Heretical Hypothetical

[Traddad]

Say....what if a certain unnamed HeadFier had a bad case of upgradeitis, and:
said Headfier loved his/her Grado SR125s but found them fatiguing,
said HeadFier really didn't appreciate his/her previously owned HD600s and went back to the afore mentioned SR125s
said HeadFier loved all types of music save for (most) headbanging and PopCrap, but especially loved acoustically driven folk, alt.country and jazz,

Which cans would the community choose between the DT880s and the K701s,
if said HeadFier DID have a bad case of upgradeitis and the community WERE to suggest a replacement.....
Just a hypothetical case.....

 

[creyc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Traddad said Headfier loved his/her Grado SR125s but found them fatiguing.....

Hmm, his/her? Can't possibly be a head-fi'er, there are no girls here!!

 

[SAP7]

Inbetween all that guff, I think someone has some cash burning a hole...

Curse headfi for the umpteenth time today.

 

[Traddad]

Data folks....I need data!

The above was a tongue in cheek treatment of a real struggle I'm having with a set of cans I love but can't listen to for more than an hour. I wish I had money burning a hole in my pocket (if I were wearing pants)....anyone want to contribute?

 

[NiceCans]

Quote:

Originally Posted by creyc Hmm, his/her? Can't possibly be a head-fi'er, there are no girls here!!

ummmm . . . . I (and a few others around here) would strongly disagree

 

[lmilhan]

Considering this persons musical preferences, along with the 2 headphones listed, I would definately vote for the K701s. But in my experience, a decent amp is needed to drive them properly because they are quite hungry.

So hypothetically speaking, this person would need a budget to cover the K701s, as well an amp (if he/she doesn't already have one) in order to drive them properly.

 

[derekbmn]

Try some flat pad's on your 125's.

 

[lmilhan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by derekbmn Try some flat pad's on your 125's.

If that were one of the options listed, I would have voted for that one as well. Totally worth a shot, and it isn't too expensive to try it out before spending a lot of scratch on a new pair of phones.

Just know that the highs will be tamed, at the expense of a more pronounced bass. Could be just the compromise you need to eliminate the fatigue.

 

[derekbmn]

My thought's exactly !!!

 

[aufeuer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by derekbmn Try some flat pad's on your 125's.

Better yet, before you blow away 30 bucks on a pair of foam pads, try wrapping some scotch tape around the stock bowl pads' outer surface. To me, this mod helped the SQ A LOT by bringing out the bass and taming those piercing 125 highs.

 

[derekbmn]

Or reversed bowl's . It won't cost anything.

 

[Traddad]

I have actually tried flats and found the condition to be worse. I’m more than a little reluctant to “kludge” a set of phones to change them away from their designed sound. It’s the rule of unintended consequences….what else would I change along with addressing fatigue? While I don’t have a bottomless wallet, good music, well rendered is very important to me. So far from the research I’ve done, I’m tending toward the DT880s because of the reported detail and lower price. Whatever cans I get will have to compete with my SR125s head to head before I choose one. Any good info on the difference between the older and newer DT880s?

 

[Sparky14]

I can't help in the aspect of DT880-K701, which is better? However, I've been scouring threads the last week in search of the same answer, as I am upgrading from the other end - the Sennheiser HD580.

I can tell you what I got from my search of a little over 700,000 threads.

In the high-low impact scale, it would go SR125-DT880-K701-HD650. The fatigue scale would run opposite that.

The K701 and HD650 have a huge base of fans. The DT880 has a smaller, but loyal, base. Especially the newer DT880. Nobody seems to dislike any of the big 3, but they do have preferences. If you are trying to compliment the SR125, get something different enough to notice.

Personally, I am leaning to the DT880, which would be enough difference from the HD580 while not as harsh as the SR-60s.

For you, I would think the K701 would be the wise choice. It should be significantly different from the SR125s, while the the DT880s would be an improvement I don't think you'd get as much out of it.

And if you don't like the K701s, PM me, maybe I won't like the DT880s (plan on ordering today) and we can swap

 

[Audiofiler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lmilhan I would definately vote for the K701s.

Hey man,

I have some Brand new K 701's with around 250 hours on them, if you want to hike over from Gold Canyon to hear them, let me know...you are more than welcome to come listen to them as long as you want to..
If I recall, you were also interested in the RS-1's too a few weeks back, let me know when you want to hear them, no worries we can set it up,

AF

 

[GlendaleViper]

Head-Fi rules. You rule, Audiofiler!