Best Rock/Female Vocals Closed Cans
Jan 26, 2011 at 1:55 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 36

oopsydaisy

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I listen to pretty much everything, but I'd say my focus is mainly on Rock/Metal and female vocals. I have a pair of k702s, but I'm thinking of returning them because I need closed cans for isolation and I'd like a tiny bit more oomph. They have about 200hrs of break in, so not sure how much better they'll get. I like the way they sound, but between the lack of isolation and kick...I have a TTVJ Slim amp for the subway, but plan to get a Woo WA6 or WA6SE this year for home use. I'd like to avoid spending over $1000, but I'd do it for for the right cans. Any comparisons to the 702s would be helpful as I'm familiar with their sound. I also own a pair of Shure Se530s that I use for the subway now, so any comparisons to those would be OK too. Although, they are IEMs, so probably hard to compare. Anyway, thanks in advance
 
Jan 26, 2011 at 2:38 PM Post #2 of 36
If you like a balanced sound signature, the DT250 are an awesome sounding pair of headphones.  They don't have the unruly bass that some of the Beyers have, but they extend nice and deep, have a beautiful midrange, and just the right amount of treble extension.  The only headphones I prefer vocals with are orthos.
 
Jan 26, 2011 at 2:56 PM Post #4 of 36


Quote:
If you like a balanced sound signature, the DT250 are an awesome sounding pair of headphones.  They don't have the unruly bass that some of the Beyers have, but they extend nice and deep, have a beautiful midrange, and just the right amount of treble extension.  The only headphones I prefer vocals with are orthos.

I have skimmed a few posts about the orthos. They're all open, right? Are the LCD-2s orthos? I will look into the DT250s, thanks
 
 
Jan 26, 2011 at 2:58 PM Post #5 of 36


Quote:
You can try the GMP 8.35, or the K-271MKII. 

I have been researching the 271mkii's. I figure they'll be close to the 702s minus some soundstage, but plus some oomph as a result of the closed design
 
 
Jan 26, 2011 at 3:10 PM Post #6 of 36

 
Quote:
Quote:
You can try the GMP 8.35, or the K-271MKII. 

I have been researching the 271mkii's. I figure they'll be close to the 702s minus some soundstage, but plus some oomph as a result of the closed design
 


Yes, you're right...smaller sound stage less treble/bass, same mids design. 
 
Jan 26, 2011 at 3:49 PM Post #7 of 36
In my mind, I have the perfect headphones for you. I listen to primarily female vocals, rock, hiphop and pop. I use a Woo Audio 6SE.
 
I have a review out for 4 Audio Technica headphones. Something's wrong with my browser, but I suggest you search "An 11 years late review audio technica"
 
Jan 26, 2011 at 4:11 PM Post #8 of 36


Quote:
In my mind, I have the perfect headphones for you. I listen to primarily female vocals, rock, hiphop and pop. I use a Woo Audio 6SE.
 
I have a review out for 4 Audio Technica headphones. Something's wrong with my browser, but I suggest you search "An 11 years late review audio technica"

Found it. Good read. You seemed to be in love with the W11Rs, which I take it are hard to find. If someone made cans that sounded the way you described those, I'd probably have a winner.
 
 
Jan 26, 2011 at 6:37 PM Post #9 of 36
Any thoughts on the Shure SRH840s or the Denon AH-D5000s? From what I've read, the Denons don't isolate very well, but sound great
 
Jan 26, 2011 at 8:16 PM Post #10 of 36
I have heard a lot of good closed cans. The finest to my ear for female vocals (and overall refinement) are the D7000 and DT770/600ohm. The DT700/600ohm isolate really well, much better than the D7000. The HFI-780 are not bad but not as refined as the DT770 in that price range.
Regarding the SRH840, they are not bad but not nearly as good as the DT770 IMO (less air, refinement, extension).
Finally, the DT770/600 need a bit of juice- an ipod can barely run them at any volume but it does work.
 
Jan 26, 2011 at 10:20 PM Post #11 of 36
For female vocals and rock, I find that D7000 > SRH840 > D5000.  Listening to Goldfrapp, Aimee Mann and Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), the D5000 have fairly recessed mids, so their voices are a bit too quiet and buried by the drums.  SRH840 are more spectrally balanced, so vocals are well placed, in front of the other instruments.  D7000 have better mids than the D5000 though still a bit recessed and voices are still underrepresented in songs with a lot of instrumentation (e.g. Yeah Yeah Yeahs).  But they have more extension in bass and treble than SRH840, so voices are more spacious, velvety and deep and more enjoyable overall.
 
For rock, guitars are more forward and aggressive with SRH840 than the Denons.  The D7000 have more rumble and growl and have bigger soundstage (and D5000 just have more soundstage), so I'd say the D7000 are only slightly better on balance than the SRH840 and D5000 are slightly worse. 
 
Jan 26, 2011 at 11:03 PM Post #12 of 36
If you want mids, the Audio Technica W1000X will pretty much trump the Denon D7000s. The bass impact and soundstage is similar on both headphones but I didn't get the chance to hear them side by side. I owned the Denon D7000s and the vocals are definitely laid back.
 
However, the Denons are more comfortable. The W1000X may not fit all heads. IMO, Audio Technica really needs to redesign their new wing design or revert back to the old wings in the early 2000's, late 1990s.
 
Jan 27, 2011 at 3:46 PM Post #13 of 36
I agree with Wind016. If you say female vocals to me, I say Audio Technica woodie (although the non-woodies also deliver in this department, such as the ad2000).
 
Jan 27, 2011 at 5:00 PM Post #14 of 36
Trying to find a place in NYC to audition my short list, which consists of...
 
Shure SRH840
AKG K271 MkII
GMP 8.35
Denon D5000
Beyer DT 250
and last, but not least AT W1000x
 
Thanks for all your input guys and keep the info coming. If you know of a place in NYC, let me know. I'm gonna give Lyric a try
 
Jan 27, 2011 at 6:39 PM Post #15 of 36
D7000's, they are monsters for rock and vocals
 

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