After one month with both headphones, I definitely think that the good one is the Focal Spirit Classic.   It is sad that it hasn't had its  own appreciation thread because I think it is the closed headphone that I have listened to that is more similar to the HD650. And that is an endless...

  Thanks!   And sonically... what are the differences between 770 (80 Ohm) and 1540? I understand that the Shure is better and the quality is to its side, but I would like to know the tonal balance: which one has more bass (sub-bass, mid-bass, impact, slam)? Which one has less recessed mids...

Yes, it is authentic. I'm from Spain and I have bought mine there, in amazon.es. I bought the FSP at 165€ and the FSC at 200€ (now it is pricier). Around $500 for both headphones. It was a good deal .

    The FSC and the HD650 sounds similar. To me it is the closest headphone to be considered a closed version of the HD650. From 200Hz/300Hz to 8KHz they are almost the same.   It (FSC) has rich, upfront, full bodied and beautiful mids, pretty similar to the HD650 ones. Also, it has the...

To me the D5000 were too bassy and bright. The D7000 is better, with more tight bass and more forward mids although with a thinner sound overall.   I prefer the sound of the X1 to the D5000. Maybe it is not as detailed and It is V-shaped too but I think it is more balanced and warmer. Also...

  The FSC is better built too.

Maybe it has been commented but ¿How the 1540 compares to the TH900 or the Denons (DX000)? 

I haven't heard so many different opinions about the mids of a headphone until now. There are people who say that it has great, not recessed, beautiful, rich, detailed, full, warm and even lush mids. At the same time there are other people who says the opposite, dry and distant mids, not...

  Oh no. Dry mids? Not as good as the 650?... I don't like that.

Byrnie, sorry. I have said that not as a criticism, I did it only to mention the similarities between the HD650 and the Focal Spirit Classic.   Stereolab42, you have the SRH1540 and the DT770 Pro. Which version of the 770? 32 Ohm, 80 Ohm... I have had the DT770 80 Ohm and I liked it. I'm now...

  Mmm, I haven't heard the SRH840 so I don't know.   I don't mind the leakage. I only want to be isolated from external sounds and noise: the family, the kids, the TV, the cat, etc. . The Denons are almost opened in this regard. If the isolation of the Shure is similar to the Focals (their...

Hi,   For all I have read about the SRH1540 I think it is like a closed version of the Philips Fidelio X1. Their graphs in Innerfidelity are pretty similar. I have made an image (with Gimp) with the combined graph of both cans and you can see the similarities    SRH1540: red and blue  ...

Now that I have listened to both, FSP and FSC, along few days I can confirm that:   - The Classic has noticeably more bass presence and is warmer. - The Pro is more transparent in the mids, with a bit more details. . Both headphones are not fatiguing, at least to me, but the classic is less...

Hi,   I have just received the FSP from amazon.es (for only 165€, aprox. $230). I have been listening it only for thirty minutes, but I can say this is an excellent headphone. Its tonal balance is great and works well, very well, with all genres. The FSP are a bit warm, only the enough amount...

A recent comment from Tyll Hertsens in Innerfidelity http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/innerfidelity-december-2012-update:   "I've got a pair of Sony MDR-1R in the lab and measured. Not quite as good as the Momentums, and not quite as good sounding. But I'm going to try to get my hands on...

Quote:   Mmm. I think I have wrote it wrong ("put on?").   The problem is that there are people who think that talking about diminishing returns is the same that saying that the HD650 are better than others cans that are clearly better.

Quote:   I haven't said that the HD650 are as good or better than the LCD-2. I haven't said that I didn't like the LCD-2. I did like the LCD-2 (more than HD650) and I have said that I think that the LCD-2 are better than the HD650. What are you talking about? Perhaps you think I...

Quote:   Worth 4 times the price? The Rega DAC ($800) and the Burson HA-160 ($600) aren't enough to do justice to the LCD-2? Crazy. Just another example of the hyperbolic arguments around here, the justification of the money spent and the exhibition of the wallet size. One can be willing...

Quote:   That summarizes all your entire post. And I can't be more agree with you.   As I said few pages back, my current rig has little to envy to my last rig:   Current: Xonar STX (dac) + Burson HA-160 + "new" HD650 + cardas cable. Before: Rega DAC + Burson HA-160 + Audeze...

Quote:   +1. Me too. And they are the most musical and "pleasing" to hear.

Quote:   +1   I had the LCD-2 and now I have the HD650 + cardas with the Burson HA-160. Well, the 650 has very little to envy to the LCD-2. In fact, there are things that the 650 can do better. If more details is "hi-fi", then yes. Probably there are more detailed headphones and...

When I had the LCD-2 I also had the sr325is, K701 and D2000. I had bought the LCD-2 to replace all of them. But It was a hard decision. I couldn't get rid of the 325is. At the end I sold the LCD-2 (too dark and comfort issues). But if I had not sold the LCD-2 then I would have choosen the...

I have the 325is and the Xonar Essence STX. 1st question: With that card you don't need an external amp. The sound quality is very good and it has an integrated amp if you need it. It has 3 gain levels. I use it  in normal level for the 325 (no problem), D2000 and LCD-2 (when i had them)...

Thanks for your answer. Sorry, I didn't wanted to say "better" in absolute terms (I don't believe in that). I meant "closer to what I'm looking for" (more full-bodied, bassier and punchier headphone, without loss detail and with some sparkle). If the HD700 is between T1 and HD800 perhaps...

What I think is that you have to give up some sound capabilities if you change from a headphone to any other one above the price tag of $300, that it is where I think the "hi-fi" level starts. Every headphone has pros and cons in respect to any other one. Then, why a headphone is "better" than...