[carefullistener]

 
Well guys after extensive OBSESSIVE research....and i mean the unhealthy obsessive borderline crazy type of research where your girlfriend/family start to question your sanity.
 
HERE AT THIS MOMENT IS MY AUDIO SETUP:
 
Windows 7 64bit Enterprise Edition (Legitimate, company license)
I am using this setup:
LATEST FOOBAR2k, no skins or mods, only plugins for asio and crossfeed.
ASIO output 24 bit 48k sample rate (using built in soundcard asio drivers)
Deleted any old Realtek audio drivers AND made sure to disable hd audio inside the BIOS
Some experienced cracking and snapping with the asus....and I did too the very first 5-10 minutes, but somehow it went away on its own and I did NOT have to resort to using the modified UNIFIED drivers.
 
1) Asus Xonar Essence STX ( from newegg because 3rd party amazon marketplace sellers SUCK 95% of the time.)
$195 
 
2) Sennheiser HD 600, www.amazon.com blackfriday lightning sale...
$260...I was amazed I got through, because 20 seconds into the promotion...SOLD OUT
 
3) AKG Q701 $229 amazon market place vendor Electronics Expo located only 20 minutes from me....saw they had this on 
 
amazon...went there in person, they lowered the price for me.
 
4) Denon AH-D2000.....so dissapointing....I ordered from amazon.com through a seller called ALO audio....who is a 
 
sponsor of www.headfi.org
The headphone box was beautifully packaged, but the headphones came broken with the left ear pad detached (broken screw) from the headband. This was a big downer because these headphones cost me....350 THREE HUNDRED FIFTY!!! Are they better than the sennheiser 600 or the akg q701? 
 
That depends what you want and are looking for....
 
The S600 is like a flat line, bass mids and high all beautifully balanced...totally natural sound, but there is no isolation....if you listen loud when you have people sleeping in the house, you will wake them up. I thought headphones were for quiet listening, not keeping up the neightborhood.  
 
Another great thing about the S600...is that they are more forgiving of bad source quality. The AKG q701 is a real deal professional headphone, if there is a single click or clack or imperfection, you will BLARINGLY hear it. It will stand out like a sore thumb. The S600 are far more forgiving, and concentrate on giving the listener the best possible sound experience possible. It is as if the S600 focuses are pleasing the audio listener, while the AKG Q701 focuses on being as accurate and true to original recording as scientifically possible at this time. The AKG Q701 seem to focus on mids and highs, at least this early in the breakin-period. Very weak base, just as everyone else has said, but thats not a bad thing....and it seems to me each headphone has its own speciality and focus.
 
Finally the Denon....
This is the only CLOSED premium headphone i have, so sound should stay inside right? WRONG it leaks out too just not as bad. It is important to note that these Denon AH-D2000 are the most comfortable out of the 3, with the only one that has leather pads....while the other two are material/velcro whatever.The denon AH-D2000 are like the sennheisers with an equalizers making a smiley face. The base is extremely deep and detailed....and the highs are strong and sharp. But...what happened to the mids? VERY VERY VERY recessed. If you wana listen to guitar solos or saxophone etc. The denons dont do it anywhere as well as the akg q701 or sennheisers.Want to listen to dance music? Very bass heavy and pounding soungs? The ah-d2000 excells because of its face punching bass response. The bass isnt just good....its AMAZING! it reaches so low i didnt know people can even hear that low of a frequency. Some of these depths ive never heard before through any Audio equipment at all, period.
 
Lastly before I finish....
For kicks and giggles I also ordered myself:
Audio-Technica ATHM50S Professional Monitor Headphones
 
This is the strait cabled version...and i got it for 160 bucks from amazon directly, free shipping, I am not quite sure why everyone is so crazy about the ATHM50....it in all honestly is INFERIOR to the 3 headphones i purchased just prior to this one. So....you can get 160 dollar headphones...or you can get 240 dollar akg q701s....i really dont see why people can't realize how much of a difference there is between these heaphones despite their close price range. The Audio-Technica ATHM50S professional Monitor Headphones are BUDGET headphones in my eyes, and it was obvious the very first second I opened and started using them. They're made of plastic, are way too OVERLY bass enhanced...and don't offer anywhere near the clarity or accuracy of all the other headphones I mentioned.
 
Can someone please explain to me why the:
Audio-Technica ATHM50S Professional Monitor Headphones
are considered GOOD? headphones especially considering that AKG q701 or sennheiser 598 models are so close price 
 
wise?
 
LAST AND FINAL:
 
I have been using the asus xonar essence stx and it is UNBELIEVABLE!!! The difference is mind blowing...coming from Realtek onboard audio from my EVGA 780i SLI (a VERY good motherboard) The S600 needs 300 ohms, and at the medium gain tting the sound card easily powers it flawlessly. I cant even get past 1/4 volume on medium settings.This asus xonar essence stx is rated to handle 600ohm headphones, and im sure it can easily surpass that.This sound card is worth more than the 180 i bought it for...and is most likely dollar for dollar the best investment ive made in this entire hobby/audio video experience.
 
To those saying that an external DAC/AMP is better than a 180 dollar sound card have not tried this Asus xonar stx...or had it configured wrong. My friend has a E7/E9 combo or w/e that commonly used external amp/dac is....and I was shocked at how much WORSE it was was than the asus xonar sound card. I was just about to get that external combo, but some feeling told me to go with the sound card instead. The e7/e9 claims to do 600ohm headphones but even at the lowest setting on the asus xonar stx at <67 ohms, the sound is far clearer and LOUDER than anything the external amp/dac can produce at similar gain levels. Whats the point of having such precise gain adjustment if the quality of output just doesn't compare to the asus xonar stx? 
 
My common sense tells me that the asus xonar stx sound card is actually processing the sound before sending it to the built in HQ amplifier, and thus the output into the headphones becomes far more dignified and superior in quality.If you're fairly new to this hobby or have only recently had the financial opportunities to actually get INTO it (I owned a sennheiser hd 555 for 3 years because thats all I could afford till now)....
 
FIRST get a high quality sound card....THEN worry about everything else. If your SOURCE is not at its absolute best, then you have spoiled lemons, and hence nasty lemonaid. 
 
 
 
 
 
CONCERNING PC GAMING
 
Speaking of which to those who want to know....
 
The Denon-AH-D2000 is the BEST for PC gaming out of these 4 headphones I have in front of me. IT IS NOT NOT NOT the best for sound quality out of these 4 except when it comes to electro / dance (at the least its always better than the ath-m50s).
 
When I play battlefield 3....the sounds are so real and unbelievably precise/accurate that you can FEEL the power of your own weapons as you are shooting them. Makes you want to not pull that trigger you're holding once you hear with your own ears how powerful and deep the bass is on the ah-d2000. Sure the other headphones like the akg q701 have a larger sound stage....but the Denon AH-D2000 triple roundhouse kick you in the face worse than chuck norris, and its a feeling that is shocking and awe inspiring to say the least.
 
The Audio-Technica ATHM50S Professional Monitor Headphones.....are useless to me now since the Denon AH-D2000 are better in every single way possible, perhaps I will give it as a gift....but moreso do you guys think I should get myself a Beyerdynamic 900 series 600 ohm version? they're about the same price. MY MISSION: To have the best overall HQ audio setup....one headphone with flat even response, one for FUN FUN FUN, one for deep basshead music, one for mids/highs. No one headphone will be perfect in pin pointing all areas....so with my current setup am I missing anything that can close out my collection? I can spare another 400ish but thats the end of it, I'm already in big trouble with the girlfriend who says she "barely hears a difference, and that its "all in my head"). 
 
=)
 
Any questions comments? I want your guys input on my conclusions. =)
Any questions comments? I want your guys input on my conclusions. 
Any questions comments? I want your guys input on my conclusions. 
Any questions comments? I want your guys input on my conclusions. 
Any questions comments? I want your guys input on my conclusions. =)
Any questions comments? I want your guys input on my conclusions. 
Any questions comments? I want your guys input on my conclusions. 
Any questions comments? I want your guys input on my conclusions. 
Any questions comments? I want your guys input on my conclusions. =)
 
=)
 
I revised the comparisons and advice I have proposed. I really hope this helps someone, just like a combination of threads on this forum helped me. You take knowledge, then you give some back....ahhh aint the internet forum concept awesome? You would think most people would only come by, get their answers, and never return (I myself was guilty of that many times) and yet some forums like these are insanely active 24/7. Congratulations on having such a strong audiophile community. 
 
Now....back to the analysis! 

 

[B-Dawk20]

what....the eff.

 

[r31ncarnat3d]

You might want to clean up that last part where you repeated yourself about ten times. Just looks a bit unprofessional, really. And the formatting of the whole post makes it simply difficult and a pain to read. Formatting and proper SPaG goes a long way.
 
On the point of M50s: It depends on when/where you buy them. They used to be ~$120 new IIRC, but lately they've really gone up in price. I bought mine for $100. So while you make the point that $160 M50s might not be "worth it" considering the cost of K701s, you should also consider that:
 
A. Not everyone wants the sound signature of k701s
B. Not everyone bought their M50s at $160
C. Not everyone thinks +~$80 is a "small bump" in price. From the PoV of a college student, that's food for over a month for me.

 

[carefullistener]

guys....HUGE apologies for the double post, i had just enough seconds to type everything out and click submit....seems i did it more than once?
 
No matter....
 
 
 
In windows 7 64bit.....
 
WASAPI is bleh compared to ASIO. In fact, it is very well known that ASIO is the official standard of the music recording industry.
 
Before I got the Asus xonar STX, I didn't bother getting past WASAPI in foobar2k because the asio never worked for me at that time. 
 
The asus xonar stx comes with a buuilt in ASIO hardware driver....so all you gotta do is install the plugin into foobar and you're goood to go. 
 
In case anyone is wondering, i compared ASIO4ALL v2 against the hardware built in ASIO driver that Asus has....and they both seem to have their strengths. I noticed a bit more detail in one princess of vienna song from Tiesto's club life vol 1 album.
 
Overall, the ASIO hardware asus driver is the best one available, sure asio4all might have a small tiny moment here or there with a extremely tiny bit of accuracy, but the asus asio driver makes EVERYTHING better, not just small points here and there.
 
I hope that answers your question....Im sure you guys can tell how obsessed with this hobby I currently am....so when I take time out of my busy hobbying and tinkering....make sure to take it very seriously. I am not simply wasting my finger strength here....GO FOR ASIO! 

 

[Draygonn]

WAT

 

[DVDRey]

Someone looking for the edit button,lol.

 

[B-Dawk20]

I'm cryin right now.

 

[NinjaSquirt]

Eh, can you remove the double space? As much as I love reading comparisons and reviews. The spacing make your piece cumbersome to read.

 

[Astrozombie]

The double spacing is fine, what's with the double posting? Thanks for the insight TC. I wonder how much of that Xonar STX you can get with the DG/DX cheaper versions.
 
Why did you use ASIO over WASAPI? Can you compare the two?

 

[carefullistener]

Quote:

The double spacing is fine, what's with the double posting? Thanks for the insight TC. I wonder how much of that Xonar STX you can get with the DG/DX cheaper versions.
 
Why did you use ASIO over WASAPI? Can you compare the two?

 
Well thats kind of the entire point Astro....the STX and ST which are 180 and 200 respectively are the ones with the built in headphone AMPs. You can drive any headphone with either of these sound cards (to the best of my knowledge). 600 ohm headphones like beyer 900s are so loud you cant go any further at about 1/8th of the highest gain. 
 
The sound card is advertised at 600ohm capability, but I think for ONCE could it be? someone decided to tell the truth or rather yet....understate their product!
 

 

[carefullistener]

Quote:

You might want to clean up that last part where you repeated yourself about ten times. Just looks a bit unprofessional, really. And the formatting of the whole post makes it simply difficult and a pain to read. Formatting and proper SPaG goes a long way.
 
On the point of M50s: It depends on when/where you buy them. They used to be ~$120 new IIRC, but lately they've really gone up in price. I bought mine for $100. So while you make the point that $160 M50s might not be "worth it" considering the cost of K701s, you should also consider that:
 
A. Not everyone wants the sound signature of k701s
B. Not everyone bought their M50s at $160
C. Not everyone thinks +~$80 is a "small bump" in price. From the PoV of a college student, that's food for over a month for me.

 
I am 25 years old so i know exactly what you mean, and all this stuff I of course pay with my own hard worked for dollars. Thing is im crazy enough of a hobby doer that I follow things through to the end usually, so my logic was why would anyone get a ATH m50 when they could get a AKG q701? The akg headphone is a real deal holyfield audiophile professional headphone that sells for 400 bucks.....the ath m50 feels to me like a beater that you just throw around and not take extra special care of.
 
I might be wrong....but thats just my opinion so if you like the ath-m50 please tell me why and what reasons? I want an excuse to keep them but they seem to be completely destroyed by every other headphone I have! Even my old scraggly Sennheiser 555 that i got for 80 bucks 3 years ago O_O 

 
 


Quote:

Eh, can you remove the double space? As much as I love reading comparisons and reviews. The spacing make your piece cumbersome to read.