Ok, so it's the season to be jolly, and purchase new audio gear.
Yours truly has went out to get himself some audio candy (not to confuse with SkullCandy...) to refresh his audio experience.
I had to wonder around the store to find me a good pair of headphones, and after about an hour of browsing and the seller trying to sell me on the Beats Studio (aparently he had no clue whatsoever as he first tried to sell me on some SkullCandy and Bose...I have left the store cheerful and sound-happy with a pair of AKG K420 and the Etymotic MC5 (I really wanted to hear those).
Enough with the casual chit-chat, let's get down to business!
After unpacking I have discovered that the K 420 are really light, and even squak a bit when stretched (let that not deter you from these headphones, as they are quite sturdy).
First Impressions:
Cable is a bit on the short side, about a metre (if you're from europe) or somewhere about 3.2ft. which is just enough to reach my pocket, all in all...good enough.
The fit is extremely comfortable, I was suffering from pressed (or squished) head after using my audio-technica's closed earphones, these however fit right in and sat snugly enough to embrace my ears.
Soundwise:
Well, here's the tricky part, the sound of the AKG K 420 is really good, a bit on the warm sound, I have heard people comparing them to the porta-pros and the Px100, I think personally that they are quite better than both, in terms of the sound stage, it is somewhere in the middle.
The sound tonality is warm - to the bassy side, however the highs are very clear and the mids are fantastic.
In some songs the bass kind of takes over and resonates, which I guess is something that I will have to get used to, which is kind of odd to me since it doesn't cloud the highs, it just kind of smears the bass all over, makes it a bit muddy maybe.
Songs tested on:
Don Ross and Andy McKee - Rylinn:
started off great, with clear acoustics, however once once the second guitar came in, they sounded like they were having a fight over my brain, each taking over the sound in turns.
Metallica - Wherever I may roam:
Drums and guitar were so real I wanted to join in and play with the band, I think these headphones will shine with metal music in general, beware of the vocals sometimes taking over the sound stage.
Radiohead - Let down:
This song left me stunned with the clear highs and the amazing vocals, the beginning of this song resonates in my head till this point...amazing.
Stereophonics.- Maybe Tomorrow:
Well, maybe even today. The gritty vocals sat right in with the headphones, the sparkles were shining through the song, and the guitar wasn't lost. a keeper.
To sum it up, these headphones handle quite well whatever I have thrown at them, if you like the Grado sound or good semi-open headphones, for that matter, they are a good value for great headphones, however as semi-open heaphones, do understand that they leak sound, although not horribly but they do, if this is a concern for you, don't even think about then, otherwise, I would highly recommend them to anyone.