Best Headphones one can buy for $300 to listen to high resolution music files
Jul 4, 2014 at 7:52 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 26

drummerben04

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Most of my Music Files I have turned into AIFF (CD Quality) Files. Right now I own the Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro's. Love the sound quality from those but was curious if I was missing anything, from lets say the DT990'S or the fairly new 3-D Printed Mr Speakers Mad Dogs I am considering upgrading because just love listening to a great pair of headphones. I am not driving the audio files solely on a portable mp3 device. I have an external Pre Amp I use for listening. Thanks!
 
Jul 8, 2014 at 9:02 PM Post #2 of 26
If you are looking for absolutely every possible detail out of your music files, I'd recommend the AKG Q701. $200 on Amazon right now. If you run them clean through a good amp/ pre amp like you say, these headphones will nitpick at even the smallest variances in tone and pitch change. Listening to any music file under 320kbps becomes intolerable because they will show every minor imperfection in the track. They still amaze me to this day, even going back and listening to music I've played over and over for many years, they still manage to point out every little thing about the music. On top of this, these headphones sound absolutely stellar sound quality wise. Highly recommended. :)
 
Jul 11, 2014 at 7:58 AM Post #4 of 26
Okay, nothing different about the original K701 and Quincy Jones other than cosmetic. So are you saying the Q701'S are better than the Customs. I guess the only way to figure that out is to try it out myself. Figure out which one I prefer. I've been hearing some complaining that the q701's are a little lean sounding, not enough bass. Whats your experience with that and can it be fixed with EQ
 
Jul 11, 2014 at 11:16 AM Post #5 of 26
Bass can be fixed with not only a decent EQ, but you might need a little help from an amp like a FiiO E11. I use it and have the bass on +1. Lets get one thing straight, they're not going to be booming bassy. Never. They have an accurate bass, and when amplified, gives the music a perfect warm sound.
 
Jul 11, 2014 at 11:31 AM Post #6 of 26
I would recommend converting to ALAC, with a program called xACT. It is the only perfect free converter I know. Both AIFF and ALAC sound the same (cold and harsh, compared to WAV and level 0 FLAC, which are warm and natural)
 
Also, wouldn't K612 and k702 sound better? K702 sounded better than K701, if Sonic Sense Pro Audio is to be trusted. 
https://soundcloud.com/sonic-sense-pro-audio/headphone-source-track?in=sonic-sense-pro-audio/sets/headphones-test
https://soundcloud.com/sonic-sense-pro-audio/akg-k702?in=sonic-sense-pro-audio/sets/headphones-test
 
I also think any above $100 Grado would do, since I tried SR60 and fell in wub with it.
 
Jul 11, 2014 at 3:35 PM Post #7 of 26
Bass can be fixed with not only a decent EQ, but you might need a little help from an amp like a FiiO E11. I use it and have the bass on +1. Lets get one thing straight, they're not going to be booming bassy. Never. They have an accurate bass, and when amplified, gives the music a perfect warm sound.

Totally don't want boomy bass. Already have moved past my beats years. Was planning on getting a amp seeing these are 60 ohms. Would the AKG Q701 really be worth buying a whole new headphone over the custom one pros though. COPs are pretty good but I yearn to know what I could be missing.
 
Jul 11, 2014 at 3:37 PM Post #8 of 26
 
  I would recommend converting to ALAC, with a program called xACT. It is the only perfect free converter I know. Both AIFF and ALAC sound the same (cold and harsh, compared to WAV and level 0 FLAC, which are warm and natural)
 
Also, wouldn't K612 and k702 sound better? K702 sounded better than K701, if Sonic Sense Pro Audio is to be trusted. 
https://soundcloud.com/sonic-sense-pro-audio/headphone-source-track?in=sonic-sense-pro-audio/sets/headphones-test
https://soundcloud.com/sonic-sense-pro-audio/akg-k702?in=sonic-sense-pro-audio/sets/headphones-test
 
I also think any above $100 Grado would do, since I tried SR60 and fell in wub with it.
 

 
 
Yes the K702 does have a newer driver over the K701 but the Q701 has identical sound to the K702 if I'm not mistaken.
 
Jul 11, 2014 at 3:54 PM Post #9 of 26
http://versus.com/en/akg-q-701-vs-beyerdynamic-custom-one-pro
 
I think I'm liking the Q701's a lot. I have to keep in mind though they are open headphones so everyone around me will be able to hear my music. Oh well, I Iike openness. 
 
Jul 13, 2014 at 10:29 AM Post #11 of 26
   
 
Yes the K702 does have a newer driver over the K701 but the Q701 has identical sound to the K702 if I'm not mistaken.

 
AFAIK they all use the same drivers. The Q701 just sounds different with noticeably more bass because of the Q decal on the ear cup blocking some of the vents (basically retuning its enclosure).
 
Jul 14, 2014 at 3:15 AM Post #12 of 26
I was indeed Mistaken
 
  There's no significant difference in sound with k701/ q701/ k702.
 
Differences:
k701 - white color - fixed cable - useless stand
k702 - dark blue - detachable cable
q701- comes in dark, white , and green color - detachable cable - they are blessed by quincy jones .
 
 
 

Haven't looked into the stand on the k701 but apparently its useless :). Probably going to go with the Q701's seeing I can get them right now for cheap.
 
Jul 14, 2014 at 12:08 PM Post #14 of 26
  Since were looking at open air headphones such as the AKG's above can anybody share there experience with Grado headphones such as the SR325e which is around the same price range. 

 
Not sure about the "e," but on soundstage and a lot of it is affected by the chassis/earpad design more than the just the drivers, here's the difference between AKG's x7xx and the Prestige Series. Just a quickie in MSPaint so excuse the quality of the graphics. (Top view; Triangle = main vocals, rectangles = guitars, other round/elliptical shapes = drums and cymbals; simplified as other sounds, like keyboards and background vocals, varies with each band)
 
AKG K7xx : thicker angled earpads simulate speaker toe-in, and results in decent amount of depth (some people mistake the depth as "weaker" percussion than as intended by the recording)

 
 
 
Grado Prestige Series : On-ear design that throws sound directly from above the ear canal makes for soundstage that is only larger than an IEM, with a "trident" shape - very strong cymbals and guitars at L and R, very strong vocals and some percussion (particularly the bass drum) in the center, but the rest of the drums' location seems vague if not sounding weaker by comparison.
 

 
Grado Prestige Series - worn slightly forward, with the rear half of the earpads making contact closer to the ear canal; downside is it leaves a bit of a gap, although that can tame the bass drum too. Some might think the soundstage is "flatter" but note that the seemingly "deep" soundstage above is due more to some sounds being pushed too far forward.

 
Aug 10, 2014 at 1:23 AM Post #15 of 26
Yes definitely ear pads affect the sound a lot. A lot of people are switching the earpads out on more basic grados and replacing them with earpads from higher end grados. People have noticed significant improvement after switching. I remember John Grado saying that each earpad is designed for a certain headphone and switching earpads would compromise sound quality. Sounds like a marketing ploy to me. Also, not just the shape but also the material too. Leather is known to be more muddy looser sound and velour gives more of a tighter bass with a bigger soundstage in my opinion.

Interesting diagrams, curious where you came up with the graphs.

As Far as Grados go, the Grados I would get would be the Grado RS2e (reference series) yeah their almost $500 but so are the AKG 712's

So as far as my top three headphones right now after countless hours of research is the AKG 702 (65th anniversary), AKG 712, Grado RS2e. I think those are great headphones for the price. Reason I would go with the cheaper 702's is to have a little more money to invest in a good portable amp.
 

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