[gideonMorrison]

I'm a proud owner of a SR80, quite new to the whole audiophile scene and eager to spend a lot more money to this hobby/addiction. It truly is.

I thought it would be interesting to start a thread about (hopefully not sticky somewhere, or previously started?) defining the signature sounds of brands such as: Beyerdynamic, Ultrasone, Grado etc...

How would you describe the sound that they produce and how they compare to each other?

Until now I love the 'Grado sound', sometimes they produce a rather bright and forward sound, then again...they cost me only $80. I believe a worthy first investment.

...Go!

 

[Seba]

I have compared my new RS-1's to my RS-2's and have to agree that RS-2's are towards Alessandro's sound sig because of their very smooth sound. And they indeed sound very similar to MS-1's but everything is just better.

RS-1's on the other hand reminds me of my old SR-225's and they sometimes have so piercing highs that it affects my hearing if I listen them too loud.

 

[gideonMorrison]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seba /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have compared my new RS-1's to my RS-2's and have to agree that RS-2's are towards Alessandro's sound sig because of their very smooth sound. And they indeed sound very similar to MS-1's but everything is just better. RS-1's on the other hand reminds me of my old SR-225's and they sometimes have so piercing highs that it affects my hearing if I listen them too loud.

Hehe, I'm looking into the 325i's... They will probably be my next pair. Have to sell my sr80's first though

 

[spronkey]

My personal experience is that the Grado sound is lively, punchy, warm, and brittle, but not encompassing, flowing, or smooth.

The Sennheiser sound that I've heard seems to have three distinct groups, given the cans I've heard:

1. HD600 / HD580 / HD595 (somewhat) / HD201 / PX100 / MX400:
   Very warm, smooth, liquid-esque, slightly rolled off but still detailed, very encompassing, LAID BACK and RELAXED.
2. HD280Pro / HD201 (to some extent)
   Slightly cold, analytical, heavily detailed, opposite of airy.
3. HD595 (somewhat, not airy - bloated) / HD215 / HD212Pro / HD202 / EH250
   Warm, very airy (can hear noise in recordings and static buzz and the likes very clearly - sounds like you're in a different kind of room to the others), bloated sound, strangely though not much heavy detail in the highs, and recessed mids. Also laid back and relaxed.

The AKG sound I've heard is all the same, closed or open. Amazing, natural midrange, emphasis on detail and precision as opposed to warmth. They're also punchy, but not *too* punchy.

The Philips sound (at least in their cans that I've heard - HP250, SHP895) is a mix between AKG and Grado. Neutral - not warm nor cold, reasonably analytical, but nice midrange and good tone.

I've never listened to Beyerdynamics or Ultrasone, and only D40fs Audio-Technicas which probably doesn't represent their sound particularly well!

Cans I've listened to (that I can remember) that give me the above opinions:
Senn HD600, HD580, HD595, HD280Pro, HD270, HD215, HD212Pro, HD202, HD201, EH250, PX100, PX200, MX400. AKG K701, K601, K530, K340 (new one), K171, K141, K81dj, K27i
Grado: SR80, SR60
Philips: SHP895, HP250

 

[denl82]

My favorite headphones happen to be made by Beyerdynamic. I've heard/owned the DTX 900, the DT770/80, DT 880'05'250, and now the DT 150. One characteristic that they all share is bright, sometimes peaky highs. I believe this is a recurring trait in these particular headphones, because I guess the Beyer engineers wanted highs that are sparkly, instead of recessed and boring.

Another feature that these four headphones definitely share is a large, encompassing soundstage. Both the DTX 900 and the DT 880 are open cans, so one is to expect at least a decent soundstage. But heck, the closed DT770 and DT 150 also have large soundstages. And while the dt770 doesn't have the exact amount of airiness one can definitely hear in its open cousins, the DT 150 definitely brings together a wide, open soundstage, and air, all in a closed headphone. It even sports heavy bass too, proving that one can have the normal strengths of a closed can(nice bass), while exhibiting the strengths of open headphones(soundstage and air).

I guess the last thing these Beyer cans have in their blood is bass that sounds a little like a subwoofer. Not just impact only, which the dt770 has in abundance, but in tone. The bass of the three mentioned headphones(I didn't get time to burn-in the DTX 900 fully), has this dark tone, something that makes even low-mid-bass sound like bass under 100 hz.

Personally, if Beyer decided to make an uber-high-end can, I'll be all over it(God willing), because I know for a fact that Beyercans are good