[randy98mtu]

So my daily driver for 2 years has been the P7.  I love it and in that time I have periodically tried many others and returned them.  I just got permission to get another pair of nice headphones, so I placed a big order.  Friday I am receiving:
 
Denon MM400
Denon GC20
Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Over Ear Wired
Bose QC25
Sony MDR1ABT
 
I have tried the Bose before and very nearly kept them.  Others I have tried and have not kept include HP50, Sony MDR-V6 (for sale now), Momentum 1, Momentum on-ear and a few more that I can't remember right now.  The only others I have an use on any kind of regular basis are Beats Studio Wireless and Senn HD650's.
 
I will be back with more of my background and feelings on all of these once they arrive.
 
Edit: I caved and ordered the MDR1ABT's.

 

[randy98mtu]

So as a bit of a basis for my comparisons, I listen to all kinds of music.  My top genres are country, hip/hop, rock, electronic.  Without being that great at all the audiophile lingo, my best description of what i like about the P7 versus most others seems to be soundstage/separation.  A lot of others seem to have all the frequencies ok, but the just feel compressed and indistinguishable.  I am a bit of a bass head and I actually find myself wishing the P7 had a bit more bass.  Based on other people's descriptions of the P7, I am guessing that I do favor a somewhat V or U shaped curve.  I like some sparkle on top but I have heard/experienced the shrill highs.  I have also tried the URBeats in ears and they were just bass canons that did nothing else.  Surprisingly I feel that the Beats Studio Wireless sounds pretty close to the P7 sound signature.  If anything they have a tad less bass.  Another pair that I got free for my 10 year work anniversary and have started using periodically are some Sony MDR-VX750BN's.  They are on-ears and suffer from the compression sensation I described.  They have a bit more bass though which I do appreciate.  The on-ears get a bit uncomfortable for me.
 
That's about all for now.  I can't wait until Friday to line all these up and start doing some comparison listening.

 

[randy98mtu]

I had a few minutes to kill last night near the mall, so I decided to stroll in and see if any places had any other headphones I could try out.  As it turned out, Radio Shack had 1 pair of original Parrot Zik's left.  I've been wanting to try them out.  They had them on clearance for $300 with 20% off that, so I got them for $255 out the door.  At first listen last night I thought they were just going back.  Treble was on the harsh side and I was getting some strange distortions at times from the right driver.  I brought them to my desk this morning to try them out again and so far I'm much more impressed.  Bass is clean.  Voices are clear.  Separation is pretty good.  I'm hearing details I haven't heard before.  Still just a bit much treble for me so far.  I'm going to hang on to them to compare to the rest of the cans arriving today.  Often I will find I like a headphone when I listen to it out of the gate in the morning.  Then after a time I plug in my P7's to A-B and that's where things fall apart.  Not sure if the P7's are just that perfect for my ears, or if I am just that used to the P7's I can't adjust to a new sound.  We'll see.  I'm going to give these a few hours for comfort and sound and then put on my P7's. 
 
I was expecting the Zik to be over ear.  The pads compress and definitely touch my head around my ear, but they feel a bit more like an on-ear as the pads are pressing on my ears all the way around.  The P7 my ear fits completely inside the cup, so there is nothing putting pressure on my ears.  I think I prefer that.
 
The noise cancellation is very good on the Zik.  Far less static hiss than the Beats Studio.  Still leagues behind Bose.
 
Should have the full complement I plan to compare tonight.  I woke up early today with neck pain (chronic pain patient) so not sure I'll have the energy to dig in tonight.  I'm sure I'll fit some time in this weekend.

 

[randy98mtu]

 

[randy98mtu]

Quick first impressions form last to first place. I haven’t opened the QC25. So far:

GC20
Zik
MM400
P7
Momentum 2
MDR-1ABN

The Sony's are really impressing me. The momentum us a huge upgrade from the original. More later with quite a few pictures.

 

[randy98mtu]

So for the past 2 years, nothing has made me feel that the P7 wasn't the best headphone I could buy for $400.  I can now say I like both the Momentum 2 and the MDR-1ABT are better.  They have all the qualities of soundstage and separation of the P7's, and in some cases better, and both have far better bass.  I find the MM400 to be a tad too focused on highs and the bass is weak, the opposite of what I expected.  The Zik sounds really good.  I loved that both the QC25 and the GC20 came with nice carrying cases, but neither measured up sound wise.  Comfort wise I'd say the QC25 was the best, then the Momentum and Sony.  But when A-B comparing, the only 2 that made me smile the instant I hit play were the Momentum and the Sony.  I'm sitting listening to the Momentum 2 for a bit right now.  I really like the option to go wireless with the Sony.  I may have to return them all and wait for the Momentum wireless V2.  At this point I would want to make a case for keeping both the Sony and the Senn, and possibly selling the P7's.  I haven't thought I'd ever say that.  I haven't pulled my Beats out to compare yet, as they have been my go-to wireless for the past year.  The noise cancellation on them ruins them in a way.  I wish the Sony had their NC because it's really pretty good.  And I wish the Senn was wireless.  So the wireless M2 would meet all my criteria, and from what I've read, will match or exceed the sound of the wired M2.
 
I'll get the pictures I took together and post a few up later.  That's it for now.  I still have them all for the time being, so any questions about specific comparisons between them, please ask.

 

[kvn864]

Thanks for such an extended review. I also have P7s, and like them very much, except maybe one thing, the earcups a bit too small. However I have decided to have them around. Often time I listen to HD600 (with HD650 driver units that I purchased separately) and B&O H6s. But based on what your comparison is to P7s I d like to try Sony now. There is one problem though: any bluetooth devices separate you from your gear. By that I mean you are relying on built in amp in the phones. Not sure if this is important. Bluetooth HP I heard long ago didn't sound too good. Tell me more about MDR-1ABT if you would, and everyone likes lots of pictures .. Thanks

 

[randy98mtu]

The Wireless sets; Sony on the left, Zik 1 in the middle, Denon GC20 on the right.
 

 

[kvn864]

Thanks for the pictures, can you measure Sonys ear cups? Are they bigger then P7s? 

 

[randy98mtu]

They measure the same. Roughly 35x60mm. The Sony might be 37. The Sony is much softer so it might fit better but it is for sure shallower. My ears touch the drivers a bit but not enough to be uncomfortable.

In more listening yesterday the gap shrank. The P7 really are outstanding cans still.

 

[randy98mtu]

A few more scores:
 
Build Quality:
Denon MM400's and GC20's win hands down.  They feel even better than the P7's to me.  I'll leave the middle of the pack alone, but I'd say the Bose and Sony probably feel the cheapest.
 
Comfort:
The P7's have never bothered me, but now I feel like the Momentum 2 are better.  The P7 cups now feel stiff to me as many have said in the past.  It has never and still doesn't bother me.  The Sony are very comfortable as well.  The Denon MM400 aren't bad, but I would say the ear cups on them are the smallest and shallowest of the bunch (except the Zik, which feels like more of an on-ear.
 
Case:
The Zik came with none.  The Sony and the MM400 came with pouches that I'm not overly excited about.  Not crazy about the Momentum case.  Fit is tight and it's a pain stuffing the wire in and getting it closed.  I don't get the double bagging thing either.  The winners are the GC20 and the QC25 that come with a nice carry case and they fold up the smallest.  The Bose you still have to deal with the wire.  The Denon you don't.
 
A note on the GC20.  The power and the noise canceling are separate functions.  This may be good in some use cases.  I didn't play with them enough to know if they noise canceling would turn off automatically after a time with the sound off.  
 
A note on the Sony, they can't be used wirelessly while charging, but you can plug in the wire and use them while charging that way.  You will need a longer micro USB cable than the one they provide though.
 
Reviewing my notes and revisiting each of the cans again, I decided to put the Denon's back on.  The MM400's are too similar to the P7 and Momentum, so I can't make a strong enough case for them.  Surprisingly I'd say the lose on base.  The GC20's I am going to spend more time with now.  The bass is great, comfort is great.  There is a bit of a strange tone to them.  I may need to download the Denon app, which I had sworn I wouldn't do.  I want to like these though.  They feel better than the Sony, they have better construction and portability and noise canceling.
 
More later.

 

[Ironbarzeus]

So as a bit of a basis for my comparisons, I listen to all kinds of music.  My top genres are country, hip/hop, rock, electronic.  Without being that great at all the audiophile lingo, my best description of what i like about the P7 versus most others seems to be soundstage/separation.  A lot of others seem to have all the frequencies ok, but the just feel compressed and indistinguishable.  I am a bit of a bass head and I actually find myself wishing the P7 had a bit more bass.  Based on other people's descriptions of the P7, I am guessing that I do favor a somewhat V or U shaped curve.  I like some sparkle on top but I have heard/experienced the shrill highs.  I have also tried the URBeats in ears and they were just bass canons that did nothing else.  Surprisingly I feel that the Beats Studio Wireless sounds pretty close to the P7 sound signature.  If anything they have a tad less bass.  Another pair that I got free for my 10 year work anniversary and have started using periodically are some Sony MDR-VX750BN's.  They are on-ears and suffer from the compression sensation I described.  They have a bit more bass though which I do appreciate.  The on-ears get a bit uncomfortable for me.

That's about all for now.  I can't wait until Friday to line all these up and start doing some comparison listening.

The P7's bass is almost non existent out of the box. It takes a lot of running in before the bass comes up anything where it should be

 

[tinyman392]

The P7's bass is almost non existent out of the box. It takes a lot of running in before the bass comes up anything where it should be

I got the opposite experience...  

 

[kvn864]

This picture of both earcups of Sony and P7s shows that my ear will fit in there fine (I hope). Appreciate you doing that. I purchased the Sony HP on ebay. When they come, I will chime back in with my thoughts. 

 

[randy98mtu]

My current pair of P7's (they have been replaced by Best Buy twice under warranty) are over a year old.  And I average 4-5 hours per day of use.  So they are plenty broken in.  Listening to these others, the bass is better than I initially thought, though the new Momentums and the 1ABT's both have a tad better sub bass I'd say.
 
Glad the picture of the cups helped.  I hope you enjoy the Sony's.