cookie42
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2010
- Posts
- 14
- Likes
- 16
Hi all,
I am relatively new to audiophilia but I just felt like writing a review and ask some questions about these phones...and since I was told once to write about what you know, I'm going to center the brief review about Radiohead's In Rainbows. I don't purport to "know it", but I have listened to the album a good number of times, with a decent number of lower-end in ear and over ear and on ear headphones.
All in all, I really enjoy these headphones. The bass is pretty reactive to the music, and is able to capture drum-oriented music pretty well...
When I mentioned the drum-orientation I was not kidding. It seems like the PortaPro has a range ideal for capturing snare hits as well as bass hits and resonance in drums in a number of songs tested. In the first few lines of Weird Fishes/Arpeggi (most noticeable here), drum resonance is brought forward by the PortaPro, adding a new aspect to the music that I had never noticed before.
The "snappy" and more abrupt beats of Reckoner as well as 15 step (and the stylings of Thom Yorke in general) are also brought to the forefront of the music and are more pronounced and clear.
The warmth of these phones also seems to be a defining characteristic. Although the bass can detract from the detailing in the highs, the sound seems to be relatively clear.
Another pro of the portapro (uggh) is that because of the richer bass and more sustain in the bass, lower octave orchestral parts truly come to life. Cellos and basses sound beautiful with the portapros. Also, the phones seem to bring forth a bit of the lower register into play in acoustical music. (see the pattern yet?)
I have read up on other reviews detailing mods including the kramer mod as well as the quarter mod. I would generally agree that the highs are at times blocked by the amount of bass in the headphones. For this reason I plan on first completing the quarter mod (simple) soon and then the kramer mod later to be able to report back on the difference in detail.
Further Cons... I have noticed that the portapros don't satisfy my ears very well in music with guitars with a lot of gain. I cite my listen to Radiohead's Bodysnatchers, featuring music that is louder than average as well as gainier. Having listened to this through some higher quality / subwoofed Panasonic Bookshelf speakers (that I recently made some new enclosure for out of jatoba
) I can tell that the portapros are lacking in this area. I also noticed a similar problem in Weird Fishes/Arpeggi where a gainier vocal part in Thom Yorke's upper register begins to buzz a bit (around 3:50). Being new to audio, I'm not sure what modification might negate this problem, but I do suspect that a portable headphone amplifier might remedy the situation. I've been looking into the cmoy pocket amps and I am seriously considering buying one / making one.
Another problem I have noticed is poor acoustical performance with the sound of piano. While the lower octaves are okay, the piano midrange and upper octaves are somewhat obscured by the lower octaves. It is strange because the sound of the piano is suprisingly harsh at the beginning of notes, as if a person with metal fingers were playing, and then the sound kind of fades out. I realize my description isn't the best, as I'm new at this, but the piano in Radiohead's Videotape does sound obscured.
In conclusion I would recommend these phones for bass lovers. But, in spirit of the motto "buy low, mod high", I truly believe that these are a worthy pair of headphones fit fo teh modz!! Maybe with an amp there will be fewer problems with gainey guitars and higher vocals/ (aka lots of driving?). Maybe with the kramer mod / quarter mod the highs will be less obscured - hopefully ill get around to doing this soon and upload my results. In addition I want to recable the phones, just for the looks and the lulz of a new project...and the better sound of course.......
Additional thoughts on the portapro as well as suggestions for mods, etc. to better sound are greatly appreciated!
I am relatively new to audiophilia but I just felt like writing a review and ask some questions about these phones...and since I was told once to write about what you know, I'm going to center the brief review about Radiohead's In Rainbows. I don't purport to "know it", but I have listened to the album a good number of times, with a decent number of lower-end in ear and over ear and on ear headphones.
All in all, I really enjoy these headphones. The bass is pretty reactive to the music, and is able to capture drum-oriented music pretty well...
When I mentioned the drum-orientation I was not kidding. It seems like the PortaPro has a range ideal for capturing snare hits as well as bass hits and resonance in drums in a number of songs tested. In the first few lines of Weird Fishes/Arpeggi (most noticeable here), drum resonance is brought forward by the PortaPro, adding a new aspect to the music that I had never noticed before.
The "snappy" and more abrupt beats of Reckoner as well as 15 step (and the stylings of Thom Yorke in general) are also brought to the forefront of the music and are more pronounced and clear.
The warmth of these phones also seems to be a defining characteristic. Although the bass can detract from the detailing in the highs, the sound seems to be relatively clear.
Another pro of the portapro (uggh) is that because of the richer bass and more sustain in the bass, lower octave orchestral parts truly come to life. Cellos and basses sound beautiful with the portapros. Also, the phones seem to bring forth a bit of the lower register into play in acoustical music. (see the pattern yet?)
I have read up on other reviews detailing mods including the kramer mod as well as the quarter mod. I would generally agree that the highs are at times blocked by the amount of bass in the headphones. For this reason I plan on first completing the quarter mod (simple) soon and then the kramer mod later to be able to report back on the difference in detail.
Further Cons... I have noticed that the portapros don't satisfy my ears very well in music with guitars with a lot of gain. I cite my listen to Radiohead's Bodysnatchers, featuring music that is louder than average as well as gainier. Having listened to this through some higher quality / subwoofed Panasonic Bookshelf speakers (that I recently made some new enclosure for out of jatoba
) I can tell that the portapros are lacking in this area. I also noticed a similar problem in Weird Fishes/Arpeggi where a gainier vocal part in Thom Yorke's upper register begins to buzz a bit (around 3:50). Being new to audio, I'm not sure what modification might negate this problem, but I do suspect that a portable headphone amplifier might remedy the situation. I've been looking into the cmoy pocket amps and I am seriously considering buying one / making one.Another problem I have noticed is poor acoustical performance with the sound of piano. While the lower octaves are okay, the piano midrange and upper octaves are somewhat obscured by the lower octaves. It is strange because the sound of the piano is suprisingly harsh at the beginning of notes, as if a person with metal fingers were playing, and then the sound kind of fades out. I realize my description isn't the best, as I'm new at this, but the piano in Radiohead's Videotape does sound obscured.
In conclusion I would recommend these phones for bass lovers. But, in spirit of the motto "buy low, mod high", I truly believe that these are a worthy pair of headphones fit fo teh modz!! Maybe with an amp there will be fewer problems with gainey guitars and higher vocals/ (aka lots of driving?). Maybe with the kramer mod / quarter mod the highs will be less obscured - hopefully ill get around to doing this soon and upload my results. In addition I want to recable the phones, just for the looks and the lulz of a new project...and the better sound of course.......
Additional thoughts on the portapro as well as suggestions for mods, etc. to better sound are greatly appreciated!
