[nickchen]

Some weeks ago, I got the idea of doing a completely subjective review in “headfi style”. My buddy Noxter was so kind to provide 2 of his more exotic cans as well as some musical material of genres that exceed my personal taste horizon.

This thread is “only” the translation of the original thread published in the german hifi forum. So if you come from there, there's nothing new to be read her.

So here we have the candidates:

2. DT880: Model 2003, 250 ohm. It’s a kind of DIY tinker can that I built stepwise out of my old unloved 1980’s DT990. Finally, the old school headband was all I kept.
3. K271S: My ultimate closed fon. It’s not stock version though, I equipped it with dyed DT770 pads from headphile which changed it dramatically Link. The stock K271 is a totally different creature with monstrous mids and isolation, but not much more.
4. W1000: Noxter’s newest 2nd hand AT. Accepteable condition, pads slightly flattened, but IMO not so much that it already influences sound severely.
5. MS Pro “Ultimate”: My newest Darling, it’s a MS Pro with additional distancers and GS1000 pads Link. I had to sell my beloved Sony CD3000 to get this, no regret so far.
6. Stax SR303: Noxter’s “senseless” Stax, driven by a SRM-323A. ”Dad, what is thaaat???” – “A headphone...” – “Funny one!”

Source: CD-ribs 256-320 kbit -> Terratec EWX 24/96 (PCI-Version) -> cheap cable -> SRM-323A -> cheap cable -> Millet Hybrid (sometimes also my 18V Cmoy with LM4562, in order to do comparisons)

Procedure: One piece per genre, several times continuusly played on every can. Afterwards some comparisons. The Stax was playing all the time and used as “master” to get the others to a similar volume. I did not use my favority pieces because I could not be bothered to spoil them for such a comparison. As I also included genres I do not like (Pop, Hardrock, Metal), listening even had some really annoying moments.

In order to make things less abstract, I also provide links to samples of the chosen piece, mostly Youtube or Amazon, in case of “free” music, there’s a download link.

 

[nickchen]

POP
Beth Orton – Stars all seem to weep
Amazon
Pop isn’t exactly a genre I admire. Beth Orton may be regarded to be a bit “more” than just Pop, but I just can’t stand to listen to real Pop like Marriah Carrey. Looking at production and instrumentation, the chosen piece should be capable of being regarded as Pop.

2. DT880:
   The Drums push (boom), but don’t kick. Very bright & prominent guitars. Singing with lots of “treble glitter”. Allover quite coherent, but not very involving. Things are too far away and too thin.
3. K271S:
   Intimate Pub ambience with good placement of instruments. Bass kicks well, the deep bass at least recognizeable. Guitar sounds fuller. More dark and natural voice. Great performance.
4. W1000:
   The compromise – not as wide spread as the Beyer, not as intimate as the AKG, a small assembly hall. Very realistic drums, but it lacks pounding and energy. Same with the guitar: Very natural, but too silent. Beth Orton’s voice sounds strangely altered, sexier and happier, that must be the “female AT peak”. Allover nice presentation, but nothing special.
5. MS Pro “Ultimate”:
   Wideness and emotion. Things are 880ish wide spread, but Beth Orton has taken the steps down into the audience. Drums as realistic as with the W1000, but with more pounding. Best “body” for the guitar. Voice as dark and natural as with the AKG. Allover close to the AKG, but more soundscape and more groove.
6. Stax SR303:
   The creeper. Small assembly hall ambience. Drums with a good deep bass, but coupled with an aenemic 1-tone kick. Nice natural guitar. Voice natural but lacking authority. Allover harmonious, but even less emotion than the DT880.

Ranking Pop: Ultimate-K271-------W1000—DT880-----Stax

ALTERNATIVE
Portishead – We Carry on
Now some darker “garage sound”. I assumed that emotion would beat ability here, but I was wrong!
Amazon
Youtube

1. DT880:
   That „garageous strumming“ gets beautifully sorted by the Beyer, mostly by means of its wide soundstage and its treble peak. This helps a lot observing the details. A good deep bass foundation. Very well done!
2. K271S:
   Things are much too close. As there is almost no kickbass included in this piece, the AKG is "idle" and sounds too thin. The higher degree of emotion gets a bit on my nerves.
3. W1000:
   Soundscape widenes a bit. It finds the right tone, but again, the percussion and guitar shares are strangely shadowed. The W1000 is at least listenable, but that isn’t its home game.
4. MS Pro “Ultimate”:
   The wide soundstage is similarily beneficial as with the DT880. It does not have the sugarcoat treble peak of the Beyer which makes things more realistic – but also more garageous. Allover very close to the Beyer, but I prefer the sugarcoat Beyer presentation here.
5. Stax SR303:
   Emotionless work-to-rule. It sounds comparably realistic as the Alessandro, but the soundscape lacks widths and precision. Allover very mushy.

Ranking Alternative: DT880-Ultimate------W1000-Stax-----K271

FOLK / SINGER-SONGWRITER
Johnny Cash – In my life
Male singer, guitar and very little commotion. Not the stuff I listen to every day, but I nevertheless adore this old warhorse deeply.
Youtube

1. DT880:
   The Beyer brings us astonishingly close to the things. Johnny Cash sings somewhere in my head, guitars and chimes somewhere 3 meters left and right. Too many pluck sounds and to much “treble glitter” in the voice, but the bottom line is still a very pleasing and aesthetical presentation.
2. K271S:
   As if a loudness switch had been put to the “off” position and as if the show had been made in a small kitchen. Voice less “male” und unglamorous, but I suspect that to be more natural. Tone of instrumentation top notch. Allover “better” than the Beyer, but I miss beauty.
3. W1000:
   Coherent, but when listening critical, Cash’s voice is too queeky. Soundscape, ambience and instruments close to perfection. Ambivalent...
4. MS Pro “Ultimate”:
   I get directly sucked in, eyes closed, he is standing right with me in this room, uups, I almost forgot volume adjustment. Relaxed and aesthetical as the DT880, but without treble glitter. As natural as the K271, but not as trapped. What an acoustical pig!
5. Stax SR303:
   Not bad. Good technical display similar to the Beyer, but without treble sugarcoat. Unfortunally, the bass basis is too weak, and there is no emotion. Solid midfield.

Ranking Folk: Ultimate--------DT880---Stax-K271-W1000

ROCK
David Sylvian / Robert Fripp – Jean the Birdman
Yes, I give in that this isn’t real rock and has too much 80s spirit, but I beg for mercy, I have enough to suffer when it goes towards the Hardrock genre later.
Youtube

1. DT880:
   Very shrill guitars, and even David Sylvians deep voice gets a shrill touch. Apart from that, a very full sounding and pleasing presentation with good placement of instruments.
2. K271S:
   Guitars and voice sound more natural. On the other hand, the soundscape collapses, and thinner tone. The AKG lacks deep bass here. No fun...
3. W1000:
   Again its typical “proper” soundstage. The band sounds great, with involving energy and pace, that would be the AT’s chance, if...well, if there wasn’t the queek in the voice. David Sylvian appears to use a PVC tube instead of a microphone.
4. MS Pro “Ultimate”:
   Principally similar to the Beyer, spacious and lush. But due to more polite treble and its Grado genes, things become more natural and more involving.
5. Stax SR303:
   Wow, better than expected. Much better. Lush, natural and coherent, that is close to the Alessandro. The latter beats it in respect of soundscape and groove though.

Rating Rock: Ultimate---Stax-DT880---K271-W1000

HARDROCK
Black Sabath – Paranoid
Ouch...but needs to be done to provide a full genre review. I must say that I hate this redneck Oldie tin beer spirit, and the band’s musical simplicity doesn’t help either.
Youtube

1. DT880:
   No idea how this “should” sound, but this sounds quite good. The treble sugarcoat and the wide soundstage really improve this old recording. Not very involving though.
2. K271S:
   Solid performance with a bit too weak deep bass. Guitars & singing less effect loaded, but grooves at least acceptable.
3. W1000:
   Wow, this seems to be AT’s home of the brave. The recording improves remarkably from the AT-peak. Not as full sounding as the DT880, but much more agressive (and I guess that is what hardrock is about). I begin to understand why AT has so many loyal followers.
4. MS Pro “Ultimate”:
   Fuller and darker than the W1000, but it does not have that special e-guitar spirit of the AT. Too audiophile.
5. Stax SR303:
   Quite similar to the Alessandro, with less soundscape and emotion. Surprisingly good, solid 3rd place.

Rating: W1000-Ultimate-Stax---DT880-----K271

PROGROCK
Mogwai – Help both Ways
Mogwai is my newest musical love, and as Noxter knows them better than me, he picked out a very nice piece. Typically profound piece from Come on Die Young. Unfortunally, I did not find good qualitity listening samples, so we have to restrict ourselves to the Amazon Sample , and to a different piece of comparable spirit I found at Youtube

1. DT880:
   That sounds almost symphonical with the Beyer. Lush and extremely brilliant. Very “arty”, more aesthetical than involving.
2. K271S:
   Really a fat recording, even the AKG provides mentionable deep bass. Drums dry as a bone, the AKG develops an interpretation of its own, less symphonical, more smoky pub ambience. Totally different to the Beyer, but just as nice.
3. W1000:
   Wow. The AT combines the symphonical Beyer sound with the dry AKG sound, adds the typical AT coloration for e-guitars and leaves me deeply impressed. Real big stuff.
4. MS Pro “Ultimate”:
   Less coloured than the AT, but very transparent, lots of air between the notes. That combined with the Beyer’s syphonical spirit, and very involving.
5. Stax SR303:
   Even the Stax can handle that piece. It lacks ambience, but it has no trouble keeping up with the Beyer and the AKG.

Rating Progrock: Difficult this time. W1000 und Ultimate on par, closely followed by the other 3. Headphone friendly music obviously.

METAL
All that Remains – Six
I don’t know much about metal, but in difference to Pop and Hardrock, I don’t suffer from snobbish condescension in respect of that genre. Here a random piece out of Noxter’s inventory that is placed quite apart from my usual listening habits.
Youtube

1. DT880:
   Widespread and shrill. Rather listening than headbanging. I personally would regard this as “good”, but I have the suspicion that this is not what Metal is about.
2. K271S:
   The AKG can handle the Metal speed much better. The sheer tone also suits better, but the small soundscape gets on my nerves.
3. W1000:
   Sounds quite well, but not as impressive as the Progrock- and Hardrock pieces. Although tone, soundscape and the “Aaaaarggh” emotion suit perfectly, the sound is out of balance due to lacking bass. Maybe that is just the chosen piece, overall, the W1000 seems to be a Metal monster.
4. MS Pro “Ultimate”:
   AKG tone and Beyer soundscape. Aggression in the middle between the gentle DT880 and the violent W1000. Compromises, compromises...
5. Stax SR303:
   I can’t help, that hammering sounds too thin here, and (even worse) much too mushy. Where are the famous electrostatic technical abilities?

Rating Metal: I have no clue. None does perfect. ?-?-?-?--------Stax.

 

[nickchen]

HIPHOP
Cypress Hill – Stoned is the way of the walk
I hope things to become easier for me from now on. Although I never listen to Hiphop, this sound is closer to my listening habits than most of the previous pieces.
Youtube

1. DT880:
   Very nice, quite fat, and all other production gadgets are being spread crystal clear.
2. K271S:
   Badaboooom, again surprising how the unimposing AKG can thunder, provided it gets the right material (and the right 3rd party pads). The K271 pushes hard, that is real big fun. Its limits in respect of soundscape get compensated by the playful production of this piece, no problem. Manages to beat the big Beyers as bottom line.
3. W1000:
   Tone and soundscape are okay, but its work-to-rule bass spoils the presentation.
4. MS Pro “Ultimate”:
   Similar to the DT880, but the Alessandro accents rather the voices than the instrumentation. Wrong interpretation IMO.
5. Stax SR303:
   Similar to the MS Pro, but less immediate and very antiseptic. Boring. S*cks.

Rating Hiphop: K271-DT880-Ultimate---------W1000-Stax

Fine. Now we get into my own musical district. Wasn’t so easy for me until now.

TRIPHOP
Mick Harris – Do one
Fat, synthy-heavy, calm, no singing – that’s how things ought to be in my universe.
Download Archive.org

1. DT880:
   Very calm and atmospheric, vivid presentation of the subtle mid frequency layers, bass pushes hard. The single components of this song (subtle layers, percussion, samples) are perfectly balanced.
2. K271S:
   Oh, claustrophobic. Great bass, but there is no room for the subtle layers. No treble glitter on top of the percussion, which reduces everything to a dull boom-boom-boom.
3. W1000:
   Much better. No bass problem here, enough space to enroll the mid frequency layers, but the latter are too silent, whereas the crackle sample is too loud.
4. MS Pro “Ultimate”:
   The subtle mid frequency layers get displayed most nicely and have roooooom without end. Balancing of the song components as perfect as the DT880. The bass is much faster and tighter, which shifts the atmosphere towards groove and tiptoeing. I personally prefer the Beyer’s tenderness here.
5. Stax SR303:
   Also good balancing, enough soundscape, but the mid freq shares of the percussion get a bit over-emphasized. Solid performance, but no emotion to be defined (neither peace nor groove).

Rating Triphop: DT880-Ultimate----W1000-Stax----K271


DRUM & BASS
Spring Heel Jack – Roger Tessier
Youtube
The best D&B I have crossed for a while. Said to be _the_ D&B recording of the year in GB 1996.

1. DT880:
   Boomboom, and again its typical relaxed spreading of the million kittenish details. Delicious.
2. K271S:
   The basis works, great bass, good tone...but there is no room to display everything, things become annoying.
3. W1000:
   Soundscape and bass okay, but not the tone. The AT queek hits hard, and too much “tchak” shares in percussion. Even more annoying than the K271.
4. MS Pro “Ultimate”:
   Crystal clear and transparent, lots of air between the notes. Nutty big soundscape, multi-layered bass – the Beyer gets beaten. Not only in technical aspect, also because its groovier approach suits better than the DT880’s tenderness.
5. Stax SR303:
   Better than expected. It somehow manages to get it “done” with its electrostatic bass and to sound at least acceptable. Even a hint of groove gets presented.

Rating Drum & Bass: Ultimate-DT880---Stax-K271---W1000

ELECTRO
Kraftwerk – Aero Dynamic
Youtube
Synthesizers until the police comes...

1. DT880:
   Soft as butter, much deep bass, in fact so much that other details get pushed backwards. Chewing gum spirit...
2. K271S:
   The dryer and faster bass suits much better. No veil when playing the mid- and high frequency sounds thus. Soundscape does not seem to play a major role here. The K271 and Kraftwerk apparanty seem to be a dream team.
3. W1000:
   Detailling and bass okay, but too much emphasize on the upper mids. This makes negligible sounds too prominent.
4. MS Pro “Ultimate”:
   Similar to Drum& Bass, things are presented dry as a bone and with details under a magnifying glass. The other extreme to the “chewing gum” DT880, I prefer the K271, which has the critical 10% less dryness.
5. Stax SR303:
   Solid but boring, no major faults or vices.

Rating Electro: K271-Ultimate---DT880---Stax---W1000

HOUSE / TECHNO / TRANCE
Underworld – Moaner
Youtube
Synthy hammering. Not exactly my musical home land, but what needs to be done...

1. DT880:
   Soundscape and treble sugarcoat suit here, the resulting tone is fine, but the big Beyer lacks speed and stumbles. Parts of the music don’t get displayed, an unsuitable hectical mood is the unpleasant result. I guess Noxter’s newer (2005) Pro model would do better here. (for the record: otherwise, I am a hardcore 2003 follower)
2. K271S:
   That is the real stuff! The dry AKG handels the hammering well, no stumbling and no veil. I get close to liking this piece when using the K271.
3. W1000:
   Very close to the AKG (logical, it’s all aggression, stupid!). Enough bass, enough coherence, sometimes a bit too shrill though.
4. MS Pro “Ultimate”:
   Similar to the K271, but in “high res”. Same as last piece, I prefer the K271 for its 10% less dryness here.
5. Stax SR303:
   Technically, a solid performance without stumbling or veil. But again, no emotion provided.

Rating Techno: K271-Ultimate-W1000---Stax-DT880

AMBIENT
Lomov – Leerstand
Download Archive.org
A free piece from my beloved miasmah.com label.

1. DT880:
   Wideness, Room, balance. Diligent spreading of details. Deep peace.
2. K271S:
   It lacks soundscape, the tone is too dark. It fails providing the real mood.
3. W1000:
   Very different tone, but that sounds okay. Enough Soundscape, but things don’t calm down sufficiently.
4. MS Pro “Ultimate”:
   Extremely fine carved, even greater room than the Beyer. More calm than the W1000 (by far), but still not as peaceful as the DT880.
5. Stax SR303:
   Oh, finally we’ve found something for the Stax! Very intimate and coherent presentation, emotional factor very close to the Beyer.

Rating Ambient: Stax & DT880 on par, then Ultimate-W1000----K271


JAZZ
Sara K – Miles away
Amazon
Very popular piece in the german forum, so I decided to choose it as well. Not my peace of cake (I prefer the Keith Jarret or Jan Garbarek sort of Jazz), but who cares...

1. DT880:
   The acoustical bass almost too fat, guitar a bit thinnish, singing with sibilance and lisping.
2. K271S:
   Less dominant bass, also guitars and voice get played more natural. Still some sibilances left...maybe Sara K uses false teeth??
3. W1000:
   AT and female voices...tststs...the lady appears to be 15 years younger now (poor girl, so young and already false teeth
   
   ). As the rest sounds really (and I mean really really) nice and is put together very coherent, the W1000 gets my top notch badge here.
4. MS Pro “Ultimate”:
   Precise and natural, best instrumentation so far, voice close to the K271. The acoustical pig again. But I still prefer the W1000’s sugarcoat here.
5. Stax SR303:
   As usual. Solid and free of faults, but no emotion. That thing is a top notch boredom provider.

Rating Jazz: W1000-Ultimate-K271-Stax-DT880

CLASSICAL (BAROQUE)
Manfredini – Concerto Grosso in F-Dur, Op. 3/1, Allegro Assai – Adagio
Klick piece 1
Typical Baroque ensemble, with italian verve.
Disclaimer: I got supported by my wife, as she is a violin player. Partly quite astonishing results, I would have judged different.

1. DT880:
   Very lush, spacious and hapsichord-friendly presentation, I really liked that, but my wife found that too polite, no stringed instrument would sound so smooth, and also the harmonics were only addition of imagination.
2. K271S:
   It lacks room, but in an at least bearable way. Less hapsichord, less lush, less cuddly violins. We agreed, much more realistic.
3. W1000:
   Queeeek. PVC classical. Unlistenable.
4. MS Pro “Ultimate”:
   Impressivly spread, very natural and lush, otherwise, the tone is similar to the AKG. I still personnally experience the Beyer as “nicer to listen”, but my wife waves aside: The Alessandro’s way is how things sound in reality.
5. Stax SR303:
   Well done by the Stax. Not the widest soundscape, but a very “real” impression. The tone is top notch, it gets beaten only by the Alessandro’s greater authority for celli.

Rating Barock: Ultimate-Stax-K271----DT880----------------------------W1000

BIG ORCHESTRAL CLASSICAL
Shostakovich – Symphony 10 E-Moll – 2 – Allegro
Youtube
Not the kind of classical I like best, maybe that has to do with too many similar made hollywood soundtracks.

1. DT880:
   Similar to the baroque piece, the Beyer adds some treble sugarcoat. Allover a bit shrill, annoying and chaotic.
2. K271S:
   Less shrill and less spacious, more natural and better to listen to. Quite good indeed. One of those moments I become sort of proud of my unimposing K271.
3. W1000:
   Less “awful” than the baroque piece, but nevertheless, the mids peak gets on my nerves, and at least a bit of lushness would be nice. Even more chaotic information overkill than the DT880.
4. MS Pro “Ultimate”:
   Very natural and spacious. Much cleaner and better structured than the others. Looks like that sort of classical profits immensely by a “fast” can.
5. Stax SR303:
   Similar to the MS Pro, the famous electrostatic technical brilliance. Its absence of emotion rather helps than damages with this big orchestra rave. Indeed very very good.

Rating big orchestra: Stax-Ultimate---K271---DT880------W1000

CHAMBER MUSIC
Rachel Podger – J.S. Bach, Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo – 10 – Partita Nr.1 double
Muzetunes
One empty room, one musician, one violin, one microphone. I have handed over this section completely to my wife.

1. DT880:
   „A bit flat. Sounds a bit as if being played with damper. Secondary sounds such as bow scratching over the strings are displayed well. Allover very nice...”
2. K271S:
   “Sounds a bit clearer, but too sharp. Secondary sounds get filtered out to a certain degree. I feel a bit claustrophobic under these closed cans.”
3. W1000:
   “Artificial, totally dull, no resonation at all. Awful.”
4. MS Pro “Ultimate”:
   “Turn that louder! Sounds completely natural, as if she was playing right here with us. Violin live, I keep that one.”
5. Stax SR303:
   „Oh no, too flat, as if somebody had turned the treble off. Masks secondary sounds as much as the AKG. Not my cup of tea.”

Rating violin: Ultimate------Beyer----K271------------------Stax--------------------W1000

RESULT

Well, to crest a winner (idealwise by calculating points”) would be a bit ridiculous, we can leave that approach to the so-called “professionals”. But this review shows quite well, that the performance of a can depends severely from the genre that it’s fed with. So if a unexperienced Hiphop follower asks for a new can and his thread gets captured by the longhaired fraction, results might turn out to become very questionable (and stuff like that happens far too often at headfi IMO).

The DT880 is still a top notch can, but for some genres, it rocks too little, and the treble also does not suit everywhere. On the other hand, it’s these attributes which make the Beyer a perfect choice in other situations.
The K271S is a big surprise, sometimes pale and claustrophobic, then suddenly the alpha dog. Too bad, that it’s unforeseeable, what is going to happen with an unknown piece.
I experienced the W1000 as a specialist for female voices, distorted e-guitars and for the violent moments in life. Apart from that only mean, flukes or completely unlistenable.
The MS Pro „Ultimate” is a precise allrounder with lots of groove. For extremely calm stuff, K701/DT880/Hd650 are still better choices...
...or the Stax SR303, objective as a clerk. I would not say that is has too little emotion, it is simply free of emotion.

 

[Henmyr]

Very interesting read, an excellent review

Very easy to read and perfect layout, thanks.

The MS ultimate is a very interesting headphone. Have you listened to the stock MSPro anything? Would the stock MSPro rank similar as the MSUltimate, or would stock version be much worse in other areas than soundstaging?

Does the MSUltimate have the Grado bass punch (tight quick punch) or does it have the deep "rumble" like DT880/DT990/HD650/HD600?

Great to finally see some sort of drawback to Stax. I knew there had to be something they didn't do well. Bass and emotion/musicality seem to be those areas. Your review makes it easier to resist spending my last penny on in-production low-end(in their current lineup) Stax.

Some say that Stax are very transparent to source. Could the lack of emotion be a drawback of your source perhaps?

 

[nickchen]

Of course, I also had my MS Pro as stock (but not for long).

The pimped up version differs from it mostly in respect of soundscape (huge vs almost none) and bass (more layers: deep bass appears, but slightly less kickbass). Allover, the mod puts it somewhere in the middle between a stock Grado/Alessandro and the DT880/K701/HD650 way of presentation.

I have no idea if the Stax presentation has to do with my gear, but I have my doubts. Some may also criticize that used "wrong" cables or so.

It's only an earthed snapshot of my impressions, and I am in team sceptic in respect of gearitis.

 

[Tiemen]

Well done, thanks.

 

[denl82]

Thanks for your comprehensive review. I too found the dt880(and dt770/80) to sugarcoat its sound in treble. A weird sort of phenomenon. On a side note, when I replicated this same happening on my M1000, the bass became tighter. Highs, that make bass tighter? Weirddddddddd

 

[smeggy]

Nice, good comprehensive writeup.
Thanks

 

[monolith]

A very nice and well organised comparison, thank you.

I'm not sure I can trust anyone who doesn't recognise the supremacy of Black Sabbath, or who calls Portishead "alternative" or Mogwai "prog rock" though.

 

[nickchen]

LOL

 

[zyxwvutsr]

Great review, the MS Ultimate sounds pretty interesting. How does its treble balance compare to the DT880 (I'm assuming that your pair sounds the same as the stock version) and the stock K271s?
I also have a feeling that your millet hybrid may not be the best match for your lower impedance cans (e.g. rolling off the lower bass).

 

[nickchen]

The Ultimate has less and better integrated treble than the bright DT880, out of memory I would put it closer to the HD600 or K701 in that respect. But it has much more treble than a stock K271 mids monster.

I also once had some suspicions on the low ohm abilities of my Millet (back in my MS2 days), but a comparision with Aria and Opera was without any pathological findings.

 

[Faust2D]

Can you describe what you mean by "emotion"? I am not really sure if that simply means it has euphoric colorations or something else that I am not getting here. How can headphone have or not have emotion? It is simply should reproduce the music as truthfully to the recording as possible, no?

 

[glac1er]

I like the review, a bit too subjective but very honest.
Glad it wasn't just me. My SR-202 also doesn't groove very well. My DT531 grooves a lot better with punchier bass.

I wouldn't call mine (SR-202) emotionless or boring though, when the recordings want to be emotional, my Stax can do it, just doesn't emphasize it as much as most other headphones. The only headphone I would dare to call boring is the K701. Also surprised that some of Stax strengths (speed, pace, instrument separation, overall detail, coherence) isn't mentioned much here.

 

[nickchen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Faust2D /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can you describe what you mean by "emotion"? I am not really sure if that simply means it has euphoric colorations or something else that I am not getting here. How can headphone have or not have emotion? It is simply should reproduce the music as truthfully to the recording as possible, no?

Good question. After some hesitation I am quite sure that I do NOT mean some midfi euphonic stuff when I talk of emotion. I don't like the EQ'ed and veiled A900 or DT531 way any more.
Maybe it has something to do with my own emotions when using that headphone. Can't really put my finger on it, but some cans have a kind of "emotional invisibilty magic cap" (the K701 you mentioned is a mild example), while others directly grab my balls.
Quote:

Also surprised that some of Stax strengths (speed, pace, instrument separation, overall detail, coherence) isn't mentioned much here.

That is because I did not care that much for doing analyses as I would have done in a normal pseudo-objective review. But, to be honest, I did not like the Stax too much, maybe my handling of that can was a bit rugged. The Stax is much better than it appears in that review, it just doesn't work too good for me / my genres / my listening habits.