20, 2002 at 10:48 PM

9.7: Joseph Grado HP-1
9.5: Etymotic ER-4S
9.0: Allesandro/Grado Music Series Pro
8.8: Senn HD600/Equinox
8.5: Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro
8.0: Grado SR-325
6.0: Senn MX500

I can't wait for joelongwood to post his.

eric343 · Dec 20, 2002 at 10:51 PM

HD600 - 9 (too damn warm after a while)
Etymotic ER4S - 9.5 (Oh, Ety, how do I love thee... let me count the ways...)

ServinginEcuador · Dec 20, 2002 at 10:53 PM

Callme shocked, but both Eric and JMT list their Ety's higher than even the Senn 600s, even with replacment cables!!!! Wow, these are starting to sound more and mor elike something worth looking at!!!!

gloco · Dec 20, 2002 at 11:22 PM

9. Beyer Dt770-250
8. Sennheiser HD580
7. Akg K501
6. Grado SR100
5. Stax SR40
4. Sony MDR 7506
3. Grado SR80
2. Stax SR60
1. Denon AHD350

My #10 would be a high end Stax model

slindeman · Dec 20, 2002 at 11:25 PM

Somehow I feel like we've done this sort of thing before...

Headphones I own or have owned, ratings based on use for music:

8.0: Senn HD600
7.5: Senn HD580
7.0: Grado HP-2
6.5: Senn HD545
6.0: Stax SR-84
6.0: Grado SR-125
5.0: Koss KSC-50
4.5: Koss KSC-35
4.0: Senn MX400
4.0: Senn HD570
3.0: Labtec Elite-840
1.5: Sony MDR-V200
1.0: Sony MDR-A30G

I've heard these briefly and didn't need more than 5 minutes to rank them above Senn HD600 -> Stax Signature and Omega II, Etymotic ER4, Senn Orpheus.

eric343 · Dec 20, 2002 at 11:34 PM

Why? For one thing, they're IMHO the most versatile 'phones I've ever seen - my iPod powers them satisfactorily, add an amp and they're incredible. They're small enough that I can take 'em everywhere in the Ety pouch of my iPod bag, and let me sleep on airplanes AND the bus (it's a Metro bust but a custom school route - so it's louder than your average machine shop and twice as annoying). Also, when gaming, they've got the most incredible pinpoint imaging (I brought them to Stanford last summer; everybody in the class I was taking usually stayed up until midnight playing CS on the computer lab - I was about average until I had the idea of plugging in my Etys, at which point I promptly wiped the floor with 'em) I've heard yet...

Yeah, I kinda like 'em

joelongwood · Dec 21, 2002 at 12:09 AM

9.8: Joseph Grado HP-1/Sugden Headmaster
9.6: Etymotic ER-4S/Sugden Headmaster
9.5: Etymotic ER-4P/iPod
9.0: Sony MDR-CD3000/Earmax Pro
8.9: Stax SR5
8.8: Allesandro/Grado Music Series Pro/Sugden Headmaster
8.6 Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro/MG Head DT (no NF)
8.5: Sony MDR-CD1700/Sugden Headmaster
8.4: Grado SR-200/CHA47
8.3: Grado SR-325/Sugden Headmaster
8.2: Grado RS-1/Sugden Headmaster
8.0: Stax SRM001 MKII
7.8: AKG K340/Sugden Headmaster
7.7: AKG K501/Sugden Headmaster
7.5: Grado SR-100/CHA47
7.0: Grado SR-60/META42
6.7: Etymotic ER6/iPod
6.6: Sony MDR-V6/anything
6.5: Sony MDR-E888LP/iPod
6.3: Grado SR-40/META42
6.0: Koss KSC-35/iPod
5.5: Koss Porta Pro/iPod
5.3: Sennheiser MX-500/iPod
5.0: Audio Technica ATH-EM7/iPod
4:0: Aiwa HP-AK100/Earmax Pro
3:0: Apple iPod earbuds (newer version)
1.0: Apple iPod earbuds (original)

Depending on the type of music or my mood, all of these could easily change positions..............except for the top 2.

KR... · Dec 21, 2002 at 12:16 AM

Let's see here :

Grado SR-60 = 5.0
Grado SR-225 = 6.5
Grado SR-325 = 6.0
Grado RS-2 = 6.0
Grado RS-1 = 9.5
A MS-2 = 8.0*
Senn 580 = 8.0
Senn 600 = 9.5 *
HP-2 = 9.5
AKG 501 = 6.5 *
AKG K1000 = 7.0
Sony CD3000 = 3.0*
B 831 = 4.0
B 931 = 4.5
Senn MX500 = 4.5
Bose Tripod = 1.0
Stax 007 = 4.0*
The Big O = 9.5

*'s in order :

* Yes, I really do think they are that much better than the 325 and RS-2.

*The HD600 matches the RS-1 and HP-2 in greatness out of a Blockhead with Cardas cables

*This is only with a high end amp, without one they are too wimpy for my taste.

*This CD3000 may have been defected

*The Stax amp I heard may have be defected

Also please note that I have heard many more headphones, but didn't list them.

Also please note that I didn't spend a hell of a lot of time with the following headphones :

Grado SR-325
Grado RS-2
Sony CD3000
B 831
B 931
Bose Tripod

So please kept the ratings for these as "1st impressions only" type of deal!

Also please note that I never owned or home auctioned the following headphones :

Grado RS-1
AKG K1000
Stax 007
The Big O

But, I did spend a few hours listening to them, and I had my HP-2s with me to compare at the same time, so take that as you will.

Also finally, please note that I have spent great deal of time (weeks) listening too and own/owned the following headphones:

Grado SR-60
Grado MS-2
Senn 580
Senn 600
Grado HP-2
AKG 501
Senn MX500

Any questions?

eric343 · Dec 21, 2002 at 12:27 AM

My god... that's a LOT of headphones!
27 by my count... and 6 different amps (incl. iPod) mentioned in the list, but 14 total...

"Joelongwood, the one-man Head-Fi meet"

austonia · Dec 21, 2002 at 1:28 AM

...if 10 is as enjoyable a headphone could be, and 5 is the minimum quality I would need for prolonged listening, and 1 was the cheap buds that come with every player :

Beyer 770...8.5 (very enjoyable but a little fatiguing over long periods)
Sony D-77....8.0
Sony D-66SL... 8.0(small size big sound, nice soundstage)
Beyer 931...7.5 (pretty good but not really exceptional)
Grado SR80...7 (fast, punchy, not comfortable for long periods)
Koss 35...6 (close to PPs, but more comfy)
Koss PortaPro...5.5 (warm, deep, cheap)
Senn MX500...5 (overal nice for open earphones)
Senn PXC100...4.5 (like Koss but too dark)
Pioneer MONITOR 10...4.0 (hot, plain)
Sony V600...2 (raspy highs, muddled mid/low)
Koss The Plug...2 (physically hurt to wear after awhile)
Sony w.ear MDR-Q33LP/S....2
Koss KSC-19...0 (hurt to wear, awful)

gerG · Dec 21, 2002 at 4:35 AM

Man, you guys grade easy.

My humble opinion:

AKG K1000: 4

Beyer DT 831: 3

Sen HD 600: 2

Ety ER4s: 2

Beyer DT250-250: 2.50

Sony V6: 1

I tend to use a more absolute scale. Fact is, as good as any of these headphones sound, I can imagine sound that is far superior than any of them. This is not a terrible thing, but merely my perception of the state of the art. No phones manufactured to date can put a band or orchestra out in front of me in a proper 3 dimensional representation, therefore none are even close to 10 on my scale. I demand better!

Hey, it is worth a try, right? fwiw I also want a 200 mph commuter vehicle!

Steve999 · Dec 21, 2002 at 4:35 AM

Headphone............Rating..Bass..Treble
Sennheiser HD 580 ....10.....+2....+1
Grado SR 60 ...............9......-1....+2
Sony MDR-CD580..........9.... +2 ...+1
Sony MDR-85...............8...... 0......0
Sony MDR-V6...............8.5..+2... +2
Sennheiser HD 497......8.5.. +2... +1
Koss KSC-35...............8.5......+2...+1
Sennheiser PX100........7.5...+2....-1
AKG 240M....................7.5.. -1....-1
Koss KSC 50s...............7.5..+1....+1
Cheapo Open Sonys.......6.....-1....+1
Sony MDR-CD180..........6.... +2....-1
Koss KTX Pros 1s..........6.....+2....-1
Sony MDR-605...............5..... 0.....-2

8 or above: I REALLY like it.

6 or 7.. I respect it, could do in a pinch, has some nice qualities, might need to fool around with the EQ

5 or below.... yuck

Bass and treble ratings are for quantity, not quality.

CaptBubba · Dec 21, 2002 at 4:47 AM

Here comes my really lengthy list of headphones that I own/have heard:

HD-580: 7
MDR-V6: 5
V6 when listening to an LP: 8

Wow, that was tough. I'm quite happy with both of them, especially for the price. Both have little deficencies that I wish were corrected, but I'll live. The V6, to my ears, just seem to mesh with Lps very well, the overly bright treble doesn't matter as much with records for some reason (I could also have been using a rolled off preamp).