[Dev Avidon]

Ok, that changes a lot of things!  Next question, if you could have a phone that was neutral, accurate and transparent, but didn't have much in the way of bass volume or impact, or a big, punchy phone with lots of bass that had a more colored, less detailed sound, which would you prefer?  And where are you mostly going to be using these?  Portable or home?  And will your environment be relatively noisy or almost always very quiet?

 

[mblomstrand92]

I'm currently using a pair of Sennheiser HD595 with my Asus Essence Xonar STX Soundcard. I find the sound to laid back, to harsh in the highs and kinda boring all over. They do sound good when i listen to Coldplay, Radiohead and some calm Weezer music but in games they sound really bad. I'm not trying to bash my headphones but after i today tried a pair of m50's i was suprised how tight and full the music sounded. And then i was just play them straight into my Iphone with mp320kbps music files. Gonna be nice to set those babys up with my Xonar STX soundcard and start enjoying so heavy music again Probably buying these guys right away when the shops opens tomorrow.
I will come back with a serious test between my Sennheiser HD595's and my new M50's in a couple of weeks.
 

 

[mcnoiserdc]

well I had the m50 and despite liking it I prefer the hd595 hands down

 

[mblomstrand92]

Hmmm what kinda music do you listen to with your HD595's?
 
Some of my fav bands:
 
NOFX
Weezer
Radiohead
Coldplay
Green Day
Smashing Pumpkins
 

 

[njones0100]

Right now all I have is the 595's, but it sounds like I need both.



I love the 595's for some ambient Pink Floyd or the multi-layered smooth jazz sounds of Steely Dan, but the are definitely laid back, and I would like something more "in your face" for more agressive or heavy music or high enery, bass heavy music like Daft Punk.



Sounds like these are two that would complement each other nicely.

 

[Smithy321]

I did not like like the m50's at all. Very muffled ...veil sounding-compared to other phones. Tight and impactful they were but thats it. Other than that very dull sounding with certain instruments sounding unnatural...

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

I did not like like the m50's at all. Very muffled ...veil sounding-compared to other phones. Tight and impactful they were but thats it. Other than that very dull sounding with certain instruments sounding unnatural...

Your pair doesn't sound like mine.  No headphone I have is more veiled than my Sennheiser while the M50 is the clearest behind the D7000 and ESP950.

 

[njones0100]

Quote:

I love the AD700s for mid-fi open shells (wearing a set right now actually

).  What is your price ceiling btw?  There are several other options in there, like the FA-003s, or the Shure SRH840s.  I just never liked the 595 phones, found them to be really boring for lack of a better word.  The m50s are very nice, not as detailed, but good lf extension and punch.  It will help if you tell us what genres you like, what your price ceiling is, your source material on average (like mp3s or FLAC, etc) and amped vs unamped (guessing the latter). 

 
Are you saying that you consider the FA-003 to be more of a "fun" phone than the 595? The 595's are my only headphones, and while I have no point of reference, I can definitely see how they could be labeled as "laid-back." Don't get me wrong, I love them, but they are probably not optimal for all of the genres of music I listen to. I'm interested in getting the FA-003's and M50's as my next sets. Soon. I'm curious as to how they compare to what I have now.
 
Sorry, if I'm derailing the thread a little bit here, but I thought this information may be of use to the OP.

 

[mootookang]

Quote:

Your pair doesn't sound like mine.  No headphone I have is more veiled than my Sennheiser while the M50 is the clearest behind the D7000 and ESP950.

It depends on the type of music you listen to. I also find the M50 to be a bit muffled when it comes to classical music.
 
It sounds amazing when it comes to hip-hop, rock, and techno though.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

It depends on the type of music you listen to. I also find the M50 to be a bit muffled when it comes to classical music.
 
It sounds amazing when it comes to hip-hop, rock, and techno though.

There is a bit of a nasal quality to violins and such for classical due to a slight dip in the upper mid but that isn't what 'muffled' or 'veiled' means to me.  Symantics I guess.  I've listened to a lot of acoustic through the M50.  Honestly the 555 and 840 always sounded like a cloth was draped over the drivers in comparison.  More so the 555 to my ears.  YMMV.