[Magicman74]

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Have you seen the video on page 2?
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/creative-aurvana-live-classic-reincarnate-page-2
 
Both made by Fostex, both have the same drivers & both have same baffle plates.

I know Ive taken them both apart plenty of times.  The difference lays in the cups, The Denon has a cup that's more shallow and a bit more oval. That causes the Bass in the Denon to be more controlled and tighter. ( think MARKL mod on the 2000's) The Cal's cups are deeper and more round causing the Bass to bloat and have less detail and control. Yeah it's deeper on the Cal but at the expense of losing it's tightness, and with it having more bloat it mixes in to much with everything else.  It muddies up everything else, where on the Denon it is less and everything else can do their thing.

 

[flippin]

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A Grado SR 225i may be better for you than the other two, but that depends in large part on the sound signature that you are seeking (you need to tell us).  These are three very different sounding cans.  There are more options of course, like the Ultrasone HiFi 780...
 
Since you mentioned an open and closed can, I have to assume that you are OK with either design.

 
I think I'm more focused on mid & treble and don't really mind about the bass, as long as it's not awful, of course.
 
Here's the thing, I live in Indonesia and I can't find any retail shop selling either SR 225i or HiFi 780
It's easier to find a wide range products from Sennheiser, AKG, Audio-Technica, Sony or Shure among the others.

 

[KG Jag]

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Quote:

A Grado SR 225i may be better for you than the other two, but that depends in large part on the sound signature that you are seeking (you need to tell us).  These are three very different sounding cans.  There are more options of course, like the Ultrasone HiFi 780...
 
Since you mentioned an open and closed can, I have to assume that you are OK with either design.

 
I think I'm more focused on mid & treble and don't really mind about the bass, as long as it's not awful, of course.
 
Here's the thing, I live in Indonesia and I can't find any retail shop selling either SR 225i or HiFi 780
It's easier to find a wide range products from Sennheiser, AKG, Audio-Technica, Sony or Shure among the others.

The HD 598 has quality mids while those of the M50 are recessed and its weak point.  The M50 has bright treble, while the 598 rolls the edge off.  So between the two, the HD 598 is the better fit for you and in fact a better can overall--and more versatile.
 
That said the 598 might not be fast enough and too relaxed to be the top choice for you.  A can worth checking out is the new Audio-Technica ATH-AD900X, which I have not yet heard.  I have heard it predecessor, the very good AD900 (no "X").

 

[flippin]

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The HD 598 has quality mids while those of the M50 are recessed and its weak point.  The M50 has bright treble, while the 598 rolls the edge off.  So between the two, the HD 598 is the better fit for you and in fact a better can overall--and more versatile.
 
That said the 598 might not be fast enough and too relaxed to be the top choice for you.  A can worth checking out is the new Audio-Technica ATH-AD900X, which I have not yet heard.  I have heard it predecessor, the very good AD900 (no "X").

 
Did you mean the HD 558? that's the one I mentioned before.

 

[ruleof72]

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Also worth checking out are the completed Fostex mods, the Mad Dogs.  See:
 
https://www.mrspeakers.com/Audiophile-fostex-t50rp-upgrades-mrspeakers-mad-dog

These Mad Dogs look very interesting, especially with the "Alpha' pad. And, the more I think about it, a "mostly closed" can probably makes the most sense for my 1st pair of quality headphones. I can always add an open design later but right now the budget will only allow for 1 pair, especially if I add an amp/dac.

 

[stfchampagne]

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The 550 is a good can but you have to get a good seal with them.  Just so you know, sound stage is not a strength of closed cans in general.  I'll also add that if your taste runs to the M-80 & Momentum, you like a somewhat bassy sound signature--not neutral but also not necessarily in basshead territory either.

What about the Q701? Are they good headphones? For 70$ more than the k550 I could get those... I know they are open headphones.

 

[mastershake2393]

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What about the Q701? Are they good headphones? For 70$ I could get those... I know they are open headphones.

 
Where can you get the Q701 for $70?! 

 

[Magicman74]

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Where can you get the Q701 for $70?! 

Count me in too

 

[stfchampagne]

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Where can you get the Q701 for $70?! 

SORRY!!! I meant for 70$ more! For 315$ all taxes included, here in Canada.

 

[ngynaq]

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imo there are three headphones plateaus above the SRH840.  $250: SR225/DT880  $400: HD600  $700: HE500  They really tower over other headphones in their price range.  Beyond HE500 your price/quality graph flattens pretty steeply..
 
edit: oops, KG Jag said the same thing a couple of pages back.  Looks like we're in agreement. 

 
I'll be driving a  couple hours tomorrow to pick up some new equipment 

 I've decided to take the plunge with the HE-500 (~720 + tax in my area) after reading some stellar reviews. I've also decided to purchase a Fiio E09K/E17 AMP/DAC combo (~230 + tax). Hopefully, this will be enough to drive my new cans. The price point was just too tempting with the promise of DAC/AMP functionality on the go. Just hoping I won't be disappointed when I demo the unit at the store...
 
Thank you KG Jag/eucariote for the initial suggestion!

 

[nwguy]

Hey all, 
 
I'm looking for a closed headphone with at least decent isolation, not too fragile and around 200 USD
I mostly listen to rock, EDM, and generally a smattering of a lot of other things (new country, jazz, etc).
 
What would be my best fit?

 

[jmkma]

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I did visit our BestBuy which had a limited number of phones to try on. The UE6000 they had seemed to have a broken button - you could not cycle it on/off. The light was on indicating it was on, but there was next to no noise reduction and the sound did not shine. I realize this was probably a broken pair, but it was enough to scare me away. I did try some Blaupunkt Custom One noise canceling which I sent right back. Poor canceling and poorer sound. I was hoping that a high isolation passive canceling phone might work better. Out of this selection, which has the highest isolation aside from the Logitech? I am going to add Logi's into the mix so now I am back to 6.
 
Also went back and forth with the Shure 440 vs 840. Seemed to find more people happy with the isolation on the 440 vs 840. Is that the case? What are other differences?

Hope you all don;t think I'm hopeless. Just having trouble making a list that gets smaller and not larger. While at BestBuy I tried the lower price Harman Kardon on ear. I was really surprized by the isolation it offered, Anyone have any thoughts on the CL?

 

[BigCabDaddy]

Best/flat/monitoring headphones for in field use? Absolute key feature is isolation, so noise canceling is ok so long as it doesn't screw with audio quality too much. Prefer it not require an amp for simplicity's sake. Monitored device is a Fostex AR-4i Maximum output: 15mW (32 ohm loaded, THD less than 0.1%) Budget > $300 the cheaper the better so as to discourage theft or minimize cost in the event of theft. Durability also a huge plus.

 

[grahamfreeman]

Hello all!
 
I just joined and this is my first post here - I've spent the last couple of hours googling for a decent set of head phones. Pah.
 
Wireless is a must, as is the ability to cut out all (or as  much as possible) noise from the surrounding environment such as people talking and general house clatter. That means full cover of the ears, and not pads.
 
Also, it would be nice to be able to dictate to my voice recognition writing software so a built-in mic would be really handy but at a pinch I suppose I could use another, cheaper headset for that ...
 
I've got a basic Plantronics Audio 995H, which cuts out now and again, plus it picks up interference from the wifi router. 
 
I've yet to hear a wireless headset that doesn't have some level of hissssss, so something that would do away with that completely would be grand.
 
Is there anything on the market that covers all my bases? I know I can get a really fine Sennheiser for a few hundred dollars but it doesn't have a mic.
 
Any suggestions on where to ask, or what to check out, would be REALLY gratefully accepted.
 
Thanks!
 
Graham

 

[jmkma]

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Hope you all don;t think I'm hopeless. Just having trouble making a list that gets smaller and not larger. While at BestBuy I tried the lower price Harman Kardon on ear. I was really surprized by the isolation it offered, Anyone have any thoughts on the CL?

OK. Don't ask me how, but I am going to decide between the Harman Kardon BT and the AKG K272HD. Criteria are comfort, isolation, sound, portability. Any chance someone has tried both of these?