delenda est Sony
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2002
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Posted this on headphones forum but its roughly 50/50 amps and cans --- mod can decide where to put it...
I was one of the hardy volunteers who worked the NY session of the Headroom tour, which was held in bucolic Tarrytown. Attendance was heavy---Tyll said the most attendees of any of the dates so far, and a few headphone fans even convinced their cute girlfriends to accompany them! Don't worry lads; headphone geekdom is not necessarily a detriment to True Love...
Anyway, Tyll was very charming, the setup easier than might be thought, and the Total Airhead recompense sounds excellent! The experience of hearing all these phones and amps was the main reward though, and I urge all who can to get out and see the remaining stops of the tour...
Some random thoughts:
Beyer 250 --- a phone I was only slightly familiar with, I got a chance to do extensive A/B comparisons between these and the Senn 280s. The two cans sound remarkably similar, with the Beyer sounding warmer. For acoustic music, I thought the Senns much superior, but rock/techno (well actually some kind of dance music anyway, if not exactly techno-- Tylls catalog of demo CDs wasn't that vast!) I liked the Beyers a bit better. Oddly though the Beyer cups were not circumaural on my mid sized ears, but instead rested on top like the V6. The 280s are fully circumaural and so get the edge on isolation. The Senns are also more portable as they fold up, and much ($70) cheaper, so the 280s would have to get my nod.
Beyer 831 & 931 --- great for acoustic music, but lacking tons of bass compared to the 580/600. Considering the high prices, these cans didn't impress me much. I would have loved to hear a 770, but sadly there was not one along on the tour...
Senn 600 cables --- I normally care little about cables and think tales of aural excellence from pricy wires the delusional babbling of those justifying their purchases. However, I do admit the Clou Red and Cardas cables do sound different than the Senn stock 600 cable. The Clou Red was my favorite as I thought it added a bit of warmth and detail. The Cardas seemed equally warm but with no added clarity, and the Clou Blue seemed to make little difference.
AKG phones --- I expected much from these much praised cans and was pretty disappointed. Build quality was quite low, and the sounds were very average. 501s were probably the best AKGs I heard, but for the price I'd still opt for a different brand and model.
Etymotics --- ER4 sounds _way_ better than the ER6! The 4 inserts deeper into the ear as its thinner and also uses a three dome plug versus the stubbier ER6 2 dome design. As a result, a decent seal is far easier to get with the ER4 and as you get more bass and better consistent soundstage quality. Interestingly, the ER6 has virtually no microphonic wire jiggling noise compared to the ER4, but that and cheapness are its only virtues versus the ER4P. I would say the Er6 gives you roughly half the sound of the Er4 for roughly half the price, so moral of the story is that you get what you pay for...Save up for the ER4 unless the $130 price for the ER6 is the absolute most that you want to spend. Even then, if you eventually hear the ER4, you'll be sorry that you went the cheaper route! (like I am...
)
Amps:
Total Airhead sounded a lot better than any of the other portables including the Porta Corda. More dimensionality in the cross feed, better bass, and smoother sound even at low volumes. TA crossfeed seems ideal.
Grado amp --- waste o money. headphone jack is more like it. Adds nothing to sound save volume. A disappointment.
MG Head --- gorgeous inexpensive tube amp sounded great with all music. A wonderful performer from ASL!
Wheatfield/Creek --- eh. Headrooms comparably priced products sounded better. I saw no reason to get these --- even the tube Wheatfields sounded not noticeably better than solid state Headroom models like the Max.
T/A Cosmic and Supreme --- decent sounding amps, but probably better to get a Little with premium component set unless you need portability.
Stax. Orpheus --- very similar sounding to each other. The Orpheus looks better! Both these amp/electrostat combos sounded superb with classical and jazz, but I thought more modern amplified music did not benefit much from either system. If you're planning on buying these and playing AC/DC on em, you may want to rethink...
Carey --- star of the show IMHO. Sounded superb with anything and everything, broadest soundstage and incredible smoothness. This is the one to lust for!
Blockhead --- best bass of any amp at the show. Seemed complex and sounded a bit less rich than the Carey.
Ok, that just about rounds off my thought! Again, great show, Tyll is one of the nicest guys you can meet, and the show was a lot of fun and a great opportunity. Thanks to Tyll and Headroom for a completely positive experience! Good luck on the rest of the tour, and all you guys get out to see 'em!
I was one of the hardy volunteers who worked the NY session of the Headroom tour, which was held in bucolic Tarrytown. Attendance was heavy---Tyll said the most attendees of any of the dates so far, and a few headphone fans even convinced their cute girlfriends to accompany them! Don't worry lads; headphone geekdom is not necessarily a detriment to True Love...
Anyway, Tyll was very charming, the setup easier than might be thought, and the Total Airhead recompense sounds excellent! The experience of hearing all these phones and amps was the main reward though, and I urge all who can to get out and see the remaining stops of the tour...
Some random thoughts:
Beyer 250 --- a phone I was only slightly familiar with, I got a chance to do extensive A/B comparisons between these and the Senn 280s. The two cans sound remarkably similar, with the Beyer sounding warmer. For acoustic music, I thought the Senns much superior, but rock/techno (well actually some kind of dance music anyway, if not exactly techno-- Tylls catalog of demo CDs wasn't that vast!) I liked the Beyers a bit better. Oddly though the Beyer cups were not circumaural on my mid sized ears, but instead rested on top like the V6. The 280s are fully circumaural and so get the edge on isolation. The Senns are also more portable as they fold up, and much ($70) cheaper, so the 280s would have to get my nod.
Beyer 831 & 931 --- great for acoustic music, but lacking tons of bass compared to the 580/600. Considering the high prices, these cans didn't impress me much. I would have loved to hear a 770, but sadly there was not one along on the tour...
Senn 600 cables --- I normally care little about cables and think tales of aural excellence from pricy wires the delusional babbling of those justifying their purchases. However, I do admit the Clou Red and Cardas cables do sound different than the Senn stock 600 cable. The Clou Red was my favorite as I thought it added a bit of warmth and detail. The Cardas seemed equally warm but with no added clarity, and the Clou Blue seemed to make little difference.
AKG phones --- I expected much from these much praised cans and was pretty disappointed. Build quality was quite low, and the sounds were very average. 501s were probably the best AKGs I heard, but for the price I'd still opt for a different brand and model.
Etymotics --- ER4 sounds _way_ better than the ER6! The 4 inserts deeper into the ear as its thinner and also uses a three dome plug versus the stubbier ER6 2 dome design. As a result, a decent seal is far easier to get with the ER4 and as you get more bass and better consistent soundstage quality. Interestingly, the ER6 has virtually no microphonic wire jiggling noise compared to the ER4, but that and cheapness are its only virtues versus the ER4P. I would say the Er6 gives you roughly half the sound of the Er4 for roughly half the price, so moral of the story is that you get what you pay for...Save up for the ER4 unless the $130 price for the ER6 is the absolute most that you want to spend. Even then, if you eventually hear the ER4, you'll be sorry that you went the cheaper route! (like I am...
Amps:
Total Airhead sounded a lot better than any of the other portables including the Porta Corda. More dimensionality in the cross feed, better bass, and smoother sound even at low volumes. TA crossfeed seems ideal.
Grado amp --- waste o money. headphone jack is more like it. Adds nothing to sound save volume. A disappointment.
MG Head --- gorgeous inexpensive tube amp sounded great with all music. A wonderful performer from ASL!
Wheatfield/Creek --- eh. Headrooms comparably priced products sounded better. I saw no reason to get these --- even the tube Wheatfields sounded not noticeably better than solid state Headroom models like the Max.
T/A Cosmic and Supreme --- decent sounding amps, but probably better to get a Little with premium component set unless you need portability.
Stax. Orpheus --- very similar sounding to each other. The Orpheus looks better! Both these amp/electrostat combos sounded superb with classical and jazz, but I thought more modern amplified music did not benefit much from either system. If you're planning on buying these and playing AC/DC on em, you may want to rethink...
Carey --- star of the show IMHO. Sounded superb with anything and everything, broadest soundstage and incredible smoothness. This is the one to lust for!
Blockhead --- best bass of any amp at the show. Seemed complex and sounded a bit less rich than the Carey.
Ok, that just about rounds off my thought! Again, great show, Tyll is one of the nicest guys you can meet, and the show was a lot of fun and a great opportunity. Thanks to Tyll and Headroom for a completely positive experience! Good luck on the rest of the tour, and all you guys get out to see 'em!
