[Doc-holliday]

I genuinely laughed at this!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


And on a better note guys, the decision has been made, and it's a relief!

Here's what I got him to try, all in one go, about an hour listening time:

AKG Q701, k550, k495 NC, Grado sr60i, Sennheiser HD25/Amperior, Momentum, Denon AH-D110, AH-D2000, Beats (solo/HD, studio, mixr, pro), Monster (diesel, inspiration, and the infamous Diamond Tears -_-), HiFiMAN HE-300, HE-400, Koss Portapro, Marshall Major, Focal Spirit One, B&W P5/P3, Shure SRH-440/840/940/750DJ, and PSB M4U 2.

Things he has yet to hear that I would have liked him to hear:
V-Moda m80, m100, audio technica m50, esw9, beyerdynamic DT770/custom ones, the new Ultimate Ears (ue600?), and Ultrasone Pro 550.


Out of all the headphones he tried, his absolute favorite in terms of sound were, to my surprise, the Amperior. He also really liked both Hifiman's, the AKG k550, the momentums, the D2000's and the PSB. Everything in this selection is bass tilted, besides the AKG and the HE-300's to a certain extent.

Now comes in the looks factor. The diamond tears still tempted him a lot, as were the mixr. But I told him: "What are headphones for?". I told him if the amperiors to him were what he liked most, that's fine by me. The blue amperiors look cools imo. Unfortunately, the clamp really hurt his head, so I told him it won't be worth it in the long run. His second choice in terms of SQ was the HE-400, but they're too bulky and he wants to drive straight from the ipod, and be able to bring it to school and in the bus. The PSB's came after that, but again comfort was an issue and it's a heavy headphone for a young kid. Same for the Denons; inconvenient and bulky.

So it comes down to the K550 and Momentums; two comfortable and good sounding phones in regards to their competitors. No Monster, nor Beats! He has a week to make a decision between both of them, he can factor the looks all he wants between these two.. I don't mind. If he doesn't make the decision, he's leaving it up to me to decide as it's his christmas gift, I guess he trusts me to make a good choice

What's ironic, is that knowing my brother, I had a premonition that if he didn't choose beats, the momentum or k550 would be his choices in regards to style. I'm glad my wishful thinking came true!

So that's that, he's getting one of either the AKG K550 or the Senn Momentums. I'll let you guys know which of the two it will be next week!

Thanks for all for the advices, opinions, critiques, etc ... and the humor!

YAAAAY!.. What a relief. Thanks for reporting back I needed to know after all the..... interesting content.... the thread seemed to develop.

Don't forget to check out the AKG K551. Same headphone with shorter cable and ipod controls. Would suit him better and come in even cooler colors. have him see them on the net.

Great!












Can we close this thread now?

 

[CashNotCredit]

Quote:

Can we close this thread now?

Please, before we all get E.D. and caffeine addiction.

 

[davidsh]

Quote:

I genuinely laughed at this!
 
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
 
And on a better note guys, the decision has been made, and it's a relief!
 
Here's what I got him to try, all in one go, about an hour listening time:
 
AKG Q701, k550, k495 NC, Grado sr60i, Sennheiser HD25/Amperior, Momentum, Denon AH-D110, AH-D2000, Beats (solo/HD, studio, mixr, pro), Monster (diesel, inspiration, and the infamous Diamond Tears -_-), HiFiMAN HE-300, HE-400, Koss Portapro, Marshall Major, Focal Spirit One, B&W P5/P3, Shure SRH-440/840/940/750DJ, and PSB M4U 2.
 
Things he has yet to hear that I would have liked him to hear:
V-Moda m80, m100, audio technica m50, esw9, beyerdynamic DT770/custom ones, the new Ultimate Ears (ue600?), and Ultrasone Pro 550.
 
 
Out of all the headphones he tried, his absolute favorite in terms of sound were, to my surprise, the Amperior. He also really liked both Hifiman's, the AKG k550, the momentums, the D2000's and the PSB. Everything in this selection is bass tilted, besides the AKG and the HE-300's to a certain extent.
 
Now comes in the looks factor. The diamond tears still tempted him a lot, as were the mixr. But I told him: "What are headphones for?". I told him if the amperiors to him were what he liked most, that's fine by me. The blue amperiors look cools imo. Unfortunately, the clamp really hurt his head, so I told him it won't be worth it in the long run. His second choice in terms of SQ was the HE-400, but they're too bulky and he wants to drive straight from the ipod, and be able to bring it to school and in the bus. The PSB's came after that, but again comfort was an issue and it's a heavy headphone for a young kid. Same for the Denons; inconvenient and bulky.
 
So it comes down to the K550 and Momentums; two comfortable and good sounding phones in regards to their competitors. No Monster, nor Beats! He has a week to make a decision between both of them, he can factor the looks all he wants between these two.. I don't mind. If he doesn't make the decision, he's leaving it up to me to decide as it's his christmas gift, I guess he trusts me to make a good choice

 
What's ironic, is that knowing my brother, I had a premonition that if he didn't choose beats, the momentum or k550 would be his choices in regards to style. I'm glad my wishful thinking came true!
 
So that's that, he's getting one of either the AKG K550 or the Senn Momentums. I'll let you guys know which of the two it will be next week!
 
Thanks for all for the advices, opinions, critiques, etc ... and the humor!

You just saved him from the madness of the World!

 

[Rosbife]

Well, still seems massively weird to me for an eleven year old kid to start out on ~$300 headphones. Unless he's super mature or something, it just seems like such a huge waste, be it in terms of SQ or in terms of him breaking or losing them soon. But even if that weren't the case, won't he missing out on his audio quality journey by starting off of such high-end gear? There's just not much room to improve after that, it's reeeeaaaally steep into the curves of diminishing returns, coupled with his age.

Anyways, that's just my impression. I too am very happy he didn't pick the Beats. Just the fact they're fashion rather than headphones annoys me.
The best for the two of you.

 

[BillsonChang007]

Well, still seems massively weird to me for an eleven year old kid to start out on ~$300 headphones. Unless he's super mature or something, it just seems like such a huge waste, be it in terms of SQ or in terms of him breaking or losing them soon. But even if that weren't the case, won't he missing out on his audio quality journey by starting off of such high-end gear? There's just not much room to improve after that, it's reeeeaaaally steep into the curves of diminishing returns, coupled with his age.


Anyways, that's just my impression. I too am very happy he didn't pick the Beats. Just the fact they're fashion rather than headphones annoys me.

The best for the two of you.

Agree!

 

[KimLaroux]

Great news! He's really a lucky kid to be able to try out all those amazing headphones. I'm still torn at the idea that he get to pick one of them to receive as a gift...
 
I'm surprised by his final picks. The way he was obsessed with the flashy beats toys, I thought he'd want some sort of look-alike. I actually considered adding the Momentums and the K550 to my picture post, but did not as I thought he'd simply disregard them by their design. I mean really, Momentums looks nothing like any beats headphones ever thrown down someone's throat. The Momentums are classic looking, something I'd see in the office of a luxury car dealer. It really surprises me that a kid would want them, let alone one who so desperately wanted beats only for their look. And then there's sound. I know the K550 is not a basshead headphone, what about the Momentum? I still think they don't sound anything like beats.
 
So yeah, looks like he really didn't have any reason to want beats. 

 

[roma101]

This is an amazing thread. OP I'm happy for you and your little bro, how lucky he is to get such an amazing gift! So glad he did not choose Beats. It's much cooler IMO to stand out and not follow the herd.

 

[Pual]

I was about to suggest he buy monoprice "DJ" headphones and write "BEATZ" on the side in silver sharpie!

 

[Pure Quickness]

Quote:

Was that lady GaGa? Lol
The earpods actually have some good reviews...

Because people don't know any better.
 
Honestly, there are better ways to spend $ 30 than to buy replacement stock Apple earbuds.

 

[Supertoaster]

aren't the Monster Turbines not that bad?

 

[streetdragon]

Quote:

aren't the Monster Turbines not that bad?

not that bad, one of the best value products monster has put out apparently (compared to the rest of the company's offerings, not comparing to the rest of the market though)

 

[Parall3l]

Quote:

aren't the Monster Turbines not that bad?

The build isn't that good. had a pair that broke in exactly 27 days. Ironically a cable company's IEM broke at the cable, even after it was babied.

 

[KimLaroux]

Quote:

The build isn't that good. had a pair that broke in exactly 27 days. Ironically a cable company's IEM broke at the cable, even after it was babied.

 
Nothing ironic, really. monster isn't a cable company, that's just what they want you to believe. They are a patent troll with a marketing department. Nothing more.
 
On topic, any news? Did your little brother make his choice yet? I'm still curious on what his final pick will be.
 
 
Does he like brown? =P

 

[streetdragon]

it's either the K550 or the momentums it seems....

 

[nick n]

Quote:

Well, still seems massively weird to me for an eleven year old kid to start out on ~$300 headphones. Unless he's super mature or something, it just seems like such a huge waste, be it in terms of SQ or in terms of him breaking or losing them soon. But even if that weren't the case, won't he missing out on his audio quality journey by starting off of such high-end gear? There's just not much room to improve after that, it's reeeeaaaally steep into the curves of diminishing returns, coupled with his age.
 

* quickly puts double espresso down before other problem manifests in the future . prevention is key *
 
What an awesome assortment of headphones to try out, not many people get that chance especially rapid fire comparisons like that. Hope he knows how great that opportunity was.
 
Don't worry it'll only be a vintage amp and a Lambda next year.

Won't be bad if you start saving now.
 
Seriously though next time maybe you could consider getting him modding up his own T50 or something. ( put together a huge kit of materials ) That would certainly help build his confidence especially when it destroys every one of his friends stuff, and something he did himself. Then he could get all his pals doing it also.
 
Just a thought to save you next year
 
Congratulations