[Trunks159]

If I prefer a ton of pepperoni and salse, ill take less cheese. I'd just go to a pizza shop for more cheese.

All headphones have coloration,and I feel flat is best (perhaps more bass). However, I don't see why a bright sound signature is any different than one with recessed mids.

 

[bixby]

The Momentum on-ear deserve to be in this guide as well IMO! Here's by short impression though:

The build quality itself is very impressive. The luxury touch you get! <3 but the cable is slightly on the thin side. As for sound, I find them pretty clear with quite a lot of emphasis on bass although not more than Philips X1. It's bass somewhat reminds me of the UE4000; well controlled and tight. Mids on the Momentum On-Ear is very warm. It's too warm for some of the tracks that it produce slight muddy sound to it. I can also hear that at some point of the mids, it's slightly recessed making some of the instruments to fall behind the music and I think it's the only one out of two weak point of this headphone. The other downside which I could think of would be the soundstage, I feel like I am in a rather small room with the artist and all the instruments playing right in front of me. It may not be the most detailed headphone at it's price range but I do find it decently detailed. When I read some others' impressions, I though the resolution will be a lottttttt more worse than the original Momentum but I find it great for it's price!

All in all, I love how it sound for the price except for the soundstage and recessed mids (somewhere mids, can't tell which part is it

) . I also find this headphone to be great for those whose looking for a lil bit of more bass presence in a portable package. Best genre for this headphone would be Hip hop, rap, pop, EDM.

The rig I use for this comparison:
iPhone 4 -> LOD -> FiiO E07K

On the side note, I prefer this better than the X1... I am not impressed by it except for it's big bass in open headphones.

Billson

Funny, I guess we all hear differently.   I must say my opinion differs.
 
I spent some time with them at RMAF and only spent about 10 minutes with them.  By Choice!  I thought they were no where near as good overall as the Momentums even with the Mo's phat bass and lower mid fuzz.  What are they charging for the on the ears, $200 ish.  I have heard a lot of portable cans that have a much more honest presentation than the Mo otes.
 
Heck even the UE 6000 at $100 would get my vote.  If one likes the Senn house sound overall you need to try the HD26 Pros.  For a little over $300 you will get a fairly neutral can with much more real mids and worthy to compete with other under $300 portables.

 

[BillsonChang007]

The Momentum on-ear does have share a lot more weak point if you compare it against the Momentum. However, I personally do not think that it's resolution are that that compared to Momentum.

*updated my last post to add some details I forgot to add xD

 

[zorin]

If I prefer a ton of pepperoni and salse, ill take less cheese. I'd just go to a pizza shop for more cheese.

All headphones have coloration,and I feel flat is best (perhaps more bass). However, I don't see why a bright sound signature is any different than one with recessed mids.

A - It is the cheese, or the lack of it, that makes or breaks the taste of pizza, like the well presented middle frequencies make headphones to be proper headphones. You can go to pizza shop to ask for more cheese [ and even doing this would be an unnecessary annoyance, why not getting a proper pizza in the first place ?] but you cannot go to the manufacturer and ask for better mids to be added, especially if you listen to an album that is mastered in a way that the singer and instruments are obscured by an excessive bass or treble.
The double problem of low volume of the vocals and instruments of a particular album AND recessed / weak middle frequencies of particular headphones makes for an insufferable listening experience in which the music is literally sucked out from the audio signal and what is left is bang, boom and thump. A lot of the today's albums, especially those of the popular modern variety of negro inspired sound of drum bang and bass thump are recorded in a way that increases the amount of volume of bass and bang when the tracks are put together in the final mastering. To listen to this kind of recordings with headphones that play the middle frequencies on reduced volume means to wear a double set of earplugs when listening to what is supposed to be a balanced sound. Doesn't this fact defeats the purpose of having headphones in the first place ? Why spend the money on and have an instrument that mutilates the presentation of music ? 
B - You are mixing categories, or phenomena when contrasting bright sound signature and recessed mids. Particular headphones can have a balanced frequencies presentation and at the same time sound 'bright'. Balanced in this case means that the sound across the frequencies, from the bass to the treble, is played, to the best possibility, at the equal level of the sound pressure or volume. In fact, when next time you go to listen to a live music event, listen carefully how the treble defines and delineates the sound of voices and of instruments. The normal live music, and thus the music in general, is naturally 'bright', it has a mild tinge of sharpness to it.
For many people 'brightness' means that the sound has a normal treble. For others 'brightness' means that the treble portion of the sound has above normal level of volume which deviates from the level of volume of the other frequencies. The headphones with the increased unbalanced level of treble, above what is tolerable, are substandard and defective headphones. Similarly, headphones which have decreased and unbalanced levels of volume of the middle frequencies, are also substandard and defective headphones. 
There should be two designations, or two classes of, describing headphones, normal and good ones with the balanced or equal  sound pressure level or volume across the frequency spectrum from the bass to the treble and substandard / defective ones with the unbalanced presentation of sound. Three deciBel and more drop of the SPL of the substantial portion of the middle frequencies would be a good measuring stick to decide into which category particular headphones would belong to. 
I cannot understand the point of someone buying headphones that present sound with recessed middle frequencies. Just so that bass can stand out more ? Then what is the bass knob of an amplifier for ? One can always crank up the bass end of the spectrum, but there is no amplifier with a true middle frequencies knob, one cannot lift up the middle frequencies, Hertz by Hertz. These days one can also buy a portable amplifier with the bass knob and it can be turned all the way up until the music disappears and what is left is a bass swamp. There is no need to buy defective headphones.

 

[dragoonv]

why is M100 not in this review?

 

[BillsonChang007]

why is M100 not in this review?

There are way too many headphones out there to compare if you ask me xD

 

[Beagle]

 

  Getting shortchanged by the sound presentation of headphones with the recessed mids is a big and genuine reason to classify this kind of headphones as not good enough. Which pizza would you choose, the one with solid amount of cheese and toppings or the one on which the cheating baker put less cheese than is needed ? Would you have said, -  "Hey, this pizza is great, there is not enough cheese on it [not enough volume on middle frequencies] and so it does not taste as good as it should, but the guy put on it an extra amount of pepperoni [bass] to fool me so I am very happy with what I am eating ?"

 

[BillsonChang007]

Zorin, I 100% agree with you when you say that headphone with recessed mids is a big and genuine reason to classify this kind of headphones as not good enough.

 

[Minarets]

i just don't get the pizza correlation.  the cheese isn't what makes a pizza for "me".  i am a crust guy, so whomever has the best crust and decent toppings, i like it.  my wife likes the sauce the best. she has completely different taste than me and prefers a different pizza joint, because of the sauce they use.  neither one of us care much about the cheese.  
 
does this work for headphones?  

 

[BillsonChang007]

i just don't get the pizza correlation.  the cheese isn't what makes a pizza for "me".  i am a crust guy, so whomever has the best crust and decent toppings, i like it.  my wife likes the sauce the best. she has completely different taste than me and prefers a different pizza joint, because of the sauce they use.  neither one of us care much about the cheese.  

does this work for headphones?  

+1! My homemade pizza have no cheese

 

[Trunks159]

  i just don't get the pizza correlation.  the cheese isn't what makes a pizza for "me".  i am a crust guy, so whomever has the best crust and decent toppings, i like it.  my wife likes the sauce the best. she has completely different taste than me and prefers a different pizza joint, because of the sauce they use.  neither one of us care much about the cheese.  
 
does this work for headphones?  

Cheese FTW!  How do you people eat pizza?  Your proving my point, even if you don't know it lol.

 

[Beagle]

The UE4k is another headphone worth mentioning... To SOME people, eg, my brother, will like the Ue4k better than UE6k..

 
How are the crust and tomato sauce on these?

 

[BillsonChang007]

How are the crust and tomato sauce on these?

Tons of it! Don't forget about Tuna source! ^_^

 

[jjcoolaus]

I've only just read the first post of this thread today, but haven't read all 74 pages!
 
Out of MacedonianHero's list I have the PSB M4U2 and the Bose QC15.
 
The Bose QC15 is what I use when travelling, as they really do have superb comfort and isolation. I have 2 gripes about this headphone:
 
1) The QC15s are supposed to have an integrated amplifier, but it must be tiny because driven by smart phones like the Samsung Galaxy S and Note lines, if you have rooted and modified the system files to boost the volume, then they have enough power to drive these headphones, but most people using those smartphones in the stock configuration wouldn't bother with all that. For that's your main source on a plane look at the PSB M4U2's instead. (The Nexus 7 is another example of a source with a low volume output)
The HTC One on the other hand drives the QC15s just fine.
 
2) Related to number 1, the QC15s really need an equalizer in my opinion to get the best out of them. Unfortunately, especially if you like bass, this limits the volume even further.
 
I like the QC15s, they are incredibly comfortable, but if your headphone jack output is a bit lacking, you will need a separate amp. The carrying case for the QC15 is fantastic and they have great battery life as well.
 
The PSB M4U2 is another great headphone, and as it has a (decent) inbuilt amplifier, i haven't been able to find a source that can't give you ample volume. These are great but I have 2 main problems with them:
1) The headphone itself feels quite heavy and as someone with a large head + wears glasses, these can get uncomfortable after long listening sessions too.
 
2) The carrying case is massive and the headphones don't sit in there as nicely as what i'd like. This detracts from their portability a bit (so much that i've never actually used the carrying case)
 
The included accessories are great, except they forgot one tiny thing - a replacement battery cover. I have tried contacting the company directly and they put me on to a reseller in Australia to get a battery cover replacement, but I haven't been able to get one as yet.
 
You'd think that someone in Asia could make one for about $1 but apparently not. The batteries hold firm in side the headphone anyway, but I don't like hot sun against them in summer (makes the batteries warm up quite a bit) and it just looks wrong - i feel self conscious about these headphones when i'm walking down the street with no battery cover on the side. I'd use these headphones a lot more often if i could find a replacement cover (or the original for that matter). For that reason (no battery cover) I would probably never use these on a plane.
 
Instead next time i fly i'll give the Fiio E12 a try with them, if I haven't purchased the JDS Labs C5 before then. (I decided the iBasso T5 is completely useless with the QC15 on my last trip away)

 

[Trunks159]

  A - It is the cheese, or the lack of it, that makes or breaks the taste of pizza, like the well presented middle frequencies make headphones to be proper headphones. You can go to pizza shop to ask for more cheese [ and even doing this would be an unnecessary annoyance, why not getting a proper pizza in the first place ?] but you cannot go to the manufacturer and ask for better mids to be added, especially if you listen to an album that is mastered in a way that the singer and instruments are obscured by an excessive bass or treble.
The double problem of low volume of the vocals and instruments of a particular album AND recessed / weak middle frequencies of particular headphones makes for an insufferable listening experience in which the music is literally sucked out from the audio signal and what is left is bang, boom and thump. A lot of the today's albums, especially those of the popular modern variety of negro inspired sound of drum bang and bass thump are recorded in a way that increases the amount of volume of bass and bang when the tracks are put together in the final mastering. To listen to this kind of recordings with headphones that play the middle frequencies on reduced volume means to wear a double set of earplugs when listening to what is supposed to be a balanced sound. Doesn't this fact defeats the purpose of having headphones in the first place ? Why spend the money on and have an instrument that mutilates the presentation of music ? 
B - You are mixing categories, or phenomena when contrasting bright sound signature and recessed mids. Particular headphones can have a balanced frequencies presentation and at the same time sound 'bright'. Balanced in this case means that the sound across the frequencies, from the bass to the treble, is played, to the best possibility, at the equal level of the sound pressure or volume. In fact, when next time you go to listen to a live music event, listen carefully how the treble defines and delineates the sound of voices and of instruments. The normal live music, and thus the music in general, is naturally 'bright', it has a mild tinge of sharpness to it.
For many people 'brightness' means that the sound has a normal treble. For others 'brightness' means that the treble portion of the sound has above normal level of volume which deviates from the level of volume of the other frequencies. The headphones with the increased unbalanced level of treble, above what is tolerable, are substandard and defective headphones. Similarly, headphones which have decreased and unbalanced levels of volume of the middle frequencies, are also substandard and defective headphones. 
There should be two designations, or two classes of, describing headphones, normal and good ones with the balanced or equal  sound pressure level or volume across the frequency spectrum from the bass to the treble and substandard / defective ones with the unbalanced presentation of sound. Three deciBel and more drop of the SPL of the substantial portion of the middle frequencies would be a good measuring stick to decide into which category particular headphones would belong to. 
I cannot understand the point of someone buying headphones that present sound with recessed middle frequencies. Just so that bass can stand out more ? Then what is the bass knob of an amplifier for ? One can always crank up the bass end of the spectrum, but there is no amplifier with a true middle frequencies knob, one cannot lift up the middle frequencies, Hertz by Hertz. These days one can also buy a portable amplifier with the bass knob and it can be turned all the way up until the music disappears and what is left is a bass swamp. There is no need to buy defective headphones.

Your thinking of sucking out the mids to extreme levels.  Mid recession is any decrease in volume in the mid section relative to the highs and bass.  
 
Example: If the mids are way too emphasized, the song will not sound good (most likely) because of a lack of balance.  They would sound very dull and boring to say the least.
 
My point is this: the recession of mids can sound good (limitedly colored) as long as they don't take it too far.  Its just another signature, like recessed highs, or bass, so it's more of a preference thing.  I listen to J-Rock a lot it it sounds good on an M50, or a DT990.  You just have to learn how to appreciate all the signatures.