[wavoman]

So a bunch of us in NY/NJ have been exploring this issue with varying degrees of agreement. We have been able to bring many of these together for direct A/B comparison.
 
I think the three contenders are HE90, O2 Mk1, and R10.  HD800 is just under these, but remarkable for a current production open dynamic phone.  HE60 takes honorable mention.
 
HE90 with the matching HE90V (full Orpheus) wins for most euphonic.  Surprisingly, HE60 with the HE90V (adapter needed) draws accolades, even though there is a bias voltage mismatch.  HE60 with Stax SS amps like the 717 also scores well. HE90 with other amps (like WES or A10) is a tad less impressive, IMHO.  Some love the HE90 with the WES, so opinions differ.
 
O2 Mk1 with a BHSE wins the all around award.  Perfect combination of detail and smoothness.  The O2 with other amps falls a little short.  The O2 Mk II is not as good, even with the Spritzer mod.  The newest release of the Mk II has not been tested.
 
The R10 has jaw dropping soundstage and smoothness of freq response for a closed phone, nothing else like it on the planet.  Unlike a Stax or an Orpheus, you plug this baby into the nearest HP jack and you have sonic bliss.  It makes nearly any amp sound great.  The R10 is one of the 7 wonders of the world.
 
And if you like speakers, then there's the K1000, a fave of this crowd.
 
For current non-exotics, HD800.  But surprisingly, this group also loves the MANUFAKTUR beyer 880/600 ohm.
 
 
 
 
 

 

[chinesekiwi]

Quote:

For current non-exotics, HD800.  But surprisingly, this group also loves the MANUFAKTUR beyer 880/600 ohm.

Post those impressions in the impressions thread!
 

 

[DavidMahler]

 
Quote:

So a bunch of us in NY/NJ have been exploring this issue with varying degrees of agreement. We have been able to bring many of these together for direct A/B comparison.
 
I think the three contenders are HE90, O2 Mk1, and R10.  HD800 is just under these, but remarkable for a current production open dynamic phone.  HE60 takes honorable mention.
 
HE90 with the matching HE90V (full Orpheus) wins for most euphonic.  Surprisingly, HE60 with the HE90V (adapter needed) draws accolades, even though there is a bias voltage mismatch.  HE60 with Stax SS amps like the 717 also scores well. HE90 with other amps (like WES or A10) is a tad less impressive, IMHO.  Some love the HE90 with the WES, so opinions differ.
 
O2 Mk1 with a BHSE wins the all around award.  Perfect combination of detail and smoothness.  The O2 with other amps falls a little short.  The O2 Mk II is not as good, even with the Spritzer mod.  The newest release of the Mk II has not been tested.
 
The R10 has jaw dropping soundstage and smoothness of freq response for a closed phone, nothing else like it on the planet.  Unlike a Stax or an Orpheus, you plug this baby into the nearest HP jack and you have sonic bliss.  It makes nearly any amp sound great.  The R10 is one of the 7 wonders of the world.
 
And if you like speakers, then there's the K1000, a fave of this crowd.
 
For current non-exotics, HD800.  But surprisingly, this group also loves the MANUFAKTUR beyer 880/600 ohm.
 
 
 
 
 

I agree with the top 3 in terms of general consensus though my experience with any headphone electrostatic is highly limited.  What I will say is that although it doesn't carry the prestige of the 3 above mentioned, the HD800 is my most used headphone despite owning the R10.  I think it presents classical music in a way which I have not heard another headphone do.  I'm pretty certain that the HE-90, also being a sennheiser, would be capable of this magic and possibly better, my knowledge of Stax is limited, though I am told that it is also very good with classical music. I tend to judge a headphone mostly by how well it handles acoustic instruments.  Whereas, I don't enjoy Grado too much because I think the colored nature of the sound does not fare well with acoustic music, others who love their rock or hip hop or reggae or electronic, may prefer a grado over any other headphone.  
 
I would say that the R10s are a bit more gorgeous sounding (I own a later and bassier pair), but I would say the HD800 are more intuitive sounding.  The K1000 which I only owned briefly had a quality I liked but it felt awkward to me, the sound itself.  The T1 I think are almost as good as the HD800 and just lack that one extra notch of transparency.
 

 

[wavoman]

 
Quote:

Post those impressions in the impressions thread!
 

Quote:

 the HD800 is my most used headphone despite owning the R10. 
I would say that the R10s are a bit more gorgeous sounding (I own a later and bassier pair), but I would say the HD800 are more intuitive sounding.  The K1000 which I only owned briefly had a quality I liked but it felt awkward to me, the sound itself.  The T1 I think are almost as good as the HD800 and just lack that one extra notch of transparency.
 

CK -- we're not done with all the comparisons yet!  MD1032 has posted some.  We will write more after the NJ meet in 2 weeks.
 
DM -- great comments.  I listened to nikongod's R10, and he has the HD800s too, and like you I think he uses them more than the R10's.  Did I get that right, Ari?
 
I only had limited audition time with the T1, and I love beyer, but i think you are right about HD800 > T1.
 
And as I listen to more classical the Grados -- as you say -- are not helping me.  They're gonna get sold.
 

 

[nikongod]

 
Quote:

... the HD800 is my most used headphone despite owning the R10...

I am also in this same camp, although I think I give a little more time to most of my headphones than the R10. Heh, its weird. They are without a doubt my personal definition of best (although after this weekend's festivities the HE90/HEV90 could possibly convince me otherwise with a long listen.) headphones and set the bar high even for speaker systems but I seldom listen to them. 
 
Maybe its me, but I dont often dedicate enough time to focused listening to "get into" the R10 the way they deserve so they just sit off to the side. Although they are clearly special from the first listen I think they need a decent bit of dedicated listening to really shine. The HD800 have the strong point that they sound really good from the first second you have them on to the last, for weeks of listening on end. The R10 sound good from the first second, but OMFGWTFBBQ!!! good after few weeks of listening primarily to them. I just lack the self discipline to only listen to only my R10 I guess. And I'm afraid to scratch them.
 
Edited after Wavoman posted (I take a while to write posts)
I listened to the T1 and in some ways prefered them to the HD800, possibly the "biggest" way for the music I like. I think it really comes down to how your music is recorded. If you listen to more classical music which has "good" left/right panning (no hard left, hard right sounds obviously fake stereo) the HD800 do better. If you throw some poorly mixed rock in there (my primary genre, and sadly there is a lot of great music recorded poorly that we have to deal with) the T1 do a little bit better. I guess in the end there is no 1 headphone.

 

[Mochan]

Best el-cheapo IEM for bassheads ... Hippo Boom

 

[Caesar2010]

I can't believe so many people like Sennheiser 800.  They must never attend live music events.  The HD 800's are so BOOOORRRIIIING!
 
Go with T1's!

 

[nikongod]

 
Quote:

I can't believe so many people like Sennheiser 800.  They must never attend live music events.  The HD 800's are so BOOOORRRIIIING!
 
Go with T1's!

I thought the HD800 & T1 were both pretty similar for "excitement factor that is not on the recording." I'd go for something totally different. Im not sure what though. There are tons of headphones that do certain specific things better than these 2, but very few that do EVERYTHING as well (hows that for a vague and objective statement!? I guess this has just morphed to a thread for people who want sound like these headphones sound, which is kind of to be expected... one would not expect 2 contenders for "best" headphone to sound HUGELY different {and they dont} or quickly show that they make EVERYTHING have lots of {whatever it is} and they dont). If you want a specific thing , isolate that and go get it. 

 

[krmathis]

I say the Stax SR-007.
Although there sure have come out lots of other great headphones as well - like AKG K1000, Stax 4070, Sennheiser HE90, ...

 

[kool bubba ice]

Hard to argue with your Ultra top tier list. But no HP1/2!!
Quote:

Ultra-Top Tier:
Sennheiser: HE-90 (Orpheus)
Stax: Omega 2, Omega 1
Sony: R10
 
Top Tier:
Sennheiser: HD800
Sennheiser: HE-60
AKG: K1000
Stax: 4070
Stax: Lambda Series
Sony: 010 (Qualias)
Beyerdynamic: T1
Audeze: LCD2
Hifiman: HE-6
Audio Technica: L3000
Grado: PS1000
Grado: PS1
 
Extremely High Tier:
Denon: D7000
Ultrasone: Edition 8
Grado: GS1000
Grado: RS1
JVC: DX1000
Audio Technica: W5000 (though I do not like this phone)
Ultrasone: Edition 9
HifiMan: HE-5LE
 
Excellent Mid Fi Cans.....some actually exceeding many of the extremely high tier:
Sennheiser: HD650 / HD600 (which to me are really the same headphone give or take a different presentation here and there)
Beyerdynamic: DT880
Denon: D5000
Grado: RS2
AKG: K501
 
Other Mid Fi Cans.......
AKG: K701
Denon: D2000
Beyerdynamic DT990
Sennheiser HD580
 
 
That pretty much sums up the best headphones yet released.  I may have missed something, but I don't think so.

 

[kool bubba ice]

That's what happens when Sony put a no cost limit to the R10.. Just shows how far audio can get without being restricted by a budget.. It would be a honor to listen to one.. Even though a part of me doesn't want to.. Most likely I'd want one..
 
Quote:

So a bunch of us in NY/NJ have been exploring this issue with varying degrees of agreement. We have been able to bring many of these together for direct A/B comparison.
 
I think the three contenders are HE90, O2 Mk1, and R10.  HD800 is just under these, but remarkable for a current production open dynamic phone.  HE60 takes honorable mention.
 
HE90 with the matching HE90V (full Orpheus) wins for most euphonic.  Surprisingly, HE60 with the HE90V (adapter needed) draws accolades, even though there is a bias voltage mismatch.  HE60 with Stax SS amps like the 717 also scores well. HE90 with other amps (like WES or A10) is a tad less impressive, IMHO.  Some love the HE90 with the WES, so opinions differ.
 
O2 Mk1 with a BHSE wins the all around award.  Perfect combination of detail and smoothness.  The O2 with other amps falls a little short.  The O2 Mk II is not as good, even with the Spritzer mod.  The newest release of the Mk II has not been tested.
 
The R10 has jaw dropping soundstage and smoothness of freq response for a closed phone, nothing else like it on the planet.  Unlike a Stax or an Orpheus, you plug this baby into the nearest HP jack and you have sonic bliss.  It makes nearly any amp sound great.  The R10 is one of the 7 wonders of the world.
 
And if you like speakers, then there's the K1000, a fave of this crowd.
 
For current non-exotics, HD800.  But surprisingly, this group also loves the MANUFAKTUR beyer 880/600 ohm.
 
 
 
 
 

 

[Uncle Erik]

Caesar2010, I attend one or two live events each week. I also played in various bands and orchestras from third grade through undergrad. And I don't find the HD-800 boring in the least - I use it more than any of the other headphones. I wasn't crazy about the T1; it's not as transparent as the HD-800 and it sounds like they thickened up the bass as a crowd-pleaser. Not a terrible headphone - I enjoyed hearing it - but I'm not going to buy one.

 

[sanakaku]

Orpheus / High end electrostats setup
 
 
Holy grail of every other headphone expedition 

 

[Shahrose]

Quote:

Caesar2010, I attend one or two live events each week. I also played in various bands and orchestras from third grade through undergrad. And I don't find the HD-800 boring in the least - I use it more than any of the other headphones. I wasn't crazy about the T1; it's not as transparent as the HD-800 and it sounds like they thickened up the bass as a crowd-pleaser. Not a terrible headphone - I enjoyed hearing it - but I'm not going to buy one.

x2. I have friends whose band plays live for us sometimes without amplification and the HD800 nails the tonality of their instruments. Really lets me enjoy the music and forget about the cans.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

x2. I have friends whose band plays live for us sometimes without amplification and the HD800 nails the tonality of their instruments. Really lets me enjoy the music and forget about the cans.

There you go.  You want to hear an unamplified or acoustic live performance, monitor phones like the HD800 are the way to go.  Disregarding their live acoustic stuff if you want to feel like you are at a Godsmack concert, forget about the HD800's.