[MartyMcFly]

That being said, what is your take on comparing the HE-400 vs. the d5000? For the money, I heard the HE-400 are great. I'm not sure if the HE-500 is a better comparison to the d5000. Would you suggest exploring the HE-500 or the d5000 (mainly listening to EDM, alternative rock) or sticking with the HE-400s? IF the sound is justifiably better, I wouldn't mind spending the extra money. Since I am new to hi-fi, I don't want to overstep my experience level with pricey headphones until I can further develop my musical palette. 
 
 
Quote:

I think with the right amplification the HE-400 actually hits the bass notes better then the D2k. They satisfy my bass head side with room to spare out of my Lyr.

 

[MattTCG]

I compare the d5k against the he400. All things being said the he400 comes out on top still. For me, I don't feel that spending more money for the d5k or the he500 based on the criteria you're after. 
 
The he400 is one of the best bargains out there right now.

 

[olegausany]

Quote:

I compare the d5k against the he400. All things being said the he400 comes out on top still. For me, I don't feel that spending more money for the d5k or the he500 based on the criteria you're after. 
 
The he400 is one of the best bargains out there right now.

Completely agree plus their deep bass for classical or jazz is on par with D5000 but for comfort DD5000 are the one to get while some are OK with HE-400 comfort

 

[Fearless1]

I love my D5ks, they sound fantastic, but i would take the HE-400 over them for the reason of versatility  of the different genres of music i listen to. The He-400s do everything well, bass heavy hip-hop, r&b, folk/classical and rock. The HE-500 is in a different category as all of the mentioned head phones. they are ridiculously detailed and also have a prominent place in my collection, but i find myself reaching for the 400s more then any of my others. Like i said sound is subjective, the HE-400 is tuned to my liking and has given me a reason to enjoy my music collection all over again. 

 

[MartyMcFly]

All the arrows seem to be pointing towards the he400. I think I might have found my first pair of hi-fi headphones. 
 
For some reason, I would like to hear somebody's opinion on the Ultrasone Pro 900/2900. How do they stack up against the competition? To the people that own them or had experience with them: what types of music do these phones excel at playing?

 

[obobskivich]

I haven't heard the PRO900, but I spent some time with the PRO2900. I think they're a good performer in their own right, and overall a relatively good headphone. They're fairly quick, have lots of bass impact on-demand, and a good soundstage. The downside is that they will drive nails through your skull on demand, and they're very clampy. I think those downsides are probably minimal in the grand scheme of things, especially if you aren't A/B'ing them against lots of other headphones, or aren't bothered by hot treble. There's a certain "coldness" or "clash" that can characterize them though - it's not quite metallic, but they certainly can run white hot up top. They're also very unforgiving with bad recordings (which I think, given their proline marketing, is probably what Ultrasone was going for).

As far as what they do well at - I think they're fairly good at most things, I'm not a big believer in "one headphone per genre" or that sort of shopping. They are probably most special with electronic music, but they do just fine with rock, classical, etc. They're not quite as good as something like the RS-1 or ESP/950 (which are more expensive still), but they're better than quite a few other headphones out there (in that weird $600 range I'm not sure what else you'd consider competition...they're better than the T70, KH-K1000, at least competitive with the MDR-SA5000 (if not somewhat more enjoyable), no idea on the AT woodies and not sure what else is out there). And call me nuts, but I think they look kinda cool too.

 

[Fearless1]

Quote:

All the arrows seem to be pointing towards the he400. I think I might have found my first pair of hi-fi headphones. 
 
For some reason, I would like to hear somebody's opinion on the Ultrasone Pro 900/2900. How do they stack up against the competition? To the people that own them or had experience with them: what types of music do these phones excel at playing?

I could not get rid of my Pro 900 fast enough, they were cold and metallic sounding and no synergy with any of my amps, I may have not gave them enough of a chance but I could tell they were not for me. I like the Pro 2900 somewhat and keep it around for gaming, but to my ears they are also not very impressive.  Some folks on here seem to love the Ultrasone sound signature but it does not appeal to me personally.

 

[Oderi]

I'd like to add Mad Dogs by MrSpeakers to the list.
They're a modded Fostex T50RP, which is one of the cheapest planar magnetic/orthodynamic headphones available. Don't let that fool you, the driver is superb and by essentially redoing the casing by tuning the damping etc, they can be made into a very nice HP. I haven't heard any comparisons between them and the HE-400, but I own the D5000 and was going to up-/sidegrade to the HE400 until I stumbled upon the Mad Dogs. I received them today and have them burning in, will post some impressions and comparisons vs D5000 in due time. Some people have compared them to the LCD-2, and I even saw one person saying that he likes them more than his HD800's. Though that might mean he's not amping his HD800's properly.
Oh and the Mad Dogs sell for $263 including a special comfort headband.

 

[MartyMcFly]

Wow, I'm sorry to hear that. I had the impression that the Pro 900 was a good EDM headphone (from reading reviews), however I did read that the sound signature was a bit cold with a hint of sibilance. I figured the reason they sound that way is to separate the highs and mids from the lower frequency sounds. Otherwise, it would sound too warm and the mids would blend in with the highs, making the bass sound tame. I tend to like crisp electro sounds, but not piercing and fatiguing. I could be wrong, but I'm guessing the Pro 900 are too "trebley" with recessed mids? I wouldn't be bothered if the highs were bold, but recessed mids aren't my thing, especially if the sound is cold and metallic. 
 

I could not get rid of my Pro 900 fast enough, they were cold and metallic sounding and no synergy with any of my amps, I may have not gave them enough of a chance but I could tell they were not for me. I like the Pro 2900 somewhat and keep it around for gaming, but to my ears they are also not very impressive.  Some folks on here seem to love the Ultrasone sound signature but it does not appeal to me personally.

 

[MartyMcFly]

They sound like some serious headphones! I'll have to read up on those. Do they need to be modded further in order to be on par with the LCD-2, or are they ready to go out of the box? What kind of amp are you using with them?

I'd like to add Mad Dogs by MrSpeakers to the list.
They're a modded Fostex T50RP, which is one of the cheapest planar magnetic/orthodynamic headphones available. Don't let that fool you, the driver is superb and by essentially redoing the casing by tuning the damping etc, they can be made into a very nice HP. I haven't heard any comparisons between them and the HE-400, but I own the D5000 and was going to up-/sidegrade to the HE400 until I stumbled upon the Mad Dogs. I received them today and have them burning in, will post some impressions and comparisons vs D5000 in due time. Some people have compared them to the LCD-2, and I even saw one person saying that he likes them more than his HD800's. Though that might mean he's not amping his HD800's properly.
Oh and the Mad Dogs sell for $263 including a special comfort headband.

 

[jerg]

Quote:

 

 
Mad Dogs are reminiscent of LCD2s as they are tuned to have a similar FR curve to them. However bass-wise you won't get the "earspeaker"-level impact and effect that the larger-sized planars like Audezes or Hifimans have simply due to mechanical and structural limitations; it is, however, a massive bargain for a $250 pre-made headphone, just as HE-400s are a massive bargain at $400. They come pre-modded to the teeth so no worries on that end.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

 
Mad Dogs are reminiscent of LCD2s as they are tuned to have a similar FR curve to them. However bass-wise you won't get the "earspeaker"-level impact and effect that the larger-sized planars like Audezes or Hifimans have simply due to mechanical and structural limitations; it is, however, a massive bargain for a $250 pre-made headphone, just as HE-400s are a massive bargain at $400. They come pre-modded to the teeth so no worries on that end.

You might be able to send them back to Dan so he can give you the bass that you need.

 

[jerg]

Quote:

You might be able to send them back to Dan so he can give you the bass that you need.

 
Oh I'm just paraphrasing another user's experience with it (as well as his experience with numerous modded T50RPs in general), sorry I didn't clarify that.

 

[KneelJung]

I'll throw my 2 cents in too. I agree with Oderi, the Mad Dogs might be worth putting on your short list. I havent heard the Mad Dogs per se, but based on how my modded T50 sounds I'm sure it sounds awesome. I responded to an Oderi post in another thread with regard to looking forward to his impressions of the Mad Dogs versus his d5k's. I had the d2k's a while back and returned them to headroom. In a word I thought they were boring, YMMV. I actually preferred my SR60's to the d2000, but I'm not a bass head per se, and I preferred the forward mids of the SR60 to the slightly recessed mids of the d2k. Also I listen to a lot of bluesy guitar driven rock, and again the d2k's were just meh sounding IMO, too laid back, lacked the attack of a Grado. I'd love to hear that he400, I've been hearing a lot of great things. Lot's of Grado heads switching to ortho's. I know for me the curent incarnation of my T50 is fuller, warmer, and lusher than my hf2. I'd go with the he400 personally, but that's only because I already have a modded T50, wasnt to fond of the d2k, and never had any interest in the 650.

 

[olegausany]

@martymcfly Don't know if you already got it by reading about PRO900 but they have very unique sound signature cause of S-Logic technology which some people like some are just ok while others hate