[Damieni]

Has anyone tried both the Audio Technica ES7's and the AKG K81's?
I've tried the ES7's and they were really quite uncomfortable for me (like a vice on my head, with added pressure on the top from the headband).
Do the k81's have to wide shoulders that the es7's have (where the headband sticks out from the sides of your head)?

 

[jjcha]

I've tried both. I agree the stock ES7 is not comfortable. I have stretched mine pretty seriously - so much that people say they're too loose, lol.

I found the 81DJ to be a little less vice grip than the ES7, but I imagine if I bought a pair for myself, I would stretch it out as well. Every supraaural can I've owned was too tight for my sensitive ears. But every single one of them, so far, have responded well to some stretching out and I've gotten them all to reasonable places.

But none will ever be as comfortable as a circumaural. Which is why I want to get my SR-X good with Omega 2 pads.

Best,

-Jason

 

[EscaBoi]

I can't comment on the K81's, but as for the ES7's. I had them for only a month (brand new), and if they weren't used, I'd always have them out and open on my stand to stretch them out. I admit they do hurt your ears a bit, but no where close to what they were when I first got them in the mail. At least now you can wear them for an hour or 2 without having to re-adjust or take them off.

My advice for the ES7's is (if you intend on keeping them) to have them stretched out if you aren't using them. I had them on my Sony Rechargable stand, the gap I had them open at was between 2-3 inches. If you want faster results, then open them up a bit more. Hopefully that helps.

edit: I didn't want spread them too far out, because seeing some of the REALLY loose Grado headbands... scared me.
edit2: oops, I just found out it was someone else that picked up my ES7's and not you *feels stupid*

 

[Damieni]

The K81's don't have the wide shoulders of es7's do they?

I've been trying to decide whether to get K81's or sennheiser EH250's. While the EH250's would be more comfortable (i have tried a friend's HD202 and the EH250's are a similar design), I'm not sure if the sennheisers would be too much of a trade off in terms of sound quality. Many people listened to the EH250's?