[Lorenzo]

Man, head-fi is slowly going to make a pauper out of me!

Anyway, as I stated in my very first post here, my first "real" headphones were the Beyer DT880s. I love these cans, they are detailed, have a nice soundstage, and have a very in-your-face front row sound. I thought they were very well rounded...perfect. Very transparent, and I can hear all the details.

Until I got the AKG 501s. Man, I didn't think the Beyers were lacking Mids, but these cans really have that area down. Excellent detail, pretty good soundstage (not as open as the Beyers) and a warm sound overall, but compared to the Beyers, these don't have much bass. But that midrange...a lot of music actually sounds BETTER on these AKGs. Including even some bass-heavy hip-hop or pop music. I think maybe because the mid-bass is stronger than with the AKGs, giving a fuller sound. The relative lack of bass is fine for most of the music I listen to as well, since I listen to mostly classical and jazz, and that music benefits more from a tight bass than a booming powerful one.

But then, I tried a friend's Grado SR125, and these things really had some nice bass. Not as tight as either the AKG or the Beyer, but it had greater impact. The highs didn't have the detail of the Beyer, and the mids on the AKG were far superior. But still a nice forward presentation that wasn't harsh to my ears. But the soundstage was kind of limited, I don't know if that is normal with Grados or not.

Now I'm spoiled...I have heard three different cans and heard three different areas of sound that those cans did well. The question...are there any headphones that have a very balanced sonic signature but still remains fairly transparent? The rub is, I would like the price to be under or just over $200, and I prefer a forward presentation. Maybe something slightly more laid back than the Beyers. Closer to the AKG than the Beyers, if you know what I mean. But it should still have a lot of detail.

I've been doing research, and it seems I may like the Sennheiser HD595s. Or, maybe a cable upgrade for the Beyers might add some more to the midrange and add some power to the bass. I actually like the tight bass as it is right now, but a little more impact will help add some richness to the overall sound I think. I was thinking the headphile upgrade with black max and ported woodies? The total price for that is too high though...maybe just the cable upgrade would do the trick?

My current (and only) amp is the Headroom Micro, and it is very versatile and was able to drive all the above headphones with no problems. Later on, I was hoping on buying a more portable amp, and the Ray Samuels Hornet is looking like something to save money for.

Anyway, any suggestions would be cool. I'm not buying anything now, but I would like to know about some cans I should look into trying to audition. There's a few hi-fi stores back home, so hopefully they carry at least the Sennheisers.

 

[Andrea]

From partly my own experience and partly an undefatigable "forum research",

the HD595 has a more AKG-like midrange, not recessed, rather slightly forward, "humanly" and lush with voices, textured. The bass has depth and impact either (but I've not heard the Grado bass, mind you), which gives the percussions a fine realism. The only 'range' to not be perfectly on par might be the treble, which is slightly more on the refined side than on the exciting side to me -- but some more 'proper' amplification than mine might make a difference here.

 

[Lorenzo]

Thanks, good to know. Browsing through the forum, I get the sense the HD595 would have a stronger bass but not quite the sparkly, exciting highs in the Beyers and AKGs. But then there's talk of the "laid back" Sennheiser sound. I assume that the 595 is not anywhere as laid back as say, the 600 or 650, but I dunno...

Are there any amps that would bring substantially more impact to the AKG 501 bass, or bring out the midrange of the Beyer 880? Are there any substantial mods that would substantially (not subtle) more midrange to the Beyer DT 880 (still my favorite, though the AKG is close)?

 

[Jahn]

Sounds to me like you need the SR325i. It has the highest highs of the Prestige Grados, it has the deepest bass of em too, and it's bass slam is impactful and energetic and won't put you to sleep like a Senn. And the mids...if you think the K501 have nice mids, wait until you hear those sweet mids! You can also go for the MS-2i, which is my preference, but from your description i think the SR325i would suit you better. Good luck!

 

[gratefulshrink]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lorenzo Thanks, good to know. Browsing through the forum, I get the sense the HD595 would have a stronger bass but not quite the sparkly, exciting highs in the Beyers and AKGs. But then there's talk of the "laid back" Sennheiser sound. I assume that the 595 is not anywhere as laid back as say, the 600 or 650, but I dunno... Are there any amps that would bring substantially more impact to the AKG 501 bass, or bring out the midrange of the Beyer 880? Are there any substantial mods that would substantially (not subtle) more midrange to the Beyer DT 880 (still my favorite, though the AKG is close)?

I was in somewhat of a similar situation to you in that I had my SR-60's, Beyer 250-250's and then I got the K501's. I was still craving a slighlty different signature, and so I ordered the HD 580's. I have those now for about a week, and I am grooving on them (? or they are grooving on me).

Also, I found that my pocket amp V2 was not driving my K501's well, so I posted a question about that very recently (i.e., which amp will drive the K501 well). Try to find that thread. I'm thinking about the supermacro now.

Hope this helps....

 

[Andrea]

I can only answer the first paragraph...

My idea of the sound of the HD595 matches precisely what you read on Headroom's site. To put it differently, if the HD595 is "laidback", then how forward will "forward" actually be? I can't fancy

Then again the HD650 is not a "laidback" one either for me (but I guess the HD600 would be?). And I'm for an "intimist" sound. Surely it's more laidback than the HD595 though, in that the midrange doesn't sound quite as close/intimate, but it stays definitely an "intimist" sound to me.

Lastly, about the treble of the HD595 - I have a suspect about my amp, really, as on my PCDP the sound becomes a little more "forward" (less bass, more treble). Pity that it's also not nearly as refined...

 

[Bill Ward]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lorenzo Are there any amps that would bring substantially more impact to the AKG 501 bass, or bring out the midrange of the Beyer 880? Are there any substantial mods that would substantially (not subtle) more midrange to the Beyer DT 880 (still my favorite, though the AKG is close)?

PPA with bass boost seems to work well with the K501s, giving weight to the bottom end without warming the midrange.

BW

 

[Lorenzo]

Quote:

Sounds to me like you need the SR325i. It has the highest highs of the Prestige Grados, it has the deepest bass of em too, and it's bass slam is impactful and energetic and won't put you to sleep like a Senn. And the mids...if you think the K501 have nice mids, wait until you hear those sweet mids! You can also go for the MS-2i, which is my preference, but from your description i think the SR325i would suit you better. Good luck!

What is the difference in sonic signature between the 2? Though I am looking for a balanced sound, I would trade off some power in some areas for better transparency. I'm not looking for a rock and roll can, but I would like a slightly more extended and impactful bass.

I'll look into the MS2 and the 325i. They're rather pricey though, and I don't know if the local hi-fi shops carry them (the Grados). Plenty of Sennheisers though.

Are there any cans around the $200-250 mark that would perhaps meet my needs?

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lorenzo What is the difference in sonic signature between the 2? Though I am looking for a balanced sound, I would trade off some power in some areas for better transparency. I'm not looking for a rock and roll can, but I would like a slightly more extended and impactful bass. I'll look into the MS2 and the 325i. They're rather pricey though, and I don't know if the local hi-fi shops carry them (the Grados). Plenty of Sennheisers though. Are there any cans around the $200-250 mark that would perhaps meet my needs?

Around $200? I would actually suggest the old version MS-2, used. You can grab them from the used forum here for $200. This is the can I owned and I found this to be the best Grado for my preferences short of the HP1000 driven Grados. I don't think the MS-2 is any more transparent or detailed than the SR325 - just less "rockin'" and more neutral/analytical in its presentation. It still brings the deep slamming bass but the highs are smoothed a bit (rounded off? it still seemed to have nice extension) and of course the mids are sweet and classic Grado. As for rock, the MS-2 would fare better with "classic" rock or blues or acoustic guitar, not as much the shred-fest that the SR325 feeds off of. Female vocals sounded killer with both cans. Hope that helps!

 

[kramer5150]

MS2(i) perhaps? Doesnt have the open soundstage of the K501 though....

Garrett

 

[450]

Maybe someone could cook up a headphone that has all three drivers of the headphones you mentioned and set the crossovers so that highs would go to the DT880 drivers, mids to the K501 drivers and lows to the Grado driver.... It would be $$$, but so is the Orpheus, yet a luck few get to buy that.

 

[Lorenzo]

Quote:

Maybe someone could cook up a headphone that has all three drivers of the headphones you mentioned and set the crossovers so that highs would go to the DT880 drivers, mids to the K501 drivers and lows to the Grado driver.... It would be $$$, but so is the Orpheus, yet a luck few get to buy that.

That headphone would scare me. And my wallet would weep for a eternity.

That's OK, I don't need to go to Grad school right away...!!LOL.

 

[Jon L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lorenzo That headphone would scare me. And my wallet would weep for a eternity. That's OK, I don't need to go to Grad school right away...!!LOL.

The sound you seek is AKG K340 after recabling/mods and driven by a powerful amp. In my case, after recabling/mods and driven by 4-pin xlr from Sonic Impact (!), the highs of K340 has opened up along the lines of K1000, with richer, just as detailed midrange as K1000, and the bass is really taught, balanced, and slamming. Uh... I may prefer this modded K340 to K1000 both driven by SI.. Dang..

 

[Lorenzo]

I can't seem to find info for the AKG 340...are these discontinued models?

Also, has anyone had a cable upgrade for their AKG 501's? The headphile stuff looks like it might be able to balance the sound out a bit more, adding more bass and getting a better balance between the mids/highs. I love the mids on these, but it's almost like this pair of cans is mostly mids, and then highs, and then bass.

 

[Andrea]

Lorenzo, don't underestimate the HD595 btw. They're brilliant cans, which I would pick anyday over the K501 (not because I wouldn't like its sonic balance btw). In fact I'm probably going to buy another pair sooner or later, even though I could easily find a K501 for less...