[Ko Nectic Jazz]

I've read several threads about Beyer, AKG, Sony...
And I was still wondering what could complete my MS-1.

I was looking for informations about Beyer, which seems to please quite many of Head-fiers, and then I crossed this site (Beware ! Japanese. I don't read it either

) on Google when I was looking for tips about DT-931.

Few months ago, I was learning about AKG too, especially about the K501.
And I saw it on the site, upper.
I know that it needs an amp, and for now I don't have any. But I'm about to diy one. (Any avices about it ?)

Now I'm listenning to your opinions about a set to replace my Ms1 on some types of music.

My Music Preferences : Minimalist/Aesthetic (hear some on www.12K.com), Classical, New Age, Jazz. And Shrek/movies musics sometimes.

What do I want to listen to with this second set : Classical (Sorry Ms1, you don't do it right, baby), Minimalist (something more analytic. Grado is good with it but I want to hear it in another way)

Last thing : I'm not a bass-head (I use bowls pads with Ms1) but I don't them to be flat though.

 

[blessingx]

Just be aware the K501s require quite a bit of power (and definitely higher gain). They're great cans, as are the Senns (a little less power hungry) and even ER4Ss. All were phones I've had when owning the MS1 and all significantly different. How far on the other end? Probably place AKGs most opposite (in sound), then Etys, then Senns. Most opposite all around (sound, use, open/closed, etc.) would be Etys, then AKGs, then Senns. If you could only have one phone though, I put it Senns/Etys, then MS1, then AKG (yeah the bass issue just kept getting to me). I'm a big fan of the MS1 (one of the best deals in headphonedom), but the Senns and Etys are a big step up (as would be the AKG for specific listening) with the right (much more expensive than MS1) setup. All are better for most Classical listening (though the Grados/Alessandros are great for woods and some Choral IMO). I'm assuming you know the sound signatures of each, but anyway that's been my experiences trying to 'cover all the bases'.

 

[Ko Nectic Jazz]

Quote:

I'm assuming you know the sound signatures of each, but anyway that's been my experiences trying to 'cover all the bases'.

In fact, all I auditionned for now was Senn's family. Unamped !
I've tried 595 and 600 especially from cd player : I've been disappointed by 600, that's why I'm not looking at Senn for now. 595 has suprised me, I admit it. But I'm not looking for so much bass. I would say that Grado's basses are enough for me.

Now about the Etys, well they problem is I'm not a canalphones-formed man.
I already tried some and I discovered that I can't bear them... more 10 minutes !! Gave me headache everytime.
This is why I only purchase bigger cans (from ksc35 to Ergo AMT [I think it could not exist bigger headophones in the whole world !!!] ).

I just read in a review that dt931 could be the one, with other cables to get some more bass.

Beyer Team, is it true ?

 

[Ko Nectic Jazz]

*bump*

Any other clue ? Anyone ?

 

[Mr.Radar]

What about the new Sony XD*00 series? You can find the XD400 model for around $70 and its suppost to sound very good (and I would imagine it'd compliment the MS-1 pretty well). You can read about it in this thread.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ko Nectic Jazz In fact, all I auditionned for now was Senn's family. Unamped ! I've tried 595 and 600 especially from cd player : I've been disappointed by 600, that's why I'm not looking at Senn for now.

No surprise -- unamped, the Senn 600's are disappointing, period. Well amped, you might change your mind, especially if you had a longer time to audition. Senn 600/650 aren't "instant WOW" type cans, they grow on you with some time spent (like many finer things in life).

 

[overlunge]

Hi Ko Nectic Jazz,

My two cents for your thread, IMHO, depends on what type of classical music you listen to, (ochestral, solo piano etc) I found my Sennheiser HD650 with amplification does a decent job, and is the headphones I will reach for if I am not using my Grado's.

HD650's sound does open up quite a bit after some time, maybe some called it burn-in, or just adapting to its sound signature?

best of luck
overlunge

 

[CuriousVoiger]

How 'bout some ear buds -
http://www.headphonereviews.org/head...headphoneId=63
don't expect any life changing experiences… but, I am enjoying mine as portable.

 

[sbulack]

I find the K501 (amped with a Headsave Go-Vibe, new Classic or PPA) to be a really good complement to the Grado SR225. Where the SR225 seem to magnify the sound and give it a vivid, up-close-and-intimate sound and feel, the K501 present a more neutral sound - from their cooler spectral balance through their wider (less intimate) soundstage and overall everything-in-its-lifelike-proportion sound and feel. Both are very detailed and clear. I would say that the sound of the SR225 is capable of greater tonal intensity or impact, and that the sound of the K501 generally displays a more palpable texture. The two complement each other beautifully, to my tastes.

 

[Hunter_Killer]

I think the most obvious answer is the Sennheisers but since you dont have adequate amp dont even bother. If I were you Id get the amp before the second pair of cans.

 

[adamlau]

Have not heard the Alessandros, but if they sound like cleaned up SR 80s (ala SR 125), then the SR 225 (standard bowls) will sound markedly different. Cleaner (up high, down low and everywhere else in between), wider. At least that is how Gershwin's "Rhapsody", Edo De Waart, sounded...

 

[scrypt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ko Nectic Jazz My Music Preferences : Minimalist/Aesthetic (hear some on www.12K.com) . . . Classical . . . What do I want to listen to with this second set : Classical (Sorry Ms1, you don't do it right, baby), Minimalist (something more analytic. Grado is good with it but I want to hear it in another way). . . .

In the abstract, your musical taste matches mine. I, too, like a lot of what's on 12k, as well as touch, fallt and orthlorng musork. I also spend hours listening to classical music while reading the scores (esp. to Webern, Berg, Henze, Josquin, Shostakovich and Bartok). Based on what you've said, I suspect you might be an unbleached fan of Ryoji Ikeda's op.

It sounds as if you listen to music that is delicate, detailed, high-frequency-specific and possibly recorded in various antiseptic environs. In which case, soundstage shouldn't be a concern, nor would a lush, mid-specific presentation give you a proper dose of what I call the cold emotion. Too much bass could upset the whole viral-ballet-on-a-Petrii-dish microcosm, h-m-m-m-m?

All of which might explain why I, like you, respect without loving the Sennheiser sound. I want something less forgiving -- perhaps ostentatiously so (or at least allowing glitch music to be sterile in all its insect mandible specificity).

My favorite headphones for capturing that sound are high-end Grados and the ER-4S.

For conveying a string orchestra's sublimity and polyphony, I suggest high-end Grados with a really good DAC. Listening to classical through the RS-1 offers me a nebulizer-perfect cocktail of pleasure and musical insight.

No use trying to form an opinion of Grados based on the MS1, which seem to me to be lacking in detail and high-end luster. Personally, I've never been able to use them except in transit. I actually prefer the MS-2 and 325 (which others, not I, have called the harshest of three-digit Grados).

The ER-4S and even the ER6i are also good choices for the music we both seem to like. The ER family seem especially at conveying microscopic detail. Listening to minimalist electronics through Etys is like studying the topography of a miniature moon through jeweled lenses. Everything has an hallucinogenic clarity.

(Off-topic: I recommend this DVD to you: Glenn Gould, The Alchemist. Here is what he plays: Bach, J S: Partita No.6, BWV830; Berg: Sonata No.1; Byrd: Galliarde No.6; Gibbons: Lord Salisbury's Pavane; Schoenberg: Suite, Op.25: Intermezzo; Webern: Variations, Op.27. To watch him perform Webern is to attach jumper cables to your full-frontal lobes. If gorgons killed by over-enlightening the hapless, they'd show their victims this brain-nutritious vid.)

 

[spike33]

you found 595 to have too much bass?!

with amp, I'd recommend k501
without amp, 555... a bit less bass than 595, similar sound

 

[Andrea]

If you found the HD595 bassy, then you must like bass lean hadphones. Otherwise, it's that the pair you listened to wasn't burnt in.
Midbass becomes flatter; bass becomes deeper, dynamic, tighter -- burn in speaking. For the rest, clarity and treble are bound to improve too.

The HD595 is great, yeah.

 

[adhoc]

fwiw, i have both the ms2 and k501, and they cover almost all of the genres i listen to perfectly (jazz, rock, indie, classical and a smattering of pop).

however, i feel that scrypt's suggestion of the er4s is an excellent one. you cant go wrong with that - unless you're a basshead. however, do note that i have a slight preference a 'dry' sound signature. ymmv.