[skudmunky]

Came here about a week ago after someone on Hardforum talked about it, and since I wanted some new headphones for my ZM I started browsing around. Then, my freinds birthday came up, so I got him some HD-202s. He lovesem, use's them for everything...

Last night I went out and got the Koss portaPros, since I liked them over the also recommended px100s, and wow, they are so much better than the HN 505s. Better, clearer bass, and very nice highs. They brought out things in my music that I hadn't been able to hear very well before.

The 505s had huge overbearing bass, always had to fiddle with the EQ before using them. PortaPros are also extremely comfortable, and have a cool retro look to them. They are a lot smaller than they look online too.

I haven't really had a problem with getting my hair pulled out, but I usually wear a hat so it doesn't bother me at all. It's also very convenient how small they fold up to.

Next on the list of upgrades is a Cmoy, which I'm going to build because I want to have fun, I want to make the signal from the ZM louder (for when I plug it into car sound systems and stuff) and I've heard that most 'phones benefit from an amp. And, it's cheap.

Now I just need to hold off the upgrade urge till I can afford some headphones in the 100-150 range for gaming/home listening...

 

[luuk]

that's how it begins indeed, before you know you hit the postcount 100 and you have a high-end headphone+amplifier!
check Jahn his head-fistory, very impressive.
I think I'm gonna buy some portapro's to, when I don't need much isolation (when I live near my school, I now have to travel every day for about 2 and a half hour with the bus, so I need isolation).The retrolook is indeed very cool.
Good luck with your journey.

 

[skudmunky]

Yeah, I read Jahns headfi history... Maybe, once I get a job, I'll be able to get my hands on some stuff like that.

Nah, my parents would go ape. "300 dollars for headphones?!" They thought spending 50 for the portaPros was crazy.

 

[kramer5150]

ENJOY!!! Welcome to the forum!!

Theyre great phones. Im thoroughly enjoying my sportapros.... Got em on ebay for $7 shipped

I use a govibe with mine and they sound superb for the $$$

Nice diversion when I tire of my bright KSC75 earclips. I also have not had probmems with hair pulling, but then I rest the headband on my bald patch and it works like a charm.

Garrett

 

[jagorev]

Congrats! Welcome, and sorry about your wallet! Your first decent headphones are always a great experience. Now, start saving up for that next big purchase - perhaps a better source/soundcard or something sealed?

 

[zoot2boot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by luuk check Jahn his head-fistory, very impressive.

Hahahah, what exactly is head-fistory? it's blatantly rude whatever it is.

 

[Teerawit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zoot2boot Hahahah, what exactly is head-fistory? it's blatantly rude whatever it is.

head-fi history? like his upgrade path.

 

[fewtch]

Congrats... Portapros are a lot of fun, although my HD-580s just nuke them in every conceivable category. Try some of the pad mods discussed around here, particularly if you find the bass to be overbearing.

 

[zoot2boot]

i got that.. but it's still funny.

 

[VR6ofpain]

Quote:

Originally Posted by luuk that's how it begins indeed, before you know you hit the postcount 100 and you have a high-end headphone+amplifier! check Jahn his head-fistory, very impressive. I think I'm gonna buy some portapro's to, when I don't need much isolation (when I live near my school, I now have to travel every day for about 2 and a half hour with the bus, so I need isolation).The retrolook is indeed very cool. Good luck with your journey.

Hey I started with portaPro's, then moved on to SR-80's, then picked up some KSC-35's. More recently I got the HF-1's and sold my portaPro's (which I had recabled). Still haven't got an amp. Not sure I need it. If I do it will be a nice home amp like a Gilmore Lite or a CI Audio VHP-1.

 

[DobsOnly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skudmunky Next on the list of upgrades is a Cmoy, which I'm going to build because I want to have fun, I want to make the signal from the ZM louder (for when I plug it into car sound systems and stuff) and I've heard that most 'phones benefit from an amp. And, it's cheap. Now I just need to hold off the upgrade urge till I can afford some headphones in the 100-150 range for gaming/home listening...

Your hooked - First set of Cans, then a Cmoy, then another set of headphones or 2, then a Pimeta, and on and on...........................

The Cmoy is a great addition for your portable rig. Tangent has done a really nice job putting the Cmoy Tutorial together with the building instructions.
Welcome and Enjoy!

 

[skudmunky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DobsOnly Your hooked - First set of Cans, then a Cmoy, then another set of headphones or 2, then a Pimeta, and on and on........................... The Cmoy is a great addition for your portable rig. Tangent has done a really nice job putting the Cmoy Tutorial together with the building instructions. Welcome and Enjoy!

Yeah, I've seen the cmoy tutorial. Just needa print out the parts list and get my dad to drive me around to buy the parts. I've got plenty of altoid tins to cut up to, for some reason I seem to collect them just for modding.

VR6ofpain;
Out of curiosity, how much of an improvement did you see recabling the portaPros? And how much did it cost?

I'm not finding these 'phones to be to bass-y, they actually seem to have a bit to much treble. I only notice this when hearing quick cymbal snaps or drum rim hits though. Everything else works great for me. It's nice to hear bass defined in the lower regions, non of my previouse 'phones did that. Gunna look around for the earpad mods though, sounds interesting.

 

[Zeratul]

Guess what my first 3 head-fi purchaces were. Portapros, Zen Micro and a CMOY!. Congrats on the purchance, portapros are always an amazing choice.

Just a word of warning about the CMOY: as much as I wanted to believe otherwise, when I did an A-B comparison with the volumes as similar as I could get them, I could here VERY little difference with and without the amp (the most noticable thing it did was amplify the sound of the harddrive spinning for the first few seconds of a song). If you want to make it just for the hell of it, though, go right ahead. I regret not making mine myself, would have been fun.

 

[luuk]

I've never owned a cmoy, but I guess you only need it if your source (mp3player or some) doesn't have enough power to drive your headphones. I don't think you will get that much of an improvement with the portapro's or any other low/mid-end headphone. I think you will here the difference when you're buying a high-endheadphone that is harder to be driven and can that show more detail/bass etc. My ms-1's did benefit a bit of the amp, but not much. The bass is a bit tighter and harder, and I hear a bit more detail. But I'm glad haven't bought a cmoy or something like that for my ms-1's, glad I saved that money to buy the corda ha2 and the senn hd-650.
Luuk

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by luuk I've never owned a cmoy, but I guess you only need it if your source (mp3player or some) doesn't have enough power to drive your headphones. I don't think you will get that much of an improvement with the portapro's or any other low/mid-end headphone.

Surprise, (to my ears anyway) Portapros improve significantly when amped. In particular, it cleans up the bass somewhat.