[mektarus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by South_Korean nice observation. i really wish i could audition these before buying. i want to experience these for myself. when you listen to hip-hop, how high can u get the volume before the bass starts to rattle or go distorted?

How loud do you want it!?

I'm beginning to think you need to move somewhere isolated (oh wait, you already live in Canada

) and go with a speaker/subwoofer setup. Your setting yourself up for some permanent hearing loss.

 

[South_Korean]

yeah lol, i have an okay subwoofer, just not good when family is around. i mean i set it to low treble and high bass lol. same with my 212 pros.

 

[Electric_Mofo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by South_Korean nice observation. i really wish i could audition these before buying. i want to experience these for myself. when you listen to hip-hop, how high can u get the volume before the bass starts to rattle or go distorted?

Hey If the volume is cranked loud enough you'll never hear a rattle. Although I can hear some rattling in the left ear sometimes, but most of the times its not there. I usually keep the volume on 4 bar increases past half way ony my Vaio Pocket. Which is not working at the moment because it says on the 'Switching power off.....'. The problem is, ITS BEEN LIKE THAT SINCE 11AM, ITS NOW 20:15.

 

[Azure]

Source shouldn't be the problem. I'm not using my old cd-mp3 player anymore. I never used the Y-Adapter with the PS2, I just used my TV's headphone jack. Not all of my mp3s are crappy 128kbps. In fact, now most of my songs are at least 192. But the thing is, I also have high quality LAME 320 rips and they still didn't show me any good results with the A500s. And I got rid of ALL of my midi->mp3 songs.I even have the actual CDs to some of these songs and I still wasn't getting all this soundstage/instrument separtion nonsense. So "crap in crap out" isn't the case.

I don't know how much money you guys think I have, but I can't afford spending $70+ on ANOTHER set of headphones. $100+ was a LOT and, considering the sound quality, I've never been more ripped off. The sound that I got from it was the sound that I'd expect from BOSE headphones. Simply louder and more bass.

So, it's been 4 days now and the only improvement in sound quality that I've seen is from my switching the EQ on my Karma to "Trance." Though this made songs clearer, it still didn't make the headphones worth $100+. They sound "good" right now, but that's it. If someone were interested in getting them and wanted to know what sound to expect, I would tell them one word, "stereo." Compared to <$10 headphones, they sound pretty much like any normal sub-$600 stereo set up. Loud and full of bass. That's it. It's going to be like having two floor speakers on both sides of you. Don't expect anything more.

Even though my old headphones sound like crap, that doesn't mean everything is okay! The problem is that the differences between my old headphones and my new ones are things that I remember being present with my old headphones! This is why I think the A500s sound nowhere near the $100+ pricetag. I don't think I got accostmed to this new sound from the A500s so fast (Less than a minute?) that they started to sound normal.

So, should I continue burning them in? They've got about ~20 hours on them right now. I remember reading that they didn't require burn-in during my long thread about which new headphones I should get. That was also where I read that they don't require amplification since the difference will be minute.

BTW, here are some of your comments that caused me to get so hyped about the A500s:
Quote:

they'll still sound a lot better than any included earbuds.

Quote:

I haven't heard the A500's, but if they're anything close to the A900's (and according to Lindrone they are), then they should be a long shot better than either the 280 or the V6.

Quote:

if you think your old headphones sound amazing..well, prepare to be amazed?

Quote:

The difference will blow your socks off

Quote:

What I meant about inexpensive headphones that artificially boost the bass is that you may feel the bass kick - but the rest of the sound from the 'phones would suck horribly.

Quote:

The A500s are about the best all round headphones in their price range, for home use. If any headphones around that price are going to satisfy you, those will.

Quote:

Just about anything is better than what comes with your CD player. Be prepared.

Quote:

The thing is man if you care at all what your music sounds like then any headphone that is recommened to you will be WAY better than whatever you have now.

Quote:

Personally, I think it's misleading when people suggest that good headphones are a total waste with a relatively poor source. They still sound a heck of a lot better than cheap headphones with that same source, full potential or not.

Quote:

Just pulled out the A500s for a quick listening session... I have to say that you'll enjoy your trance and techno very much.

Quote:

My first step was to the px100's and i was very impressed and never doubted my decision, then after a while i wanted more so after much deliberation i jumped to the HD280. Even straight out of the box with no EQ, i almost **** my pants (alright not really that would be wierd, but you get my point). Describing it to someone who has only used crappy 10 dollar sony's all their life is like trying to describe HDTV to someone who has an analog TV reciever all their life. The thought of being able to see Conan O'brian's face wrinkles at a distance is something that is hard to fathom. I can tell you that if you continue to listen to music with your 10 dollar headphones for the rest of your life you will be completely content. But if you dont make the step up, you will be missing oh so much more.

Quote:

Azure, Just buy the headphones, you will enjoy them greatly and be very happy you bought them, i promise.

Quote:

So then it's okay to start out with 160kbps mp3s and still notice a noticeable difference in sound quality to warrant the purchase? YES YES YES, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, YES!!!

Quote:

Then the a500s would ROCK YOUR FACE OFF.

Quote:

Come on now, enough with the technical terms The A500s with blow up your ears with their sonic scripture ??!?!

 

[Melchior]

Wait.. let me get this straight, you're running these headphones out of an integrated jack on the front of your TV?? I know I've said in the past that headphone amplification isn't all that important, but experience with older TV's with jacks has led me to believe they aren't even adequate for much of anything. Unless they've really improved over the years I doubt you're getting a clean signal. Do you have a decent set of powered PC speakers or perhaps a friend with a nice reciever that has a headphone jack?? The A500's aren't known to be very demanding, so I'd try to check with one of those driven out of a good clean source, a PCDP on batteries hooked directly to the PC speaker's should be good enough (I'm assuming alot here, but I haven't had much issue with "fidelity" of pcdp's when amped like this). Before you do any listening, make sure nothing is playing and turn the volume up to max, you should hear silence, and at worst the slightest hiss noise that's barely perceptible. If you hear lots of hiss at a normal volume level then there's not much point in continuing as there's too much noise (probably from the poor filtering on the speakers amplifier/power supply circuitry)

The only way to "really" know is to get a good standalone CDP of known quality(most modern dvd players apply, I wouldn't put the ps2 in this category though) and a dedicated headphone amp, but this is a waste of money just to test out a pair of cans that you may or may not even like that much. Like others have said though, if your old phones now sound like crap, find out why they don't sound as good as you remember them sounding. I've a feeling that when you determine exactly why that is that you'll understand what people talk about when they speak of soundstage and instrument seperation. Even a 500 dollar headphone amp and 200 dollar headphones aren't magical, they just more accurately toss whatever you feed them back at you.

Edit:
If all else fails, rip a 128k mp3 directly from one of your cds, use a song that you think has a good bit of detail and fast transients, and A/B compare that and the original CD. There should be an obvious difference in sound quality between the two. If it's ripped properly it won't "jump out at you" but if the equipment is performing decently there will be audible distortion at parts of the mp3. At 192k and above unless there's a serious issue with the rip/encode it should be virtually indistinguishable from the CD, IE: a double blind test would leave you unable to tell the difference.

 

[Kazuya]

From what I've read, it took you a year to decide on and purchase an entry level headphone, yet you expected the world from it?

Let your ears adjust to the difference, and let it burn it a bit more, it just sounds like you expected way too much from it initially. Don't do A/B with your old stock buds, just wait until you're used to the difference. If you're not going to be happy with this purchase, you will -never- be happy.

I don't think my expectations were nearly as high as your's with the A500's when I got my HD600s.

 

[Azure]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Melchior Wait.. let me get this straight, you're running these headphones out of an integrated jack on the front of your TV?? I know I've said in the past that headphone amplification isn't all that important, but experience with older TV's with jacks has led me to believe they aren't even adequate for much of anything. Unless they've really improved over the years I doubt you're getting a clean signal. Do you have a decent set of powered PC speakers or perhaps a friend with a nice reciever that has a headphone jack?? The A500's aren't known to be very demanding, so I'd try to check with one of those driven out of a good clean source, a PCDP on batteries hooked directly to the PC speaker's should be good enough (I'm assuming alot here, but I haven't had much issue with "fidelity" of pcdp's when amped like this). Before you do any listening, make sure nothing is playing and turn the volume up to max, you should hear silence, and at worst the slightest hiss noise that's barely perceptible. If you hear lots of hiss at a normal volume level then there's not much point in continuing as there's too much noise (probably from the poor filtering on the speakers amplifier/power supply circuitry) The only way to "really" know is to get a good standalone CDP of known quality(most modern dvd players apply, I wouldn't put the ps2 in this category though) and a dedicated headphone amp, but this is a waste of money just to test out a pair of cans that you may or may not even like that much. Like others have said though, if your old phones now sound like crap, find out why they don't sound as good as you remember them sounding. I've a feeling that when you determine exactly why that is that you'll understand what people talk about when they speak of soundstage and instrument seperation. Even a 500 dollar headphone amp and 200 dollar headphones aren't magical, they just more accurately toss whatever you feed them back at you.

Um...what about the Karma? It's not like I'm ONLY listening to music throgh TV-> PS2. Isn't the Karma supposed to be pretty good at powering the A500s? I could care less about the results with the PS2/TV. It's the results with the Karma that bother me since I'm not doing anything wrong there (Lame 320 through a Karma is supposed to be good, isn't it?).

 

[Melchior]

Ahh, didn't see the comment about the Karma. Yeah, that should be enough, I'd still try running the output through PC speakers and compare then, just to make sure that the phones are getting adequate power. I get the feeling though that even if power is an issue you won't be amazed by what they're doing. Saying that they sound like a pair of 600 dollar floorstanders is in my mind fairly impressive for a 100 dollar headphone. If they just aren't doing it for you though, and you'd rather have the money maybe you can still return them.

 

[Azure]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Melchior Ahh, didn't see the comment about the Karma. Yeah, that should be enough, I'd still try running the output through PC speakers and compare then, just to make sure that the phones are getting adequate power. I get the feeling though that even if power is an issue you won't be amazed by what they're doing. Saying that they sound like a pair of 600 dollar floorstanders is in my mind fairly impressive for a 100 dollar headphone. If they just aren't doing it for you though, and you'd rather have the money maybe you can still return them.

Err...I meant a whole stereo system that costs like $600. Basically the average person's home stereo system is what I'd compare the A500s to.

You guys are telling me to try new music and such, so could someone send me a few songs that would demonstrate the A500s' full potential and show me soundstage and such?

 

[450]

$600...for CDP, Tuner, Amp, Speakers, can get you a lot. That's definately not an average person's setup. An "average" person would have a mini-system at best.

A lot of people have said this...but I think you may by expecting too much from $100 'phones.

 

[Csidinim]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azure Err...I meant a whole stereo system that costs like $600. Basically the average person's home stereo system is what I'd compare the A500s to. You guys are telling me to try new music and such, so could someone send me a few songs that would demonstrate the A500s' full potential and show me soundstage and such?

Uh, what's the point of that? Bottom line is, you paid money for the headphones, they should help you to enjoy your music better. If not, return them. You shouldn't change your music collection or listen to other people's music to appreciate headphones. The music is key. Just put them away for awhile and forget about this extracting the quality of the headphones business and use them again when you really want to listen to music.

 

[Azure]

The reason why I asked for some song samples is because I'd at least like to experience soundstage and what not at least once. I paid $100+ for them and I think that's a reasonable request, no?

 

[apnk]

You started to high up in the line. If you started low you would notice differences and such. Like: ksc35- sr60- ms1- sr225 ect. IMO.

 

[Cyrilix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by apnk You started to high up in the line. If you started low you would notice differences and such. Like: ksc35- sr60- ms1- sr225 ect. IMO.

SR225 is "higher in the line".

 

[Csidinim]

All I was saying was that if you lose direction of a hobby, then it is not worth pursuing. Are you in it for the headphone features? or the pleasure of music? ... Soundstage and every extra feature that you ask for samples of, seems rather irrelevant if it isn't compatible or existent in your current music. If the music that you have gives no soundstage like you claim, and you find some random song that does so you can play it once, then what, since it's not any useful to you. Anyway, I say just go with your gut feeling on the headphones, don't try to plot it out and construct the bells and whistles- do you feel benefitted; if I was as displeased as you sound like you are with this set, I would've returned it and taken it as a lesson. Move on! This is an unnecessarily long thread!