Balanced -- Bit Still Clinging to SE
Jul 17, 2007 at 5:19 PM Post #31 of 46
Quote:

Originally Posted by vcoheda /img/forum/go_quote.gif
i see. thanks for the clarification. i guess sennheiser really is the only smart headphone company.


Yep, why the other headphone makers don't see the Sennheiser light beats me. The removable/replaceable/switchable cable is the smartest move -- ever! I guess this is one reason why the Senns continue to have their appeal. Heck, I have them (HD650-SE with Cardas) on right now, plugged into the Beresford-LD2++ rig.
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Jul 17, 2007 at 5:21 PM Post #32 of 46
Quote:

Originally Posted by jpelg /img/forum/go_quote.gif
The double-sided cable on stock Edition 9's is permanently attached. That is to say, not intended to be removed by the user. Unlike the Prolines, which is single-sided & user replaceable.The top Ultrasones (including the 2500/750's) are terminated with a 1/4" plug for home-amp use. A 1/4"-1/8" adapter is supplied for plugging into your iPod. FYI.


Thanks for the clarification!
 
Jul 17, 2007 at 5:30 PM Post #33 of 46
Quote:

Originally Posted by plaidplatypus /img/forum/go_quote.gif
My old SR-Lambda had a nice bit of bass. It's been about four or five months since I've had a Stax amp so I've forgotten the exact sound. I can imagine I'll still be reaching for my A900LTD when I want more bass.


Thanks for the bass clarification re the SR-Lambda. Yeah, the Audio-Technicas are nice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by plaidplatypus /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I have a feeling the ATs will become my everyday/beater headphone but I'm certain that some types of music just have to be heard on Stax though (vocals).

I think I'm nearing my end head-fi rig, I just have to figure out which Stax earspeaker(s) are my favorite. Ideally I would like to have the ATs and one or two Stax earpeakers.

I think the Ultimate would be SR-4070s, OIIs, and (whatever amp works best with each) but that's just based on what other people have said on this fourm. The Lambda and SRM-007t has actually been my favorite sound to date. I've never heard a GES before but my guess is that combining a Woo GES and a Lambda type earspeaker would not be a bad idea either.


I've never gotten past the looks of the SR-4070:
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I'll have to listen to them when i get the chance.
 
Jul 17, 2007 at 5:33 PM Post #34 of 46
Quote:

Originally Posted by euclid /img/forum/go_quote.gif
on headphones all balanced all the time can be alittle intense, its losses some decay length and for mellow music i sometime find the slightly more slurred and blended single ended sound is richer. but im also finding the bass overall deeper while running balanced.

the change is as easy as plugging a single ended headphone cord into the balanced amp though, no worries.


I think I'm exactly where you're at right now re balanced vs. single-ended.
 
Jul 17, 2007 at 5:43 PM Post #35 of 46
The 4070 is interesting, since its very neutral. Main problem I feel is the drier tonality and not the most gorgeous instrument separation (fine as long as there are not too many instruments), comparing to sr-404 and Omega 2...although the housing on sr-404 sucks so bad, there are issue there too.
 
Jul 17, 2007 at 8:04 PM Post #36 of 46
Quote:

Originally Posted by feifan /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I've never gotten past the looks of the SR-4070:
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I'll have to listen to them when i get the chance.


The 4070 are really great, I tell you!
I know you want one...
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Jul 17, 2007 at 8:39 PM Post #37 of 46
Beauty is in the eye or ear of the beholder. I prefer the look of the GS-1000 wood to shiny plastic as well. I don't see why someone would say that the Ed9 sounds better and will sound better to everyone when not everyone is looking for the same sound. Just IMHO not addressing a particular post here.

I prefer single ended simply because once you go balance your choice on equipment is severely limited. You have to only find balanced everything to truly benefit. So, if a wonderful sounding new amp or source comes out and it's not balanced, guess you can't get it...
 
Jul 18, 2007 at 1:50 AM Post #38 of 46
Quote:

Originally Posted by robm321 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I prefer single ended simply because once you go balance your choice on equipment is severely limited. You have to only find balanced everything to truly benefit. So, if a wonderful sounding new amp or source comes out and it's not balanced, guess you can't get it...



Very much agreed. On top of that you cannot easily get cans to try if all your equipment is balanced, have to reterminate every headphone you get. I personally hope to end up with just one headphone which would not be a stay-home pair either, in which case going balanced would be even more problematic >.<
 
Jul 18, 2007 at 2:18 AM Post #39 of 46
Quote:

Originally Posted by MaloS /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Very much agreed. On top of that you cannot easily get cans to try if all your equipment is balanced, have to reterminate every headphone you get. I personally hope to end up with just one headphone which would not be a stay-home pair either, in which case going balanced would be even more problematic >.<


Headroom's balanced stock cable for the HD650 includes a balanced-to-SE 1/4" adapter. If this adapter were sold separately (or DIYed), wouldn't that pretty much clear everything up?
 
Jul 18, 2007 at 2:40 AM Post #40 of 46
Quote:

Originally Posted by Jamfan16 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Headroom's balanced stock cable for the HD650 includes a balanced-to-SE 1/4" adapter. If this adapter were sold separately (or DIYed), wouldn't that pretty much clear everything up?


Yeah, I know it seems to be the ideal solution, a kind of one size fits all. But I haven't even tried the SE option in the HRDB simply because the home module and DAC are inferior to the max module/DAC in the HRD unbalanced. (I have both.) If I'm going SE, I'm going with the maxed rig. Also, I can't help but think that the balanced to SE adaptor is a compromise at best, adding just one more link that could mess with the SQ. So the adaptor sits in the box, unused. I will, though, out of curiosity, eventually try the SE option in the HRDB. But as many of you are saying, SE maxed (Headroom or other comparable or superior make) is still a very, very viable option that we might all want to hang on to -- at least until balanced totally swamps SE or SE continues to develop to the point where it leaves balanced in its wake, clinging to a dead-end branch of the head-fi evolutionary tree.
 
Jul 18, 2007 at 2:51 AM Post #41 of 46
Quote:

Originally Posted by krmathis /img/forum/go_quote.gif
The 4070 are really great, I tell you!
I know you want one...
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LOL! I hope I don't offend too many people, but, to me, they look like small, no-name, $3.99 computer speakers that're screwed on to a headband. With so many design options for a supposedly top-of-the-line model, why this? Sorry, I'm getting carried away with looks and forgetting that these cans probably sound better than anything I've got. But the irrational part of me says that looks have something to do with the enjoyment of the sound.
 
Jul 18, 2007 at 6:54 AM Post #42 of 46
Quote:

Originally Posted by feifan /img/forum/go_quote.gif
LOL! I hope I don't offend too many people, but, to me, they look like small, no-name, $3.99 computer speakers that're screwed on to a headband. With so many design options for a supposedly top-of-the-line model, why this? Sorry, I'm getting carried away with looks and forgetting that these cans probably sound better than anything I've got.


Thank god looks is in the eye of the beholder, or else we would live in a simple world.
The back case sure is big. But I guess thats needed to give the diaphragm enough air to "breath"? They might look like $3.99 computer speakers to you, but they sure don't sound like any of those...
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Jul 19, 2007 at 2:47 AM Post #43 of 46
Quote:

Originally Posted by krmathis /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Thank god looks is in the eye of the beholder, or else we would live in a simple world.
The back case sure is big. But I guess thats needed to give the diaphragm enough air to "breath"? They might look like $3.99 computer speakers to you, but they sure don't sound like any of those...
very_evil_smiley.gif



I was kidding about the $3.99. I've been looking at the K1000 and Stax earspeakers and thinking they looked funny. When I saw the 4070, I placed them in the same general category. As you say, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. And I'm with you in thanking god for that. I thought the GS1K looked weird for the longest time. Now, after about a year, I love the look. So maybe if I had the 4070 for a while, it'd begin to look great, too. No hard feelings, I hope.

I guess the point to the looks issue -- getting back OT -- is that we probably listen with our eyes more than we realize, and yearning for the next FOTM might have a lot more to do with looks (rather than sound) than we think.
 
Jul 19, 2007 at 5:25 AM Post #44 of 46
Boy, not me on the looks issue. I'll take dog ugly any day if the sound quality is there. And I have the Hagerman phono pre amp to prove it. If something looks cool, mainly in amps that's a bonus. But I don't base my buying decision on looks--otherwise I'd be doing everything in my power to get the new RSA Apache. The Apache seems to have everything going for it great sound when I heard it, and greats looks as a big bonus.

At least I look at the amp. But as for headphones, I don't often look in the mirror when I'm wearing them, so what do I care. And as far as other people are concerned, headphones, not to mention the whole audiophile pursuit, pretty much puts a geek spin on me so I don't worry about that too much either.

Of course right now I don't have a hot lady walking around the house for me to want to look good for.

Excuse me, I've got to go do some crunches to handle this "beer belly" in case any hot women decide to come over.
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