The FILL Wireless is a very capable and a genuinely nice Headphone. It offers pretty good Sound with the help of the Active DSP but...it is in serious trouble because of it's price and rivals. 
Let's talk about the FIIL Wireless in detail - 

Comfort - FIIll calls the Wireless an "Over-Ear" Headphone, this is going to be my main point of criticism. I understand why Manufacturers avoid to make bigger Earpads for Consumer Headphones, they want to reduce the footprint, at the same time the sacrifice of Comfort isn't a smart move for a Headphone clearly marketed for Travel and other portable applications. 
The Pads are just not large enough to accommodate my ears and I'm pretty sure they won't fit 80% other people in the world too. The cavity is very shallow as well. 
Comfort is a major thing for a Portable Headphone and the FIIL Wireless just wasn't able to impress me here. 

The Earpads are made of the same Pleather used the Brainwavz Earpads and other similar Pads like on the Audioquest NightHawk. This Pleather has become an industry standard and for good reason, it doesn't heat up as much and if fairly smooth and nice to the skin. 
The Headband is padded very modestly put so far it hasn't given me any trouble and seems to be adequate. 


 

 



Build Quality - 

The Build of these Headphones is very questionable, they felt very solid for a Plastic Headphone in the initial week of use. After that they started to squeak and lost the articulation tension. 
The hinges are also plastic, I'm not sure if the Plastic will survive unless the Composite used is in accordance of the stress-strain curve. 
The Paint is very nice and is finished well, doesn't feel like a cheap paint job, it also has sparkles embedded in the paint. 
The Headband is also Plastic and has a tight clamp, feels a little brittle too.
I'm sure the Materials should be adequate in the long run but they did skimp on the build. 

Sound - 

Note - Sound was evaluated in Wireless mode ONLY.

Manufacturers have an inherent advantage while designing Wireless Headphones, DSPs are something you can get away with here but not with high-end Headphones due to Audiophile idiosyncrasies, no doubt the FIIL sound very good. 

Bass is not over-inflated or bloated, it's very well controlled and sound tight. 
They easily could have over-done the bass but it's tuned very carefully, I think they did a very good job getting a decent curve to satisfy a large number of users. 
The response does lack some Mid-Bass energy but that's something most users won't complain about.  

It's a consumer Headphone, it has to appeal to Consumers so there is no doubt the FIIL is having a HiFi signature. It won't be as apparent due to the balanced bass response but it is something to note. 
The Treble never felt overly tizzy but at the same time it is accentuated a little, as I mentioned before - HiFi sound. 
The FIIL won't impress when it comes to imaging due to the Chamber size but it is still better than what it would be without any DSP corrections. 
Overall Fidelity was on point, didn't sound overly grainy or harsh which is very impressive. 


 


 
NC - 

The FIIL has Active NC as well. 
Now, I would just say this is a bonus feature, the NC doesn't compete that well with my QC25. The Destructive Interference Frequency range is good but at the same time the Bose NC is on another level, I wouldn't buy the FIIL for the NC only, Bose invented the technology and they have the exact range for the cancellation, it's very hard to compete I'm sure given the Patents so,  the NC on the FIIL is very respectable and much better than the Beats NC. 

Connections and Hiss - 

I used the FIIL with mostly 3 Devices, my Desktop PC, Nexus 5X and Macbook Air. I had no issues with connection with either of these. 
The range is very, very good. All Devices have different receivers have different ranges, I was able to go downstairs in my house and not loose connection while the FIIL was connected to my Desktop PC, on the other hand my Nexus 5X disconnected after I left my room. Macbook Air was in-between. 
Overall, the connection on the FIIL is solid and won't be a matter of concern for most. 

The FIIL has a major issue of Hiss when used Wireless. There is no way around it, this issue is also present on the Beats Studio Wireless but I'm not sure about the Bose QC35. 
Nevertheless, it's annoying but isn't audible while you have anything playing. 

You charge the Headphones via Micro-USB and they can be used in wired mode with a 3.5mm cable (Android and iOS) cables are included in the box. 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

Features and Battery Life -  

There Earcups act as a touch-pad for gestures such as Volume : Up-Down and Track : Next-Previous. 
In order to be successful at executing these gestures you need to swipe your fingers from the very ends of the sides for the respected gestures. It works but you need to be very precise and slow.
You can also hold at the respected position and it will continue the function till you remove your finger.   
There is a Multi-Function button at the bottom which serves as a Power button as well as a switch for the NC. 

You can charge the Headphones via the Micro-USB, I really would have preferred a USB-C to be honest. 
The Logo on the sides illuminate for extra douchiness. 
Another thing I wanted to mention was a Sound you hear when you turn on the Headphones, it's very loud and annoying. I hate it. 
(Too reduce confusion, that sound is intentional to let you know that you have turned on the Headphone)

Battery life is excellent, I got around 15 hours out of it with the LEDs on here and there.  
They are good enough for normal commute but I wouldn't take them on a long flight, the reason I like the QC25 is because of it's AAA battery replacement system. Those AAAs last 16-18 hours, they bust out, I put a new one in. No need to charge and wait! 
Bose is better for Air Travel, no doubt about that at all. 




 

 

 



 

Driver and Maintenance - 


 
Luckily, you can remove the Earpads for the occasional wash, the Pads just click in. 
More info on the Driver here - http://www.head-fi.org/t/202122/the-headphone-driver-pics-thread/435


 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Conclusion - 

The FIIL is a good departure from other options that's for sure. At price range of ($259) there is stiff competition from others, spend the same and get a QC25 or spend extra $100 and get the QC35 both of which are better if NC and Comfort is first priority. 
FIIL offers a better Sound but has it's own fair share of problems. 
Overall, it's a good Headphone and I highly recommend it but...be aware of the shortcomings. 

Video Review - 


 

 
Never thought this day would come but I guess blunders are inevitable. There is no denying the Beyerdynamic T5p is one attractive looking Headphone, I think it's among the most beautiful and understated looking Headphones ever created. Beyer outdid themselves with the Tesla 1 and Tesla T5p Mesh designs. I personally love the design elements of the T1 and T5p but this is the place where it's resemblance with the T1 ends. 



Comfort and Isolation - 

In the ever growing trend of "Closed-Backs" sounding "Semi-Open" the T5p manages to be fully sealed. It reminds me a lot of the DT770M, albeit not as good at isolation as the DT770M, nevertheless the isolation is very impressive. 
Earpads of the T5p have always had polarizing opinions, some people love it, some hate it. I happen to love it, mainly because I'm always in an Air-Conditioned Environment. 
The Headband of the T1 and T5p has always been perfect, very thick and soft. I doubt anyone would ever complain about the Headband of the T5p especially with the ideal clamp they exert. 

 
Sound -
 
Before I come to the numbers, I'd like to preface this section by saying that the T5p is horrendous, it offers one of the worst fidelity for it's price and is outperformed by it's elder and cheaper sibling, the DT770.
 
The T5p struggles with Sub-Bass like the DT150 due to its obsolete Chamber design and lack of proper treatment inside it. The Transducers can't reproduce anything below 70 to 60Hz due to the lack of excursion space. Any correction results in unnecessary accentuation of maximum reproducible excursion Frequency, same observation can be observed in the previously assessed DT150.
The T5p manages to impress with even poorer transition towards the Lower Mid-Range.

The T5p measures poorly which is fine but subjective listening suggested there is more going on that what we are able to objectively see. 
There is severe coloration between 300 Cycles to 1000 Cycles. There is unnecessary energy in that region which would have been easy to fix but the Chamber has more factors than the Frequency Domain preventing me to get a good corrected response, due to the joint resonance between correcting here and correcting in the upcoming frequencies results in the same resonant frequency issue I noticed while correcting the DT150, it's about X10 times severe here though. 
The T5p suffers very badly in imaging due to such coloration in the Lower Mid-Range. I'll get back to the imaging later. 
As we climb up, the 2KHz coloration isn't hard to ignore and with even more non-sense above, the Mid-Range of the T5p is among the worst I have ever heard, regardless of cost or system type. I have $20 IEMs that offer a better Mid-Range presentation than the T5p, I'm not exaggerating. 

The Treble isn't elevated or over inflated like some Beyers, I find the T5p to be rolled-off up top with spikes here and there. 
I wanted to fix 8-10Khz but any correction resulted in added thinness to the response, correcting here is necessary but not possible without disturbing everything else. I gave up at that point as I new this Headphone was hopeless and even ideal 1:1 deletion correction couldn't solve the Chamber shortcomings. 


 

 

 

 

 
So, the response is atrocious and because of this, the Soundstage takes a major hit. The T5p is a classic case of the thing everybody has done where you take your hands on the back of your Open-Back Headphone and notice the change in Imaging due to the shift of Response and Acoustic Impedance of the system, severity of which will of course depend on the front design and airflow. Response of the System is directly proportional to the Imaging hence the T5p has very little to non-existent imaging to offer, which can't be fixed even with source correction due to the simple fact that the System is compromised by the Chamber and it's Resonant Frequencies and constricted Airflow because of the angled Baffle-Plate.


 




 
 
I think you can get away with better fidelity for less than $200, let's see what we have here - 

1) DT770 

DT770 is almost 35 years old and it still outperforms the best of the best (corrected). The T5p is not even close to the DT770 Dynamics, the DT770 offers real extension in the Sub-Bass, you can get the system to extract good enough information without accentuation but real extension. The DT770 for almost $150 is the best value in Headphones. 


 
2) SRH440

I never thought I'd put a generic Chinese Driver alongside a sophisticated Electrodynamic Transducer but I guess the SRH440 got the last laugh. The SRH440 offers a more treatable response albeit the Grain and overall fidelity isn't as good as the T5p would be in a treated or an ideal Chamber. Regardless, the SRH440 is a better value and a better Headphone for around 10% the cost of the T5p. The major weakness of the SRH440 is that it suffers from the classic PET Syndrome. 


 
3) DT250 

The DT250 is one of my favorite Beyers ever made, the things it does in such a limited and untreated design is marvelous (Corrected, of course). The DT250 offers superior response, extension and even Soundstage compared to the T5p for only $200. 


 
Overall, the T5p is a disrespect to Beyerdynamic's legacy and Engineering History, this Headphone should be eliminated completely and forgotten as a bad mistake. 
What I have done above should not have happened, it's nothing but embarrassing to compare the T5p to the above Headphones when it costs over a $1000. Sure, it's petty but there is no fidelity to be found here but...if you are really keen on a Tesla Beyerdynamic then I suggest looking at the DT1770 or the Tesla 1. 

Video Review - 




  

 
A name unfamiliar to most. DT150 is not something that is on everyone's radar partly because it was made from the stuff of the future in 1968 and comes from a Legend whose track record and contribution to the industry is overlooked to such an extent it makes me loose hope and instill a sense of understanding that if you think it's classy not to speak much, you won't ever get the recognition for your work if you had done the opposite instead. From the sole perpetrator of the Polymeric revolution for his Electrodynamic contribution, DT150 is the earliest examples dating back to that revolution.
This very perpetrator has taught me many things, given me many clues and made me understand certain things without actually doing any of the following. Although I can't make the feeble-minded bevy understand, I can at least preface this review with the above, although irrelevant I said it because, I wanted to. 
 

 

 

 
Build - Works, nice textured Injection Molded ABS body with slightly altered Monomer permutations to get the right impact, corrosion and wear resistance. I'm personally not a huge fan of the Sliding adjustments, not because of time wear which is irrelevant since I have a 1970 example with me and has shown almost negligible changes in bite and movement, it has to do with my OCD more than anything else, because of this system there is no side articulation, you would imagine such brilliant Engineers would have taken the time to get the fit right but I guess they had other important things to do. This side articulation problem affects the seal dramatically and is variable for head sizes and shapes, nothing unknown in my wordings but the changes with even slight variances can have significant overall change in seal which most modern designs have eliminated. Of course, nothing natural Earpad break-in can't solve.  
 
Comfort - I personally don't like Leather or Pleather on my face, the sensation reminds of strapping condoms (Of course, I haven't done that) on my face and I'm personally not a fan of that sensation although you could be. Sure, you can remedy the issue by changing the Earpads from Beyerdynamic itself (Velour or Cotton)  or take the Aftermarket route for which information is abundant on this very site, just search through the DT150 thread. Validity of the information is not something I can assure cause people have interesting opinions but knock yourself out.  
Headband is of the same material you find on other "PRO" DT Models, the new revised composition which became standard just a few years ago, the previous century material was prone to tearing and weathering, new material is better at those mentioned tasks. 
Clamping is low for me, I would have preferred more clamping to fix the seal problems, it also suffers from the same issue that can be referenced in my HD598 Review which is stability on your head. Slight movement will affect positioning and seal issue due to the Inertia caused by the Headband being unnecessarily large and wide. This can't be remedied because I think Beyerdynamic has used an Elastomer which has a very high elastic modulus but low shore hardness which means you can't change the clamping unless you change the chemistry or just use a different mold shape. 
 

 
 
 
 

 

 
 
Sound - 

This correction was done against average response of the greatest transducers ever made by man, reference papers and overall response which is the least priority as we are trying to combat the natural resonant frequency as much as we can with references and then FR can be taken into picture with resonant frequency S-D markers to better understand while correcting, this SHOULD not be taken as 100% neutral correction. 

The system runs out of excursion space below 50Hz and then any correction will be rendered useless with only gain being unnecessary accentuation which doesn't take away from the overall timbre and tone until you go up in the frequency band till maybe 100Hz, above that there is significant disturbance. Although I have done +15db at 30Hz and +3db at 60Hz kept 80-500 cycles almost flat as this band is very sensitive to changes and takes away from overall fidelity even if correction is required for neutral correction.  
The upper bands are very strange as the resonant frequencies are hidden and can only be heard at a certain SPL even if the system is running at it's signal frequency matching natural frequency, I don't have the right equipment for such correction right now so I held myself back and will update this review once I do. Anyway, we have -2db at 2000 and 7-8000 cycles keeping 3000 to 6000 flat and finally a gradual rise of +4db from 15kHz to 16kHz. 
With such corrections you can essentially open up the sound and hear the overall sense of space better, that isn't the priority here cause we are not here for minuscule Stage improvements in a limited chamber design, that's not worth talking about, if you want flowery explanations for that then read other reviews. 
Overall fidelity is variable with correction, having a reference fidelity target is not possible until I get the above mentioned equipment but still, it's as good as it gets. 


 
A legend, certainly an overlooked one but no less than a Legend. Beyerdynamic DT150. 
 
YouTube (Review) - 

   

 
"Headphone Industry" nowadays is filled with dimwitted, dopey, stoned hipsters who think they can make headphones. This is a trend I noticed in the last 10 years of Headphone Manufacturing. China is a great place for these hipsters to go and start manufacturing and contribute nothing to Headphone Technology. Xiaomi being a Chinese company thought they needed to contribute something to this industry and this is their gift to us all!
 
Build and Design - Blend of metals used, Aluminium, Spring Steel and Brass. Being a Brass fan, I appreciated the Brass insert just above the headband adjusters. It feels good in the hand until you start playing with it, shake it, caress it etc. You will know what garbage the build quality is. Nothing feels solid even though it's all Metal. Side adjustments are loose and have a weird articulation system, the headphone adjusts 70% less on one side from an another (Left to Front) both cups. The geniuses behind this headphone must have odd sized heads, that's all I can think.
The paint job on this headphone is horrible, there are drip marks on the yolk, more than that there are some foreign materials on the yolk which seem to be permanently stuck, perhaps in their poor quality clean room something might have gone wrong and **** got stuck during the paint job , pshhh China.
 

 

The paint job itself looks out of place, I wish they color matched the cups to the brass color, it's more of a Rose Gold than anything else, looks like a very poor matching resulting in making this headphone highly emasculating. 
Xi thought that red stitching would be a good idea so they decided to go with that. Let me go over this again, colors used - Rose Gold, Gold, Black, Red and White. They managed to make this headphone incredibly gaudy. I personally dislike the way it looks.
 
Comfort - They come with many Earpads, all the supra pads for me are irrelevant, all are uncomfortable. The headband is annoying, there is lack of padding and there are these bumps that touch and annoy your head, less extreme than a bumped AKG but still noticeable, if you are bald I can only imagine how bad you would want to destroy this crap headband.
I find the Earpads (Any) become very unbearable after an hour or so...
 
 

 

 

 

 
. 
Sound - 

Time to stop bitching about other things, let's go to the sound. 

This is a D-Thorn correction system, this is not going to be representative of 100% neutral correction but close compared to my references of an average neutral response of pretty much majority of headphones existing in this world.

Test tracks used for correction - 1) Matisyahu : Fire And Heights
                                                 2) Aga Zaryan - I Put A Spell On You
                                                 3) Peter White - Talkin' Bout Love 
 
There is a lot of accentuation of +8-10dB at 40-50 cycles, it's so much that it's disturbing the entire response adding, that needed to be trimmed down. Lack of 6-8dB at 30 cycles, -4dB at 100 cycles, I wanted to talk about the LF before I proceed, even after correction the system peaks at 40-50 even at any excursion, correction helps but the energy is more than I can control on my system, perhaps a better parametric equalizer could fix that permanently, one peculiar observation about peak excursion can observed, there is far more buzzing at 100 cycles than it is at 30 cycles, although there is an SPL difference, the system handles it better at 30 cycles albeit at a slightly lower SPL, it's not a very common behavior. Normal transducers hit it relatively but this one doesn't. 
200-500 is fairly obedient, +2dB at 900 cycles to 1kHz, then there is +3dB from 2kHz to 4kHz. After that correction system doesn't kick in as well. This Diaphragm, which is BoPET coated with Beryllium is PET in the end, classic PET behavior is observed here as well, anyway, there is strong emphasis at 7kHz which I couldn't fix just right, any correction resulted in an unnatural tone, since it is so rolled-off on I had to fix the upper treble slightly, I didn't like adding anything but without emphasis it sounds like a fish tank, garbage fidelity is what I heard with this garbage headphone. 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
Comparison to other "cheap" phones - 

1) Grado SR60i - I respect the SR60i, it is PET, it is decent but at least it is slightly neutral and has decent bass. It's a good headphone if you want to gift it to someone, $80 for SR60i or Mi, I would go 60i and do a Circumaural mod which I did with my personal pair. 
 

 
2) AKG K240M (600Ω) - This is a discontinued model but since AKG made so many of these, you can get them on Ebay for less than $50, for that money it's a much better value, yes. It doesn't come with the Mi accessories but if you are looking for that then you could settle for IEMs, I for one think full-size for portable makes you look comical. 
K240M has a much better Mid-Range than the Mi, it also has far better bass response than the Mi if we are talking non-synthesized  and non-corrected. 
 

 
3) Beyerdynamic DTX-710 

This one is a winner, you can get these for $50 new. More neutral, much better treble and bass than the Mi, easy to mod, you can make these balanced and use a Y-Split remote, like a V-Moda cable and then you have portable. What more can one want? 
 

 
The Mi folds down like this...


 
 
There you go, I named 3 headphones that are the same price or lower than the Mi, there is no reason for anyone to buy this headphone, it's insignificant and brings nothing to the table except making China rich. Don't bother unless you are ready for some correction, some serious correction. 

Some Links : 

1) "Unrated" version of this review - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1N5IKmoPYHl54wAF_5czMZD_fElLlrE_u7ECRh-2zmm4/edit

Cause there's only so much you can say on Head-Fi before people get offended and Mods come after you like Five-O.

2) Videos :

A) Unboxing - 
 

B) Video Review -  
 

I don't have time to fool around with irrelevant stuff, I'll just get to the sound. 

This is a corrected response I was able to come up with based on Dale Thorn's "Headphone Correcting" system.

Sound - 

It was hard to get a good response from this headphone, drivers are very poor quality. There's a lot of Sub-Harmonic distortion, excursion hits at 350Hz at relatively low SPL. So any energy from that range to below will result in over-riding and rattling. Keeping that in mind, I came up with a response relative to my other Neutral responses, of course this is not 100% correction but this is the best I could come up with...

The actual response relative from my curve will be the opposite, of course.

Bass correction from - 30Hz to 120Hz is around +8db, 60Hz has 2db down to resolve excursion rattling. There's a very strong buzz from 60-80Hz. Then I did a roll off from 120Hz-200hz, keeping 200-250 flat.

There was some Mid-Range accentuation which was brought down with my EDT990V pads, because of this there's not a huge correction in the Mid-Range. -2db at 500Hz, -3db at 1-2Khz. 4Khz has no correction.

I kept everything flat from 4Khz to 12Khz and above, any correction there will result in accentuation of the bass which would trigger my excursion. 

Response aside, fidelity is very poor. I don't even consider it Low-Fi, its below Low-Fi. With the corrected response, its sort of passable but still not that great. With the EDT990V pads, separation is better and things don't sound congested which also has to do with the correction. Forwardness from 1KHz to 5Khz results in congestion and hence it will disturb the imaging. A corrected response will open things up.  
 

 
Build Quality - 
 
Solid, Sony knows how to make good built Headphones, this one is well built and feels solid. Only Metal used is the Spring Steel Headband.
Even after so many years of service, it seems to be intact. Compared to a HD545 Vintage, this Sony is much better built. 

Mods - 
 
The day I received this Sony I knew something was wrong, first of all Pads were dead. There was a phase issue so I knew that needed fixing. 
I cut the cable and to figure out what the problem was. The conductors of the stock cable were falling apart. The cheap Copper they used was breaking off.
I decided to do a full re-cable with my Belden 9451 (Tinned Copper). I removed all connections from the Potentiometers for fidelity, also made it dual entry for fidelity and I added EDT990Vs for comfort. 


 

 

 

 
 
Amplification - These basically have Speaker drivers slapped into a Headphone, you'll see pictures on the Video below. There's no word about their Impedance or Sensitivity.
These were unusable on my Valhalla 2, my STX drove them very well except there was a very faint noise which is not my STXs fault, even with my DT48A - 5Ohm. There's no hum. It's only apparent with Speakers and since this uses Speaker drivers, I was not surprised. There was no Hum when plugged into my Violectric V200. 
Due to signal issues, I couldn't use my V200, I'll need a dedicated DSP card for that. My STX with my curve drove these the best.  
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Overall, I can't say anything good about them, I just got them for my collection. I may use them for some Mono recordings, maybe not. 

YouTube - (Review)

 
Yes, HD530.
Before I start I want to go over some things, Sennheiser is one of the big names that really let themselves go. They went from making very good, I'm not going to say great but good headphones. 
Their current line except a few is almost hilarious, they went from making HE-60s to then giving us the HD800. 
The HD650 was my first HiFi headphone, sentimental value aside all Sennheiser headphones are insignificant. 
I'm known to be harsh so if you want a ruthless yet honest review then keep on reading or else leave, just saying cause I've made a lot of owners upset in the past. 

Anyway, the HD530 is a Vintage. I have a thing for "Vintage German Dynamics". So that's why I have it. The HD530 has very little information. 
Apparently, there are two impedance versions. One being the 600Ohm which this should be - wait I'll come to it. The 300Ohm version have a 300Ohm label. 600Ohms don't, from that information I should have a 600Ohm but the seller tells me that they are 300Ohm. I'm not sure. 

These are part of the early 5XX series which was way better than the crap Sennheiser is selling today. The HD530s were launched back in the early 90s. 
Like all German headphones back then, all parts serviceable and interchangeable. The Ovation headphone parts are all replaceable with this HD530. From the velour Earpads of the HD540 Reference II to even the Headband.
The HD530s are quite large, it is the largest headphone in my collection which is odd . They are indeed quite big. 
They are mostly plastic but they feel solid, headband has the same system as the k812 or should I say the k812 has the same system as the HD530 and others.
The Earpads of the HD530 are same as the 280 PRO in that they are the Garbage bag material.
But...they are not uncomfortable as the 280s were. They are larger and clamp much less. Although they clamp less, the Garbage bag material is still not my friend, after some time of use the parts where it makes contact on my head really feels assaulted, the pads molest those parts. It's not fun. 
Headband works, I would have liked a bit extra adjustment but I have a long head so it shouldn't be a problem for most people.
 

 

 
So how do they sound?

Well, bass is rolled-off. It drops off at 150Hz but still lingers with some presence till 80Hz then there is no information unless the mastering has emphasis. It seems to be fairly even till 4khz then there is a massive spike resulting in shrill upper halves of male presence. Audibly I am going to say it's a 4-6db spike. It's quite noticeable and is honestly annoying with poor recordings. On a good revealing system it will be more noticeable with good recordings too.
8Khz is not smooth as well, more 4-5db emphasis there as well. Presence is always thin because of that, it doesn't have the body because of the response. Going up after that is good, there is enough extension up top. 
Now like all BoPET diaphragms, it has oodles of grain making it a low-fidelity for me.  
 
Compared to other Sennheiser phones - 
 
1) HD650 - 
 
Of course, we all know how the 650 sounds like. The HD530 is the same fidelity. Other than the obvious darkness of the 650, IMO the HD530 beats it in overall separation too.
The HD530 images much better and seems to be more intimate and involving. I do wish the HD530 had the 650 bass which would have made it much, much better than the 650. 
 
2) HD600 
 
I don't like my HD600, it's probably the least used headphone I have because my NOS HD580 sounds better than it, although they supposedly use same drivers the HD600 is different from either the 530 or 580. 
600 sounds congested and grainy-er than the 530. I don't like the HD600 

3) HD580 
 
HD580 is the best Sennheiser dynamic. It far surpasses the HD800 and HD700 in terms of realism and visceral tactility. The HD530 can't touch the HD580 neutrality. The HD580 images better and is overall much higher fidelity. 
530 can't compete. 

4) HD800 

HD530 sounds less neutral than the HD800 but has better centre imaging than the HD800. It doesn't have the diffused sound that is common with the HD800 on older recordings. Same problem with the K7-Series. 
Both the HD530 and HD800 are equally grainy. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Overall, Sennheiser, if any one the current workers at Sennheiser are reading this review then up your game folks. Lot of work to be done.
BTW - This HD530 was Made In Germany. Excursion for automated gluing is excellent with almost negligible tolerances. 
 
They go for less than 100 Euros which is a fantastic price of something like this. 
I highly recommend skipping current Sennheiser offerings. Get the old stuff...
  My YouTube Video review -
 

Apparently people here think I'm a troll so - 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Beyerdynamic. A company that really "Invents" and "Innovates" unlike the other crap you see today that people here go mad for.
I won't take any names because you see, people here are sensitive. Anyway, to the point.
The DT990 is one of the oldest Dynamics still in production. The Legend had to retire.
 

 

If we know our history, which many here don't know.
Beyerdynamic didn't believe in Electrostatic Headphones. They did make a ET1000 due to demand but that was a very brief run. From 1937 Eugen Beyer was very keen on making Dynamics sound the best, of course there were no E-Stats in 1937 but the aim continued and I hope will be continued for years to come.
I think DT Beyers are probably the best Dynamics, technically speaking. Compared to the offering from the Japanese, Summit-Fi stuff, these DT Beyerdynamics blow all of them in terms of fidelity.
I'll give a brief comparison - DT990 VS HD800 VS T1.

Anyway, I'll talk about my ordeal first.

The first day I got my Edition 600Ohms, there was a very obvious rattling in both cups, It didn't sound like a "HAIR" in the driver. It sounded like improper gluing due to which it was hitting excursion at Low SPL, earlier than usual. Anyway, I opened up the driver to get answers. And, Indeed. I was right.


 

 

 

 


There was no hair, something might have gone wrong that day because this the Classic improper gluing mistake which is so common with Handmade Dynamics, except the DT48 due to the design.
Since it was hitting in the capsule, the vibration were transferred to the baffle hence it was all over the place.
Interestingly enough, pressure at specific points could solve that. It was quite a task but in the end it couldn't be fixed practically.

Since I had opened the housing, I thought it would be a good idea to go Mini-XLR baby!


 
So I did, this was my first revision. I had revised it thrice. Minuscule things.

The below one was the final.
 

 
I would talk about the mod here but I've done a video on it - 
 


Perfect, life was perfect until....I'll save that for later.

Sonically, how is the 600Ohm DT990?

Excellent, the treble is the best I've heard and I've heard HE-60 treble. The 600Ohm  has a extremely extended and grain-free treble. I would say the treble is better than the HD800 (In terms of grain) which is again due to the the stupid PET the HD800 uses.
I'll go over the technicalities for my inference about the superiority of the DT990 over the HD800 later.

The Mid-Range is distant, they lack the body. There's enough resolution to avoid missing out detail but again, in a distant presentation.
Presence region is marvellous on the 600Ohm, although uneven. There is no harshness or grain to the timbre. Its buttery and almost too good to be true. There is some missing information up top. It extends better than the DT880 600Ohm but not as extended as the HD800 or the T1. 
The bass is pretty interesting, I found the bass to be completely opposite to what idiots have been stating, Boomy? Accentuated?
What? That's not what's going on here, audibly it rolls off after 75Hz. There is a lot of energy at 100-120Hz. The Mid-Bass is very similar to the 6XX. The 600Ohm bass is very tight and textured but again my pair had excursion issues. Which ARE NOT apparent on good drivers. Those extend even better and hit very late.

Very good presentation in my book.
The imaging is pretty good, it may seem a bit wider than the DT800 because of the response. Fundamentally they are the same.
I don't think it has a 3D T1 type imaging due to the flat drivers.

Now, to my "I'll save that for later" 

Since I was sure I had a defective driver, it died due to over-excursion exposure. The Voice Coil wires snapped from the contacts due to fast and elevated movement (Over-Excursion). To fix that I needed to go to Germany. 
Anyway, my 30 days something old DT990 became nothing but...you know.

Being a Beyerdynamic fan, I always wanted to know about the origin of the design which I will find out soon, An opportunity for me visiting the factory came up and I took it, I'll be visiting the Factory in April.
Anyway, since one of the driver died I took it apart completely to study the design.


 

 

 


A very wide 600Ohm Voice Coil, less windings. Low Mass to compensate diaphragm weight.
Purely resistive.

Due to Technology limitation, Beyer couldn't use Ultra-Thin diaphragms. They instead wanted to cut the weight elsewhere. Hence we have the 600Ohm VC.
Original concept dates back to the Legend, the DT48 with the 200Ohm VC.
 


Best Dynamic Diaphragm, dating back to the development in 1965.
This Diaphragm was specially invented, maybe Semi-Synthetic from a Plant secretion mixed with something. Not really sure if its SS or Natural.
I will find that out in April.

No High Frequency break-up at High SPL due to the tensile strength superiority over PET. The HD800 due to the ring radiator type gets away with most of the centre dome break-up transmission but it can't touch Beyerdynamics.
In fact, your R10. BioCellulose is 1965 Beyerdynamic Membrane Technology wannabe, same concept applied 20 years later.
 
 


Normal Neo here, nothing special like the DT48 or T1.
As you can see they wanted to eliminate the fat as much as possible without loosing structural integrity. That's the reasons for the holes.
 

 

 


After my 600Ohm died, I bought the PRO next day.

 
 

 


The 600Ohms are just higher fidelity in general. My PROs have no rattling issues. Resolution and overall fidelity is much better on the 600Ohm.
The PRO is much rougher and crude in a way. Not bad, to be honest.


 

 



So, where's my Edition?
Well, its still with me, I transplanted DTX710 Drivers to it.

The DT Beyers are some of the best Dynamics in the world, not understood by many but so be it.
Next time, when you are listening to your cans. Just thank Beyerdynamic, if it wasn't for the development of the DT48 in 1936. None of this would be happening.
Eugen Beyer is and will always be the "Father Of Headphones".

My Video Review - 

 
 
 
Want to preface this by presenting this picture, I'm not a TROLL or a A-Hole, I just like to mock the fu** out of headphones I dislike.
This time its time for the "Fehlerhaft HD598".
 
I'm a fan of the 580-600-650, I own all of them.
The 598 is interesting because it sounds crude. Coming from Senn I was surprised by how bad it sounded..the first day I got them I was certain I had a defective unit, so I went to Senn and was able to convince them I had a faulty pair.
They gave me a new one after a week, I was sure my first 598 was broken and I was expecting the new one to be just fine but...nope, the new one sounded exactly the same.
So then I was sure, these use cheap "Made In China" low fidelity drivers.
 
Anyway, I'll come to what's completely wrong with the sound soon, let's go over some other things.
 
Build -
 
They slightly worry me, they feel solid, nothing rattles but the headband is one of those bendy weird-like its going to break types. The side articulation spot seems to be the most scary one.
I don't think they'll break but they just feel too bendy rather than feeling solid, there is no metal in the construction..from the fake wood to maybe even the headband, its all ABS, the headband maybe some kind of a composite though.
I have to admit, although the wood is plastic, it looks pretty sharp. The grain detail is obviously not like real wood but looks pretty convincing for the most part.
 
Comfort - 
 
I never have any issues with Senns, due to the oval pads mostly. The Headband never bothers me but with the 598, the Headband is pretty annoying..it sticks out..the headphones fall from my head when I look up or look down.
If you listen on your Sofa while resting your head, the 598 will be quite annoying.
Ther padding itself is pretty good, the Earpads are great..can't go wrong with Senn Oval Velour.
 
Cable - 
 
The cable is removable, its proprietary of course..like we don't have loads of proprietary connectors to begin with.
I found out the cable has 4-Conductors inside, that means you can cut the cable and install a 4-Pin XLR and run it balanced on the HDVA-600 and the HDVD-900, which honestly is quite fantastic.
The stock cable is pretty soft bendy, not one of those sh**** silver conductors which kink and piss you off.
Another advantage is that since it is 4-C, you can make a DIY Microphone contraption, biggest problem the recessed jack on the headphone..the only way I can think of is a CNCd 2.5mm connector or maybe cut the stock cable and solder the wires which is the less elegant way.
 
Efficeny and Scale-Up - 
 
I have no respect for IEMs and Low Impedance dynamic headphones, I really hate that Senn is going away from their High Impedance system for the newer models.
They are 63 Ohms or something..correct me if I'm wrong. They aren't that sensitive to be great out of a iPad or a iPhone, with my Nano 7G I barely get any dynamics due to the lack of efficiency, if you make a efficient headphone..fuc**** make sure its efficient..
If you can't do that, then just make a Non-Efficient one, don't fuc***** make one in the middle.
They have some issues with excursion, that can be cured with Amplifers with Low Output Impedances..I have seen some audible improvements in excursion limits, which is good to know.
I'll come to the excursion soon.
So, time for the Sound now..
 
Bass -
 
Impact-less, weak, slow, low excursion and all that crap.
The bass is abysmal, the bass is worse than the cheap Nexus 5 IEMs, they have zero impact, no extension to be found here.
Only some Mid-Bass, which happens to be pretty ****ty, the bass quality is so Low-Fi that its funny, they make me laugh...in my existence this is the first time a headphone made me laugh, except Japanese headphones -That's a different story, I should dedicate a segment to explain how shi*** those fuc**** Japanese headphones are.
Anyway, the 598s do Stand-Up, the bits are in the form of the bass they reproduce. 
I hate the bass, if people can complain about accentuated bass, I sure can mock these 598s for having poor bass.
I haven't looked at the graph yet but audibly I think they roll-off severly at 120Hz, there is no sub-bass.
They hit excursion quick too, 60Hz at XX SPL, I am not stating an exact number because I haven't measured them, believe me its at medium volume which is pretty bad.
The driver seem to be cohesive in terms of hitting it, 1db tolerance maximum.
Overall, these headphones can't do bass.
 
Mid-Range - 
 
 
Mid-Range works, its fine..nothing too striking from lower-mids, going to the presence region is clean..mostly, presence region and you have a peak at the lower octaves, adding thinn-ness to the overall sound, the upper-half is slightly uneven too, not the cleanest I've heard.
There is audible Break-Up (Distortion) which takes away from the transparency, overall the Mid-Range is NOT High Fidelity, lacks weight and body, slightly honky and grainy as well.
No Musicality here, very thin and Low Fidelity.
 
Treble - 
 
I find the treble presentation to be rather respectable, they extend quite well..detailed high frequency response.
I wouldn't say its having the crazy upper treble resolution because it doesn't but..for the price, its above average in terms of treble presentation.
Like all BoPET membranes, there is break-up and its not free of grain but its not too grainy either.
 
Separation and Imaging -
 
Ooo they are angled, I've seen some idiots go crazy and start to believe a headphone sounds 3D if its angled, that's just stupid.
I mean really?
The 598s are just fine, they aren't congested sounding, they image decently. Nothing noteworthy in the imaging department.
Separation is useless to talk about because it depends on the recording, anyway if you are interested, there is speration, Ooooo.
 
Distortion - 
 
Now I'm not an Engineer, I don't have much knowledge in terms of types of distortion. I don't know if its THD or IMD or whatever, there is audible distortion..thanks to the awesome drivers, thank you Senn!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 
 
Overall, I don't like them, its better than the hideously offensive and grainy ma900 but the 598 isn't that far from the ma900 in terms of how fu***** bad they sound.
I think the ma900 wins in terms of ****tyness..followed closely by the 598, wooohooo, congratulations ma900!
Get these headphones if you are a crazy headphone collector like me, for listening to music, I would rather just sleep than listen to these.
Also, owners, don't be offended..I'm just being honest..if you can leave some valuable and relevant comments, go ahead, don't comment and try to educate me.

Thanks for reading, here's my YouTube review - 
 
 

 
 
Quick Disclaimer - I don't make reviews of stuff so fast , since I accidentally got the 102s instead of DT100s Stereo , I have 3 days to play around with this until I get a replacement , so why not make a review ?

What is this thing ? 
Well ....its a classic , I'm a fan of classic DT Models  and it doesn't get more classic than the DT1XX , the 100 was the second headphone ever made my Beyerdynamic after the DT48 , if I remember the 48 was launched in 1937 , the 100 was launched in 1960 and its still in production , the 102 is the single ear monitoring version of the DT100 , this happens to be the 400Ohms , SE versions are used in orchestras for monitoring by musicians likewise many podcaster's use SE versions too , so they have a use ....
The 102 is the same as the 100 sonically , its not wired Mono which sucks because while mixing down my recorded audio it becomes hard to know if my track is Stereo if my Mic is recording one channel ....that's my situation though 
The 102 like all 1XX headphone are built to last , they use ABS cups ....people use fancy names like "High Impact Plastic" c'mon , the cups are quite resilient though , they are well made , that's for sure 
The pads are soft , much softer than my dt150s , even the headband is padded very nicely , just a generously padded and comfortable headphone , quite excellent 
 
To the types , we can narrow it down easily - 
 
1) DT 100 - 16 Ohms
2) DT100  - 400 Ohms
3) DT102  - 16 Ohms
4) DT102  - 400 Ohms 
 
Now Beyer's impedance system is very easy , Higher Impedance = Lighter Voice Coil , Higher Impedance less winding = lighter coil , now hypothetically that means the waves will be more planar and controlled and I find that to be the case , so Beyer knows that they are doing 
Since they are so high impedance I would highly suggest a powerful OTL or OTC for optimum voltage transmission , for SSs get a speaker amp and put resistors in line , I find Beyer HI models to be power hungry monsters 
 
Now sonically I have no idea how to explain , since this was a single ear , it was quite difficult to give a proper review ...I'll save that for my DT100 review but I'll point some things out - 
 
Bass - They don't have the hard hitting punch like the 770s or the DT150s but they have a fairly tight and dynamic upper bass  , they are not severely rolled off like a HiFiMAN HE-300 but they still are down my 5-6db , so yeah...don't buy bass lovers 
 
Mids - The only thing which isn't rolled off , the mids are great , they are coherent and clear , I have never heard the DT48s whose mid-range has been compared to K1000s and E-Stats , I can say that the mids although good , aren't accurate enough to be compared to E-Stats , even the younger brother DT150 mids are significantly more realistic 
 
Treble - Beyer treble is magic , grain-free ....puts Hd800s and my 6XXs to shame in terms of grain , DT102 isn't that great here as other classic Beyers , it doesn't have the 150 pace or body , the 150s just destroy the 102s , there also are some severe dips , quite uneven and coloured , not high fidelity 
 
SS and Imaging -  Man , I remember a track in which the guitar was close to me but with the 102 it was very distant.....hahaha just kidding , its single ear  
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
Conclusion - Who would buy this ? 
No one , only a crazy Beyer fan will go out to buy this and of course professionals , 102 is a classic and its legacy will always be remembered , take it easy and have a good one ! 
 
Unboxing - 

 
 
Since this is a IEM review I'll keep it short , I have no respect for IEMs ...I wish I could use headphones in the bed but since I cannot I have to resort to IEMs , not a IEM guy 
I picked her up in between $30-40 so it was a fair deal , the Denon's come in a nice box , a very nice one ...good stuff in it too so I was quite happy , the sound was decent too , the thing I hated was the awful comfort , not a negative design so I can understand that it's not a perfect bed headphone but they never fit , I tried those stupid comply tips and found them to be as useless as well , that's one ...I have another complain , the PVC they use for the cable insulation is the worst one , man this thing took forever to become straight , it was stuck at the original shape for almost 3 months , really pissed me off , here's the third ...that's the plug , the plug is nice looking with good Denon accents but in the end its as useless as a cheap TRS , I couldn't find a TRRS so I had to live without the remote , the stock plug is useless in one word , quite fragile  
 
Sound -
 
These guys are fairly neutral in the mids , they go up to a almost flat transition from the PR to the lower UT , after that they roll off , I mean they have almost no high frequency reproduction potential , hence they lack detail , now I don't mind that ..I'm not looking for a HiFi sound in the bed but I just find it to be interesting that all the new Denon headphones I have go through the same problem , no UT detail 
The bass is decent , fairly tight , one note bass ...no texture and extension , I don't hate the bass on these , they will not fulfil a bass liker's expectations , now I said "Likers" not "Heads" so that way its easy to conclude that the bass on it quite literally sucks 
 
Overall I think these are mediocre headphones , Denon isn't quite the prestigious company it used to be ..oh well , thanks for reading , have a good one ! 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The one who started it all, the 650s was a unexpected purchase for me, I was 16 back then when I got the 650s , the only nice headphone I had was the v6 and a cheap Supra Sony but since I was building a nice PC at the time, I decided to invest in some Audio , wanted to get the best ....Initially I was gonna get the hd800, the price wasn't a issue since I had a huge budget but I decided to invest that elsewhere and got the 650s instead, these in one word are my "Favourite" Headphone, love them.
 
To the sound , I always thought the 650s were a acquired taste until I got AKGs, little did I know what I had there
The 650s signature is warm, rolled of yet detailed with a amazing bass extension, as far as dynamics go the only headphone I enjoyed the bass on was the Tesla 1, no other headphone has the 650 bass , control is just exceptional , I have test tones which determine the tightness and the 650s are off the charts , no headphone has performed like them , they also have a great excursion factor ...what that means is that they will never rattle, the membrane will never be over-driven, usually a lot of people call it SPL but not all high SPL headphones have a good excursion factor, usually excursion factor affects low frequencies, Output Impedance can minimize it but not eliminate it, more the control less the rattle but the 650s are extremely robust, these will never fail ...just sensational  

 

 

 
Let's descend this time - 
 
Treble - There is no doubt they are rolled off but ...I have heard the 650s on systems where the treble was right there, with all the detail and presence, would I call them veiled or muddy ...absolutely fuc**** not , they have all the detail, but this roll off can be good for some people who like a relaxed sound, they are just luscious and full bodied , they are never thin . As much as I love the treble they aren't grain-free when compared to Ultra-high end headphones, do I care, again absolutely  fuc**** not, musicality wins. 
 
Mids - If you are considering buying these, I don't need to tell you about the 6XX mids, imagine a sound which encompasses you in it , that's what the 650s do when it comes to the Mid-Range , they have one of the best Mids I have heard, to this date I have to find a dynamic headphone which has the musicality in the Mid-Range like the 650s do, if you know a dynamic headphone which has what I'm looking for, let me know down in the comments. 
 
Bass - The bass man ...I love the bass on these, the extension, tightness and overall sense of impact is top notch, as I said earlier the only dynamic headphone which impressed in the bass was the T1, now of course I know a Planar will kill it when it comes to sub-bass, that metal never rolls off, goes to down 20Hz with a flat line, but these are not a Planar so for a dynamic they are my top headphone, nothing touches the 650's extension and refinement. 
 
Build and Comfort - 
 
I think they are well put together, Senn is the Samsung of Headphones..all plastic of course.
But as I said they are well put together and have the solidity I could expect from a decent headphone. The Headband is plastic with two spring steel rails attaching to the ends.
They can easily be bended to make them clamp less if they bother you initially, I never found the clamp bothersome..at any rate natural break-in is the best of course, my two year old 650 compared to my brand new 600 have a significant difference.
The Earpads are generously padded and are very comfortable, the 650 happens to be my top headphone for comfort, which is a goof thing of course.   
 
Yes of course there are some negative things - 
 
1) The dt880 is more refined in the treble, is much less grainy but again it doesn't have the other tonality edge and the excursion factor is not even close to the 650s. 
2) The Soundstage is not that impressive, a lot of people use the classic term "3-Blob" I still don't know what that exactly means but hey ....The dt880-990 surpass the Senn in terms of Soundstage. 
3) I wish the Spares weren't so expensive, for a earpad I could buy a entire headphone like a NVX XPT100 , not cool Senn !!!!!
 
Some Random Notes - 
 
1) Although these are 300Ohms I find them to be fairly easy to drive.
2) The Stock cable can be easily made balanced.  
3) I would recommend a nice OTL, I am using the Valhalla 2, in a perfect world I could choose SS, like a Violectric Stack or maybe a HDVD-800 but since it's not a perfect world I have to resort to Mid-Fi/HiFi amps which are fine, they still portray the emotion. 
 
I will add more..this is all I can think of right now  
 

 

 

 

 
So yeah, love them to death 
I don't think my opinions will change until I get a 007 from STAX, till then I will enjoy the mids on my 650s 
The comfort is excellent and so is everything else , if you want some of the best dynamics in the world get the 650s , they will surely make you smile , it doesn't matter if you have the best of the best setup, if it doesn't make you smile, it's a waste of money, take this analogy .....Upgrading a BMW 328i (F30) to make it faster than a RS5 is more fun than getting a RS5 , of course a RS5 is a RS5 but it will not make you smile as much as a upgraded F30 will, that's what the 650 is for me .....a must have headphone, take it easy folks, my Video Review will come in 2 days. 
 
Video Review - 
 
 

 
880s are part of the classic trio , 6XX-7XX and of course the 880s , I have all those headphones , my all time favourite might be the 650s but I have tons and tons of respect for the 880s 
Here I have a pretty rare 880 , this is a PRO-600 which is pretty hard to get nowadays , I am quite lucky to have these classics , there are many Mid-Fi open dynamics but ..., I will name some I hate ...ma900s (These are so harsh and grainy that they abuse my ears) , X1s (Too bassy with very poor transition into the lower mids) , AT Air's have a good extension in the highs (UT) but the HE-300s destroy those in terms of upper treble extension and fidelity , 598s (They sound like a toy in comparison) - I own the 598s BTW 
 
880s like all Beyer are underpriced and don't get much attention on Head-Fi , I think the 880s are probably the closest to the HD800s when it comes to impulse response , the 880s for a dynamic provide stunning performance , they are grain-free in the highs like all Beyers , from the linear and clean presentation to the fantastic bass extension which is almost flat and goes down low without any distortion ,  the 880s perform like a star 
 
Since this review is a tribute I have compared the 880s to all my headphones - 
 
1) 880 vs 650 
 

 
Probably the most classic dynamic headphones ever made , both these are part of the classic trio ..now I love the mids and the bass extension of the 650s but I think the 880s are very close , I don't think the mids are lacking on the 880s , whereas I think they are amazingly coherent and smooth , after a lot of deep listens and testing I can vouch for the 880s mids , they are beautiful with the right music and can sound incredibly involving and tasty , the 880s have more sub-bass whereas the 650s have more mid-bass , typical of a Senn and Beyer  house sound , both the 650s and 880s are HiFi , tonal balance and accuracy is world class 
 
2) 880 vs 702 
 

 
702s are again a classic and as much as I love them I don't love them like the 880s , the 702s are having the same robust bass of the 880s which go down low when you want them too , I like them a lot , they lack the punch but they are superbly well textured and extended , they also have a wider presentation than the 880s , 880s are subtle and smoother in the treble , the 702s are more grainy in some areas too but I think its a fine phone and deserves to be in the classic trio , world class dynamics 
 
3) 880 vs 770
 

 
Now you can call me a Beyer fanboy , the 770s are excellent to begin with so what do you get with the 880 , well less sub-bass , more Soundstage and better mid-range , that's about it 
880s are more airy and resolving but the 770s are incredible for the price , again like all Beyer even they are underpriced 
 
4) 880 vs 598 
 

 
Haha ..598 is a joke , flabby bass , decent resolution ..598 are better than the ma900s but not even close to the 880s , 598s are strictly Mid-Fi 
 
5) 880 vs Open HM5 
 

 
My Modded HM5s are "Excelente" ! but not as "Excelente" ! as the world class 880  , the 880s are significantly cleaner and less grainy , the HM5s have a very tight and robust bass , probably too tight so it lacks the texture quality , 880s will have a much more fuller and bodied sound , HM5s are great but not as great as the 880 
 
6) 880 vs Modded ZX700 
 

 
Haha ..No comparison , let's proceed 
 
7) 880 vs HFI-450
 

 
This is again wasting time but the HFI-450s are rolled off in the highs by 6 db from flat and have a peak at 8-10Khz but they are not grainy and I like them , 880s are much better 
 
8) 880 vs D340
 

 
D340 sounds like its trying to destroy your ear with grain , the 880s are cleaner and more cohesive , although I got a stellar deal on the Denon's , can't complain 
 
9) 880 vs HE-300 
 

 
Now this is interesting , the HE-300 have a magic treble which is so unreal and smooth that it really kills the competition in that area , the HE-300 has a extension which is warm and so detailed its crazy , very smooth and clean , the 880s have the same detail but not the same warmth in the extension , mids , bass the 880s destroy the HE-300s 
 
10) 880 vs Modded K240
 

 
240s have a nice clear sound , with the Modded EDT-990V they sound very similar to the 880s but they just don't have the bass and quality is not exactly like a 880 , still pretty good though , I like to call mine the AKG 880  
 
11) 880 vs DT150 
 

 
Let me tell ya , this was tough ...both the 150s and 880s are stunning , the 150s have a nice warm sound , like the 6XX to me , bass wise the 880s will give you a better sub-bass which will be more bodied than than 150s , the 150s have great , great clarity for a closed headphone , like all Beyer even they are grain-free in the highs and are very easy to listen to . The 880s and 150s both are excellent , I highly recommend both of these ..legendary headphones 
 
Story of getting the 880 PRO-600
 
So I always wanted the 880s even before I got the 650s (My first HiFi headphone) in my country it was close to impossible to find the 880s , saved up money ...after 4 months of getting the 650s decided to order the 880s from Amazon.com via international shipping , well good news was that I got a good price , bad news was it was backorder-ed and waiting was 3 months , haha yes , waited 2 months then got a E-Mail from Amazon saying that they couldn't process my order , they will have to cancel it 
So I never got the 880s until one fine evening of Feb 2014 where I saw a classified ad of the 880-600 Ohm , the guy uploaded a stock picture from the website , it was of the premium so it all looked good ....well he sent me a picture and to my surprise it was the PRO and was 600 , I knew that moment that I will get it , since I was concerned I made a post about it in Feb - http://www.head-fi.org/t/707023/please-help-fake-880-pro-600 ..LOL that excitement period 
Now I know the main people at Beyer India so they hook me up with anything Beyer , they also sent me free set of earpads and a new headband to make my 880s brand new again , so a big thumbs up to Beyer 
 
Here are some old pictures before I got the spares from Beyer , this was around March 2014 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
They look like this now , this remained constant after I got the spares on 12th April 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
So this is it I guess , my humble tribute to this excellent world-class headphone which is highly underpriced and underrated here in the community , Beyer made this 2 decades ago and the design is still state of the art , this is engineering at its best , from the high tech DT-48 made in the 30s to the t1s ,Beyer has always made stuff which was incredibly amazing and underpriced , these classic DT models are worth owning , they truly are stunning , thank you for reading ! 
 
Video Review on YouTube - 
 

 
 
Like all JBL products , performance is the last priority, the S100a does one thing good ..that's rock , the treble is not that grainy , making it excellent for rock , its rolled off too not in a bad way , its the 6XX roll off , almost perfect roll off ....which is very odd for a IEM like the S100a 
 
I really enjoy it , very good indeed ..I think it should sound excellent with a nice neutral low OI amp 
 
The mids are a great , they are not distant and recessed like some IEMs .....they don't sound thin or overly thick , almost perfect 
There is some missing information in the lower mids as the transition is not that good , the upper bass is a bit bloated and the mid bass is a bit recessed , so it might sound a little confused at times 
 
Not for the Hip-Hop lovers since the Mid-Bass is recessed , not for classical since the treble is rolled off but excellent for Jazz and Rock , the dark tone makes those genres sound sweeeeeet !!!!
 
The build is excellent , comfort not so much .the remote weighs it down a bit , cable is a flat style cable which is nice , good IEM ....recommended if it ticks the boxes for you , thanks for reading .....have a good one !
 
 

 

 

 
* In my review I said there's no mic , apparently its there 
 

 

 
YouTube (Review) - 
 

 
The HE-300s are one solid dynamic HiFi headphone , like most HiFiMANs I have tried "Treble" is the focus , very clean clinical and articulate but at the same time its not metallic or plastic sounding , Dr Biang sure has impressed me , before I get on I have to preface some things 
 
1) The HE-300 has many revisions , according to HiFiMAN they haven't changed the drivers but that seems to be false , REV-1 and 2 were supposed to be warm and fun sounding with nice bass extension , the REV-3 or the version I have is completely different from "FUN" sounding  
 
2) The driver has some rattling issues at low notes , got a lot of BS from a thread I made , don't want to talk about , after completely dismantling the headphone I have concluded that its a baffle defect so poor engineering on HiFiMANs part , its seems like the driver is rattling but has this weird sound which seems to be the resonance of the placement plate and not the driver , still don't quote me on that 
 
Other than all of this , the HE-300 is a sign of the future of dynamic technology and the sound you get from a design in which some R&D went , I have heard some good systems out there ...and all I have heard with better High End headphones is grain , treble energy and clarity 
 
The HE-300 has the best extension in the treble I have ever heard in any dynamic headphone , sure the 800s have a better detailed sound but they can be cold at times , the HE-300 - Nah , they have a extension which is free of coldness , its articulate , clean but at the same time never harsh , extremely smooth with tremendous air , extremely detailed too , never thin sounding ...always full bodied and wonderfully well extended 
 
The Mid-Range is smooth too , but has some spikes which leads unnecessary colourations , its smooth but not having the great extension it has up top , I find the presence region to be the winner , one of the most forward yet distant sounding vocals , free of THD like some Beyerdynamics , so exquisite and from there it goes towards the magic 
 
I find the bass to be extremely disappointing , lacks extension , lacks body , rattles at low notes , thin sounding ...all I hear is upper bass , Mid-Bass presence is good but not great and going down is a disappointing journey , its on the fast side but that might be the response giving me the impression of fast sounding bass , this is the place where the HE-300 did not excel , if it had the bass of my 650s , the HE-300s would have been one solid dynamic
 
The overall sense of space is great , not as good as a AKG 7XX but above the accepted standard , I find it to be a bit congested sounding when listening to some rock , on the other hand Jazz sounds wonderful , the air when listening to trumpets sounds fantastic , extremely clear and clean sounding 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The HE-300 is a fine headphone for the suggested retail , they are efficient too , so they work well out of portable amps and even portable players and they should scale up well with a nice low output impedance amp , can't believe you can get so much for this money , just wish HiFiMAN had better consistency and quality control
 
Here is my YouTube Video (Review) - 
 
 
 
UPDATE 1 - So I stretched the pads a bit , they seem to be a bit better now 

 
There are many great headphones in this SUB-$150 category , I have a good amount of headphones in the range and have tried a good enough of them to know what to expect in this category 
The HFI-450 remains to be one of my favourite because of its unusual characteristics , hard to see in this price range 
The first is the grain , its almost grain free , technically it should mean its transparent hence it should image well , well ...it doesn't because of the crazy roll-off in the highs , neither is it 2db nor 3 db its way more than that 
I don't mind a dark sound , I love it  ...personally I don't mind it at all , its a nice break from the M50s with their crazy treble and grain , most definitely better than the v6/7506/zx700 in terms of clarity better than the HM5s as well in terms of grain 
Science says closed back headphones with their resonance in the chamber usually are more grainy compared to open backs , well....I would like to disagree the dt770s and HFI-450s being closed have no grain ....over these last 6-7 months I have been doing a lot of reading and research on sound science and its easy to say that damping etc comes second , membrane/driver design comes first.... which seems to be lacking in the R&D new companies are doing nowadays , I'm getting a bit off topic but .....I had to include this 

 

The sound is pretty solid for a home headphone not so much for the studio obviously because of the the unusual response , the bass extension is pretty good ...although the graphs show early roll-off , I like it a lot 
The Mid-Range is smooth until you go up to the sibilance region where you feel that spike , again one of the first headphone I have heard with a roll-off in the treble and has a sibilance issue , weird 
If you like that sparkle in the highs then the Ultrasone will not please you , there's just a crazy dip for any high frequency extension energy , so...not very detailed
 
 
 
The overall sense of space is a bit congested which is okay considering its a closed back , the lack of grain makes up for that , the bass although accentuated is very tight and holds up with the music , the texture quality seems to be fine not as good as the extended natural bass of the zx700 , compared to the Sony , the bass definitely sounds unnatural ...I really don't know why ? 

 
Its obviously a coloured sound  , useless for the studio or any critical listening but....the sound is very special , I haven't heard any headphone in this price range which lacks grain ...this makes the Ultrasone a very special headphone at least for me   
A highly recommended product , I scored it for $80 at OrbHeadphones NYC ...for that price I could not be more happy , have a good one guys ! 
 
 

 

 
Video Review on my YouTube Channel - 
 

 
Update 1 - 
 

 


 
EDT250V - Seems like these were made for the HFI-450s , gone is the rolled off treble ...say "Hi !" to extension
These pads are almost perfect , highly recommended , makes these fabulous headphones even better 

 
What a bizarre sound , I have owned a bunch of cheap IEMs and the only one that stood out was the one which came with the GS4 , since all of them were made by multiple OEMs it was hard to find a consistent sound out of them ...that IEM was a monster in disguise , there are many things I want to say about it but since most of it may seem as exaggeration its best to leave it at that 
After they broke I wanted a IEM with a negative design like the EarPods (Perfect for laying and listening) , the only one in my budget was this cheap Sennheiser
So they don't sound terrible but they don't sound good either , they have a crazy elevation from the presence region to the upper treble and although its elevated , it rolls off resulting in severe missing information in the upper treble , the presence region is again filled with spikes and with the lack of clarity they possess it makes for a very undesirable listening experience 
With bad mastered tracks , it becomes a herculean task to tolerate them .....
The bass is fairly well extended with a obvious roll off in the sub-bass , still quite tight for what it does 
Separation is quite good , if it wasn't for the lack of clarity it would have been a fun IEM for listening 
 

 

 

 

 
Since I don't use IEMs for any listening these are quite good for everything else , I use them for monitoring while doing voice overs or my monthly series on YouTube and they work pretty well for that as well (Like the below picture shows you) not bad for the price I paid but not as good as the mysterious Samsung IEMs which are still unlike anything I've heard in any price range 
Thanks for reading , the review will soon be updated with my video review below ! 
 

 
Video Review - 
 
 

 
 
Welcome to another review , today we have the J46BT IEM by JBL
 
I will have a video review linked to this review soon but ...that's the future , this IEM was quite interesting since its main goal was to compete with the much loved Jaybird Bluebuds X phones which are loved by many , I was expecting a lot but unfortunately the result was intriguing 
 
Ergonomics are so poor it makes me think "What were they thinking" the width of the driver might be at least 2 cm or something , its wideeeeee hence you don't get a negative design if you are gonna use them while laying , which I assume 99% of us will , they are IEMs after all 
They don't fit well , I would go so far as to say they don't fit at all , since they are so wide and heavy they are bound to fall down because of their heft which obviously is undesirable , which is quite juvenile considering its from JBL , did they test it with people or just the dummy head ? 
 
Connecting was simple but the connection was weird , I don't have much experience with Bluetooth headphones/headsets so can't tell if its the very nature of the technology , I think its not , not really sure , there is a very noticeable bit rate fluctuation while listening , I think it might be something with the circuitry causing that , on that note there is a very annoying hiss coming from the right cup where I guess all the circuitry is since the left has the proprietary charging connection so I don't think they'll have enough space to put the circuitry there , here are some pictures 
 

 

 

 
The sound was very interesting , since its Bluetooth there is an amp inside the driver , I don't know if it is tailored by JBL via some DSP but it certainly was eye opening , it imaged very , very well which was unusual and 100% fake , the sound certainly was not stock , there was something being done inside causing it to sound very dynamic and having a good sparkle up top , the bass extension was very good , impressive I would say but it was not bodied because of may things , the first was because of the lack of seal and that's because of the bad ergonomics mentioned above , the second was because of the volume and the blame for the second one goes to the the internal amp which isn't able to drive them to a satisfying level , I'll say this very carefully since it differs , I am not a loud listener by any means but the volume I got out of this maybe was a bit above what I consider medium , and as everyone knows power is a must to fill up all the frequencies well and unfortunately this JBL does not do well at all 
Its unfortunate ,  I could not evaluate the sound furthermore because of that , for $100 I was also expecting a passive mode which it doesn't have so that's another con 
From the unnatural sound to the hiss to the uneven change of bit rates to the fit this can be considered a disaster , I'll rather get a NVX XPT100 and be happy with that ......
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 
 Can't recommend , will link my review on YouTube once its live , Have a good one !
 
Just did the unboxing and gave some impressions but here it is - 
 
 

 
2nd Review lets do this 
 
Instead of talking about the stuff that I have talked about in the video below , will focus here on sound 
 
The day I got them I remember the first session with it was listening to "Live in Paris" by Diana Krall , I was stunned my the smoothness it had , just a very smooth and enjoyable tone , the bass in tracks like 'Lets Fall in Love" and "The look of Love" just sounded exceptional and very well extended , the bass reminded me of my 650s just a bit withdrawn in the Sub-Bass 
 
To be really honest , its one of the best if you are primarily a Jazz listener , I can't justify using it as my go-to HiFi headphone for every genre , the perceived detail just seems to be absent but that is just by a thread , minuscule as a matter of fact but noticeable and worth mentioning if you have other HiFi cans 
 

 

 

 

 
 
For me the HM5 is the headphone I would love to listen to some Grant Green or Wes Montgomery maybe some Jimmy Smith too , just the overall smooth timbre makes it a perfect headphone for any Jazz lover (Which I am one) 
There are zero discernible spikes , undoubtedly a "Neutral Champ" cannot stress that enough 
In terms of overall separation I found it to be quite good , for a closed headphone this might be the best for the price , did play some Binaural , out of all I had , found Ottmar Liebert: Up Close to be the best , this is a great album BTW if you haven't heard it already 
The bass was very good , the overall texture was quite discernible with this song by "The Roots" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qzacv8dtb4&feature=kp , not over inflated just a good presentation in general if not the rolled of sub-bass made it a bit thin sounding 
So , yeah this is a good headphone , one of the best purchases at least in my book , must have for any enthusiast 
 
This is my Review I did on YouTube - 
 

                                                                                       
 
 
 
Hmmm , first review on Head-Fi
Alright little information about me , I am 16 from India ..... recently got into HiFi , although I once had the ESP-950 which my Dad bought when he visited the states a long , long time ago anyways my journey began in 2012 fall when I was in the process of finding the "one" headphone yes "one"
Well that was the 650 , before that my first headphone or proper headphone was the v6 which died on me so naturally I had to get a replacement and the only possible or viable option was the zx700 which "wasn't" that different from the v6 according to many but ...... this is where things get interesting 
That is enough , lets talk about the good stuff first .......
 

 

 

 
 
In terms of comfort these are fantastic , the clamping is not present at all as a matter of fact sometimes I complain it to be too loose for a proper seal (That is because of time but its nice to mention) , the headband has generous padding but not the same case with the earpads , maybe for saving some money on the foam they made the clamping loose so that padding would not be a concern but with the thin earpads comes excellent sealing , the isolation is commendable compared to the competition , its better than my HM5 (FA-003) known to have good isolation and the Ultrasone HFI-450s.
The build quality isn't bad but certainly I would not go around shaking it or giving it a hard time , I am sure things will snap off and eventually it might break but its not bad .......
Hmmm what else , yeah the SOUND , now you might wonder why the Uppercase , well two things can be assumed either its too good or too bad , for now that is a mystery
This part will be precise if you guys want a casual overview of the presentation then you might want to check out the video I did on my YouTube Channel - Right below 
 
YouTube -  

Ok for the people who want a brief opinion ......

Lets respect the ascending order of frequencies shall we
 
Bass - I am not a basshead by any means but it lacks in extension , its not loose but nor is it tight .... its having a very poor presentation in general which is just not acceptable considering the other aspects of sound , there is not much else to say here 
 

 
 
Mids - Hmm this is the place where things get interesting , according to Tyll from innerfidelity this is the place where it excelled ... now the very respected m50s are said to be recessed these on the other hand are brutally accentuated , its not smooth or anything like that its just filled with number of uneven spikes around the 3-6 Khz region which make it a tin can in some songs it just sounds like a hollow metal container being hit by a stick continuously some songs like "So lonely" by The Police are close to unbearable , Police songs are usually mastered with a lot of High frequency extension anyways but with the bump before the presence region its brutal I mean its bad , I wish I  had something good to say but ..... no my Treble heavy HE-300s are better with Police
 

 
 
Treble - No detail , with the mids they are overshadowed completely , if you listen to songs from Best Coast the Indie rock band (They make music with heavily mastered bass ) I don't know how but it sounds pretty good the mids suddenly become bearable mainly because of the bass , maybe and the presentation as whole is pretty good but ......
 

 
 
Instrument separation - Now I think the word Soundstage should be completely eliminated it confuses me , anyways separation is not good it is supposed to be reminiscent to the classic 3-Blob and I don't disagree there .... it just sound terrible , not well defined and even if it was the lack of fidelity makes me wanna listen less 
 
So now its obvious I don't like it and if I end this abruptly I am sure people will not like that so .......I have a lot more to say , now some may say "Hey man you had the v6 so ......... you said they were similar" yes that is true but I never got to compare them and my v6 were always EQ'd with an iPod , I was just a normal listener at that time so I really don't remember the flat sound , some may ask what about gaming with 7.1 ... no , I would not use them for gaming maybe I would if comfort was more important than sound for me , yes this brings us to another thing what was my source ? It was the Xonar Essence STX , all my tracks were lossless with some being 24/192 as well , although I used it in the gym with mp3s and they were just fine with that too , now this is not a biased review at all I own them , so what else to get ? Well , I have a lot of answers .......
Not the m50s (They deserve another "special" write up)
I would say go Ultrasone HFI-450 at the loss of some roll-off up top and a bit bass emphasis in the bass if you want neutral then the HM5 (FA-003 - one of the best closed under 300 IMO) The Uptowns are said to be good as well although never tried them , there is one last thing about the zx it plays nice with EQ ......
 
Conclusion - So its obvious I don't like it , now here its not a case of preference or signature preference its about sound , its not good ...... I don't know why Tyll liked it ? That will remain a mystery for me , anyways you can find me on YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/user/MrTechAgent and of course constructive criticism is appreciated , hope you guys liked it take it easy and have a good one

UPDATES - 
 
Just changed the pads of the zx700 with some Brainwavz pads ......not a huge difference but certainly better than stock , bass seems to be more refined at the lack of some extension the crazy spike before the presence region seems to be muted now , overall this has turned out to be good ....more opinions coming soon 
 


Mod Video on YouTube 
 
 
 
 
Update (June 2014) 
 
I think I was a bit rough , over the days I have gained respect for the sound , before I start I have done some mods so , its not the stock sound .....
 
Take a look - http://www.head-fi.org/t/721577/sony-mdr-zx700-mini-xlr-removable-cable-mod-take-a-look-d#post_10604736
 
The ZX shines when it comes to bass and mids , fantastic texture and extension , the most realistic I've heard in the range and above .kills everything 
The mids and great , quite intimate and warm and wonderfully clear sounding ....its just a great headphone ...classic Sony signature , love it !