[12v]

i have an itch to upgrade, but im only looking for one result, a more realistic soundstage.

ok my current rig, i use etymotic er4-s and a leckerton audio uha-3 amp.

This is used through my laptop and through my sony dap... and honestly i am very happy with this setup.

I am totally pleased with evertyhing the er4's do. Except one thing... everything is confined. not necessarily in a bad way, but i want the sound outside of my head.

to elaborate on that the er4's imho have a very realistic presence of music... people say the bass is week, but actually it is not.. play any well recorded song, and you have a sense of 3d imaging in which the bass player is behind the singer, the percussion is in the back of the band where it should be. boost the bass, and hey that just throws everything off.

everything sounds right with my current setup, but however that singers voice is still in my head.

so my question is should i upgrade to a full sized open can like the akg-701?

i hear people talk about imaging and soundstage, and open an airy, but that talk means nothing to me because like i said i dont need all of that, my etymotics already do that(for what they are). take my etymotics, push the singers voice 10 feet out of my head infront of me. thats what i want. can a can like the akg-701 do that, or should i look at something else.

Ive tried numerous solutions, crossfeed etc (btw i think crossfeed is great, really great actually)

Ive started a few threads in the past prematurely and didnt do much research before i did, sorry for that for those who remember me but oh well im still learning lol

btw amplification is no problem

recommend me something please

 

[MacFrank]

Hi 12v,

I do think you should upgrade to a full size 'phone, if you are missing soundstage when listening to your current setup.

The Etymotic ER4 seem to be quite prominent in highs, so if you like this soundsignature, the K701 could be a quite good option for you.
Besides that I would recommend considering the Beyerdynamic DT880, which has the same tendency in sound like the K701. The highs are a bit more "rough", aggressive than the AKG's - but not in a bad way. It's just a matter of taste, what you prefer. It's not that the Beyerdynamic's highs are uncultivated!

Just... different, for my ears a bit more vivid.

If you are willing to go one step further than buying an AKG or Beyerdynamic you could try the AudioTechnica W5000 which is also a bright sounding headphone with an excellent 3-dimensional soundstage. I like it's soundstage more than the wider, but not so plastic soundstage from the AKGs; the DT880 just can't catch up with the width of both of them [although it has a very decent soundstage too, compared to it's combatants. A bit more narrow, but still far enough to enjoy classical pieces].

I use my DT880 and W5000 in combination with crossfeed and a slightly warm sounding DIY headphone-amplifier.

edit: One thing I forgot to add - There's one predicate the european headphones (AKG/Beyerdynamic) are ahead of the AudioTechnica. This is "naturalness", don't know how to make it clear. They are both a bit nearer to the actual truth as the W5000 is, which is more coloured. But that doesn't have to be bad. I like this colouration, to be honest! It's some kind of sweetness that fits quite well to most of my genres.

By the way, I love crossfeed too!

But I found out that it depends quite much on the quality of the record if it gives me better results than listening without crossfeed.

 

[12v]

actually i eq the highs quite a bit, i bump them down at 3k a tad, at 7.5-8k a bit, and again at 12k a tad... find them quite more "realistic" sounding after that.

btw, i have heard the grado sr80's before and was not impressed at all... it had a wider soundstage, but no more distant, and the music did not sound accurate to me. thats my only other full size can i have heard worth mentioning.

my other phones are pk2's and well they just leave alot to be desired, all though they are quite good for buds. i use them for when im at work, and at poker so i can still hear everything around me.

was also looking at getting some pk1 or ok1's if i can get the sound i like