bagwell359
Headphoneus Supremus
I don't hear them as cold or bright but rather as thin and ethereal.
Overall HFM's have a dip from 1400-1800 Hz and an upper mid dip and choppy treble (what can doesn't have choppy treble?).
Well I think the truth for me is in the middle somewhere. The HE-500 is too rich in the bass and mids to have the somewhat bright/cold highs from taking over - plus the highs can be subtle and sublime at times - stock.
The Ananda and HEK v1 are both "fey" - thin, clear, lacking impact, some annoying bits in the treble. Ethereal on a good day.
The HEX v2 has more body then above pair, but a very demure upper mids which hurts dynamics. When EQ'd they are much better but still lack some detail - even on great gear. This is the most different HFM sounding can of the bunch I know.
The HE-5LE has very bright highs with occasional bass thumps nearing the HE-6 style, but yeah hot.
HE-5se - bright, bass shy.
HE-400* - bass cuts off early, bright, lack detail, choppy FR.
HE-6 4 screw - bright, awesome bass; 6 screw less bright, but still bright, great bass
HEK v2 - really good, but yes, a bit bright. Still a near TOTL effort.
HE6se - notable suckout around 1500 Hz. When EQ'd no real sense of ringing, clear, very fine micro details and good dynamics. Meh soundstage. Don't bang with the old HE-6.
Arya - Lots of definition. Bright spike around 5 kHz. Overall it's clear and bright, but brings more bass impact than Ananda. Only heard for 4 hours so far. I would get fatigued by these w/o an EQ. In fact there isn't a HFM I know or have that doesn't need some EQ.