[Swoosh]

Nice guide! Still don't understand how you got Denon D2Ks for just under $200.

 

[dirkgently]

I'm currently just getting into electronica (right now mostly euphoric/progressive trance), so I'm considering getting something with more punch than my Grado SR80i.  Also, everyone needs to at least once in their life experience Sigur Ros through bassy headphones with a wide soundstage.  Definitely gives me some food for thought.

 

[TotalDominAsian]

I got my Denon D2000 from the source he listed. You have to call over the phone and "haggle" with them. I didn't feel like haggling too hard so I just got them for $225 shipped.

 

[Swoosh]

Quote:

I got my Denon D2000 from the source he listed. You have to call over the phone and "haggle" with them. I didn't feel like haggling too hard so I just got them for $225 shipped.

When I call up the guy asks for the lowest price and then offers ten dollars lower. Somebody call up and haggle for me please, lol.

 

[ikant]

I have a question for the OP, if i disregard the D2ks(or any other headphones that are now more that 200$) which would be the pick of the bunch

 

[SennheiserHD]

it all depends on what you are looking for in a can my friend
 
Quote:

I have a question for the OP, if i disregard the D2ks(or any other headphones that are now more that 200$) which would be the pick of the bunch

 

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

You didn't like those Q40 as you never got around to write about them? I love mine at least.

 

[Anarchy]

Thanks for the guide it was a big help in my purchase. I am curious about how you found so many good deals however 0.0

 

[Nirvana1000]

I have heard and owned quite a few headphones.Out of my current cans.The most comfortable(feather light,perfect for listening just before falling asleep),portable and phenominal sound quality.The Sennheiser PX 100 -II.Excellently balanced with best portable bass i've heard.And yes that includes Portapro.My next fav for overall sound including bass especially when amped is my HD580s.But nothing.And i mean nothing! Excelled  better in bass quality/quantity/extension/definition then my Studiophille Q40s.It was the closest to listening to a studio speaker monitor i've ever heard.Unfortunately i've bought two pairs that ended up with blown drivers.So they are unfortunately marred by bad build quality.

 

[LizardKing1]

Quote:

I have heard and owned quite a few headphones.Out of my current cans.The most comfortable(feather light,perfect for listening just before falling asleep),portable and phenominal sound quality.The Sennheiser PX 100 -II.Excellently balanced with best portable bass i've heard.And yes that includes Portapro.My next fav for overall sound including bass especially when amped is my HD580s.But nothing.And i mean nothing! Excelled  better in bass quality/quantity/extension/definition then my Studiophille Q40s.It was the closest to listening to a studio speaker monitor i've ever heard.Unfortunately i've bought two pairs that ended up with blown drivers.So they are unfortunately marred by bad build quality.

Are you sure you meant to use the word balanced when we're talking about basshead models? 

I googled the studiophiles, they seem pretty good, although open. How much did you get them for?

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

Are you sure you meant to use the word balanced when we're talking about basshead models? 

I googled the studiophiles, they seem pretty good, although open. How much did you get them for?

 
Well the Q40 do sound balanced despite being basshead material and very clearly so, the mids and highs are just unusually even and neutral despite the bass is boosted severly. There's a slight peak around 8~10kHz area which tames down with burn-in but I stuffed a piece of paper roll underneath the pads which have holes in them on the underside and bringing the drivers further apart from the ears and covering the holes seems to tame down the peak ever so slightly and possibly increase the soundstage a little as well.
 
Like so

compare to stock:

 
They are closed (the grille at the back is mostly for asthetics) but I opened them up and saw it actually has a few very tiny holes left open at the back of the cup (invisible from the outside) in 4 places of the cup (the corners). It still has quite decent isolation though but not excellent (but without these holes the soundstage would probably suck).
 
I've been thinking whether I should remove the foam ring in the middle surrounding the driver though but since I've been so pleased with the sound anyway I haven't dared to do it in case I'd regret it. It's just I'm thinking the soundstage might be further improved by removing this ring.
 

 
These have like previous person very well extended, textured, accurate but strong bass response but are at same time very detailed. Mine has held up great so far and I hope they continue to do so, I've heard the cable is what usually breaks easily but haven't heard much about the drivers themselves dying. I thought the included cable is actually quite good, typical studio headphone cable that is quite thick but yea since it's removable and it's using standard sized 3.5mm headphone jacks on the both ends u can easily buy your own stereo cable for it.
 
These are my clear favorites so far as they do great in the whole frequency response range (boosted bass + neutral mids & highs). I paid 99 EUR for mine, they usually go for $120 streetprice lowest in US. Sound wise comparing between all headphones I've tried they are easily worth to me at least ~$150 stock without any mods or EQing. They do like some amping to get the most out of the bass response especially, they  seem to become more dynamic and fun sounding with a little amping to it. Together with ZO2 amp makes me smile whenever I put any bassy hardstyle song on, it just sounds like it's supposed to, like listening to a pair of KRK monitor speakers which are popular among hardstyle producers. I can wear them for hrs and hrs without any issues regarding comfort (beware they do clamp above average at first but despite so it's not uncomfortable to me at least) or sweat and they are also quite lightweight despite being quite huge in size (they look bigger in real life than on the photos).

 

[LithoJazoSphere]

Hey RPGWiZaRD, how do the Q40s and LP2s compare to the XB-500s, RP-HTF600s, and each other?  (Maybe you already posted about and I missed it somewhere, link me if so). 

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

I would rather compare XB500 to LP2 as these are quite similar and Q40 to HTF600.
 
First some quick subjective sound quality price rating of the 4:
 
XB500:    Stock: $50~$60 - With EQ: $120
HTF600:  Stock: ~$100 - With EQ+mods: ~$140
LP2:       Stock: ~$70 - With EQ: 120~$130
Q40:       Stock: ~$150 - With EQ+mods: 170~$180
 
LP2 and XB500 are fairly similar sounding headphones, both have about the strongest bass response with the biggest impact you'll find, the LP2 seems to possibly have even slightly stronger midbass punch but slightly less subbass impact than XB500 but yea both seems to be about a ~15dB boost in near the whole bass range which is about as much as you'll probably ever gonna find. As a result the mids and highs do get pushed a bit backwards compared to the bass response, the mids are possibly slightly more forward sounding on LP2 so it's slightly less smooth or "muddy" sounding but it's very unevenly so and the tonality of female vocals is possibly slightly more off sounding on LP2 (the XB500 have slightly the same issue but it's more present so on LP2) due to upper-mids being slightly more forward. The highs are even more recessed on LP2 compared to XB500 and XB500 is already on the recessed side, for the cost of the LP2 the recessed highs is too much for me to accept (had to boost 3.5 ~ 5.5dB at 8 - 16kHz). The bass response I'd say is tiny bit better quality in the LP2, the XB500's bass response is slightly more loose & uncontrolled. Soundstage is about average on both, the LP2 is a bit more forward/in-your-face sounding, the XB500 somewhat airier. XB500 are comfier but LP2 have excellent build quality (XB500 still feels great too).
 
The HTF600 compared to above headphones has slightly less bass response, while the above have around 15dB boost the HTF600 maybe peaks around 10dB but rolls-off a bit further in the subbass. The mids are much more forward and much more even and clear and detailed than above headphones and the highs as well, the highs still remain slightly recessed/veiled but only ever so slightly and you can bring them out more by removing the foam covering the driver to where it wouldn't really sound recessed anymore. The bass is also more controlled than above, slightly more textured than XB500, about same as LP2. Soundstage is also better than on LP2/XB500, especially imaging/positioning is great for the price. It's still a very smooth/warm sounding headphone despite being more detailed unless removing the foam. The build quality is poor though as described here the left driver might quite easily get stuck in wrong position so you have to blow towards the driver to get it back into position and the pads aren't very good, they get sweaty easily but you can exchange them for example the Beyer EDT 200/250 velour pads.
 
The Q40 is compared to HTF600 even more textured, accurate, controlled in the bass response while being just tiny bit stronger (we're probably only talking like 1~1.5dB across the bass range) and it's better separated from the mids. The mids and highs are very neutral and well balanced across the whole range, by far the best out of all these headphones and doesn't need any EQing for my ears (well if picky perhaps +1dB at 500~1kHz and 31Hz but heh that's a barely audible change and nothing compared to the EQing the other headphones needed for me). The mids and highs are more detailed compared to HTF600 but the lower mids may ever be so slightly more forward sounding on HTF600 but the Q40 have more neutral sounding mids. The Q40 have a lot better resolution in the highs than HTF600 and the other headphones. Only the soundstage it may slightly lose compared to HTF600 but it's not a huge difference especially after doing the simple mod to stuff something underneath the pads so the cups gets deeper. No problems with comfort or sweat with these, the pads are low quality pleather pads that typically will start to fall apart after like 2-3 years or so of use though but I heard the BeyerDynamic DT770 pads will fit these (imagine putting the Gel pads on these! might be something I have to look into in future).
 
EQ Settings comparision:
 
XB500:

LP2:

HTF600:

Q40 (Not necessary but possibly):

 

[SennheiserHD]

being borderline rude with the sales staff on the phone =P
 
Quote:

Thanks for the guide it was a big help in my purchase. I am curious about how you found so many good deals however 0.0

 

 

[WhiteCrow]

Quote:

being borderline rude with the sales staff on the phone =P
 


 

I'm sure that gives them incentive to give you a deal. I know when ever people get snappy with me on the phone at work I won't tell them about specials we have going and so on. Yea it may seem rude or stupid of me to do so but dealing with rude customer after rude customer you really stop caring.