[krmathis]

Imo the Stax SR-007 (mkII).
Not in the poll though, so no vote from me.

 

[tom hankins]

I voted the HD650. Because I have owned the RS-1, DT-990, and HD650. They worked the best for me through the most systems.
Even though I picked the senns....I still think threads like this are worth less than ten dead flies.

 

[LostOne.TR]

would like to vote..but have only heard 2 of them. so no go for me.

 

[spinali]

How can this be answered? Taking taste out of the loop for a moment, some say they hear dramatic changes with hardware like cables or amps. I'd say just start listening to different models.

 

[ken36]

Buy them all. Ears make the decision, every time.

 

[WalkGood]

I’m glad to see the HD650 in the lead, as it’s on my list, but I probably won’t get it till after the new year.

 

[Asr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sovkiller /img/forum/go_quote.gif Really? Sorry but I can't agree here. And IMO this is not true, you can indeed find headphones that do all what these others do and better (of course maybe not on that short list) Even while preference is all about, and just to mention one case, tell me something that these do, than the Edition 9 can not at that same level, or even better. None of those is better regarding the details, overall spectrum, highs-mids-lows coherence, soundstage, instruments separation, and the most important thing to me, musicality and prat... You can say that they are more neutral or accurate (which is debatable as you will never know how the recording is supposed to sound in the first instance) or maybe more bored, more laid back, duller, with more leakage, or more coloured, etc...but who cares about those things, IMO all those are defects and not virtues...Music is all about, I do not want an instrument, I want a headphone that I enjoy while listening...I currently own also the HD650 balanced, and not even balanced it is at that same level IMO... Sorry but if this were the case, I would have gotten one of those instead of the Edition 9, IIRC all of them, are at least half of the price of the Editions, (with maybe the exception of the GS-1 which is more expensive than the rest...) Non of them satisfied me as the Edition 9 does, and IMO it performs in a different level...

I haven't heard the Edition 9 at length, but the Edition 9 is a closed headphone and its price clearly puts it in another category compared to the class of most of the open dynamic flagships that I mentioned. If you think a closed headphone can be compared to open ones then that's your call but I won't go there.

 

[barmar46]

K701, thank you

 

[3x331m]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr /img/forum/go_quote.gif I haven't heard the Edition 9 at length, but the Edition 9 is a closed headphone and its price clearly puts it in another category compared to the class of most of the open dynamic flagships that I mentioned. If you think a closed headphone can be compared to open ones then that's your call but I won't go there.

If we compare the SQ regardless of the design, I'd prefer the E9 in couple steps ahead of the 650.

 

[boatman7]

I auditioned all of the above and ended up with a pair of DT 860 Pro's. My abused ears like the "Hot" edge of 860's.

 

[pickwick]

Just because the number 990 is higher than 770 does not mean they are the flagship. I personally think 990s are terrible and have no redeeming qualities. At least the 770s are isolating and you can Darth them.

 

[kipman725]

most people will have on listened to one or two of these so it's a pretty pointless poll that will only show the most popular which due to the ease of availability and the recognised brand is the senns.

 

[Wilashort]

I Agree with your DT990 opinion, I think the same.
I like a big soundstage, big and a great bass, and not the anemic bass that the AKG has; and in other hand not the boring or laidback sound signature that the Senneisers has ...; Great Treble (but not fatiguing) and a very good midrange is another thing that i like, and it headphone fulfil with the requirements.
I want to try the GS1000 headphones for his openness and low impedance (Which is enough for my equipment) ...
Ah, another thing that i like about the DT990 is that it isolate the sound better than any open headphone (the vast majority that i had view or read, leak a lot of sound. Well, really any open headphone not isolate the sound... ) and in general is a very fun headphone to listen.
The only gripe that i have about is that the sound ouput is not loud enough with my equipment (source and amp) overall, and with ac3 movies and some DTS too and with some MP3 songs too (those that have a soft or medium to low volume)
And another thing is/was that the cost isn't was as prohibitive as other high end (I did buy it for $290 in total, shipped to my country with all the expenses...) headphones.
My vote was for the DT990 of course
Quote:

Originally Posted by HiGHFLYiN9 /img/forum/go_quote.gif In my order of preference: DT990 > HD650 > RS-1 > AKG K701 DT990 has great bass, and plenty of exciting detail without being very fatiguing. Also quite comfy. Of all the headphones I've listened to under $1000, these are my favorite. HD650 has nice warmth and is easy to listen to, but can be lacking in involvement in some instances. RS-1 sounds great, with crisp highs and tight bass, but is too detailed for me to listen to for long periods. I admit I only listened to the K701 briefly, but I didn't find them very interesting. In my limited experience, they seemed a little too bright and slightly dry.

 

[Gnoshroom]

I dislike the AKG701s. I have sensitive hearing in the higher frequency range and after about 30minutes of listening to them I had a massive headache. I let them burn in for aprox 100h of continuous Bassnecter playback and still I got a headache after 30minutes. If your gonna order headphones, order from HeadRoom that way you can try a few out and return the ones you don't like.

 

[Gnoshroom]

i <3 HD 650's