Audio Purists steer clear of them, because they need to be EQ-ed to get the best out of them, because one thing you will immediately notice is the sheer lack of treble. This is great with harsh recordings but even than it just sounds unnatural to me, give me sibilance over a huge treble roll-off anytime.
The lack of highs is a real shame because overall the tonality is spot-on, instruments, vocals all sound very natural and real, they have enough warmth and body to be called musical.
Luckily EQ-ing is very easy, iTunes preset "more highs" simply does the trick and with it the sound opens up and is just excellent.
Their soundstage is not very big, but it is cohessive and intimate. There's just enough sense of the space and the (room/hall) acoustics in recordings, not exactly 3D, but definitely not flat, like the Audio Technica M40Fs I had, their sound was very upfront and wide but extremely flat (in the sense of space and room acoustics)
I like Rolands forward presentation without sacrificing spacial information, it is very engaging with rock, but with some classical music, say Baroque music as-well.
I never heard the Audio Technica M50's which supposedly are very similar, but I certainly prefer the Rolands over the Shure SRH-840s, which sound distant and compressed in my opinion, maybe because they are very mid-centric.
In comparison with my D5000s they are no match, the Denons are better at everyting (well except isolating external noise) but their easy nature is very likeable and I could easily live with them if my Denons would break or would be stolen or something else out of the ordinary.
They sit very comfortable on my head, the clamping force is just right for these kind of phones. They don't need to be placed in a certain angle on my head or anyting to get a better (or different) sound.
Last word about their looks: aren't they lookers?!
EDIT:
Just to add something that's worth noting. These headphones are extremely sensitive, this means they actually need a proper amp, because otherwise you may hear static noise or some hum. And be careful with the volume level, they need very little current to sound loud, and because of their easy going nature you are bound to play way louder than is necessary.
EDIT:
Added half a star.
They are getting better and better or maybe I am beginning to like them better and better.
I never heard Trail of Deads' Lost Words and Source Tags & Codes this big and exciting sounding!
They get way more air time than my Denons right now.
The lack of highs is a real shame because overall the tonality is spot-on, instruments, vocals all sound very natural and real, they have enough warmth and body to be called musical.
Luckily EQ-ing is very easy, iTunes preset "more highs" simply does the trick and with it the sound opens up and is just excellent.
Their soundstage is not very big, but it is cohessive and intimate. There's just enough sense of the space and the (room/hall) acoustics in recordings, not exactly 3D, but definitely not flat, like the Audio Technica M40Fs I had, their sound was very upfront and wide but extremely flat (in the sense of space and room acoustics)
I like Rolands forward presentation without sacrificing spacial information, it is very engaging with rock, but with some classical music, say Baroque music as-well.
I never heard the Audio Technica M50's which supposedly are very similar, but I certainly prefer the Rolands over the Shure SRH-840s, which sound distant and compressed in my opinion, maybe because they are very mid-centric.
In comparison with my D5000s they are no match, the Denons are better at everyting (well except isolating external noise) but their easy nature is very likeable and I could easily live with them if my Denons would break or would be stolen or something else out of the ordinary.
They sit very comfortable on my head, the clamping force is just right for these kind of phones. They don't need to be placed in a certain angle on my head or anyting to get a better (or different) sound.
Last word about their looks: aren't they lookers?!
EDIT:
Just to add something that's worth noting. These headphones are extremely sensitive, this means they actually need a proper amp, because otherwise you may hear static noise or some hum. And be careful with the volume level, they need very little current to sound loud, and because of their easy going nature you are bound to play way louder than is necessary.
EDIT:
Added half a star.
They are getting better and better or maybe I am beginning to like them better and better.
I never heard Trail of Deads' Lost Words and Source Tags & Codes this big and exciting sounding!
They get way more air time than my Denons right now.