Comparisons: 36 of the Top Closed/Portable Headphones Around
May 11, 2014 at 7:58 AM Post #2,162 of 4,373
  good to know that you like SQ of HP50 more than T50's :)


I do like the sq of the HP50's better. I reluctantly say that, because the sound is quite good on the T51p's. The T51p's are like the complete package. The sound is detailed and has great soundstage and moderate imaging for an on ear. As has been stated already numerous times the case, the portability, comfort and the sexiness of the hp are all top notch. It really is surprising at this price point this hp covers most of the bases really well.
 
May 11, 2014 at 7:59 AM Post #2,163 of 4,373
May 11, 2014 at 7:27 PM Post #2,164 of 4,373
  good to know that you like SQ of HP50 more than T50's :)

T51p. 
redface.gif
 The T50p has some issues that keep it from really excelling.
 
May 12, 2014 at 3:50 AM Post #2,165 of 4,373
   
They certainly go very well together. The A200p sounds great with pretty much all of the portable closed headphones I've plugged into it...plus the LCD-X and LCD-XC. Throw in its very small size, it's a winner in my books.

 
A200p + T51p is a very nice combination indeed. Really easy to carry along...
I recently tried the A200p with the Focal Spirit Professional and found that combination quite nice as well. Interestingly I had to disable the EU volume limit on the A200p, but afterwards it worked fine.
 
Regarding DT1350 vs. T51p: I've heard of the alleged variances in DT1350s many times, though I did not find an example myself so far (though I just heard three of them). Is that still so bad? Or did they get that under control over time? The T51p being better in that regard might point to better quality control, which hopefully does not stop at the professional line.
Yes, of course the T51p wins hands down on comfort, still I find the DT1350 cleaner. And they have single side cable entry... very important to me as I use them as intended: for DJing and as a live monitoring headphone.
 
May 12, 2014 at 7:01 AM Post #2,166 of 4,373
   
A200p + T51p is a very nice combination indeed. Really easy to carry along...
I recently tried the A200p with the Focal Spirit Professional and found that combination quite nice as well. Interestingly I had to disable the EU volume limit on the A200p, but afterwards it worked fine.
 
Regarding DT1350 vs. T51p: I've heard of the alleged variances in DT1350s many times, though I did not find an example myself so far (though I just heard three of them). Is that still so bad? Or did they get that under control over time? The T51p being better in that regard might point to better quality control, which hopefully does not stop at the professional line.
Yes, of course the T51p wins hands down on comfort, still I find the DT1350 cleaner. And they have single side cable entry... very important to me as I use them as intended: for DJing and as a live monitoring headphone.


I find the T51Ps better in every frequency...but then in hifi its a matter of preference and the 51Ps sound much fuller/open/life like with the music i listen to making them far more engaging and enjoyable than any headphone I've tried and I've tried just about every portable on the market. This is what matters to me, i can enjoy my music now. The 51ps do that for me unlike any other one I've tried.
 
Beyerdynamic make amazing headphones but they did drop the ball on the 1350s. I owned 3 and they were all different, some had more clamping than the others, one of them was so stiff the cups barely rotated at all and another one was so lose it would move around while i held it in my hand. That's terrible quality control. What's even worse is that there are two variants of the 1350s and its a crapshoot which one you will receive when you order. Easily the worst experience i had looking around for the perfect headphone. This bad experience turned me off to Beyer and only gave them a shot again with the 51Ps due to MacedonianHero's recommendations and boy am i glad i did.
 
May 12, 2014 at 8:39 AM Post #2,167 of 4,373
 
I find the T51Ps better in every frequency...but then in hifi its a matter of preference and the 51Ps sound much fuller/open/life like with the music i listen to making them far more engaging and enjoyable than any headphone I've tried and I've tried just about every portable on the market. This is what matters to me, i can enjoy my music now. The 51ps do that for me unlike any other one I've tried.
 
Beyerdynamic make amazing headphones but they did drop the ball on the 1350s. I owned 3 and they were all different, some had more clamping than the others, one of them was so stiff the cups barely rotated at all and another one was so lose it would move around while i held it in my hand. That's terrible quality control. What's even worse is that there are two variants of the 1350s and its a crapshoot which one you will receive when you order. Easily the worst experience i had looking around for the perfect headphone. This bad experience turned me off to Beyer and only gave them a shot again with the 51Ps due to MacedonianHero's recommendations and boy am i glad i did.

 
Thats of course unfortunate and does not induce faith in Beyers quality control... Maybe I was just lucky I guess.
 
In the end of course the only thing that counts is enjoying ones music... a fact that often hides behind technical discussions, which I only see as a means to an end. I still enjoy my DT1350 a bit more than my T51p, though the latter is so much more comfortable that I often take it with me when I don't need my work headphones.
 
May 12, 2014 at 11:22 PM Post #2,168 of 4,373
MH, my T51P's went back today. Amazing comfort, great isolation, and a great sound. But they were mislabelled (as DT1350's), and more importantly, the sound was a bit off for me. Just a wee bit too much mid-bass, which at times I felt led to some congestion and lack of transparency. Otherwise I really liked them, and as an overall package they are excellent, so they are indeed a worthy "portable" solution.
 
I am really loving the sound of the DT1350's though, and they seem to be getting more comfortable every day, so there is a good chance that I will be keeping them.
 
This experience has also re-kindled my love affair with my M500's. For some reason I had it in my head that I would be selling them, but this abcd'ing procedure has re-affirmed for me how great they sound, and how comfortable they are. So I might end up with 2 pairs of portables. Actually three, because I won't be getting rid of the Mikros 90's either - they also sound quite amazing to me. The main problem I have with them is their comfort, but due to their sound and their crazy cheap price, I won't be parting with them.
 
Hmm, do I really need 3 pairs of portable headphones??? Crazy hobby lol.
 
May 12, 2014 at 11:26 PM Post #2,169 of 4,373
  MH, my T51P's went back today. Amazing comfort, great isolation, and a great sound. But they were mislabelled (as DT1350's), and more importantly, the sound was a bit off for me. Just a wee bit too much mid-bass, which at times I felt led to some congestion and lack of transparency. Otherwise I really liked them, and as an overall package they are excellent, so they are indeed a worthy "portable" solution.
 
I am really loving the sound of the DT1350's though, and they seem to be getting more comfortable every day, so there is a good chance that I will be keeping them.
 
This experience has also re-kindled my love affair with my M500's. For some reason I had it in my head that I would be selling them, but this abcd'ing procedure has re-affirmed for me how great they sound, and how comfortable they are. So I might end up with 2 pairs of portables. Actually three, because I won't be getting rid of the Mikros 90's either - they also sound quite amazing to me. The main problem I have with them is their comfort, but due to their sound and their crazy cheap price, I won't be parting with them.
 
Hmm, do I really need 3 pairs of portable headphones??? Crazy hobby lol.

Agreed on the last point....I might be looking at selling some of mine too.
 
May 13, 2014 at 11:23 AM Post #2,171 of 4,373
  MH, my T51P's went back today. Amazing comfort, great isolation, and a great sound. But they were mislabelled (as DT1350's), and more importantly, the sound was a bit off for me. Just a wee bit too much mid-bass, which at times I felt led to some congestion and lack of transparency. Otherwise I really liked them, and as an overall package they are excellent, so they are indeed a worthy "portable" solution.
 
I am really loving the sound of the DT1350's though, and they seem to be getting more comfortable every day, so there is a good chance that I will be keeping them.
 
(...)
 
Hmm, do I really need 3 pairs of portable headphones??? Crazy hobby lol.

 
Thats exactly how I feel about T51p vs. DT1350. Though I'll keep my T51p... Crazy hobby indeed :wink:
 
May 13, 2014 at 1:25 PM Post #2,172 of 4,373
MacedonianHero,
 
I'm a long time fan of yours.  Two years ago, based on your feedback, I purchased the high-end Ultrasone (Signature Pro, Edition 8).  I liked them a lot, and at the time, I thought that they were the best closed headphones I had heard other than the TH900.  Since then, we've had excellent mid-fi headphones like the Momentums, DT1350s, etc. come out.  I've spent a lot of my time with the HD800 and LCD3s.
 
I just got the NAD Viso HP50 and I'm blown away.  Has mid-fi really come this far?  Based on my recollections, I feel like the HP50 might be better than the Ultrasones in terms of accuracy, detail, and even bass!  i have been impressed with the Momentums and DT1350s as well.
 
I'm sad that there is still such a huge gap between mid-fi closed headphones and the TH900, LCD XC summit-fi headphones which are too large to be portable.  As someone who suffers from a lot of ear pain with IEMs, I'm really disappointed there isn't a portable summit-fi closed headphone.
 
What do you think of the current headphone landscape?  Is there any headphone you are looking forward to?
 
May 13, 2014 at 1:38 PM Post #2,173 of 4,373
  MacedonianHero,
 
I'm a long time fan of yours.  Two years ago, based on your feedback, I purchased the high-end Ultrasone (Signature Pro, Edition 8).  I liked them a lot, and at the time, I thought that they were the best closed headphones I had heard other than the TH900.  Since then, we've had excellent mid-fi headphones like the Momentums, DT1350s, etc. come out.  I've spent a lot of my time with the HD800 and LCD3s.
 
I just got the NAD Viso HP50 and I'm blown away.  Has mid-fi really come this far?  Based on my recollections, I feel like the HP50 might be better than the Ultrasones in terms of accuracy, detail, and even bass!  i have been impressed with the Momentums and DT1350s as well.
 
I'm sad that there is still such a huge gap between mid-fi closed headphones and the TH900, LCD XC summit-fi headphones which are too large to be portable.  As someone who suffers from a lot of ear pain with IEMs, I'm really disappointed there isn't a portable summit-fi closed headphone.
 
What do you think of the current headphone landscape?  Is there any headphone you are looking forward to?

 
Well... I know this is not directed to me (lol) but I feel that MrSpeakers Alpha Dogs do most of what the LCD-XCs do at a very low price and Ultrasone Signature DJs are excellent if you want a V-shape/TH900 full bodied type of sound. These are not exactly "mid-fi" (or maybe they are!?!?) but at least they are more portable than both the XC and TH900 and sound good to boot. I really believe that both Ultrasone Signature DJ or Signature Pro are probably what you are looking for as portable "summit-fi" headphones...
 
May 13, 2014 at 2:26 PM Post #2,174 of 4,373
I haven't tried the Signature DJs yet, but I feel like the Ultrasone Edition 8 and Signature Pro might be closer to mid-fi in terms of sound now.  It's not because they aren't outstanding headphones... it's because more and more mid-fi headphones are delivering exceptional sound.
 
I remember when the ridiculously large Sony CD3000 was the last word in closed headphones.  I'm glad this hobby keeps evolving!
 
Definitely intrigued by the Alpha Dogs.
 
May 13, 2014 at 8:56 PM Post #2,175 of 4,373
  MacedonianHero,
 
I'm a long time fan of yours.  Two years ago, based on your feedback, I purchased the high-end Ultrasone (Signature Pro, Edition 8).  I liked them a lot, and at the time, I thought that they were the best closed headphones I had heard other than the TH900.  Since then, we've had excellent mid-fi headphones like the Momentums, DT1350s, etc. come out.  I've spent a lot of my time with the HD800 and LCD3s.
 
I just got the NAD Viso HP50 and I'm blown away.  Has mid-fi really come this far?  Based on my recollections, I feel like the HP50 might be better than the Ultrasones in terms of accuracy, detail, and even bass!  i have been impressed with the Momentums and DT1350s as well.
 
I'm sad that there is still such a huge gap between mid-fi closed headphones and the TH900, LCD XC summit-fi headphones which are too large to be portable.  As someone who suffers from a lot of ear pain with IEMs, I'm really disappointed there isn't a portable summit-fi closed headphone.
 
What do you think of the current headphone landscape?  Is there any headphone you are looking forward to?

 
It really is amazing how far we've come from the days when the Ed.8s were considered the be all closed/portable headphone. I like the HP50s better sonically...and I don't have to worry about losing a $1500-2000 pair of headphones when I leave the house. 
wink.gif
 I wouldn't consider either the TH900 or LCD-XC as "portable" headphones, but that said, I'm still eager to try the new Focal headphones, they look like real winners and of course as gelocks mentioned, the Alpha Dogs are definitely on my list too. 
smile.gif

 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top