[blub]

Hi!
 
Has anyone been able to compare these two 'families' of headphones on sound quality or personal sound-appreciation?:

• Sennheiser PX 210 , PXC 310 (BT) , MM 400 , MM 450     (NOT PX 100 or PX 200)
• AKG K450 K480 NC     (NOT K430 !!)

I mention them together, as each group seem to be very similar on the matter of sound-quality/drivers, except of course for additions such as bluetooth , noise-cancelling or incorporated microphone.
I'm pretty sure the sennheisers should sound all the same. As for the AKG's, I did read from 1 person that the K480 was a little better than the K450, what seemed strange, both to himself as to me.
I'm mainly looking at insights on their sound-quality, but I can't find a lot of info on any of those Sennheiser compared to any of those AKG's.
I'm thinking about aspects such as soundstage, instrument separation, presentation, detail, neutral vs. coloured.
or about any personal experience with them on the matter of sound quality or other aspects (e.g. comfort).
 
(...it shall be clear that I'm looking for small, foldable, closed headphones with good noise-isolation and as little leakage as possible, for travelling purposes

)
 
 
 
 
 

 

[spikey341]

New bluetooth headphones
After researching around for a bit, I've come to the conclusion that the Nokia bh-1000s are the best choice of bluetooth headphones (I have a blackberry bold 9700). Newegg is selling them for 200 (CAD) with free shipping -- should I get these? I kind of like the idea od noise canceling - I spend a lot of time on the bus and subway, and when I get home I can just plug then in with the included auio cable.

 

[eggrock]

I could stretch the budget for D5000s (or similar) if I really have to, and the D2000s are well within budget. The only reason I'd lean against Denons is 'just because' I'd like to try something else, but I'm not averse to the idea of staying in the family, as it were.
 
(I don't want to muddle my request for help, but I was also looking at the ER-4Ps in addition to cans. Hence the $500 budget.)
 
Quote:

Why not just move up the scale to the D2000? Or the D5000 if you push the budget a little. I also highly recommend the jmoney leather earpads, which will improve the isolation as well as cut down leakage. .
 

 

$250 can get you a very nice amp, unless you meant $250 for both a headphone and amp.
 
An amp really does help the higher impedance Beyers.
 
 

 

 

[MorbidToaster]

I'm strongly considering a pair of D5000s as much next purchase, or a set of custom cabled and designed Beyer DT 770s. It's a really tough choice.
 
Quote:

I could stretch the budget for D5000s (or similar) if I really have to, and the D2000s are well within budget. The only reason I'd lean against Denons is 'just because' I'd like to try something else, but I'm not averse to the idea of staying in the family, as it were.
 
(I don't want to muddle my request for help, but I was also looking at the ER-4Ps in addition to cans. Hence the $500 budget.)
 
Quote:


 

 

 

[Ratchet]

Hey all.
I have a bunch of questions about headphones and stuff in general. I'm having the worst time trying to make a decision, any help is hugely, hugely appreciated. I'm looking to buy one portable set and one home set.

1) ATH-ESW9 and HD25-1. Which is better for pop, pop-rock, ballads/vocal (this one's particularly important), electro-pop, and a bit of rock/alternative? 95% of my music is female singers and I hate when vocals get drowned out, if that matters.
2) Are the DT880s and DT990s good for the genres mentioned above? What about Denon D2000s and D5000s?
3) What's the main difference between the DT880s and DT990s?
4) Would it be possible to drive the DT880/DT990 or D2000/D5000 with a portable amp/dac?
5) Would the ESW9 and HD25-1s benefit from a portable amp?
6) Out of every full-size headphone in existence, which would you recommend the most for those genres?

Thank you.

 

[Armaegis]

Quote:

I could stretch the budget for D5000s (or similar) if I really have to, and the D2000s are well within budget. The only reason I'd lean against Denons is 'just because' I'd like to try something else, but I'm not averse to the idea of staying in the family, as it were.
 
(I don't want to muddle my request for help, but I was also looking at the ER-4Ps in addition to cans. Hence the $500 budget.)
 

Hmm, for other bass heavy closed cans... I think the D2000/5000 or DT770 are the way to go. Consider spending a portion of your budget on an amp as well, as both of these like a bit of extra juice. If you go the Denon route, I highly recommend getting some jmoney leather earpads which will increase isolation and improve bass response.
 


Quote:

Hey all.
I have a bunch of questions about headphones and stuff in general. I'm having the worst time trying to make a decision, any help is hugely, hugely appreciated. I'm looking to buy one portable set and one home set.

1) ATH-ESW9 and HD25-1. Which is better for pop, pop-rock, ballads/vocal (this one's particularly important), electro-pop, and a bit of rock/alternative? 95% of my music is female singers and I hate when vocals get drowned out, if that matters.
2) Are the DT880s and DT990s good for the genres mentioned above? What about Denon D2000s and D5000s?
3) What's the main difference between the DT880s and DT990s?
4) Would it be possible to drive the DT880/DT990 or D2000/D5000 with a portable amp/dac?
5) Would the ESW9 and HD25-1s benefit from a portable amp?
6) Out of every full-size headphone in existence, which would you recommend the most for those genres?

Thank you.

1) I vastly prefer the ESW9 for anything vocal.
2) The Beyers are decent all-rounders, although personally I am not a fan of their sound signature and their mids feel recessed to me. The Denons are good performers as well and have a laid back sound; though suffer from poor isolation which gives an odd frequency response at times (which is why I always recommend the jmoney earpad upgrade)
3) Both are semi-open, the 990 moreso than the 880. I found the 990s to be more shrill up top.
4) Absolutely. Headfiers in general grossly exaggerate how much power is needed to drive a headphone.
5) Yes, but it isn't a priority. The ESW9 are particularly easy to drive.
6) My favourite headphones are still a vintage pair of AKG K240 Sextetts (MP)

 

[Dobrescu George]

tyoung8, does expo, send items to europe too?... i couldn't read all the things in there....

 

[canoemoose]

Oops, posted this in a new thread before noticing this one...
Quote:

Hi all, first post here but I've been lurking for a while...

 

I currently own PortaPros and a pair of Senn HD320s.  I'm looking to upgrade, but have no real idea what I should be looking at.

My music taste is varied, but mainly classic rock and drum & bass, so I want something which has deep bass without being overpowering.  My ears tend to tire quite quickly if headphones are overly bright, but anything with no top end will just sound dull and uninteresting.  I guess I'm looking for something which has a fairly flat frequency response.

 

I have a QED MB45 headphone amp; I've replaced all its caps with proper audio-quality components and it now has a "proper" (not switched-mode) regulated PSU.

 

I'm in the UK, my budget is about £300 - I can just about get the Grado SR325is for this.  I like the look of Grados, but reviews seem to imply their soundstage is limited and they do mid/highs better than bass.

 

Relatedly, I'm a part-time live sound technician and am also looking for a pair of closed-back headphones for monitoring purposes - my colleagues have the Sennheiser HD25-ii and I'll probably also get a pair, unless anyone has a huge reason for me not to.

 

Thanks for any help!

 

 

[tyoung8]

 
Quote:

tyoung8, does expo, send items to europe too?... i couldn't read all the things in there....

No.  Are you in Europe?  Why did you quote in dollars?
 

 

[ScytheSwathe]

Hey people, first time poster here;
 
Ive been looking at getting me some new phones (my old audio technica es7's were stolen...) and im pretty enarmoured to audio technica, though open to ideas.  Ive been looking towards the ATH-M50 or the ATH-OR7.  I know what people are likely to say about that setup.  M50s are pretty popular...  has anyone tried OR7's? 
There dont seem to be any reviews about, even after a search on here.  Is there any real reason to try them? 
Is there something else in the £100 price range i should know about?
I do hear that the bass overwhelms the mid and high range on the M50's a bit.  Sounds lake a poor trade off to me, but is there any real reason to worry?
 
 
I listen to a pretty eclectic range of music, from 8-bit to folk, mostly via indie-rock, electro, brit pop.  Oh and comfort is a pretty big issue to me.
 
Cheers!

 

[Dobrescu George]

yes, im in europe.... what\cha mean by quote in dollars?....

 

[tyoung8]

Quote:

yes, im in europe.... what\cha mean by quote in dollars?....

oops, thought you were the op.  yeah, electronic expo is a good place to get headphones with big discount... but for Americans only.  Otherwise, I would have got a pair of D2000 myself.
 

 

[tyoung8]

Quote:

Oops, posted this in a new thread before noticing this one...

 

Denon D2000
 
Live sound technician headphone test
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJh8B1QfEn0&feature=related
 
 

 

[tyoung8]

Quote:

Hey people, first time poster here;
 
Ive been looking at getting me some new phones (my old audio technica es7's were stolen...) and im pretty enarmoured to audio technica, though open to ideas.  Ive been looking towards the ATH-M50 or the ATH-OR7.  I know what people are likely to say about that setup.  M50s are pretty popular...  has anyone tried OR7's? 
There dont seem to be any reviews about, even after a search on here.  Is there any real reason to try them? 
Is there something else in the £100 price range i should know about?
I do hear that the bass overwhelms the mid and high range on the M50's a bit.  Sounds lake a poor trade off to me, but is there any real reason to worry?
 
 
I listen to a pretty eclectic range of music, from 8-bit to folk, mostly via indie-rock, electro, brit pop.  Oh and comfort is a pretty big issue to me.
 
Cheers!

 
Never heard ath-or7.  Rule of thumb is that any headphones that don't get mentioned a lot on head-fi is usually not that great.  Well, unless it is beats, bose and skullcandy.   The other rated Audio-Technica at around £100 are AD700 and A700.  AD is open and A is close.
 
A few others you might want to look at in the £100 price range is Superlux 668b at £35, Creative Aurvana Live! at £50,  Shure 440 at £60-£70 and the Alessandro MS1 at $99 (import).  Oh maybe Sony XB700 at £70 which is considered to be super comfy.  Do a search on them to see which one you like.

 

[12345142]

Quote:

Rule of thumb is that any headphones that don't get mentioned a lot on head-fi is usually not that great.

I don't know about that. There are some obscure, but great-sounding headphones out there. Few people mention TakeT, for example, or the Sony CD900s. I think the OR7s are pretty new, but I wouldn't consider them a bad choice since audio-technica has a good reputation. Perhaps ScytheSwathe can 'take one for the team' and report back. Even though they haven't been mentioned much, I doubt you'd be disappointed with the OR7s. And if you are, you can always return them. In my opinion, they look better than the M50s as well (something like a retro-modern DT48 to me), and are probably more convenient for portable use due to their light weight.