willkill
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2006
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This is my first post on head-fi (reading the place has cost me so much, I thought I'd might as well actually join
) and so I thought I'd give opinions on some of the various headphones/earphones I own and have owned. My home setup comprises of the computer as source and Foobar2000 as the audio player going into the Tapco Link.USB external soundcard which has quite a powerful and good sounding headphone out, used for the Sennheiser HD580s. These are my first fairly high end cans and I upgraded to them a few months ago from the EH-250s I had which were the first cans I used.
Sennheiser EH-250:
These were the first proper full-sized headphones I have used and on reflection seem a fairly good introduction to medium quality sound. They are sealed and circumaural with pleather earpads and in regards to comfort, they seem very light on the head giving little pressure for a closed can. They have fully replaceable cable (which I did have to do after 6 months) as well as interchangeable headbands etc. In regards to sound, they initially impressed me and despite the limited soundstage, partially due to the closed design, seem to have an immediacy to the sound which immersed me into it, this is noteable in comparison to the more laid back HD580s and reveal far less detail (not surprising considering they are a fraction of the price). They also seem prone to distort at medium to high volumes and the sound signature is rather dark which at times can be rather overbearing. It's also rather muddy with very pronounced lower mids. The higher mids are rather recessed though, as is the treble. The bass, though pronounced, isn't very tight. I'd also like to point out that the EH-250s are very similar to the HD497s in terms of sound and design. They appear exactly the same, but with the HD497 driver enclosures being semi-open, whereas the EH250s are entirely closed. Having tried on a demonstration pair of HD497s on in a shop, the open design appears to improve the sound quite a bit by making it less claustrophobic and muddy, but aside from that they are very similar. I'm not sure if they share the same drivers.
Sennheiser HD-580:
These seem rather popular headphones although they are rather scarce in the UK. I ordered a pair from the US and considering that I got them for the same as the HD-280 Pros are here, I'm very satisfied indeed. The first thing I noticed, upgrading from the EH250s, was the comfort. The supra-aural design completely cocooned my ears and the velour pads so soft and pressure so little that I near forget I'm wearing them at times. They are incredibly comfortable! The sound is far more detailed than the EH250s, as is to be expected, but I immediately noticed very minor details in recordings such as talking in the background during the beginning of some tracks and with classical even things like page turnings I wouldn't think possible to hear during a recording. They have a much more clear and airy sound than anything I've heard before and the soundstage is wide with various instruments appearing to be in different parts of the room. With human vocals feeling so far away from my head, I'm occasionally startled and think that someone else has entered the room
. These cans have a the capability to show some very tight, pronounced bass if it's there, but it's never ever overbearing and the sound never muddy. The treble is also there, but I can see why the HD580s are seen as having rolled off very high treble. Overall, the sound is slightly darker than what I'd think was neutral, but I have not heard a pair of headphones I'd consider neutral yet, but the whole profile of the sound seems natural and realistic, never artificial. For that reason, I can see why these are so strong with classical music. That doesn't mean that they aren't versatile though. I use them for a variety of music including lighter and indie rock, hard rock, metal, trance, industrial and with the exception of death metal it has handled well every genre I've thrown at it and they remain on my head around at least 4 hours of every day, if not longer.
Sony MDR-V300:
I picked up a pair of these on a near whim and it turned out to be a complete mistake. I wanted a pair of smallish cans for mobile use and these turned out to be rather uncomfortable, with the very thick and long cable just getting in the way. That wasn't that much of a bother compared to the sound. Having thought the EH250s rather dark and muddy I was in for a shock with these things. The whole lower end is very prominent, yet there wasn't that much bass and the bass was very sloppy and uncontrolled. Most music was near unlistenable to with these things, especially rock and metal. They sit on a shelf, doing very little.
Sennheiser MX-75:
These are part of the fairly new sport range of Senn earphones. They are a rather indiscreet lime green colour that may not be to everyone's taste. Oddly for a portable and especially an earphone the impedance is 64 ohm, making them not that easy to drive out of many DAPs. I think that a CMOY may be in order to drive these better in the near future. Comfort is a bit of an issue and they have the new "Twist to fit system." There's a small rubber pad sticking out above from where the driver is and this fits into the crease in the ear above the entrance. You have to twist the MX-75s a bit to fit the pad into that crease and thankfully there are three seperate sizes of that rubber pad included. Once in place they are very reluctant to move and this is good for walking/jogging/sports. There is also an option of using a choice of two rubber pads around where the driver is, and also a foam tip instead which I am using as I find it more comfortable. I did at first find them slightly painful as my ears are small, but over a few hours they have become considerably more comfortable. Concerning the sound, it follows a similar shape to the HD580s, but with the slight muddiness to it that seems very common in cheap-medium priced earphones and even in the CX-300s. For an earphone the sound also has a surprisingly low amount of distortion and bass is also handled fairly well, not ever seeming uncontrolled. Overall, I'm fairly pleased although less so with the comfort, but that's more an issue for those with fairly small ears. If you aren't a fan of IEMs, then I'd consider these worth a look for fairly low priced earphones for use out of a portable, but ideally one with a quite high output power.
Those were just a few thoughts I had on the various headphones I have been able to try over the past 8 months and have (well the HD580s in particular) converted me truly to head-fi and have resulted in a large accumulation of dust on top of my speakers. I'd like to try a pair of Grados at some point to see what else is out there, although I seem to be very partial to the Senn sound.
Sennheiser EH-250:
These were the first proper full-sized headphones I have used and on reflection seem a fairly good introduction to medium quality sound. They are sealed and circumaural with pleather earpads and in regards to comfort, they seem very light on the head giving little pressure for a closed can. They have fully replaceable cable (which I did have to do after 6 months) as well as interchangeable headbands etc. In regards to sound, they initially impressed me and despite the limited soundstage, partially due to the closed design, seem to have an immediacy to the sound which immersed me into it, this is noteable in comparison to the more laid back HD580s and reveal far less detail (not surprising considering they are a fraction of the price). They also seem prone to distort at medium to high volumes and the sound signature is rather dark which at times can be rather overbearing. It's also rather muddy with very pronounced lower mids. The higher mids are rather recessed though, as is the treble. The bass, though pronounced, isn't very tight. I'd also like to point out that the EH-250s are very similar to the HD497s in terms of sound and design. They appear exactly the same, but with the HD497 driver enclosures being semi-open, whereas the EH250s are entirely closed. Having tried on a demonstration pair of HD497s on in a shop, the open design appears to improve the sound quite a bit by making it less claustrophobic and muddy, but aside from that they are very similar. I'm not sure if they share the same drivers.
Sennheiser HD-580:
These seem rather popular headphones although they are rather scarce in the UK. I ordered a pair from the US and considering that I got them for the same as the HD-280 Pros are here, I'm very satisfied indeed. The first thing I noticed, upgrading from the EH250s, was the comfort. The supra-aural design completely cocooned my ears and the velour pads so soft and pressure so little that I near forget I'm wearing them at times. They are incredibly comfortable! The sound is far more detailed than the EH250s, as is to be expected, but I immediately noticed very minor details in recordings such as talking in the background during the beginning of some tracks and with classical even things like page turnings I wouldn't think possible to hear during a recording. They have a much more clear and airy sound than anything I've heard before and the soundstage is wide with various instruments appearing to be in different parts of the room. With human vocals feeling so far away from my head, I'm occasionally startled and think that someone else has entered the room
Sony MDR-V300:
I picked up a pair of these on a near whim and it turned out to be a complete mistake. I wanted a pair of smallish cans for mobile use and these turned out to be rather uncomfortable, with the very thick and long cable just getting in the way. That wasn't that much of a bother compared to the sound. Having thought the EH250s rather dark and muddy I was in for a shock with these things. The whole lower end is very prominent, yet there wasn't that much bass and the bass was very sloppy and uncontrolled. Most music was near unlistenable to with these things, especially rock and metal. They sit on a shelf, doing very little.
Sennheiser MX-75:
These are part of the fairly new sport range of Senn earphones. They are a rather indiscreet lime green colour that may not be to everyone's taste. Oddly for a portable and especially an earphone the impedance is 64 ohm, making them not that easy to drive out of many DAPs. I think that a CMOY may be in order to drive these better in the near future. Comfort is a bit of an issue and they have the new "Twist to fit system." There's a small rubber pad sticking out above from where the driver is and this fits into the crease in the ear above the entrance. You have to twist the MX-75s a bit to fit the pad into that crease and thankfully there are three seperate sizes of that rubber pad included. Once in place they are very reluctant to move and this is good for walking/jogging/sports. There is also an option of using a choice of two rubber pads around where the driver is, and also a foam tip instead which I am using as I find it more comfortable. I did at first find them slightly painful as my ears are small, but over a few hours they have become considerably more comfortable. Concerning the sound, it follows a similar shape to the HD580s, but with the slight muddiness to it that seems very common in cheap-medium priced earphones and even in the CX-300s. For an earphone the sound also has a surprisingly low amount of distortion and bass is also handled fairly well, not ever seeming uncontrolled. Overall, I'm fairly pleased although less so with the comfort, but that's more an issue for those with fairly small ears. If you aren't a fan of IEMs, then I'd consider these worth a look for fairly low priced earphones for use out of a portable, but ideally one with a quite high output power.
Those were just a few thoughts I had on the various headphones I have been able to try over the past 8 months and have (well the HD580s in particular) converted me truly to head-fi and have resulted in a large accumulation of dust on top of my speakers. I'd like to try a pair of Grados at some point to see what else is out there, although I seem to be very partial to the Senn sound.
