[Pibborando]

I'm listening to Polydistortion by Gus Gus on my DT 880s right now (Why? at the moment) and my one reoccurring thought is, "Why haven't I listened to this album more? It's AMAZING!"

This has been happening frequently ever since getting these cans. Artists and albums that I've maybe listened to once or a long time ago, I'm growing to appreciate and respect more. I think it being late, and me being tired also helps, as my mind is more relaxed and can just take in the experience of the music better.

I had the same realizations listening to Massive Attack, Tricky, and other thick, downtempo stuff. Man these cans do trip-hop well. You just totally get sucked into the atmosphere.

When I got my ATH-A700s a while back, I learned to love all my trance and harder electronic music again. With the Beyers, I'm finding myself leaning toward the more ambient, atmospheric tracks with interesting vocal filters and such. The soundstage is just so unreal in it's... reality.

I'm also appreciating acoustic stuff more as I can hear all the little details of the performance and really get into the heart of the musicians.

So share your experiences with cans that had you rediscovering and loving your catalog all over again. Which cans represent certain genres best to you? Which cans give you the most raw emotional response? Which cans have introduced you to artists you may have never listened to before?

 

[porschemad911]

I can identify with this. I remember the day my K-501 arrived like it was yesterday. It was like someone threw open a window on a fresh autumn day; there was nothing between me and the music. I rediscovered pretty much every single one of my CDs since then. Many times.

And I keep buying more just to hear them! Although these days my HD-650 do the listening honours. My K-501 is tucked safely away in its little box.

 

[malushi88]

When I got my first pair of real cans (Grado SR60) I listened to the only Led Zeppelin album I had (IV) and was so impressed that I went and found several others. Headphones aren't the only thing that hurts your wallet; music does too! I had never used good headphones before the Grado, and none of my crap phones gave Zep any justice compared to the sr60.

 

[F107plus5]

I can't tie it down to just one set of cans.

But what I find really incredible about the whole phones experience is how varied the experience can be when bouncing from one set of phones to another looking at all my music from all the different angles available when using phones with a fairly major difference in musical presentation.

For instance rock with HD600 and classical with MS2i and MS-1. Some combinations just don't work, of course, but many many do. And to then compare them all with the speaker system either in revealing stereo(with my chair moved to the sweet spot,..... sucky listening room, that's why I'm here.)or in full surround with all the speakers engaged, which thankfully IS a match for all my cans, can give a great idea of what the tunes are all about.

It's really jolly fun looking at all the tunes from different directions. And just swapping cans for different moods or different hearing conditions(ears ringing, stuffy nose, and like that)is handy too, but the flexibility of a varied system can add tons of fun!

I would suggest one word of potential caution however. For me anyway; the phones must be a close match in SQ. If one is way better, the other will sound inferior and the fun will be diminished. If they are too similar, one will perhaps have a better "something" than the other and this difference may draw the listener to itself and take away some of the fun as well. As an example; my MS2i and HD600 are pretty much equals in all departments in my system and to my ears. Even the bass is similar in "level" if not in presentation,(the bass goes deeper with the HD600, but not louder)so that they both sound natural to me in their presentations. The MS-1; although somewhat inferior to the MS2i, fits right in there too. They play the intimate stuff beautifully giving me that "on the stage or in the studio" feeling perfectly that both the MS2i and HD600 can't do due to their larger soundstage, but does it well enough that the differences in SQ aren't quite so obvious listening "close in."

My fear is, at this point; of adding even one more set of phones into the mix. That they may disrupt the, uh....synergy....of the cans relationships to each other.

.....I'm afraid I'll be tempted to try, though.

 

[Mindless]

I'll have to say HD570. It was a whole new level when I got them.

GS1000 was equally impressive.

 

[tbonner1]

Sennheiser 600's had some soundstage and richness after suffering with bright headphones.

 

[splawren]

D5000s have reintroduced the concept of "bass impact" to my music. It may not be the most accurate bass, but it gives some new life and feel to many tracks that previously seemed detailed, but dull. You can just feel bass drums, timpani, accoustic bass and other percussion and low-frequency impact and details that I just never got with headphones before (did with my speakers & sub, though). Plus it does this while still maintaining good soundstage and detail on the mids and highs, even if the emphasis is on the bass "base."

That said, the HD650, which also have bass, but not nearly the same impact, and the DT880s, which have significantly less bass, revealed a whole lot more from my music in terms of detail and intricacies than my prior lineup of earbuds could ever hope to do.

The Shure e5c had some momements of revelation, but I never really got the "wow" feeling from them like I was hearing something new. I think I just don't do well with IEMs, so they're in the process of being sold.

 

[AS1]

Going from HD457 to HD595 was a revelation. Lot's of wow moments!
After a while I wanted more refinement. HD650 gave me exactly what I wanted.
Still enjoying the HD595 a lot. It's now connected to my TV stereo.

 

[jcn3]

going from my sr-80s to hd600s was like a breath of fresh air -- all the harshness was gone the soundstate was so much wider!

i'll never forget the first time i turned around looking for a sound somewhere in the room when it actually came from the 'phones!

 

[edstrelow]

It's not just upgrading your phones that can give you a new sense of the music you listen to. Upgrades to other stages of the audio chain can also do this, eg. a better cd player, DAC , even cables. It's part of the fun and addiction of this hobby. Since I have about 2000 cd's and lps, I reason that even if I spend several hundred dollars on an upgrade, it is has to be divided by 2000 to turn it into cost/item.

Of course it's not all gear-dependant. There is also the issue of learning to appreciate music which previously didn't register. But certainly better fidelity helps this learning to appreciate.