[Vinyl]

Come on, should one actually switch headphones to suit the gender of the singer?
I thought phone y for music style x was more than enough!

 

[sling5s]

for diana krall i listen to flats, I like the warmness and thickness of the midrange.
for elton john I listen to jumbo bowls because it makes his voice more thin, airly and more edgy.
so i go from flats to stock bowls to jumbo bowls tweaking how thick to thin I want the midrange.

 

[VALIENTE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenjaminGraham /img/forum/go_quote.gif I love Grados, but as others already know, they can be a little bright on female vocals. Any suggestions on headphones that are great with female vocals without sacraficing too much elsewhere. Any price range.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Palpatine /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've always like the K70x for female voices...

Quote:

Originally Posted by jawang /img/forum/go_quote.gif 2x on k701s.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redo /img/forum/go_quote.gif K701's or DT880's, both are excellent choices for female vocals

I'm also a Grado lover. I thought they sound great with female vocals however when my AKG K701 arrived, they sounded better. K701 is a "smooth-sounding" headphone that reveals I assume the real voice of the singer.

Therefore my choice at this time is the AKG K701 for vocals.
It is really, really a headphone for those who like to know the real voice of their favorite vocalist, I assume.

 

[ib1dance]

Ha Ha you are no doubt suffering from the Blue syndrome

.

It has been scientifically proven by professor Fungalcock @ the university for spiritual physics that pink is better for females, that's why some grown ups and many young children tend to dress that way,purely for health reasons, Girls in pink and boys in blue.

So go get yourself a nice pair of pink headphones and they will sound fine

.

 

[Deep Funk]

Headphones with a flat or neutral sound coupled to good/working gear playing a good recording is a good combo. My old Pioneer Monitor 10 really shines.

 

[nullstring]

my vintage DT880's are really nice for female vocals

 

[m1abrams]

Seriously am I the only one who saw the title of this thread and did not instantly think "The bigger the cans the better" ?

 

[AmanGeorge]

K701s are truly outstanding with female vocals. The openness of the presentation and slightly tipped up treble response allows female voices to punch through the mix in a way that I haven't really heard matched by many headphones at any price.

 

[dcpoor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by midoo1990 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Akg for female vocals=hell no! Very bright,thin and sibilant for female vocals and too unnaturally airy.

you've only listened to one akg model, correct?
and you only listened to them with a zune or ipod as the source, right?

 

[Uncle Erik]

I've never liked the K-701 with vocals, they sound unnatural. Most who own the K-501 and/or K-1000 find those much better than the K-701. Shame AKG pulled the plug on them. There are some expensive headphones that do vocals well, but the two affordable pairs I love are the Sennheiser HD-600 and the Beyerdynamic DT48.

Everyone seems to love the HD-600; you will find piles written about it and lots of positive reviews. You'd have a hard time going wrong with one. Its tonality is spot on and it is quite resolving. It's something of a "standard" here for good reason. The DT48 is terribly polarizing, though. People either love or hate it with almost no middle ground. The DT48 is one of the most resolving and transparent headphones available at any price. It plays bass notes but there's no "punch" to them. However, just going with female vocals you'll be stunned with its quality.

If you can find one used, you might want to consider the AKG K-501. For vocals, it is a superb headphone. When I directly compared the K-501 to the K-701 (I owned both), the K-501 really showed up the shortcomings of the K-701.

As for others, the DT880 seemes to have a little treble emphasis to me. I did like the pair I owned (2003 version), but they weren't the best I've heard. I didn't enjoy straight vocals on the RS-1 I had, either. That was more of a rock only phone.

In terms of an amp, I wouldn't buy an inexpensive tube amp. I think there are too many compromises in their power supply and build quality to provide good sound. You really have to lay a foundation with the power supply to get the most out of an amp. Solid state, however, is much less expensive to build a good lower supply for. Solid state runs under 24V most of the time, so far less expensive parts can be used. Tubes often run at 250V or more, so you have to use heavier components.

You can, however, build your own quality tube amp for $400 or less, but you won't find a commercial one. I think solid state is your best option.

 

[sling5s]

for female vocals: akg k701 vs hd800

 

[Acix]

X11 on the K-701/2

 

[rhythmdevils]

K400/K401 would be my choice if not stax. Second choice would be the K500/K501 Smooth, breathy, airy, lush. Gorgeous.

 

[TopPop]

@ sling5s: I can't seem to find in the big iTubes where your quote is from... sounds very Edwards/Piper-esque, though I wouldn't want to assume.

/off-topic curiosity

 

[sling5s]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TopPop /img/forum/go_quote.gif @ sling5s: I can't seem to find in the big iTubes where your quote is from... sounds very Edwards/Piper-esque, though I wouldn't want to assume. /off-topic curiosity

ahh...you know edwards and piper.

it's my own but a derivative of theirs for sure.