[nsingh]

Bonjour everyone, I'm a long time lurker and the occasional contributor to this magnificent website (though I'm inconsistent with accounts because I'm awful at remembering passwords and emails 

). It's time I ask for some advice that I haven't been able to really find. I've done plenty of research but I haven't found any decent info regarding specifics on ear pads and I'm finally throwing in the towel to ask for help. If anyone is able to find anything, please link!
 
So, as my title said, the comfort from the AKG K240 Studio is horrible for me. I hate it. The issue comes from the fact that my ears get pushed in by the drivers. Appx. 30 minutes later, I'm forced to take them off and I can't wear them for quite a while, afterwards. I've been tolerant of the headphones for a few years now because I was too poor to buy more and they're amazing for studio use. But, I'm finally ready to invest in something new on a more casual-listening level.
 
For comfort, I've found the Bose AE2 to be absolutely perfect. The ear pads are soft, compress just enough to wrap around my ears to seal the sound in but don't squeeze my head like pliers, and the drivers inside the cups do not touch my ears. Turns out I'm a little sissy-boy with ridiculously high sensitivity to my ears being compressed. I'd stick with the Bose, but their sound is subpar. As a music producer of many years, and being the son of a home-audio audiophile for many years prior to that, good quality sound spoiled me and nothing less than the best is acceptable... 

 
What I'm looking for is ear pads on a headphone that provide space of about 7cm tall by 4cm wide by 2cm deep (dimensions of the ear pads' openings for the AE2). The ear cups can be oval or round, as long as my ears are left untouched, which is the most important part.
 
As for sound, I would like a headphone that has a nice, wide sound stage with the clarity in the highs and mids as the K240s. However, I want something with a thicker/stronger low end. Not enough to drown out the highs and mids (like the Sony XB series), but not as flat as a studio monitor gets. I have no preference in open versus closed back as long as the sound stage is wide.
 
My taste in music is primarily Hiphop and Electronica with slightly less frequent dabbling in Rock and Jazz.
 
I've narrowed my research down to Beyerdymanic's DT 770, 880, and 990 as it seems they provide the best comfort with a higher low end. Among those, I've been eyeing the 990 but the price is steep, and I'd need to buy a headphone amp taking me well beyond my budget ($200 with $300 being maximum if convinced). I would love to consider the Sennheiser HD 598. But, I've tried some of their 4xx series and my ears feel cramped inside of their ear pads. I've also heard their low end isn't as pronounced as the Beyerdynamic's I've listed have. So, I'm not sure how well the HD 598 would match up with my preferences.
 
I'm using a Behringer MiniMon for my K240 as it's been great to amp the headphones as well as provide other necessary functions for my studio. However, I might have to invest in a headphone amp if I settle with the Beyerdynamic headphones as they exceed what my MiniMon can handle....
 
With all that said, what are some suggestions and opinions? Any help is appreciated! Sorry if I left out any crucial information. Just ask me, and feel free to make fun of me if I exhibit my noobish posting skills 

. Thank you to all those that read all this!

 

[OperatorPerry]

Check out the Sony MA900 - FWIR it's extremely lightweight and comfortable with sound close to what you described

 

[nsingh]

Quote:

Check out the Sony MA900 - FWIR it's extremely lightweight and comfortable with sound close to what you described

 
[size=12.800000190734863px]Hmm, alright; I'll take a look. Thanks![/size]

 

[jaja]

TBH the k240s is already pretty thick and emphasized on the midbass although not so much sub bass.  I'd suggest the dt770 pro or dt990 for bass.  The 990 has a wide soundstage as does the 770 for being closed.  I own the 880 pro myself but its bass probably would not satisfy you as they are intended more for accurate monitoring and have less bass. 
 

 

[nsingh]

Quote:

TBH the k240s is already pretty thick and emphasized on the midbass although not so much sub bass.  I'd suggest the dt770 pro or dt990 for bass.  The 990 has a wide soundstage as does the 770 for being closed.  I own the 880 pro myself but its bass probably would not satisfy you as they are intended more for accurate monitoring and have less bass. 
 

Yeah, the mid bass is pretty good. It's the sub bass that lacks enough "uumph" for me outside of studio use. And, given my type of music, the sub bass frequencies help emphasize the mid bass, so having a nice range in sub bass would be great.
 
How would you say the bass compares from the 880 vs the 990, as well as the 880 vs the 770? I've read the 880 has a more linear frequency; whereas, the 770 lacks some mids, and the 990 lacks even more mid range than the 770 (having a very V-shaped sound signature). I would hate to lose mids just to obtain lows. If the 880 have a linear range, I would hypothesize that the 880 would be closer to the K240's linear/balanced range, as opposed to the 770's and 990's V-shape.
 
In fact, how are those three Beyers compared to the K240s in terms of lows, mids, and highs? 

 

[nsingh]

Coming out of left field, I've heard that Denon's AH-D1100 shares the comfort level of the Bose's AE2, but sound about infinitely better. I couldn't find a good comparison/review of the 1100 vs AE2. Can anyone offer an opinion on those? I know I'd be sacrificing sound stage, especially what the Beyers offer, but I'm willing to throw those in the mix, perhaps...

 

[nsingh]

Shameless self bump. xD

 

[jaja]

Quote:

Yeah, the mid bass is pretty good. It's the sub bass that lacks enough "uumph" for me outside of studio use. And, given my type of music, the sub bass frequencies help emphasize the mid bass, so having a nice range in sub bass would be great.
 
How would you say the bass compares from the 880 vs the 990, as well as the 880 vs the 770? I've read the 880 has a more linear frequency; whereas, the 770 lacks some mids, and the 990 lacks even more mid range than the 770 (having a very V-shaped sound signature). I would hate to lose mids just to obtain lows. If the 880 have a linear range, I would hypothesize that the 880 would be closer to the K240's linear/balanced range, as opposed to the 770's and 990's V-shape.
 
In fact, how are those three Beyers compared to the K240s in terms of lows, mids, and highs? 

All three of those beyers are gonna win by a good margin over the k240s.  k240's aren't really balanced at all, bloated midbass, weird upper mid peak to me and rolled off highs.  It's a somewhat colored sound for sure.  K240S is still decent.  After owning the k240S I returned those and got some vintage k240's which are actually more neutral.  As for the beyers  they all have a somewhat similar sound as in a "beyer" sound.  They won't be as laid back as the akg's but they will be more engaging to listen to imo and more analytical.  The soundstage on the beyers are gonna be a step up too.
 
Out of the beyers I have only heard dt770 pro's and my dt880 pro's.  The 770 has quite a good bit of sub bass(quite a bit more over the akg) and surprisingly wide and spacious soundstage for a closed headphone(quite a bit better than a pair of audio technica ath m50's I have listened to).  The mid dip isnt distracting at all and there is still fullness to vocals.  The 990 but from what I hear it does portray the V curve the most.  Although I do hear the 990 has the most open and spacious sound out of those three.  The 880 isnt going to fufill your bass as I said earlier.  I originally got the 880's for producing as they are the most linear out of the group.  My friend produces electronic music on dt770's and I really enjoy them as well.  Id suggest the 770.

 

[nsingh]

Quote:

All three of those beyers are gonna win by a good margin over the k240s.  k240's aren't really balanced at all, bloated midbass, weird upper mid peak to me and rolled off highs.  It's a somewhat colored sound for sure.  K240S is still decent.  After owning the k240S I returned those and got some vintage k240's which are actually more neutral.  As for the beyers  they all have a somewhat similar sound as in a "beyer" sound.  They won't be as laid back as the akg's but they will be more engaging to listen to imo and more analytical.  The soundstage on the beyers are gonna be a step up too.
 
Out of the beyers I have only heard dt770 pro's and my dt880 pro's.  The 770 has quite a good bit of sub bass(quite a bit more over the akg) and surprisingly wide and spacious soundstage for a closed headphone(quite a bit better than a pair of audio technica ath m50's I have listened to).  The mid dip isnt distracting at all and there is still fullness to vocals.  The 990 but from what I hear it does portray the V curve the most.  Although I do hear the 990 has the most open and spacious sound out of those three.  The 880 isnt going to fufill your bass as I said earlier.  I originally got the 880's for producing as they are the most linear out of the group.  My friend produces electronic music on dt770's and I really enjoy them as well.  Id suggest the 770.

 
Interesting tidbit that the vintage k240s are more neutral than k240S. I find my k240s to be among the flattest cans I've heard sub $200, personally. But, they have thousands of hours on them lol. Anyway, I digressed...
 
I appreciate your input. And over the past few days, I've been leaning towards the 880 a lot because of its more even range. If not the 880's, then the 990's. My thinking is that whatever frequencies either naturally lacks/has too much of, I can just adjust a bit with an EQ. Can the mids/lows of the 880 be raised up to add some more for personal taste, perhaps to get closer to the 770, or even the 990's? And, how much less bass and more soundstage would you say the 880 have compared to the 770? 
 
Out of curiosity, what amp do you use for your 880's? 

 

[jaja]

Quote:

 
Interesting tidbit that the vintage k240s are more neutral than k240S. I find my k240s to be among the flattest cans I've heard sub $200, personally. But, they have thousands of hours on them lol. Anyway, I digressed...
 
I appreciate your input. And over the past few days, I've been leaning towards the 880 a lot because of its more even range. If not the 880's, then the 990's. My thinking is that whatever frequencies either naturally lacks/has too much of, I can just adjust a bit with an EQ. Can the mids/lows of the 880 be raised up to add some more for personal taste, perhaps to get closer to the 770, or even the 990's? And, how much less bass and more soundstage would you say the 880 have compared to the 770? 
 
Out of curiosity, what amp do you use for your 880's? 

 


Im pretty tired at the moment so I won't write too much.  You can certainly use an eq for the bass I have before.  The soundstage for the 770 id say is 4/5ths that of the 880.  The 990 I heard is even better.  Id say the 770 has a few more db of sub bass.  Its noticeable right off the bat.  Both are pretty controlled in the bass but the 880's does it a little better.  I am an amateur producer so I just use my scarlett 2i2 interface.  Eventually I will get a standalone amp as the scarlett has a difficult time powering the dt880 and both my akg q701 and k240.  The vintage k240 has less midbass bloat and a smoother top end with the same sweet midrange.