[dweaver]

I would love to hear your take on the K545 regardless of where they would end up on your charts.

For me I place them slightly above the H6 and P7 and a tie with the HP50. The HP50 being better if you prefer stronger lower mids and the K545 being better if you prefer stronger upper mids. This of course is my take in them. But I would love to hear your more extensive listening experience opinion of them.

 

[imackler]

Thanks for the update, MacedonianHero! Do you listen to much classical, or more specifically string quartets or cello? If so, which of the top three would you give the nod to with that kind of music? I always find a well-recorded cello reveals so much about a pair of headphones' capabilities. 

 

[roguegeek]

This thread continues to be a delight to read. Keep up the great work!

 

[Havre]

Great update.
 
Just bought the P7 myself after testing many of the same headsets (+ Beyerdynamic T770 pro 32ohm and AKG K545).
 
Tend to agree with your rankings. Would have bought the HP50 if it hadn't been for the ear cups being slightly too small - or should I say too shallow as my right ear was touching the driver (my left was just OK). Great sound especially considering the price. In my opinion the design looks rather stupid though, but I could live with that as I don't by headsets to look "cool" anyway.
 
Really liked the Momentum as well, but as for many others the fit on those are just so random. Partly on ear and partly over ear. Worst fitting "premium" headset I have ever tried, but I guess that is fairly individual. As mentioned not key to me, but they are by far the best looking and most portable to me (having around your neck). I actually love how they look.
 
Never tried the H6 so ended up with the P7. Not a bass junky, but it sounded like H6 would have a bit too little for me. For example I found the T770 boring. And I'm not a big fan of round ear cups. Seems so pointless to me as few ears are round.
 
P7 are not worth the money compared to HP50 in my opinion, but they are just so much more comfortable with my head and ears. Not only the ear cups, but also the headband (not as good as Momentum though). With the "flat" HP50 ear band it rests on such a small area just on top of my head. As they are not exactly heavy I guess it could have been just within acceptable, but with the P7 I had none of these issues. Still don't understand why the P7 got such a thick and hard headband. Would have looked so much better if it had been slimmer and as it is so firm the thickness doesn't add any value in terms of comfort. Also would have liked memory foam. I can only guess they have used a different material because of the "space" it creates - which might have an effect on the sound. I don't know. In terms of comfort it certainly doesn't make any sense.

 

[dweaver]

Great update.

Just bought the P7 myself after testing many of the same headsets (+ Beyerdynamic T770 pro 32ohm and AKG K545).

Tend to agree with your rankings. Would have bought the HP50 if it hadn't been for the ear cups being slightly too small - or should I say too shallow as my right ear was touching the driver (my left was just OK). Great sound especially considering the price. In my opinion the design looks rather stupid though, but I could live with that as I don't by headsets to look "cool" anyway.

Really liked the Momentum as well, but as for many others the fit on those are just so random. Partly on ear and partly over ear. Worst fitting "premium" headset I have ever tried, but I guess that is fairly individual. As mentioned not key to me, but they are by far the best looking and most portable to me (having around your neck). I actually love how they look.

Never tried the H6 so ended up with the P7. Not a bass junky, but it sounded like H6 would have a bit too little for me. For example I found the T770 boring. And I'm not a big fan of round ear cups. Seems so pointless to me as few ears are round.

P7 are not worth the money compared to HP50 in my opinion, but they are just so much more comfortable with my head and ears. Not only the ear cups, but also the headband (not as good as Momentum though). With the "flat" HP50 ear band it rests on such a small area just on top of my head. As they are not exactly heavy I guess it could have been just within acceptable, but with the P7 I had none of these issues. Still don't understand why the P7 got such a thick and hard headband. Would have looked so much better if it had been slimmer and as it is so firm the thickness doesn't add any value in terms of comfort. Also would have liked memory foam. I can only guess they have used a different material because of the "space" it creates - which might have an effect on the sound. I don't know. In terms of comfort it certainly doesn't make any sense.

how did you like the K545 in comparison to the rest?

 

[GREQ]

I would love to hear your take on the K545 regardless of where they would end up on your charts.

For me I place them slightly above the H6 and P7 and a tie with the HP50. The HP50 being better if you prefer stronger lower mids and the K545 being better if you prefer stronger upper mids. This of course is my take in them. But I would love to hear your more extensive listening experience opinion of them.

I don't entirely agree with this. I felt it's neutrality was almost on par with the H6 and has one of the biggest soundstages of all the headphones in the list (that I've heard), but not as resolving as any of the top 5 (apart from the NAD which I havn't auditioned yet, so can't comment).
As a whole package, it has many strengths (comfort, isolation, build/aesthetics) which I think are better than most of them (apart from the ugly green colour) but in sound there is about 5-10% missing to get into the top 5. 
 
To get even more complicated:
As a whole package I'd easily place it above the MDR-1R, PSB M4U2 and tentatively above the B&W P7 (too much clamping force!) but not the Momentum, KEF and B&O.

 

[swiftus]

Great comparison MH, this thread has become my go-to in deciding what pair of phones to go for next. Would love to see where the On1s, Mikros 90s, K545s, and T51Ps fit!

 

[Beagle]

K545 = sweet music!

 

[Lan647]

I don't get why clamping is such an issue with the P7, if they don't loosen up enough for you just stretch the headband a little bit and never worry about it again. 
 
And thanks for the update, MH! Great work!

 

[coolguyalex]

Thank you so much for the update! I'll be going down to headphonic later this week so that I can try the HP50s, M500s, M4U1/2 and Momentums. It's either one of those, or the H6s at this stage.
 
Quote:

  Great update.
 
Just bought the P7 myself after testing many of the same headsets (+ Beyerdynamic T770 pro 32ohm and AKG K545).
 
Tend to agree with your rankings. Would have bought the HP50 if it hadn't been for the ear cups being slightly too small - or should I say too shallow as my right ear was touching the driver (my left was just OK). Great sound especially considering the price. In my opinion the design looks rather stupid though, but I could live with that as I don't by headsets to look "cool" anyway.
 
Really liked the Momentum as well, but as for many others the fit on those are just so random. Partly on ear and partly over ear. Worst fitting "premium" headset I have ever tried, but I guess that is fairly individual. As mentioned not key to me, but they are by far the best looking and most portable to me (having around your neck). I actually love how they look.
 
Never tried the H6 so ended up with the P7. Not a bass junky, but it sounded like H6 would have a bit too little for me. For example I found the T770 boring. And I'm not a big fan of round ear cups. Seems so pointless to me as few ears are round.
 
P7 are not worth the money compared to HP50 in my opinion, but they are just so much more comfortable with my head and ears. Not only the ear cups, but also the headband (not as good as Momentum though). With the "flat" HP50 ear band it rests on such a small area just on top of my head. As they are not exactly heavy I guess it could have been just within acceptable, but with the P7 I had none of these issues. Still don't understand why the P7 got such a thick and hard headband. Would have looked so much better if it had been slimmer and as it is so firm the thickness doesn't add any value in terms of comfort. Also would have liked memory foam. I can only guess they have used a different material because of the "space" it creates - which might have an effect on the sound. I don't know. In terms of comfort it certainly doesn't make any sense.

If the P7s had memory foam I would most likely buy them. But they are a bit heavier than the other models and clamping was an issue for me. A shame really..

 

[Trunks159]

Urg, the H6 looks prefect for me. Too bad it costs so much. The K545 seems like it'll have a similar sound with a little more bass.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Awesome MH! Great work (in spite of my beloved m500's getting knocked down a few notches!). Oh well, no shortage of headphones to try

 
Thanks!

  Thanks for the nice big update!
I'm really glad to see the B&O H6 so high on that list. 
When I auditioned it when it came out, I KNEW it was great, but many on headfi were saying "where's the bass" and "it's not as good as the Momentum" etc
So now I know I'm not crazy. 
 
I'd buy a pair of them if they weren't so expensive and I was crazy enough to own more than one fashion/portable headphone.

 
They're really great headphones...and unlike the Momentums, the bass is neutral and tight...not overblown and a bit flabby. 

I would love to hear your take on the K545 regardless of where they would end up on your charts.

For me I place them slightly above the H6 and P7 and a tie with the HP50. The HP50 being better if you prefer stronger lower mids and the K545 being better if you prefer stronger upper mids. This of course is my take in them. But I would love to hear your more extensive listening experience opinion of them.

 
The K545s are on my radar for sure.
 

  Thanks for the update, MacedonianHero! Do you listen to much classical, or more specifically string quartets or cello? If so, which of the top three would you give the nod to with that kind of music? I always find a well-recorded cello reveals so much about a pair of headphones' capabilities. 

I listen to classical for approximately 10% fo the time. For cello and strings, any of the top three here would be fantastic to my ears.
 

  Great comparison MH, this thread has become my go-to in deciding what pair of phones to go for next. Would love to see where the On1s, Mikros 90s, K545s, and T51Ps fit!

Thanks...actually the Mikros, K545s and T51p's are on my list to add. 

 

[Beagle]

Urg, the H6 looks prefect for me. Too bad it costs so much. The K545 seems like it'll have a similar sound with a little more bass.

 
...and you would be correct sir. That's how I would describe the K545. H6 is a bit more spacious however.....and the pad/ear fit less problematic, since they go right around the ear.

 

[dweaver]

Size and fit, I would go P7 then H6, then K545, then HP50

 

[eron]

Dear MacedonianHero,
 
Now that this thread has been renamed to read "Top", instead of "mid-range", what's your comments on the Ultrasone Edition 8 in comparison to these reviewed headphones? 
I remember that you used to rate the Ed8 quite highly.