[VNandor]

Hi, Head-Fi-ers,
 
I've been looking for a good pair of headphones to listen them on the go. Since I only listen to EDM, I thought a bassy FR would be good for me.
After checking out some cans at the local store, I found out that I actually don't like huge bass boost.
 
So I've been trying to read about the more neutral headphones and these are what I've found: Shure SE 425, Etymotic Research ER 4, JVC HA-FX 700.
Still, I'm an EDM fan and i don't want my bass and my subb-bass to be rolled off, but I also don't want to be overwhelmed by only bass. I think I'm looking for a balanced and clear sound with details and fast, tight bass/sub-bass.
Though i only mentioned IEMs, portable over-ear headphones are also welcome, i just don't know anything about them.
 
Any recommendations?
Anyone listened to electronic music with any of these? If so what are your impressions?
 
Also it is my first post here and English is not my native language so sorry if it's messy.

 

[KG Jag]

Based on U.S. pricing you should take a close look at the NAD VISO HP50.  See:
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/i-love-these-headphonesthe-nad-viso-hp50

 

[VNandor]

Looks like everyone loves its sound, though the headband is quite weird. If i find them as good as all the other reviewers i'll probably not care about it.
Thanks for the swift response.

 

[nuclearboy197]

The AKG K545 is great and $100 cheaper than the HP50. I have tried them both but I do still prefer the AKGs.

 

[VNandor]

  The AKG K545 is great and $100 cheaper than the HP50. I have tried them both but I do still prefer the AKGs.

Could you tell me why you found the k545 better? I found only two comparisons about them so I  would gladly read a third one if you don't mind writing it down.

 

[nuclearboy197]

 
Could you tell me why you found the k545 better? I found only two comparisons about them so I  would gladly read a third one if you don't mind writing it down.

Sorry for the late response, but I'd happily write a comparison! Here goes:
 
Keep in mind, I don't actually own the HP50.
 
Bass: To be honest, I found the bass on the K545 a bit more rumbly and powerful, where as the HP50 seemed a tad loose to me. Overall I preferred the bass on the K545 by quite a bit. However neither of the bass on these headphones are overwhelming or surreal-sounding, I just found the K545 a bit tighter and less muddy.
 
Mids: In this regard they both sound somewhat similar, though the K545 is more focused on the upper mids, and the HP50 was focused on the lower mids. In this case it kind of depeds on the type of music you listen to. Do you want clarity in the upper mids/low treble? Or do you want more focus in the lower mids?
 
Treble/High: These headphones were quite similar in this section, though I found the HP50 lacking clarity due to it's warmer sound signature.
 
Soundstage: I preferred the HP50 for this. The separation was ever so slightly edging out the K545. But regardless both headphones are great!
 
Comfort: I preferred the K545s for the bigger earpads, because I often felt the sides of the earcup rubbing on my ears. But if you have glasses, the seal will be quite problematic with the K545.
 
Build: These are both very rugged headphone, no preferences here.
 
Bottom line: It depends on a lot of thing. do you want an exciting v-shaped sound signature (K545) or a more laid back u-shaped signature (HP50). Overall I preferred the K545, but it's completely based on personal preference. I also wouldn't be surprised if the HP50 ended up in my collection one day, but I still like the K545 more.
 
Hope it helps,
Caden

 

[VNandor]

 
Sorry for the late response, but I'd happily write a comparison! Here goes:
 
Keep in mind, I don't actually own the HP50.
 
Bass: To be honest, I found the bass on the K545 a bit more rumbly and powerful, where as the HP50 seemed a tad loose to me. Overall I preferred the bass on the K545 by quite a bit. However neither of the bass on these headphones are overwhelming or surreal-sounding, I just found the K545 a bit tighter and less muddy.
 
Mids: In this regard they both sound somewhat similar, though the K545 is more focused on the upper mids, and the HP50 was focused on the lower mids. In this case it kind of depeds on the type of music you listen to. Do you want clarity in the upper mids/low treble? Or do you want more focus in the lower mids?
 
Treble/High: These headphones were quite similar in this section, though I found the HP50 lacking clarity due to it's warmer sound signature.
 
Soundstage: I preferred the HP50 for this. The separation was ever so slightly edging out the K545. But regardless both headphones are great!
 
Comfort: I preferred the K545s for the bigger earpads, because I often felt the sides of the earcup rubbing on my ears. But if you have glasses, the seal will be quite problematic with the K545.
 
Build: These are both very rugged headphone, no preferences here.
 
Bottom line: It depends on a lot of thing. do you want an exciting v-shaped sound signature (K545) or a more laid back u-shaped signature (HP50). Overall I preferred the K545, but it's completely based on personal preference. I also wouldn't be surprised if the HP50 ended up in my collection one day, but I still like the K545 more.
 
Hope it helps,
Caden

Thanks for your time writing this comparison!
According to you it worth the time to give it a listen, I'll probably order and listen both of them and after return one.

 

[nuclearboy197]

Oops, just realized that I made a typo on the comparison. when I said the earcups rubbed the side of my ears, I meant on the HP50, not the K545

 

[nuclearboy197]

 
Thanks for your time writing this comparison!
According to you it worth the time to give it a listen, I'll probably order and listen both of them and after return one.

Your very welcome! Be sure to tell us what you think of both of them!

 

[VNandor]

 
Your very welcome! Be sure to tell us what you think of both of them!

Sorry for the late feedback, it wasn't so easy to get them here, and I didn't feel that urge to pay over 500$, however after i ordered them I just couldn't wait to finally  get and listen to them. 

On a side note, this is the first time I could listen seriously to headphones priced like these so take it as you want.
 
So, I've  quickly listened both of them right out of the box and the first thing I noticed is that both of the headphones sounded awesome! The NADs sounded warmer and I felt it had fuller bass so first I was leaning towards the NADs. The rich sound of the sub bass to low mids just blew me away. When I listened to the AKGs I really missed that richness from the lows, however it made me to recognize I didn't really hear the higher frequencies in the NADs as clearly and well defined as in the AKGs.
 
After listening to the AKGs for hours to get familiar with its sound I started to accept the "lack" of the bass because I could clearly hear every notes and it was very well-controlled, I just simply wouldn't classify them as bass heavy headphones. I have glasses but I didn't have any comfort or seal problems, but I have never had comfort problems with any headphones so far.
 
As for the NADs I've listened to them as much as the AKGs if not more and I sitll enjoyed its lows more than the AKGs' but the laid back highs started to really bother me. I felt (and still feel) it was at the expense of clarity. If there was an "effect/glitch/twist" in the music at the range of I don't know, let's just say around 8-10 KHz (so somewhere in the higher range) I just couldn't hear them as clearly as in the AKGs. They were also comfortable and in my opinion they look more like a pricey headphone than the AKG do.
 
Anyways it's hard to let that enjoyable bass go, and it is also hard to let the well defined high frequencies go; I will  probably let the NADs' awesome bass go, and return them, however i can clearly understand why would someone prefer the NAD Viso Hp50s over the AKG K545s.