[Langrath]

Sorry. Double post.

Georg

 

[Langrath]

One problem about judging headphones is that most people don't have so much to compare with. Ok, I have had about 20 headphones, but the best headphones 10 years ago, are not the best today. If you really should compare then you should have ten of the best headphones today, but who can afford that? It is possible that I should like HD650 better if I had them. Then I also should have one or two Grados etc.
The only thing that is important to me is that I enjoy the music, and I do that with my HD595.
I don't know if I even would like to try HD650 and others. Why make me dissatisfied when I am satisfied now?
Some in this forum have more money and have tested nearly everything. It is of course difficult for me to contradict people, when they say that HD650 sounds better.
About fifteen years ago Jecklin Float two was the best headphone that I ever had heard. Today they sound acceptable, but not more.
I think it also can be a trap to be able to test everything. I think that my ambivalence would be total.
There is of course no right or wrong here. Even the guy who prefer PortaPro before HD595 is right. It is right for him.

Georg

 

[Tim D]

IMO Portapro's and the variants are really that good. These are cans that I *started* with and after going around the world and back, and hearing the KSC-75's for example, I am still amazed at how good those cans are. No offense meant towards Grado fans but I don't think I'd get the same feeling going back to some Grado's. The PortaPro's seem to measure to have pretty remarkable frequency response, distortion figures, and matched drivers for the price. Also the high frequency resolution IMO does beat the PX100, which is also a favorite. The only thing I don't like is in all these years and variants Koss never produced one in the form-factor that really appeals to me in contrast to the PX100 which aces that department.

That isn't to say I haven't heard better in more expensive high-end cans (although there are instances of worse IMO), but when you compare pound for pound and dollar for dollar, well I'm thinking of trying the KSC-55, the only variant I haven't tried yet. But all I really want is a normal headband phone from Koss that has a nice slim form factor like the PX-100.

 

[wallijonn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aman they are everything BUT the Grados. They have a more forward presentation, but the sound is too neutral - no excitement, no coloration, and warmth. Soundstage is unrealistic but detail is great - also extremely comfortable.

More forward the a Grado? I guess I would like the HD595 for exactly the same reasons you describe - neutral, non-coloured and warm. Obviously the warmth must mean that they are not bright. When you say that the sounstage is unrealistic - are you comparing them to Grado's soundstaging? I happen to think that the Grado soundstage is too collapsed. But that's just me. Or is it?

I can't listen for too long to headphones that are not neutral, coloured, hot and bright. (I conside "hot" a ramp up at about 1KHz - 5KHz, makes for great electronic guitars).

You're right, of course, if he doesn't like it, he doesn't like it; and he should get rid of them as soon as he can. If the original poster is only looking for hot pop / rock headphones then it is best if he sticks to what works for him, whether it be Porta Pros or Grados.

 

[pp312]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aman They have a more forward presentation, which is nice, but the sound is too neutral - no excitement, no coloration, and warmth.

Hmmm. This thread is begining to make more sense. Anyone see a pattern emerging?

 

[gsferrari]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pp312 Hmmm. This thread is begining to make more sense. Anyone see a pattern emerging?

yeah.

All the people who dont identify with the HD-595 sound are right. It is dry, cold and about as inviting as a swim in the ocean with a friendly great white

 

[Nak Man]

And I see one who failed his pattern recogntion test ...

 

[kamaurul]

Sorry for being a n00b here,

But to the people here who complain of no coloration/excitement/whatnot in these (and some other) cans, why don't you just use the equalizer to fix that?

Or do you prefer the cans themselves to do the equalizing for you?

 

[Langrath]

It is rather interesting that the main complaint on HD 595 is that they are too neutral.. The rule in HiFi otherwise is that the sound shall be just neutral. There is no valuation in my comment. I respect of course every taste in music listening. It is sooner courageous to admit that coloring is nice sometimes. In 70s there was no rule not to color music. Everybody used loudness on his or her amplifier.
I like coloring in portable. When walking with portable I want much bass. With HD595 I listen much to opera and musical. Here heavy bass is more disturbing than nice.
Sometimes I can hear an aggressive tone in this forum which headphone has best sound. That is of course absurd. Nobody can listen with others ears.

Georg

 

[SunByrne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kamaurul Or do you prefer the cans themselves to do the equalizing for you?

I think this is exactly what is going on; that is indeed precisely what some people want. Many people here want their headphones to be "exciting," to provide either additional bass or some emphasis in certain upper ranges. One completely reasonable solution to this would to buy very neutral headphones and apply EQ. Instead, however, their solution is to purchase headphones which are very colored and then to rip more neutral phones, and then furthermore denigrate people who would buy/defend more neutral phones for having the "wrong" taste in headphones. Been going on here for a while.

In their defense, EQ isn't always the right solution--sometimes EQ makes things sound kind of off, at least to me.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Langrath It is rather interesting that the main complaint on HD 595 is that they are too neutral.. The rule in HiFi otherwise is that the sound shall be just neutral.

Normal rules of hifi clearly do not apply to headphones. I mean that both sarcastically of the anti-neutrality crowd but also seriously. For instance, in non-headphone hifi, soundstaging and imaging are often considered highly important. Even the best headphones don't, by virtue of being strapped to one's head, do these things very well (though some, like the HD595s, do it a lot better than other things in their price class). So by the nature of the beast the criteria have to be somewhat different.

 

[Reck45]

Anyone know of any mods that would decrease the microphonic effect?

 

[nierika]

If the HD595s are too neutral then the HD650s are WAY too neutral!

 

[acs236]

Here's a long-winded question:

I think that I prefer a balanced sound, but I don't care for the 595. I hear them described as neutral -- and if neutral means, accurate and balanced, I'm all for it -- but I find the 595s to be, in a way, lifeless. The problem is that even on passages that should have more treble, the treble seems restrained. On passages that feature bass, the bass seems too retrained. In some ways, they sound flat even when they're not supposed to. So, finally, the question -- Are we talking around each other through the use of audio terms, such as neutral, flat, colored, etc? Or are we hearing things differently, or do we simply have different preferences?

 

[Langrath]

Quote:

Originally Posted by acs236 Here's a long-winded question: I think that I prefer a balanced sound, but I don't care for the 595. I hear them described as neutral -- and if neutral means, accurate and balanced, I'm all for it -- but I find the 595s to be, in a way, lifeless. The problem is that even on passages that should have more treble, the treble seems restrained. On passages that feature bass, the bass seems too retrained. In some ways, they sound flat even when they're not supposed to. So, finally, the question -- Are we talking around each other through the use of audio terms, such as neutral, flat, colored, etc? Or are we hearing things differently, or do we simply have different preferences?

I don’t say that it is so. But theoretically it could be so that the ears are adjusted to headphones that are too dynamic. If you then listen to a more neutral headphone, then that headphone sounds too flat.

Georg

 

[Earwax]

I don't understand all the "too neutral" comments. When I think of neutral, I think of accurate, which is a good thing.

Q for anyone who thinks the 5x5 is too neutral: Are they more or less neutral than the HD600s?