Headphones you regretted buying the most

[DiamondD]

I regret buying all of them. LCD-3, K702, HD700, D5000, HF-2...etc. NONE of them are accurate. Not a single one, regardless of price.

I'm in the process of buying quality instruments and have been listening to audio samples to determine which instrument to ship here and try. With the instruments in hand, the sound from the headphones were all different from the instruments themselves. However, the audio samples when listened using $200 Klipsch SPEAKERS were true to life. I can't believe I spent so many thousands of dollars on "reference" headphones that weren't even remotely close to reference.

Compare the headphone sounds to the actual instrument itself...very different. Invest in good speakers. (Acutally, invest in cheap $200 speakers). They're more accurate than 2k headphones.

 

[Bansaku]

(Acutally, invest in cheap $200 speakers). They're more accurate than 2k headphones.

Or spend the $200 and grab a pair of NAD VISO HP50 or PSB M4U 1 and listen to the only headphones I have heard who's sound truly mirrors that of a loudspeaker.

 

[kman1211]

I regret buying all of them. LCD-3, K702, HD700, D5000, HF-2...etc. NONE of them are accurate. Not a single one, regardless of price.

I'm in the process of buying quality instruments and have been listening to audio samples to determine which instrument to ship here and try. With the instruments in hand, the sound from the headphones were all different from the instruments themselves. However, the audio samples when listened using $200 Klipsch SPEAKERS were true to life. I can't believe I spent so many thousands of dollars on "reference" headphones that weren't even remotely close to reference.

Compare the headphone sounds to the actual instrument itself...very different. Invest in good speakers. (Acutally, invest in cheap $200 speakers). They're more accurate than 2k headphones.

None of the headphones you listed ever sounded true to life to me. I've heard very few headphones that actually sounded true to life to me. Some may not agree with me on what headphones do this but it's expected with headphones. But I have to agree it's so much easier and usually cheaper to find accurate sounding speakers than headphones and honestly headphones can't touch a nice speaker system. And since so few headphones get it even remotely right tells me just how hard it is to design a headphone that can reproduce accurate sound. I largely use headphones for courtesy and convenience reasons and I do like the intimacy and privacy they offer.

 

[SptsNaz]

I regret buying all of them. LCD-3, K702, HD700, D5000, HF-2...etc. NONE of them are accurate. Not a single one, regardless of price.

I'm in the process of buying quality instruments and have been listening to audio samples to determine which instrument to ship here and try. With the instruments in hand, the sound from the headphones were all different from the instruments themselves. However, the audio samples when listened using $200 Klipsch SPEAKERS were true to life. I can't believe I spent so many thousands of dollars on "reference" headphones that weren't even remotely close to reference.

Compare the headphone sounds to the actual instrument itself...very different. Invest in good speakers. (Acutally, invest in cheap $200 speakers). They're more accurate than 2k headphones.

Save up and snatch up a pair of Grado HP2's, HP1000's or one of the SR100/SR200's with HP2 drivers when they come up for sale here ever so often. While they don't exactly sound like speakers, of all the headphones I've been through (maybe around 30 at this point), those are by far the most natural sounding. They just sound "right" to me, and if you match them with synergetic gear you won't ever need another pair of headphones. Joe Grado had golden ears. Aside from that, I found the HD600's properly amped to the closest to speakers that I've heard.

I agree though, a decent pair of speakers will sound way more convincing than most any pair of headphones. I have a set of ERA D4's that cost me maybe $300 years back and I would take them over just about any headphone I've ever heard. With that said, I live in a condo with a old widow under me, so I don't have much of a choice sometimes

 

[bcschmerker4]

I regret buying all of them. LCD-3, K702, HD700, D5000, HF-2...etc. NONE of them are accurate. Not a single one, regardless of price.

I'm in the process of buying quality instruments and have been listening to audio samples to determine which instrument to ship here and try. With the instruments in hand, the sound from the headphones were all different from the instruments themselves. However, the audio samples when listened using $200 Klipsch SPEAKERS were true to life. I can't believe I spent so many thousands of dollars on "reference" headphones that weren't even remotely close to reference.

Compare the headphone sounds to the actual instrument itself...very different. Invest in good speakers. (Acutally, invest in cheap $200 speakers). They're more accurate than 2k headphones.

Ye sure your headphone amplifier isn't letting you down? My ASUS® CM1630 packs a Creative Laboratories® SB1550 and its integrated amp packs too much power for my Plantronics® GAMECOM® 380, which is coming due for replacement on hours. I planned on a Heil Sound™ ProSet™ MediaPro to replace them; but work got impacted by an issue with Comcast® that choked off business, jeopardizing my entire upgrade schedule. But then, my idea of good speakers is an octet of Mackie®/LOUD Technologies SRM450v3's and a quartet of Avantgarde® Baßhorn® spherical-waveguide subs, all set for 20 dB of headroom.

 

[DiamondD]

You can add the KSE1500 to that list. As well as Triple Fi 10's. SE500, ...All Grado's have disappointed me. Won't buy another.

My amps are the iCan Pro and IFi black edition. All earbuds and headphones I own have failed to recreate the sound of the instrument.

I've sat here for hours critiquing sound samples of various violins. Italian, German, French. From the 1920's. From 2017. $10,000. $25,000....trying to hear the subtle nuances of each. Warmth vs bright. Then with the instruments in hand...whoa!....nothing like what I heard on the headphones. From any headphones. Then I listened to my bookshelf Reference Klipsch speakers....then I hear the instrument. The true instrument.

Headphones can be fun to listen to music, but don't expect ANY of them to be true to life. None of them recreate the sounds of the actual instrument. In my situation, deciding whether to spend 20k on a masterpiece violin, I learned our most prized and praised headphones don't come close to the true sound of the instrument. Do you want to hear what a 3 million Stradivarius sounds like? Crank up those speakers!

 

[kman1211]

You can add the KSE1500 to that list. As well as Triple Fi 10's. SE500, ...All Grado's have disappointed me. Won't buy another.

My amps are the iCan Pro and IFi black edition. All earbuds and headphones I own have failed to recreate the sound of the instrument.

I've sat here for hours critiquing sound samples of various violins. Italian, German, French. From the 1920's. From 2017. $10,000. $25,000....trying to hear the subtle nuances of each. Warmth vs bright. Then with the instruments in hand...whoa!....nothing like what I heard on the headphones. From any headphones. Then I listened to my bookshelf Reference Klipsch speakers....then I hear the instrument. The true instrument.

Headphones can be fun to listen to music, but don't expect ANY of them to be true to life. None of them recreate the sounds of the actual instrument. In my situation, deciding whether to spend 20k on a masterpiece violin, I learned our most prized and praised headphones don't come close to the true sound of the instrument. Do you want to hear what a 3 million Stradivarius sounds like? Crank up those speakers!

Have you tried/owned any STAX, HD 800/S, Focal, Beyers, etc. out of curiosity? Most headphones can't portray tonal depth and color, proper 3-dimensionality, and dynamic range fully enough to capture a nice instrument in all it's glory.