[TunneLVisioN42]

So I made 2 purchases from amazon after I decided it was time my ATH-M50's became my backup cans.

The HD 558's sound very analytical and the mid's can be heard pretty well but they just sound so damn dull although what bass there is seems tight and they are not excessively bright.

The DT 990's Have alot of low end presence but it drowns out the mid's and the bass sounds boomy rather than tight and controlled, they are also just a smidge to bright (10k Hz bump) although its tolerable it does fatigue, but even with these qualities they are much more entertaining to listen to than the 558's ! 

I know I know I am being picky but I just have this drive to find the cans for me and I cant settle until I do so all in all I guess this is what I am looking for

Lows - Not a bass head but lower end presence is nice and adds color to the music so long as it is controlled and tight!
Mids - I dont wanna have to focus to hard to hear em I want em right up there with the rest of the pack
Highs- Treble adds life to the music but the +5db bump at 10k Hz on the DT 990's is a tad bit too much and it gets to be a pain on the eardrums, Id prefer they did not roll off too hard but still do not sound harsh
Soundstage - I Love me soundstage mostly because I wanna feel like my tunes are surrounding me and melting me into goop all nice and warm like

(Flac Foobar Wasapi > Fiio e10)

I am thinking about picking up some Q701's and for some damn reason (I have no idea why) the Ultrasone HFi 2400's keep catching my attention even though I have no idea what to make of them mostly because the frequency response of them looks kinda nuts, I am also considering HD 600's but I am concerned they will mimic the HD 558's lifeless analytical drone.

(http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompare.php?graphType=0&graphID[]=2931&graphID[]=2411&graphID[]=573)

anyways I am stumped and I have around 300 bucks to burn.
 

 

[Soundfreak33]

Try the AKG Q701s, maybe just what your looking for, good bass, not overdone, good clear clean mids, pretty good highs, some say a tad bright, but a very good set of cans, and below your price range.

 

[jupitreas]

DT880 is your answer.

 

[streetdragon]

try doing the foam mod on the HD558? it makes the bass more impactful and deeper, the treble is also more prominent, and the soundstage significantly improves as well

 

[TunneLVisioN42]

Quote:

Try the AKG Q701s, maybe just what your looking for, good bass, not overdone, good clear clean mids, pretty good highs, some say a tad bright, but a very good set of cans, and below your price range.

Leaning that way
 
Quote:

DT880 is your answer.

Was thinking about it but the bump at 10K Hz is the same amount as the 990's although I am sure the bass is tighter and mid's are not as recessed, I really like the fit and feel of the Beyers though



 

 

[PurpleAngel]

I own both the HD558s and DT990 Pro 250-Ohm and I like them both.
Try removing the black rubber tape from inside the cans of the HD558s
The DT990 might benefit from a tube amplifier, $60-$90 on eBay, Amazon sometimes has them for $65.
 
I too have been thinking of replacing my HD558s with the Q701, just waiting on a good price for used black Q701s.

 

[TunneLVisioN42]

Yeah I have tried one of those muse tube amps and it had so much distortion and Humm, on top of that it stopped working and puffed a little bit of smoke and I ended up returning it, I am probably gonna dump good money on a decent tube amp or a O2 amp/dac combo from JDS labs.

 

[jupitreas]

Graphs won't tell you everything... The treble of the DT880, particularly the 600 Ohm version, is no where near as piercing as the DT990 can be. If you can audition a pair of these, you'd see what I mean. The highs are crisp and crystal clear, but not fatiguing (well OK, they can still be a bit fatiguing with badly recorded or compressed music, but all headphones with a good treble response are like this).
Quote:

Was thinking about it but the bump at 10K Hz is the same amount as the 990's although I am sure the bass is tighter and mid's are not as recessed, I really like the fit and feel of the Beyers though
 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Yeah I have tried one of those muse tube amps and it had so much distortion and Humm, on top of that it stopped working and puffed a little bit of smoke and I ended up returning it, I am probably gonna dump good money on a decent tube amp or a O2 amp/dac combo from JDS labs.

Yea, I remember you said before about the little tube amp that puffs.
Maybe a Little Dot II or Little Dot III would be better?

 

[TunneLVisioN42]

What do you think about the Tubemagic D1 Angel?

 

[Slaughter]

The HD600 is anything but analytical and I found it to have much more life than the 880/600. The 880/600 is not bright, yet has the most extended, smoothest treble I have heard. The mids are great but do nothing for fast tempo music...typical Beyer. Bass is well extended and present but a little too polite. The soundstage is phenomenal. HD600 is technically not as good, but covers a wider range of music and sound more alive, probably due to the more present mid bass and smaller soundstage.

 

[obobskivich]

On the note of graphs not telling you much of anything; Ultrasones (like Grados) measure A LOT weirder/worse than they sound. The HFI-2400 are likely a good candidate for what you're describing; they (like the bigger brother PRO2900s) have lots of bass on demand, but it isn't overbearing, and the top-end is pleasantly restrained (verging on dark). They will sound slow compared to some other cans, but overall they're a very enjoyable listen (especially for their price).

I would also consider the Kenwood KH-K1000, which is a fairly balanced headphone and will drive swimmingly from basically anything as well.

The K701 (or whatever variant thereof) is also a good choice; don't buy into the mythology about their power requirements for a second though.

Re the HD 600/their family - they sound nothing like the 5x5 linage; they aren't boring or flat to listen to. I highly recommend them as well (the Kenwoods are roughly a closed version of them btw).

 

[TunneLVisioN42]

Got some q701's burned in for about 100 hours on pink noise and music, Clarity is amazing but sound signature is not warm enough for my tastes I also think bass is lacking and unless I am listening to classical music or the like they feel out of their element although treble is very well handled on these phones if a tad too bright there is just not enough low end to go with it, things also feel too distant.

So for now I guess I am sticking with my foam modded 558's as I think they are the best compromise for what I am looking for though I wish they were just a tad brighter and although the bass is good it needs more low/mid control

But I simply cant stand how they clamp on the top of the ear more so than the bottom, I am constantly readjusting to try to get even clamp distribution but its just not happening... I also wish it had more clamping force in general (really love the fit of the DT990's)

Bleh.

 

[TunneLVisioN42]

Somebody take my wallet from me please... I just ordered some HD 650's... I MUST FIND THAT PERFECT SOUND FOR ME!

 

[t-h-e-p-i-m-p]

someone should take my wallet from me. I've spend 10 thousand dollars on headphones/headphones equipment  and i'm only 18. and got no job whatsoever.
 
so u better sit tight cuz u have just started