NotJeffBuckley
1000+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2005
- Posts
- 1,479
- Likes
- 564
I do like the ABS used in the Beyers, but I am turning into a Beyer fanboy. What I don't understand is exactly what's wrong with the AKG K701/etc.'s plastic. Okay, it's not ABS... But it doesn't seem to be exhibiting any extraordinary resonance at monitoring volumes, and ABS isn't problem free in terms of mechanical properties even though it holds up well for acoustic uses. (My studio monitors are moulded ABS, and I was wearing DT-770s as I typed that last post, so don't think I'm anti-ABS!).
I do think in general dampening gets a bit over-recommended, especially in situations like this where I've just begun to really feel out the sound beyond the initial period (which is marked, in my experience, by a combination of honeymoon and skepticism because of the difference THIS thing has over THAT thing that you're more used to, but you also want it to be cool because you spent on it!). Roll-your-own dampening is sort of a tweaker's paradise because you can immediately experience the change in the sound and there's nothing pseudo-anything about it, changing the internal dimensions of the enclosure certainly changes the sound. But I don't know if it's better, personally. I'm just starting to really get into the sound, and, I think, starting to understand where these cans are coming from (so to speak), what they're really trying to do. I feel like I owe the engineers a bit of respect in giving them a fair shake before I go mad scientist on them with improvised adjustments!
Not at all to disparage your activity, by the way, man, you know what you're after and you've experimented long enough to get it how you like. What I'm more curious about is what's wrong with the construction. I would prefer Magnesium Alloy, but I wouldn't want to pay for it, and I think where it counts the resonance characteristics of the headphones have been well tended to by the AKG design team. They are not a fashionable headphone, they're a bit odd in several ways, but I really like a lot of the decisions they made. E.g. the gigantic earpads - that's bold, makes 'em peculiar to wear, takes some time for them to properly break into your noggin's shape, but once they have, fancy that soundstage! Whereas Beyers are so darn comfy from day one you can wear them as earmuffs in the winter without any sound playing
I dunno, I sincerely doubt I'll be modifying them at all, those elastic bits seem like they might require service within the warranty period but then again they may well be excluded as "normal wear and tear." That's the only really poor decision, I think something like a a pulley-tensioned teflon weave string could have done the same job just as unobtrusively without the unfortunately fast wear characteristics of elastic. But as far as the plastic goes, it just doesn't seem low quality to me. I mean, I'll baby them, but that's just how I treat my headphones. Only the Beyer Pro 250ohms get used like they're rugged, 'cause they are. I don't have an inherent mistrust of plastic as a material, in fact I'm rather enamored of different sorts of plastics, so it confuses me a bit when people complain about the plastic on these ones.
But, hey, "I'm new here," so to speak. Maybe I'll find it grating later on. Maybe not. Maybe it'll show some wear that proves me wrong later on, though that I doubt, I don't think anyone could say they are not well-engineered, whatever the materials used, yeah?
I do think in general dampening gets a bit over-recommended, especially in situations like this where I've just begun to really feel out the sound beyond the initial period (which is marked, in my experience, by a combination of honeymoon and skepticism because of the difference THIS thing has over THAT thing that you're more used to, but you also want it to be cool because you spent on it!). Roll-your-own dampening is sort of a tweaker's paradise because you can immediately experience the change in the sound and there's nothing pseudo-anything about it, changing the internal dimensions of the enclosure certainly changes the sound. But I don't know if it's better, personally. I'm just starting to really get into the sound, and, I think, starting to understand where these cans are coming from (so to speak), what they're really trying to do. I feel like I owe the engineers a bit of respect in giving them a fair shake before I go mad scientist on them with improvised adjustments!
Not at all to disparage your activity, by the way, man, you know what you're after and you've experimented long enough to get it how you like. What I'm more curious about is what's wrong with the construction. I would prefer Magnesium Alloy, but I wouldn't want to pay for it, and I think where it counts the resonance characteristics of the headphones have been well tended to by the AKG design team. They are not a fashionable headphone, they're a bit odd in several ways, but I really like a lot of the decisions they made. E.g. the gigantic earpads - that's bold, makes 'em peculiar to wear, takes some time for them to properly break into your noggin's shape, but once they have, fancy that soundstage! Whereas Beyers are so darn comfy from day one you can wear them as earmuffs in the winter without any sound playing
I dunno, I sincerely doubt I'll be modifying them at all, those elastic bits seem like they might require service within the warranty period but then again they may well be excluded as "normal wear and tear." That's the only really poor decision, I think something like a a pulley-tensioned teflon weave string could have done the same job just as unobtrusively without the unfortunately fast wear characteristics of elastic. But as far as the plastic goes, it just doesn't seem low quality to me. I mean, I'll baby them, but that's just how I treat my headphones. Only the Beyer Pro 250ohms get used like they're rugged, 'cause they are. I don't have an inherent mistrust of plastic as a material, in fact I'm rather enamored of different sorts of plastics, so it confuses me a bit when people complain about the plastic on these ones.
But, hey, "I'm new here," so to speak. Maybe I'll find it grating later on. Maybe not. Maybe it'll show some wear that proves me wrong later on, though that I doubt, I don't think anyone could say they are not well-engineered, whatever the materials used, yeah?
