[avatarowoe]

I have tired of walking around with a giant akg271 on my head all the time and figured it was time to actually get a pair of portable headphone. So far I'm leaning towards the HD25-1 II, with frontrunners ATH ES7 and akg k181dj. I'd be running them through my iPod - Whiplash Audio Elite SCSCag Viablue LOD - mini^3/FiiO e5. I've heard the HD25-1 II before, albeit briefly and quite liked the sound. I'm also a fan of the akg sound. I've heard and read good things about all of these headphones here, but as always budget is important. I'll spend the extra money to get better sound, but if the headphones are nearly the same in quality it makes no sense to me to pay 50 dollars more for a %5 better headphone. I'd also like the headphone to be comfortable, and I have relatively large ears (not huge, but enough that some over-ear headphones can feel a bit cramped) so that can sometimes be an issue. I listen to all kinds of music, from gypsy punk to minimal techno to motown and need something with good isolation as I'll be listening in noisy places as well as libraries.
 
I like the HD25s more aesthetically than any pictures I've seen of the k181s or the ES7 online, but as I've seen in the past online pictures can be quite deceiving of the actual product.
 
Right now I'm looking at the k181s for $160 off B&H, the k181s for $150 off ZimZoomFly, and the ES7 for $115 off ebay. I know that it can be hard to find real ES7s and I've seen mixed reviews of ZipZoomFly so I want to know if each of those sellers are legit, and if not where can I find a trustworthy seller for the ES7s (I can grab the HD25s for 200 bucks off B&H but I'd rather not pay that much).
 
Any advice with helping me choose a pair of phones/retailer is greatly appreciated.
 
Thanks,
 
Bernhard

 

[mbritt]

Hi Bernard,
 
I'm not ready for a full review yet but I've been auditioning closed ear portable headphones and I think you might want to add the $150 Phiaton PS 320 to your short list.  They are on-ear instead of over ear and I thought it would bother me considering I usually use the AKG 701's which are cavernous but I got used to the feeling in about 10 minutes.  I now find them very comfortable and the sound pumping through these cans un-amped is really a surprise.  I only have about 20 hours of burn in while listening but I keep picking them up and putting them on because they are fun (audiophile term).  They are a lot more forward than the 701's and the bass is actually a step up.  I am by no means a bass head but I can appreciate the extra oomph (there I go again with more audiophile terms) that the 320's deliver.  
 
So far, they seem to be really good for melodic rock with heavy instrumentation.   "My Bird Performs" from XTC is a beautiful well crafted song that starts out with light guitar licks and then builds with what I can only describe as a rock orchestra.  That song really sings on the 320's.  There seems to be a lot of separation between instruments and very nice clear vocals.
 
The next track that really stood out for me is the pseudo acoustic version of Trent Reznor's NIN song "Something I Can Never Have" from Still.  It has really quiet moments with just Trent and the piano that sound like you are in the same room with him.  The 320's have no problem at low listening levels or when the music builds.
 
Johnny Cash's version of NIN's Hurt is also really amazing on the 320's.  A lot of good speakers and headphones will crackle with the barrage of vocals and instruments at the songs crescendo.
 
Oops, I said I wasn't ready for a review yet.  See these cans are fun and make me want to jump the gun.  I have to admit, I have been getting lazy and not listening to my headphones on the deck because I didn't want to plug and unplug from my listening station in my home office.  The Phiaton 320's are so nice un-amped out of my iPod 5.5 video that I find myself even wearing them on my night walk with my dogs.  Yea that's right, I'm the middle age dude walking around Pasadena wearing headphones - what of it.

 

[avatarowoe]

Thanks for the recommendation. Those sound really nice. Most of the reviews I've found say the bass is actually on the low side, but I found that the mini^3 really helped my k271s in that department so it shouldn't be an issue. How is the isolation?

 

[mbritt]

Quote:

Thanks for the recommendation. Those sound really nice. Most of the reviews I've found say the bass is actually on the low side, but I found that the mini^3 really helped my k271s in that department so it shouldn't be an issue. How is the isolation?

The isolation is actually very good or bad when walking around the neighborhood - need to hear stray dogs, coyotes and cars coming.  Both friends that listened to them commented on how much sound they block out.
 
I wouldn't call the bass anemic at all but I'm coming from the 701's so you have to take that into consideration.