[tanfenton]

How would you characterize this unlikely pair? Relative to other 'phones you've heard in your system, what appears to be the K501s strength? It's Achilles heel? How satisfying is it for you musically?

How circumaural of a can is it? Do the circumferences of your ears ever get sore after listening for several hours?

How honestly is ambience reproduced (I'm talking supreme clarity of space, balance, depth, height, width, and micro-detail)? Does the stage they set ever seem—through concentration or "natural" occurance—to extend into the farther reaches of your listening room?

This is quite a lumping of questions, but you struck me as the kind of guy who wouldn't mind.

Many thanks,
NGF

 

[pigmode]

Hey tanfenton, great avatar. I wish I could put that in my sig.

Quote:

How would you characterize this unlikely pair? Relative to other 'phones you've heard in your system, what appears to be the K501s strength? It's Achilles heel? How satisfying is it for you musically?

The 501 has a great midrange. It handles classical string instruments, and woodwinds very well. Another of its strengths is vocals. Sexy chicks sound....sexy. Paired up with the Melos, it has a very different sound from that of my CHA-47. It is much fuller now--the music, the midrange, has more weight behind it. I always thought the 501 was a bit too forward, but with the Melos I don't hear that anymore. It seems that the CHA-47 is more analytical while the Melos is more tubey. (That said, I hope to commission an ultimate CHA-47 sometime soon.)

With my current setup, I want to retrieve some of the forward sound I had with my CHA-47. It may be my cables (DIY/beldon). Silver ICs are definitely on the list. And of course there is the bass issue. What is there is tight, but rolled off. No biggie, no HP has it all and the 501 is all I have right now.

Quote:

How honestly is ambience reproduced (I'm talking supreme clarity of space, balance, depth, height, width, and micro-detail)? Does the stage they set ever seem—through concentration or "natural" occurance—to extend into the farther reaches of your listening room?

Errr, are you talking soundstage? The Melos has a bit of an exagerated soundstage. With that rare recording it can be a little too much but I think it's great, especially with classical music. It's not a big (negative) issue to tell you the truth.

Caveats: I haven't tuberolled the Melos yet, because it looks like my JJs are in the postal twilight zone or something. I should therefore not try to characterize the Melos/501, but hell, for now I'll call it tubey. The other HP I had was the HD580 but they reside in Brooklyn now. I enjoyed them a lot, but the 501 revealed the Senn bass to be overly heavy.