[Nordwestlicht]

My opinion is that many good headphones just sound different, not better than the other competitors.
 
To me, the HD800 (+ EQ) is an exception. You can get out amazingly much from those headphones, if you use a good equalizer.
 
But e.g. for bassheads HD800 are not well suited.
 
Choosing the right headphone is very difficult according to my experience.
 
Every headphone has its niche and within that niche its own competitors.
 
The best headphones for classical music (for me) remains the HD800 followed by the bass-heavy version of AKG's K701/702/Q701.

 

[ohhgourami]

 
Quote:

Don't bother with the T50RPs unless you plan to mod them.  I'm loving mine so far, but I didn't love them until I started with the mods.  Before you mod them they sound like an good set of speakers set up in the bathroom.  The modding is the equivalent of room treatments.  The Beyers have pretty cold and lifeless mids to my ears.  They're plenty detailed, but they just sound "off" in a hard to describe way, of course other people disagree with me.  You might want to look and HD600s.  Their sound is centered on a smooth and detailed midrange with decent extension on both ends.
 
At first they might sound slower or less detailed than the Beyers but I think its really an illusion.  The 880s have a big spike in the high treble (about 9 or 10 kHz) that IMO is there to give a false impression of detail.  To me, it just makes things stand out from the rest of the mix in an unnatural way and make you think you're hearing a detail that isn't present on another 'phone when in fact that detail just isn't supposed to be prominent in the mix.
 
When you save up the cash, I would also wholeheartedly recommend the HE-6 over the T1 for the same reasons.

How much work and "trouble" would it be to mod the T50rp?  Modded to their full potential, how well do they compete with other cans (examples)?  I'll look more into the HD600s then as overlooked them before.  I will still leave the DT880 as a potential phone though.
 
I plan to have both the HE-6 and T1, but I'm definitely getting the HE-6 first

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

Alright. I was originally a lurker here (but only when I needed a pair of headphones), but now I gotta ask what headphones you guys think are right for me. In the process, I hope to show how much of a noob and loser I am, while still retaining invaluable information that will further my journey on the way to audiophiledom. Or something.
 
Musical Preferences
Well, the Japanese call them ballads, I have no idea what they're technically called in English, but songs carried by good vocals (preferably of the female variety), with accompaniment by classical instruments. (Except the genre isn't classical, or opera I don't think.) But this, above all else, must absolutely sound good.
I also listen to a lot of J-Rock and Techno/Trance, which I also want to sound good. Obviously, orchestral rock/orchestral techno must also sound good. J-Pop... isn't as important, but I still listen to it a lot too. Samples are as follows.
(Ballad) ALIVE, sung by Haruka Tomatsu
(J-Rock) JAP, by abingdon boys school
(Techno/Trance) Rise, sung by Origa
 
The budget is $180, hopefully lower, but I can go (a bit) higher. Looking for full-size cans, over the ear, circumaural preferred. It should be noted that unless you guys tell me Ultrasone HFI-780's are good for gaming, I will likely do a lot of gaming with these. Headphones should be collapsable and neckable, though at this price range, I don't think that's a problem. Likely will not mod.
 
Opinions on other headphones, if it helps
My first pair of good headphones I got around a year ago, a pair of Ultrasone HFI-780's. So far, they've been perfect, except oh yeah, I have nothing to compare them to. I don't even know what S-Logic does to sound. I feel I need to branch out, thus this post. General Listening EQs: Lows are cut, mids are slightly cut. Low-mids aren't touched. Mid-highs are boosted, highs are slightly boosted. I hoped to reduce bass boom and increase vocal clarity, maybe it worked.
NuForce NE-6's had some... lingering lows, maybe they muddied up the music a bit. Felt like my ear drums were taiko drums until after burn-in (they're mostly fine now). General EQ: Lows cut a bit more than the Ultrasones, Mid-highs and highs boosted more than the Ultrasones. Everything else's mostly the same, honestly didn't really know what to do here. Still sounds better to my ears than un-EQed, maybe I'm fighting these cans?
JLabs J3s hurt my ears out of the box. 50 hours of burn-in later, I still felt like there were fireworks or depth charges going off in them. Always intended as a gift for my sister, though, so I handed them off. Did not experiment with EQ settings.
Listened to my friend's JVC/Victor HP-M1000's, thought they were too echoey. It was an out of the box test, though.

I don't have any experience with anything that that sounds like what your looking for while being foldable as well.  For the female Japanese vocals I'd figure something that focuses on the upper mids and lower treble would be good.  Most ATs have a focus in that area, but the ones that do sure aren't portable/foldable.

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

How much work and "trouble" would it be to mod the T50rp?  Modded to their full potential, how well do they compete with other cans (examples)?  I'll look more into the HD600s then as overlooked them before.  I will still leave the DT880 as a potential phone though.
 
I plan to have both the HE-6 and T1, but I'm definitely getting the HE-6 first

I can't say how the T50RPs are at full potential, when they're turned into Thunderpants with the custom wood cups and whatnot, because mine aren't there yet, but with what mods I've done so far, I think they best my HD650s everywhere but the size of their soundstage.
 
If you're already a handy sort of person then the basic mods that unlock most of the drivers potential aren't too hard.  Chasing the final few percent takes more money time and skill though.
 
So far I've covered the front of the baffle and the back of the cups (except for the vent) with dynamat, mass loaded the the inside of the baffle with blutak, and put a few layers of felt against the back of the cups to reduce reflections.  Here's some more in depth info.
 
I'm really liking the mids on my T50RPs.  They are extremely clear and grain free with very little coloration.  They do delicate female vocals as well as they do harsh death metal growls which seems like quite an achievement to me.  Most 'phones I've heard that do very smooth female vocals actually seem to achieve this with a coloration that also smooths out harshness that's supposed to be there.  My SE530s do that a lot and my HD650s do it to a lesser degree.

 

[mayank4x]

hey friends.. i need some help squeeze out the best possible sound quality from my westone 3...
i bought a new fuze+ few days back as sansa sound quality was better than other player.. well , i m just a beginner , i might be wrong..
i have a nuforce icon amp.. and i dont really see much difference using it or not using it.. der is a slight difference but thats just negligible. 
is there some good amp i could buy?.. shall i just get a new cowon d2+ . will that help with westone 3... 
the problem is either i get a mp3 player or a amp.. i m just a student.. cant afford all this amazing stuff.
wat will b a good investment plan for under 150-200$
 
thanks in advance 

 

[mayank4x]

i mean old nuforce icon.. that slim thing... that was for around 100$

 

[mayank4x]

i m sorry i meant nuforce icon mobile

 

[ohhgourami]

 
Quote:

I can't say how the T50RPs are at full potential, when they're turned into Thunderpants with the custom wood cups and whatnot, because mine aren't there yet, but with what mods I've done so far, I think they best my HD650s everywhere but the size of their soundstage.
 
If you're already a handy sort of person then the basic mods that unlock most of the drivers potential aren't too hard.  Chasing the final few percent takes more money time and skill though.
 
So far I've covered the front of the baffle and the back of the cups (except for the vent) with dynamat, mass loaded the the inside of the baffle with blutak, and put a few layers of felt against the back of the cups to reduce reflections.  Here's some more in depth info.
 
I'm really liking the mids on my T50RPs.  They are extremely clear and grain free with very little coloration.  They do delicate female vocals as well as they do harsh death metal growls which seems like quite an achievement to me.  Most 'phones I've heard that do very smooth female vocals actually seem to achieve this with a coloration that also smooths out harshness that's supposed to be there.  My SE530s do that a lot and my HD650s do it to a lesser degree.

Seems like I'll be getting those Fostex since I think I can do the modding.  The only issue I have is finding some of the materials.  Can you kindly tell me where to get blutak and felt?  Seems like this can be a fun project while saving a lot of money and still getting great sound.

 

[maverickronin]

You can get most everything you need besides the dynamat at craft stores like Joanne Fabrics or Micheal's.  I don't know if those chains extend to your neck of the woods though.

 

[ohhgourami]

Quote:

You can get most everything you need besides the dynamat at craft stores like Joanne Fabrics or Micheal's.  I don't know if those chains extend to your neck of the woods though.

How much would you say it cost for all the materials needed for the mod?

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

How much would you say it cost for all the materials needed for the mod?

 
 
Here's some dynamat.  Its way more than you need, but that's as small a package as they sell.  A pack of blutak should only be a few bucks, but that stuff's always useful so buy extra or buy plasticine instead if you happen to see it.  You'll want to get a few different types of felt in different materials (polyester, wool, bends, etc) and densities to play around with and find out what you like the sound of.  That should only be a few bucks per kind.  The most expensive felt I bought was 100% wool at $18 a yard, but since even a 1/4 yard is overkill its not much money.  I haven't tried any of the Akasa foam yet but my T50RPs are still getting pretty much all my headtime.  I'll probably order some soon to try and eke out some more soundstage.  I've looked at a few drugstore around me but I haven't been able to find the Transpore/Micropore tape yet.  You'll also need a fairly small phillips screwdriver to get the cups open if you don't already have one.
 
You should do most of this in stages anyway so you can keep track of what mod causes what change in the sound so you don't have to buy everything right away if you don't want to.  I'd recommend adding the dynamat and blutak first since that gets rid of the more egregious colorations caused by the plastic resonating at all the wrong frequencies.  The felt or tape in front or back of the driver is more or less to adjust the frequency response to whatever you prefer, and the felt and foam in the cup is to reduce reflection off the cup and make them sound more "open".  That's a gross generalization, but I'm not an expert at this yet either.
 
Now to be a buzzkill, last I heard most online retailers were all sold out of T50RPs and no one seems to be sure when more stock will arrive.  You might want to call around to local music stores and what not.  Some brick and mortar stores actually sell them since they're marketed as studio monitor 'phones.
 
EDIT:  Also be very careful when you first open the cups so you don't pull the wires off the driver.  They are really hard to solder back on.  I ruined a driver on mine like that and had to order another pair.  After that I learned my lesson and hot glued the wires down to provide some strain relief.  You could probably use a small piece of duct tape or something cut to just the right size if you don't have a glue gun.

 

[ohhgourami]

 
Quote:

 
 
Here's some dynamat.  Its way more than you need, but that's as small a package as they sell.  A pack of blutak should only be a few bucks, but that stuff's always useful so buy extra or buy plasticine instead if you happen to see it.  You'll want to get a few different types of felt in different materials (polyester, wool, bends, etc) and densities to play around with and find out what you like the sound of.  That should only be a few bucks per kind.  The most expensive felt I bought was 100% wool at $18 a yard, but since even a 1/4 yard is overkill its not much money.  I haven't tried any of the Akasa foam yet but my T50RPs are still getting pretty much all my headtime.  I'll probably order some soon to try and eke out some more soundstage.  I've looked at a few drugstore around me but I haven't been able to find the Transpore/Micropore tape yet.  You'll also need a fairly small phillips screwdriver to get the cups open if you don't already have one.
 
You should do most of this in stages anyway so you can keep track of what mod causes what change in the sound so you don't have to buy everything right away if you don't want to.  I'd recommend adding the dynamat and blutak first since that gets rid of the more egregious colorations caused by the plastic resonating at all the wrong frequencies.  The felt or tape in front or back of the driver is more or less to adjust the frequency response to whatever you prefer, and the felt and foam in the cup is to reduce reflection off the cup and make them sound more "open".  That's a gross generalization, but I'm not an expert at this yet either.
 
Now to be a buzzkill, last I heard most online retailers were all sold out of T50RPs and no one seems to be sure when more stock will arrive.  You might want to call around to local music stores and what not.  Some brick and mortar stores actually sell them since they're marketed as studio monitor 'phones.
 
EDIT:  Also be very careful when you first open the cups so you don't pull the wires off the driver.  They are really hard to solder back on.  I ruined a driver on mine like that and had to order another pair.  After that I learned my lesson and hot glued the wires down to provide some strain relief.  You could probably use a small piece of duct tape or something cut to just the right size if you don't have a glue gun.

That really is a buzz kill as I already placed my order for a pair on performanceaudio.com.  It doesn't say that it is out of stock so hopefully they will send to me

  And I'll try to be very careful about opening the cups too (that's if they're in stock).  Thanks for all your help!

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

That really is a buzz kill as I already placed my order for a pair on performanceaudio.com.  It doesn't say that it is out of stock so hopefully they will send to me

  And I'll try to be very careful about opening the cups too (that's if they're in stock).  Thanks for all your help!

Sounds like you found a place that had some then.  People in the T50RP thread were complaining that they were out of stock everywhere they looked.  I didn't do much looking of my own because I didn't need to, so maybe they were wrong.

 

[thegrudge]

I am in the market for headphones. Primary use will be music at home (mostly computer, perhaps stereo installation as well if I were to invest in this in the future), secondary use will be movies and tv series. I'd like over-ear ones, perhaps noise-cancelling (though I generally don't listen to music in high-noise areas). Other than that, I'm really not sure what to look for.
Could you suggest some headphones in different price categories (let's say 250-400, 400-550 and 550+ euro ?) so I have a good idea?
 
I generally listen to (hard) rock and metal music, with some alternative mixed in. Very little electronic music, or any other genre for that matter. Mostly guitar-stuff
 
Perhaps not suited for the same thread, but feel free to give input: cheaper, "low profile" headphone (can be onear though) to use while commuting, as well as a audio card to purchase with the headphones to put into my pc, in order to replace the onboard soundcard of my motherboard.
 
Thanks!

 

[eucariote]

Quote:

hey friends.. i need some help squeeze out the best possible sound quality from my westone 3...
i bought a new fuze+ few days back as sansa sound quality was better than other player.. well , i m just a beginner , i might be wrong..
i have a nuforce icon amp.. and i dont really see much difference using it or not using it.. der is a slight difference but thats just negligible. 
is there some good amp i could buy?.. shall i just get a new cowon d2+ . will that help with westone 3... 
the problem is either i get a mp3 player or a amp.. i m just a student.. cant afford all this amazing stuff.
wat will b a good investment plan for under 150-200$
 
thanks in advance 

 
I own a few good iems (not westones) and generally find that they don't improve with amplification beyond a portable amp, e.g. something like your icon mobile.  And the manuals from my full-sized amps expressly warn me not to use iems, as they may damage them.  Headphoneaddicts's monster westone 3 review doesn't mention any need for serious amplification.  For a small budget, you might consider getting a nice dac, like the used uDac, which I found improved the sound of well-recorded & high bitrate files compared to an amplified ipod.  And if you haven't already, you should rip your cd's to at least 256kbps for portable use and preferably lossless for your computer+dac.