[jagorev]

HD600 with PIMETA never ceases to wow me.

HD 497 (EH 350) has a similar effect on anyone who has not heard good headphones before.

 

[JB.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by munkong wow.........wow.........wow......... ksc35.......ksc35........ksc35.......

Have to agree.

I've had a total of three "wow's":

1. KSC-35
2. Ety 4S
3. Super.Fi EB = BASS wow

 

[lmilhan]

Of the phones I have heard/owned, I would have to say the K1000s without question (even though they are recently discontinued). As for pairing them with an amp, that can be tricky. I currently use a turbo charged PPX3 SLAM and it sounds great, but I have a feeling I could do even better (perhaps an audio valve). As such, my mind/ears are open to experimenting with more amps in the future.

 

[Xplo]

Naah, you guys are all out of touch with what the average non-audiophile is impressed by. Here's how you do it.

1. Get something that produces a lot of bumpin' bass, like a Beyer 770.
2. Get an amp with plenty of power to drive your chosen headphones. Doesn't matter which one, really.
3. Get a copy of "Cheap Subwoofer One-Note Booty Bass Classics, Vol. 1".
4. Crank up the volume to ear-damaging levels, sit back, and smile proudly while the non-audiophile yells, "WOW THESE HEADPHONES REALLY GO LOUD!"
5. Go home and listen to some real music while you apply bandages to the part of your soul that you injured when you pretended that going loud was indeed a good headphone system's primary virtue.




Speaking slightly less facetiously, a Sony V6 usually impresses non-audiophiles. The smiley frequency response matches what they're probably used to, the bass has pretty good impact, and the grainy highs convey the impression of lots and lots of detail.. and despite the fact that they are often maligned, they really do have enough fidelity for the "I've never heard these things in my music before" effect. Plus, they're so easily driven that you don't need to worry about inadequate equipment.

I often recommend them to people getting good headphones for the first time, actually.

 

[NotJeffBuckley]

I've had a number of non-headphone-afficiando friends over to listen to my headphone setup, and everyone seems to be incredibly impressed with the HD650s. Funny, they all seem to think the Grados are too harsh unless they're used to bright speakers, like multimedia speakers for computers.

All of my friends who have expensive speaker setups prefer the HD650, often commenting that they "sound like my speakers, but better." The notable exception is an amigo of mine who has a nice horn setup he put together; he likes the SR-225 because they have the same emphasis on upper mids and highs while still retaining bass punch and great dynamic impact.

 

[fr4c]

I must say the R10, and they still do till this day

 

[jagorev]

Whenever I let a friend try on my HD 600, they inevitably spend about four or five hours with it, constantly talking about how amazing and full and realistic it sounds.

 

[lmilhan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xplo Naah, you guys are all out of touch with what the average non-audiophile is impressed by. Here's how you do it. 1. Get something that produces a lot of bumpin' bass, like a Beyer 770. 2. Get an amp with plenty of power to drive your chosen headphones. Doesn't matter which one, really. 3. Get a copy of "Cheap Subwoofer One-Note Booty Bass Classics, Vol. 1". 4. Crank up the volume to ear-damaging levels, sit back, and smile proudly while the non-audiophile yells, "WOW THESE HEADPHONES REALLY GO LOUD!" 5. Go home and listen to some real music while you apply bandages to the part of your soul that you injured when you pretended that going loud was indeed a good headphone system's primary virtue.

Classic!

 

[Jahn]

I had an Anti-WOW yesterday. I just shipped off my KSC-35, so right now I'm inbetween cans, so i slapped on some stock buds my wife got on an airplane - AirTran? Anyhow it was like

WOW these REALLY STINK! I mean, no bass, no highs, mids were disastrous, I couldn't believe these things, truly truly horrible - it REALLY made me appreciate the KSC-35!

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xplo 3. Get a copy of "Cheap Subwoofer One-Note Booty Bass Classics, Vol. 1".

I got something even better!

The Ying Yang Twins are crunk maximalists, drunken screaming snaggletoothed sex goblins; over the massive trunk-rattling bass and rave whizjets of "Get Low" and "Salt Shaker", they practically elevated the act of yelling instructions at strippers into an art. Their brand of demonic, hedonistic id-flaunting seems engineered to make New York purist intellectual types flee the room with their hands clamped over their ears, and they've always reveled in their status as Southern rap's class clowns.

 

[KenW]

Hmm...so far, I'd have to say that the PS-1's have been my biggest surprise/wow set of cans. They just hit me where I live I guess. Presently part of my "silver surfer" rig....Eastsound E5->PSAudio GCGA->Grado PS-1. Nice combo IMO.

 

[tmarshl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamesp Ditto!!!

Double Ditto!!!

 

[mikeg]

Koss ESP/950, powered by a quality power supply (e.g., an Elenco Precision Model XP-603, which costs approx. $70).

 

[kuma]

RS1 & K1k fed by Jota monos. ( krell kps25s as a source )
More recent *wow* moment was old Stax SR5N and SR-X Pro 'fones
driven by Naim NAP 300 ( CDS3 as a source ).

Surprising wow: W2002 with Supercapped Naim Headline 2 ( kps25s/LP12 as a source ). Much less boring!

 

[zool]

First when I started with audiophile quality headphones I was wowed a couple of times.. But these are the ones I've been wowed by in later years.

HD650 with Zu Mobius XLR out of DAC1, Stax SRS-4040A system, CD3000.