Quote:
Originally Posted by Agnostic
Did you get that already and have a chance to compare? I'd be curious because I already have the hd201 and like it but am still waiting for the ep630's. ...
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This is just what i've noticed so far. I've only had the time last night to really go back and forth between ksc-35, ep-630, and hd-201. Between the hd-201 and ep-630, originally i thought i prefer the 630s over it, but after setting up the amp properly i like them both.
Both ep-630 and ksc-35 are similar in nature, aggressive and fairly low imp. So i used the supermini's impedence option. I guess it somewhat smoothed out the sound of both phones. While to really bring the sound out of the hd-201 i left the impedence option off but turned the amp gain option on. For all phones i didn't bother touching the bass boost, but i do have the crossfeed option on all the time. For now i'm comparing static and vbr mp3s from the pc (atleast 192kbps), foobar with flat eq, kernel streaming, philips psc-604 (cmi-8738 or 8378?). Sounds clean enough to me.
The hd-201 excelled in songs that are more laid back. I was listening heavily to The Cardigans last night, and on the slower acoustic tracks like 'Junk of the Hearts' the hd-201 wins out in detail and overall refinement. Bass extension goes deep, but the juicy part of the mid-bass is lacking compared to the ep-630. The drums sound a bit dry. The treble seems ok.
That's one of the areas the ep-630 lacked, the treble on some tracks is pathetic. 'No Way Back' by Foo Fighters, other 2 did fine treble wise, but the 630s just sucked here. It does have a redeeming quality, bass. Drums and bass tend to overpower the vocals on 'Cochise' by audioslave. Overall presentation on audioslave's 'Drown me slowly' is quite good, with over powering bass guitar, but it rocked! Bass is great for hip-hop tracks like 'Third Eye' by Black Eyed Peas, and also good on fast rock songs. It gives rock songs that powerful bass guitar feel. I agree with other reviewers when they say these are fun sounding phones. Somehow these are great to listen to the Cardigans with. Out of the three i thought it had the best presentation on the Cardigans' 'Do you believe'. And only lost slightly on 'Junk of the Hearts' to the hd-201, mostly because the 201s are perfect for mellow acoustic songs.
The 35s didn't fare so well on both tracks, too much airy ambiance for these mellow and intimate songs. Not enough seperation or definition in 'Do you believe'. But that's ok, as we all know the 35s rocks like no other when it comes to audioslave, dream theater, foo fighters, and even daft punk and hip-hop tracks. aside from specific cardigans songs my head was bobbin' and swayin'. It's a party animal, it tried to rock-out mellow songs.
Detail between the 630 and 201, i can sometimes hear things on one and not the other. Still haven't pinpointed what it is exactly. But both phones, being more isolating than the kosses have a more intimate presentation to music, made it easier to pick out details.
I did put on my ksc-50, i thought it had a nice balanced sound, but right away i missed the fun thudding bass of both the 35s and 630. I will try and compare it more with the 201 when i have time.
Oh, and on A-Ha's 'Forever not yours' (just one of my unsorted mp3s), the hd-201 did something the other 2 didn't, it brought out some low end 'whoomps' I haven't noticed before. For a long time i thought that song was boring. I guess it's just European, lol, j/k (euro band, euro phones, heh nvm).
