[AudioThief]

My biggest disappointment has been the Philips SHP-9500. One reviewer in particular over-hyped the bejesus out of them and I bought it. I thought they'd be some giant-killer. While they do contend with headphones around $100 or $120, those aren't exactly 'giants.' Now, they are by far my worst headphones and get very little play. At least they taught me to read and watch reviews widely and not trust the opinion of one individual, though.

Generally speaking, you get what you pay for. There are some exceptions like the HD650 (you get way more than you pay for) and nordost cables (you get way less than you pay for).. But a lot of people, especially reddit and [Mod edit]other forums[/Mod edit] it seems only care about how flat the frequency response is. All else is out the window. And thats why you got people hooking up SHP9500s to 300$ amps thinking they got an endgame rig.

 

[Music Alchemist]

Sennheiser HD 800.

I first auditioned it for a few hours in 2015 in a quiet shop on a Simaudio MOON Neo 430HAD (which costs $4,300 and can output up to 8 watts at 50 ohms), as well as briefly on a Sennheiser HDVD 800, both balanced, with my own test tracks in most genres of music. In early 2017, I purchased a brand new one for myself and drove it with a Chord Mojo. It sounded roughly the same as it did from the 430HAD. I expended considerable effort to equalize it, starting with the Sonarworks Reference 3 Headphone software, then tracking down others' settings, and finally, resorting to my own experiments.

My conclusion is that no matter how much power it is given or how extensively it is equalized, you can't change the weird things the drivers do to the sound. I often describe it as overly tight, dry and mechanical. Synthetic, tinny and harsh also comes to mind.

And don't get me started on the stock frequency response. It's beyond me how anyone could dare to call this thing neutral. Sure, it's more linear than plenty of headphones, but those upper frequency peaks are nasty to the point of causing me physical agony! The sucked-out upper mids and sub-bass roll-off don't help either. These measurements pretty much sum it up.

Again, with EQ, the tonal balance isn't much of an issue. But I just couldn't get it to sound even remotely realistic to me, aside from with material that sounds good with practically any gear, such as mid-centric quality classical recordings. Granted, there are other methods I did not implement, like modifications and tube amps. But I just don't care anymore. (And I'm skeptical of the claims of it sounding so much better from so-and-so exotic amp.)

Virtually any STAX electrostat sounds a heck of a lot more real to me. Thank goodness for return policies...

 

[Bern2]

Sennheiser HD 800.



My conclusion is that no matter how much power it is given or how extensively it is equalized, you can't change the weird things the drivers do to the sound. I often describe it as overly tight, dry and mechanical. Synthetic, tinny and harsh also comes to mind.

And don't get me started on the stock frequency response. It's beyond me how anyone could dare to call this thing neutral. Sure, it's more linear than plenty of headphones, but those upper frequency peaks are nasty to the point of causing me physical agony! The sucked-out upper mids and sub-bass roll-off don't help either. These measurements pretty much sum it up.

Again, with EQ, the tonal balance isn't much of an issue. But I just couldn't get it to sound even remotely realistic to me, aside from with material that sounds good with practically any gear, such as mid-centric quality classical recordings. Granted, there are other methods I did not implement, like modifications and tube amps. But I just don't care anymore. (And I'm skeptical of the claims of it sounding so much better from so-and-so exotic amp.)

Totally agree with your assessment...Sonarworks did work in my case. Also thought Sennheiser should have provided an upgrade path for the HD800S. (mod upgrade)

Bern

 

[Music Alchemist]

Sonarworks did work in my case.

Someone shared HD 800 EQ settings that are an exact copy of that (proprietary) Sonarworks curve. (I confirmed they sound the same.) While it's convenient to have instant EQ for popular headphones, I'm not too crazy about the idea of charging money for something that can be done (and improved upon) for free.

I forgot to mention that I really like the way the HD 800 looks. Maybe if I stumble upon a magical system out there that dramatically improves it, I could give it another chance.

 

[kman1211]

Sennheiser HD 800.

I first auditioned it for a few hours in 2015 in a quiet shop on a Simaudio MOON Neo 430HAD (which costs $4,300 and can output up to 8 watts at 50 ohms), as well as briefly on a Sennheiser HDVD 800, both balanced, with my own test tracks in most genres of music. In early 2017, I purchased a brand new one for myself and drove it with a Chord Mojo. It sounded roughly the same as it did from the 430HAD. I expended considerable effort to equalize it, starting with the Sonarworks Reference 3 Headphone software, then tracking down others' settings, and finally, resorting to my own experiments.

My conclusion is that no matter how much power it is given or how extensively it is equalized, you can't change the weird things the drivers do to the sound. I often describe it as overly tight, dry and mechanical. Synthetic, tinny and harsh also comes to mind.

And don't get me started on the stock frequency response. It's beyond me how anyone could dare to call this thing neutral. Sure, it's more linear than plenty of headphones, but those upper frequency peaks are nasty to the point of causing me physical agony! The sucked-out upper mids and sub-bass roll-off don't help either. These measurements pretty much sum it up.

Again, with EQ, the tonal balance isn't much of an issue. But I just couldn't get it to sound even remotely realistic to me, aside from with material that sounds good with practically any gear, such as mid-centric quality classical recordings. Granted, there are other methods I did not implement, like modifications and tube amps. But I just don't care anymore. (And I'm skeptical of the claims of it sounding so much better from so-and-so exotic amp.)

Virtually any STAX electrostat sounds a heck of a lot more real to me. Thank goodness for return policies...

I'll have to agree. Never could get myself to truly like the HD 800 nor have heard it sound as realistic as I'd like, it was enjoyable at times but doesn't sound near as right to me as the HD 800S. I like the new HD 800S, but the original HD 800 has always been a mixed bag to me for the same reasons you listed. I really found STAX is the way to go in the very high-end based on my auditioning with a few exceptions.

 

[Whazzzup]

Hd800S is my base line hp that all others are referenced against. Not that it's perfect or the best but for the price, it provides me with descent transparency, sound stage and is still strangely intimate.

La900 is my club sound bass canon, enjoy it very much.

Just as an FYI, both are far from a disappointment for me.

 

[phthora]

Generally speaking, you get what you pay for. There are some exceptions like the HD650 (you get way more than you pay for) and nordost cables (you get way less than you pay for).. But a lot of people, especially reddit and [Mod edit]other forums[/Mod edit] it seems only care about how flat the frequency response is. All else is out the window. And thats why you got people hooking up SHP9500s to 300$ amps thinking they got an endgame rig.

There is always a lot of talk about the law of diminishing returns, that past a certain point cost continues to go up faster and faster while the improvement in quality gets smaller and smaller. While that is certainly the case, it's not as clear-cut as people think; one's taste and priorities play a role in 'improvement,' and sometimes a product does actually outperform its price. It also seems like people don't realize that there is a fairly large area in which a moderate increase in price will yield a significant increase in quality, that some low-priced products are a false economy and a lesser value than something a bit more expensive. Personally, I think the sweet spot for value lies between about $200 and $600. In that range, increased cost has, in my experience, obviously correlated with increased quality. Past that, the perception of improvement is going to depend on a lot of idiosyncratic factors.

 

[Nells]

It's gotta be the ATH-M50. I got into headphones around 6 years ago, and at the time everyone and their dog was raving about these. They were so hyped I expected them to literally change my life. I guess they did in a way, since listening to them eventually compelled me to spend around two thousand dollars on better gear.

The HE-400i is a close runner-up. There are a lot of good things about it, but its trebles sounded extremely strange to me.

 

[TWerk]

There is always a lot of talk about the law of diminishing returns, that past a certain point cost continues to go up faster and faster while the improvement in quality gets smaller and smaller. While that is certainly the case, it's not as clear-cut as people think; one's taste and priorities play a role in 'improvement,' and sometimes a product does actually outperform its price. It also seems like people don't realize that there is a fairly large area in which a moderate increase in price will yield a significant increase in quality, that some low-priced products are a false economy and a lesser value than something a bit more expensive. Personally, I think the sweet spot for value lies between about $200 and $600. In that range, increased cost has, in my experience, obviously correlated with increased quality. Past that, the perception of improvement is going to depend on a lot of idiosyncratic factors.

I generally agree that 200-400 is a good spot for headphones. I think 500-600 is getting too high... for me at least. But I also think that like the 20 dollar Sennheiser HD201 gets you a decent percent of that SQ for 20 dollars. lol. They don't just suck, they sound fine. Or like the Creative aurvana live gets you a good chunk of the Denon sound for 45. I have a cheap old yamaha headphone falling apart, but it is not bad SQ wise either.

I'm generally disappointed when I try to go past 400. I got my T1 for around that price, and just don't hear much in the means of improvement past it. I haven't tried the uber expensive models though, but also don't have expensive source/amp either which you'd probably also want for those mega-buck headphones.

So yeah, I have a few cheapies (which really are not that bad at all), but mostly the cans I use most of the time are 150-400. I always try to buy used to save.

If you have the means, by all means play around with the uber-cans, but you can get pretty good sound quality on a reasonable budget. Even if you can only afford budget cans, there are good options. I went a few times into higher end (700+), but being limited in spending ability, didn't find it was worth the expense for what I got vs. cheaper options.

Then again, I'm not really a typical audiophile. Im more into bassy electronic stuff which doesn't require the highest tier reference grade headphones to enjoy. In fact, as you go way up there in price, I think the sound signatures get more "serious/reference/accurate" for a lack better terms and sometimes the cheaper stuff is more fun to listen to.

 

[phthora]

I generally agree that 200-400 is a good spot for headphones. I think 500-600 is getting too high...

I hear that. I have a few cans that fall into that higher range in terms of MSRP, but I purchased most of them for a significant discount. In fact, of my collection, only the Shure 846s were purchased at MSRP. So, that makes it bit hard to figure out how to talk about the price of a headphone. Is the 400i considered a $450 headphone per its MSRP or a $250 headphone per its street price?

In terms of the kinds of prices you can realistically expect to find, $300 is a very competitive price-point with a ton of amazing options. It seems like a lot of companies are gravitating towards that number.

 

[TWerk]

True. I like to talk used, street price

That's how I can classify my T1 as a $400 HP rather than a $1,400 HP.

 

[Svatopluk]

I hate to admit but I once traded a perfectly good aluminum small block-Chevy intake manifold and valve covers to a colleague for a set of Beats Studio Pro headphones. I figured if I was lucky, I could maybe get a hundred and fifty dollars or so for the parts if I put them on eBay so trading for the headphones should have been a good deal. Unfortunately, I seriously underestimated just how pitiful the Studio Pro's really were.

The bass was god-awful in every way. Bloated, messy and overwhelming with no hint of proper definition. The bass bled into what I think was supposed to be the middle range but with little if any separation of the elements, who would know. To top it off, the Studio Pro was very uncomfortable and the treble was elusive at best.

I did manage to sale the abomination on eBay for a hundred dollars or whatever so all was not lost.

 

[TWerk]

I had a beats solo 2 wireless, and it wasn't bad. It was my only BT headset, and thought it was neat to walk around without a cord. I could go all around my house and continue to hear audio from my phone or computer.

But I thought it was overpriced so I didn't keep it.

But the solo 2 was rated higher than the previous models and even Tyll thought they were pretty decent.

 

[phthora]

True. I like to talk used, street price

That's how I can classify my T1 as a $400 HP rather than a $1,400 HP.

Well, heck, if that's the case, I've only strayed above $400 twice. Once for my 846s and once for the MrSpeakers AEONs. I knew going into buying the Shures that they were a perfect fit for my ideal FR and exactly the kind of focus on detail that I enjoy (so, idiosyncratic, in other words). And, I honestly believe that the AEONs will be noted soon, if not already, for being an exceptional value at their price-point. I've also heard a number of things at around 1k, and some of them I consider worth buying in theory, but between about $400 and $1000, there is a lot fewer viable options to be had.

 

[god-bluff]

For me, the biggest disappointment was the Baldoor E100. It cost almost nothing, I expected almost nothing, but was still let down.

Good one!

I'd almost forgotten about those or at least preferred to forget . The 'earbells', truly terrible with the weidest and most unnatural soundstage I've come across. Like listening in a tunnel. Appalling quality right down to the decoraive 3 button remote on my pair that served no function whatsoever.

I would be disappointed if I got them free in a packet of Corn Flakes let alone paying as I did the price of 3 pints of beers. Thankfully the only time I believe I've been hoodwinked by hype.