[i_don't_know]

But with much wider and more realistic soundstage. I also want them to be very quick, but at the same time have super realistic decay (so if a note is quick in the recording, these will be lightning fast, and if not, the note will linger for as long as it's supposed to). And detail is a must.

I want something with the same sparkly highs (with no sibilance), lush mids, and deep extending bass (which, to me, is perfect as far as impact goes) as the Phonak Audeo PFE.

Maybe K702? Would that work?

My budget is around the price of the K702 (I want to cut it off there because I'm just figuring out what I should save up for. At the moment, I'm pretty much broke.)


And the cable must either be super durable or replaceable. These will be used at home. And because I'm not planning on buying them yet (this is more of a "know for the future" thing), I'm hoping to have an inexpensive amp by the time I have enough.

As far as amps go, maybe suggest an inexpensive amp that pairs well with the headphone you suggest (only if the difference between amp and no amp is a significant improvement over the headphone out of my S639F. Otherwise, I'd rather save some money. So if the headphone you suggest is very efficient, don't bother with an amp suggestion.)

 

[1Time]

What sound card or other source equipment will you be plugging these headphones into?

I don't know much about the K702, but it seems to me you'd be better off with an amp. Of course you could always go for the K702 and concern yourself with amping it later.

 

[i_don't_know]

All I have are my Panasonic PCDP (newish model) and my S639F. They're fine for me as far as sources go. I like having something I can listen to in bed and then stow away in a drawer when I'm done. And portable sources are perfect for that. Plus, I can take them with me with some IEMs.

So, does anyone have any suggestions? I listen to a lot of acoustic guitar music like Andy McKee and Antoine Dufour, and I also listen to bands and artists like Jack Johnson, Hendrix, Audioslave, and Muse. What I like about the PFE is that it sounds great with all the genres I listen to. I'm looking for something that shares their overall sound signature, but with more soundstage and (if it's possible) better sound quality.

 

[lucky]

I like my K701, but don't know if you'd find the bass enough. Other excellent airy phones include the AD900 and AD700.

 

[cswann1]

Quote:

But with much wider and more realistic soundstage. I also want them to be very quick, but at the same time have super realistic decay (so if a note is quick in the recording, these will be lightning fast, and if not, the note will linger for as long as it's supposed to). And detail is a must.

I think the K702 is going to suite you in this regard. IEM's really do well for deep bass so your first impression of the AKG might be that it has weak bass.
Imo the bass is very nice. It's very tight, controlled and goes way down there. It does not have the upper-bass/lower-midrange bump of many competing products which accounts for many Head-Fiers opinion that it is thin sounding.


It's not ideal for some material but I listen to a lot of acoustic guitar tracks too and nothing is worse to me than boomy bass that is not natural for that material.

I tried a mod yesterday that makes the K701/2 a freaking bass monster, but it was much too uncontrolled for me to enjoy and I thought it compromised the excellent upper-mids of this phone. I undid the mod right away.

 

[i_don't_know]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucky /img/forum/go_quote.gif I like my K701, but don't know if you'd find the bass enough. Other excellent airy phones include the AD900 and AD700.

Many people have said that the PFE with gray filters doesn't have a lot of bass impact.

When you say I might not find the bass enough, are you talking about how deep it goes and how high the quality of the bass is, or are you talking about quantity and impact?

And how are the highs and mids? I want them crystal clear with sparkly highs (with no sibilance) and accurate, unrecessed mids.

EDIT: Even though you basically answered a few of my questions, cswann1, some elaboration and clarification would be nice so I can be comfortable knowing I'm saving up for something I'll love to death. Thanks.

 

[lucky]

Quantity and impact. I find the bass great; it doesn't overpower the songs, but sounds like a natural, balanced part, along with the mids and highs. The mids and highs are nice and clear. Overall, it's a clear, bright sounding phone.

 

[i_don't_know]

Sounds like my cup of tea. Is there any sibilance? And do the highs have that wonderful sparkle I'm so addicted to with my PFEs?

And you can still feel the bass to some extent, right? Even though some people claim the PFE with gray filters lacks bass impact, it's there for me in the exact quantity I always dreamed of.

 

[lucky]

I don't hear sibilance in mine, and the highs are definitely bright, at least in comparison to my AD700 (I've never heard the PFE).

 

[i_don't_know]

Sounds good so far.


And I'm not sure where you stand as far as IEMs go, but you really should check out the PFE. It's a masterpiece, in my opinion.

 

[cswann1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by i_don't_know /img/forum/go_quote.gif Many people have said that the PFE with gray filters doesn't have a lot of bass impact. When you say I might not find the bass enough, are you talking about how deep it goes and how high the quality of the bass is, or are you talking about quantity and impact? And how are the highs and mids? I want them crystal clear with sparkly highs (with no sibilance) and accurate, unrecessed mids. EDIT: Even though you basically answered a few of my questions, cswann1, some elaboration and clarification would be nice so I can be comfortable knowing I'm saving up for something I'll love to death.

My K701 will go as deep as any music I have in my library. Deviations Project has some subterranean bass transients that I'd be afraid to crank with a big home theater sub. I can hear it very well but it does not come across with force. I don't know if that helps but, I've heard Sennheiser HD600/650's that seemed to have "more" bass. Not deeper or higher in quality than the K701, just more of what you typically hear in music. It's like the upper-bass/lower-midrange hump in the FR graphs of other models I mentioned before. The phones that have that type of FR graph tend to sound fuller, but to me do not sound as accurate.

As far as highs, love-love-love em!! No sibilance, just sparkly clean and detailed. You won't hear it at first though because that's a big part of the changes as these phones burn in. Out of the box, everything seems to be there, but they just sound damped somewhat, if that's the right word.


EDIT Quote:

And I'm not sure where you stand as far as IEMs go, but you really should check out the PFE. It's a masterpiece, in my opinion.

I've already Googled these, you got me curious

 

[i_don't_know]

How much burn-in would you say these need for the highs to come alive?

 

[lucky]

The highs are bright out of the box, but the phones weren't really pleasant to listen to (for me) for at least 50 hours. I don't know how much physical burn-in matters as much as brain burn-in does.

 

[1Time]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucky /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't know how much physical burn-in matters as much as brain burn-in does.

Headphone and brain burn-in are two different things. Some headphones can sound pretty nasty and go through several changes until burned in. Some seem to require no burn in from the start. Some may take a few hours, and others may take a few hundred hours. Brain burn in or just getting used to the sound of the headphones generally doesn't take very long. But of course this could take longer if this is being done while the headphones are still burning in.

 

[i_don't_know]

Would anyone else like to offer some help and/or knowledge?