[HeavenNotes]

Hello.  Alessandro MS2 paired with AT-HA22TUBE is perfect for jazz!!!  

 

[levap]

  Hello.  Alessandro MS2 paired with AT-HA22TUBE is perfect for jazz!!!  

Grados and tube amp - no chance to get far from perfect on jazz! (Well, almost no chance ))

 

[408388]

Hey! Thanks for this, I'll check back here for future reference as I'm not in that avid-headphone-buying-orgy stage yet. I listen mostly with my Grado SR60i because they're the best headphones I've ever had so to me jazz sounds great with them!  I especially like the detail you can hear in the drumkit... listen to the drum solo in "Take Five" by Brubeck's Quartet. The ride sounds lovely.
 
Is there any chance you could have a look at some more low-end headphones so headphone-noobs like me know what to try when branching out from our lower-tier Grado SRs and Senn HDs?
 
Cheers 

 

 

[rfan8312]

I listen mostly with my Grado SR60i because they're the best headphones I've ever had so to me jazz sounds great with them!  I especially like the detail you can hear in the drumkit... listen to the drum solo in "Take Five" by Brubeck's Quartet. The ride sounds lovely.
 
Is there any chance you could have a look at some more low-end headphones so headphone-noobs like me know what to try when branching out from our lower-tier Grado SRs and Senn HDs?
 
Cheers 

 

Wow cool. Over the last few months ive become a big Grado fan myself.

Ive purchased the SR60i, SR225i and the PSB M4U2. Ive also purchased the Sony PHA-1A portable headphone amp.

I can say that the PSB sound gorgeous with jazz funk and jazz fusion, especially on anything with nice intricate bass li es bevause the PSB can extend quite low and their bass is extremely well controlled and tight and when you click the integrated amp on, it takes it to another level.

But somehow I keep going back to my Grados. They have a more foward aggressive energetic sound that engages me more into the music, even though I chose the PSB for its ability to engage me more than 6 or so other sets of closed-back cans that I've heard.

And when tbe Grados are combined with a portable ampnits really special because they actual gain quite bit m9re slam and body yet still maintain that incredible Grado clarity and energy.

Instrumental Jazz Fusion and Jazz Rock/Funk tracks I'd like to recommend to listen to on Grado or PSB are:

Jazz Pistols - Bugs
Jazz Pistols - Special Treatment
Jazz Pistols - Sex In A Pan
Jazz Pistols - 3 On The Floor (Live album)

Oz Noy - Get Down ( Twisted Blues album)
Oz Noy - Schizophrenic

Chad Wackerman - Star Gazing
Chad Wackerman - Brain Funk

Gary Husband - Fred 2011
Gary Husband - East River Jam

 

[HeavenNotes]

Jazz Pistols is really good stuf ...! Thank you!

 

[408388]

Agreed, Jazz Pistols are awesome! Makes a change from the fusion stuff I usually listen to... mainly Cynic

Surprising soundstage with the Grados. Still intimate but especially the drums span pretty far across.

Thanks a lot for the recommendation

 

[rfan8312]

No problem. There's a track on YouTube in studio recording of Oz Noy - Get Down.

Sounds stellar on good headphones.

Sent from my LGLS660 using Tapatalk

 

[ericfarrell85]

Subjective rankings based on ownership:

97 - Stax SR007 (the only headphone, for jazz at least, to supplant #2)
94 - Grado HP1 (won't give you the euphony if it's not on the recording, can sound lifeless, amazing tuning, lifelike piano reproduction -- a rarity)
90 - HD650 (properly driven, i.e, Zana)
80 - SR009 (glazed doughnut, doesn't dig deep in the lower registers, puts you closer to the music than anything else)
80- HE60 (excels with vocals, KY-jelly-smooth mids can be distracting, not enough impact, most euphonic)
78- HE6 (imaging can be wonky, sharp highs, artificially dynamic, misses subtleties)


70- LCD-3 (a little too thick and creamy for me, too heavy-footed and not spry enough for jazz nuances)
65 - HD800 (massive staging distracts, sharp sans mods)
60 - SR507 (a bit sterile, boring, little bright)
55 - AD2000 (crazy headphone, tonally askew)


? - Koss Electrostatic - never heard, but trusted accounts say good with jazz

 

[levap]

Subjective rankings based on ownership:

97 - Stax SR007 (the only headphone, for jazz at least, to supplant #2)
94 - Grado HP1 (won't give you the euphony if it's not on the recording, can sound lifeless, amazing tuning, lifelike piano reproduction -- a rarity)
90 - HD650 (properly driven, i.e, Zana)
80 - SR009 (glazed doughnut, doesn't dig deep in the lower registers, puts you closer to the music than anything else)
80- HE60 (excels with vocals, KY-jelly-smooth mids can be distracting, not enough impact, most euphonic)
78- HE6 (imaging can be wonky, sharp highs, artificially dynamic, misses subtleties)


70- LCD-3 (a little too thick and creamy for me, too heavy-footed and not spry enough for jazz nuances)
65 - HD800 (massive staging distracts, sharp sans mods)
60 - SR507 (a bit sterile, boring, little bright)
55 - AD2000 (crazy headphone, tonally askew)


? - Koss Electrostatic - never heard, but trusted accounts say good with jazz

Csn you give some clues, why do you like 007 on jazz so much? I find 009 refined, clear and clean signature perfect for jazz and 007 are a bit heavy on bass, not so obvoiusly matching expectations (at least of mine) for this genre.

 

[preproman]

Subjective rankings based on ownership:

97 - Stax SR007 (the only headphone, for jazz at least, to supplant #2)
94 - Grado HP1 (won't give you the euphony if it's not on the recording, can sound lifeless, amazing tuning, lifelike piano reproduction -- a rarity)
90 - HD650 (properly driven, i.e, Zana)
80 - SR009 (glazed doughnut, doesn't dig deep in the lower registers, puts you closer to the music than anything else)
80- HE60 (excels with vocals, KY-jelly-smooth mids can be distracting, not enough impact, most euphonic)
78- HE6 (imaging can be wonky, sharp highs, artificially dynamic, misses subtleties)


70- LCD-3 (a little too thick and creamy for me, too heavy-footed and not spry enough for jazz nuances)
65 - HD800 (massive staging distracts, sharp sans mods)
60 - SR507 (a bit sterile, boring, little bright)
55 - AD2000 (crazy headphone, tonally askew)


? - Koss Electrostatic - never heard, but trusted accounts say good with jazz

 
E,
 
I'm surprised you ranked the 009s so low and behind the 650s.  With Jazz how low in the lower registers to you have to go?    The 009s would be number 1 on my list with the 007 MKI in second. I've only owned the Grado GS1000i and didn't like them very much.  Also surprised at the HE-6 and HD800 rankings as well.

 

[ericfarrell85]

   
E,
 
I'm surprised you ranked the 009s so low and behind the 650s.  With Jazz how low in the lower registers to you have to go?    The 009s would be number 1 on my list with the 007 MKI in second. I've only owned the Grado GS1000i and didn't like them very much.  Also surprised at the HE-6 and HD800 rankings as well.

 
D,
 
Let me start by saying that the above list is the very definition of subjective. It should not detract any person from listening to the headphones of their choice to the music of their pleasure. Secondly,  the above ranking is not representative of my feelings regarding the headphones in general, but from the very narrow perspective of listening to jazz.
 
Now, as to why I prefer the SR007. The explanation happens to be a very simple one. People say that a jazz band, especially a small ensemble one (which is my preference), is a microcosm in democracy. Each fraction is fundamentally indispensable to the body, so that Scott LaFaro on the double bass is just as essential as Bill Evans on the piano. Yet, I often find myself disappointed in how poorly and specifically how low the bass is mixed on most recordings. While it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that the bass instrument is less assertive than the piano, drums and guitar -- still, on countless recordings the bass is a comparative murmur and mumble to the rest of the ensemble. There are times when I am content with hearing the bass merely lay down the harmony, yet I KNOW that most recordings are poor approximations of live sound.
 
So...
 
When it comes to jazz I like my headphones with a little mid-bass bloom and bump. The SR007 really nails that aspect down for me, while still retaining the signature polished and smooth character of a Stax headphone. The other thing, and again, this is probably just me, but the SR009 really puts a spotlight on details and this can be distracting. For instance, when I am listening to Jim Hall take Pat Metheny to guitar-school, it's the reciprocity, the give-and-take that I'm listening for. I'm really not concerned with the minutia of details, nor the penetrating investigation that the SR009 does to a recording. Jazz is my repose and my sanctuary and the 009 impinges on that by nudging you to examine rather than to listen.
 
As to the others, like the HD800 and HE6, there's just something there that doesn't do it for me. The HE6, you know of course, was a headphone that I just couldn't figure out and I gave up at the end. It remains the one headphone that pulled off growl and grunt, powerful dynamics with accelerated transients, without sounding severely strident. Still, for jazz, it was too rough around the edges. The drums always sounded a little off to me. It was as though the player was hypersonic, striking in double time at breakneck speeds. I imagine that dude throwing his set into the audience at the end of the set. Not exactly sophisticated, smokey jazz lounge mis en scene.
 
With the HD800 it really comes down to intimacy. As I mentioned earlier, I like small ensemble jazz. Give me a piano, drums & bass and I'm good. Throw in Ornette Coleman on the Sax, when I'm feeling worked up. Hell, give me some Sonny Rollins and get rid of the piano. I like jazz up close and confidential. The HD800 has never done that for me, short long ago, when I owned a CSP2+ and it came within a country mile of intimate with a specific tube combo.
 
As you can see D, everything above is unique and idiosyncratic. I had practically nothing to add on the subject of technicalities, because it isn't about that when I'm relaxed and hearing jazz. The HD650 is a fitting example of this. I love the sound signature. I love the near-infinite scaling capability. I love the tone and I like the non-exaggerated and consistent soundstage. It works to my idea of how jazz ought to sound. When it comes to nearly any other genre, I would take every other headphone mentioned above, above it.
 
And to the people sending me PM's. Don't get your panties in a twist over this. It's silly. Take it for what it is: the musings of a guy with topical ideas on how jazz should sound. Qualifiers abound here and the above should be of very limited value to your lives.

 

[preproman]

   
D,
 
Let me start by saying that the above list is the very definition of subjective. It should not detract any person from listening to the headphones of their choice to the music of their pleasure. Secondly,  the above ranking is not representative of my feelings regarding the headphones in general, but from the very narrow perspective of listening to jazz.
 
Now, as to why I prefer the SR007. The explanation happens to be a very simple one. People say that a jazz band, especially a small ensemble one (which is my preference), is a microcosm in democracy. Each fraction is fundamentally indispensable to the body, so that Scott LaFaro on the double bass is just as essential as Bill Evans on the piano. Yet, I often find myself disappointed in how poorly and specifically how low the bass is mixed on most recordings. While it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that the bass instrument is less assertive than the piano, drums and guitar -- still, on countless recordings the bass is a comparative murmur and mumble to the rest of the ensemble. There are times when I am content with hearing the bass merely lay down the harmony, yet I KNOW that most recordings are poor approximations of live sound.
 
So...
 
When it comes to jazz I like my headphones with a little mid-bass bloom and bump. The SR007 really nails that aspect down for me, while still retaining the signature polished and smooth character of a Stax headphone. The other thing, and again, this is probably just me, but the SR009 really puts a spotlight on details and this can be distracting. For instance, when I am listening to Jim Hall take Pat Metheny to guitar-school, it's the reciprocity, the give-and-take that I'm listening for. I'm really not concerned with the minutia of details, nor the penetrating investigation that the SR009 does to a recording. Jazz is my repose and my sanctuary and the 009 impinges on that by nudging you to examine rather than to listen.
 
As to the others, like the HD800 and HE6, there's just something there that doesn't do it for me. The HE6, you know of course, was a headphone that I just couldn't figure out and I gave up at the end. It remains the one headphone that pulled off growl and grunt, powerful dynamics with accelerated transients, without sounding severely strident. Still, for jazz, it was too rough around the edges. The drums always sounded a little off to me. It was as though the player was hypersonic, striking in double time at breakneck speeds. I imagine that dude throwing his set into the audience at the end of the set. Not exactly sophisticated, smokey jazz lounge mis en scene.
 
With the HD800 it really comes down to intimacy. As I mentioned earlier, I like small ensemble jazz. Give me a piano, drums & bass and I'm good. Throw in Ornette Coleman on the Sax, when I'm feeling worked up. Hell, give me some Sonny Rollins and get rid of the piano. I like jazz up close and confidential. The HD800 has never done that for me, short long ago, when I owned a CSP2+ and it came within a country mile of intimate with a specific tube combo.
 
As you can see D, everything above is unique and idiosyncratic. I had practically nothing to add on the subject of technicalities, because it isn't about that when I'm relaxed and hearing jazz. The HD650 is a fitting example of this. I love the sound signature. I love the near-infinite scaling capability. I love the tone and I like the non-exaggerated and consistent soundstage. It works to my idea of how jazz ought to sound. When it comes to nearly any other genre, I would take every other headphone mentioned above, above it.
 
And to the people sending me PM's. Don't get your panties in a twist over this. It's silly. Take it for what it is: the musings of a guy with topical ideas on how jazz should sound. Qualifiers abound here and the above should be of very limited value to your lives.

 
Eric,
 
That was a perfect summary.  One that I agree with 100% from that perspective. 
 

 

[levap]

Update, some jazz talented (and some not overly talented) cans added - Mr.speakers ETHER C, Audeze Sine, Ultrasone Edition 12, EnigmAcoustics Dharma D1000, AKG K7XX Red

 

[levap]

Minor update, added AKG K545, Fostex TH-610, Fostex TH-X00 Purpleheart

 

[rdnkjdi]

Can you do a follow up thread with IEMs????