[Reticuli2]

[size=10pt]Building on the perspectives of this thread and people's consensus...[/size]
[size=10pt]http://www.head-fi.org/t/571129/denon-ah-d2000-beyerdynamic-dt990-pro-250ohm-beyerdynamic-dt880-600ohm-akg-q701-used-sennheiser-hd580-600-or-save-wait/30#post_7785373[/size]
[size=10pt]I'd also like people's recommendations for an open (preferable) can with shimmery highs, great vocal intelligibility (this is a big one), and impedance over 200 ohms.[/size]
[size=10pt]I also like liquid mids and very tight bass, but am willing to sacrifice those (and maybe even the open requirement) for these above.[/size]
[size=10pt]Price under $350.[/size]
[size=10pt]If you know of something that is under 200 ohms and/or closed or semi-open that can do shimmer, vocal intelligibility, taught bass, and what you'd consider liquid midrange, then you might as well mention it, too.  But I'd prefer the versatility of a higher ohm can for use with the Emu 0204 in addition to a near-zero-ohm amp like the E7 or a 4556 cmoy.[/size]
 

 

[NinjaSquirt]

DT 880 600 ohm or K702 will both satisfy what you're looking for sound characteristic wise. That being said:
 
K702 has a wide(r) soundstage (some even say artifically wide cause it's so damn well... wide) and are great for acoustic lives or even studio recorded acoustics because they make an acoustic guitar and female vocals sound amazing (Not necessarily shimmery but certainly accurate highs). Tight bass, yes, not much impact but it's definitely there on songs that call for it. However, it's only 62 ohms but still quite power hungry at 62 ohms. It also needs a SS amp to sound it's best (Burson HA160 if possible).
 
DT 880 is a little bit more musical without scarificing any noticable details on highs and vocals... better with studio tracks (violin and female vocals). All things being equal (and subjective), it has a smaller soundstage but a bit more natural to some. Highs are shimmery (sibilance). The bass is a bit more present than the K702s. They're 600 ohms are kind of need a OTL tube amp (Schiit Valhalla) to calm them down a bit.
 
The two are very similar in terms of individual sound characteristic but not necessarily in overall sound presentation. Soundstage has a big hand in that.
 
DT 990 has a bit more bass presence, smoother highs, and are a bit more musical than DT 880.

 

[Reticuli2]

I have been strongly considering the DT990 Pro due to its price point and upper octave reach, but I already find the Sporta Pros to have too much bass.  The 990's louder extreme highs really appeal to me, as well as headphoneinfo.com's tests that showed it to be low distortion.  By musical, I suspect you're saying the 990 has that more "liquid" quality to the sound that I like compared to the more "dry" DT880.  Would you say the 701 falls more towards the liquid, dry, or somewhere in the middle compared to the 990 and the 880?
 
It's funny that the 880 600 is probably too insensitive and high impedance together to be driven loud enough on the Emu 0204 and the k/q701 is too low impedance to be driven with the proper damping factor from the Emu's 22 ohm jack.  Dag gam it.  I'd like to be able to use this can with the Emu, E7, and E6 that I'm about to get for comparison with the E7.  I also plan on getting a 4556-based cmoy since the O2 is a long way off.

 

[Graphicism]

 
I would agree with the DT880/600 recommendation however don't think your EMU 0204 would do it any justice, you should get a decent volume out of it however you may find it strained; weak bass, piercing highs. The K702 struggles with bass, it extends well but sounds very anemic even on a good amp.
 
Sennheiser HD600 or Audio Technica AD900 are easier to power and display the characteristics you're looking for. In my opinion both the D2000 and DT990 are built for hip-hop, electronica and that sort of bass-heavy music, not at all accurate.
 

 

[NinjaSquirt]

Quote:

I have been strongly considering the DT990 Pro due to its price point and upper octave reach, but I already find the Sporta Pros to have too much bass.  The 990's louder extreme highs really appeal to me, as well as headphoneinfo.com's tests that showed it to be low distortion.  By musical, I suspect you're saying the 990 has that more "liquid" quality to the sound that I like compared to the more "dry" DT880.  Would you say the 701 falls more towards the liquid, dry, or somewhere in the middle compared to the 990 and the 880?
 
It's funny that the 880 600 is probably too insensitive and high impedance together to be driven loud enough on the Emu 0204 and the k/q701 is too low impedance to be driven with the proper damping factor from the Emu's 22 ohm jack.  Dag gam it.  I'd like to be able to use this can with the Emu, E7, and E6 that I'm about to get for comparison with the E7.  I also plan on getting a 4556-based cmoy since the O2 is a long way off.

The K702 for me are actually drier than the DT 880 and also more analytical even when the DT 880 was right out of the box no burn-in it was still more liquid.
 

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
Considered the Hifiman HE-300?
 
Very best,

 

[Wapiti]

HD650, excellent at retrieving low level information, excellent clarity.  Efficient.
 
$349.00 @ Razordog, IIRC.
 
Or HD600, a bit less bass and a bit more treble, especially in the mid-range where intelligibility resides.  Similar $.

 

[Neighbour]

We have a miss understanding with fluid integration. The DT990 is far away from fluid sound. The fluid process is a dynamic hearing process.
You need high resolution and focus on micro dynamics trough body definition. There are a lot of entry Level headphones, that try do simulate dynamics. 
I think, you should get the ESP/950 or a Stax. Maybe an ortho could be good too. 
 
The Koss A/250 is called Ety ER4.
It is my favorite vocal headphone and for monitoring authentic integration within audio post processing trough holographic room stage separation. It takes you over the typical sound stage and let you forget the sound of a headphone. Very critical at this point.
The A/250 can play fully fluid and natural on Attack, definition and decay.
 
Back on vocal transparency and the A/250.
It is hard to explain, but if you hear a voice, you can see the singer and describe his emotional and singing technic. 
How much air in the chest, singing trough the nose, with wide or pressed mouth. Great for Opera and complex singing.
For me a critical component, because i do not like every musician on the Auditor 250. Some times i think, some musicians are on drugs or alcohol. It is also very easy to separate a professional singer from a young talented singer or a passionated one with personality and a long life history.
 
On other headphones i hear only tonality with a lot of smoothness, Singing without precise contouring shape. 

 

[Graphicism]

When I see posts like this I would like to recommend the headphones I use for such purpose, that being the extremely rare Sony DR-Z. I don't recommend them however because they're almost impossible to find.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/574457/extremely-rare-vintage-sony-md-z5-headphones-like-new-condition-with-minor-cable-problem
 
If more people heard these phones the price would creep up to the likes of the Sony R10 and Qualia 010, buy them while you can!

 

[joelpearce]

Yeah, I've almost been tempted to nab those even though I have a good pair of Z6 already.

 

[Reticuli2]

I had a pair of Koss A/200 and found it to be holographic like you're describing the 250.  On some symphony recordings I could swear the half-dome shape of the hall they were in was "visible" to me.  Amazing.  It was very very bright, but also had amazing deep and loud low end.  Amazing headphones.  I think the hinges lost their stoppers and eventually one of the drivers was over driven and screwed up.  I don't know if I threw it away or loaned it to a friend who lost it.  I don't think Koss would have been able to replace it at that point as all the 200s and 250s were gone.  I wonder if it's actually still in some box or if it just got lost in an apartment move in Vegas.  I usually don't intentionally throw out stuff like that.  I got it in that rush of JandRmusic world online when the topic was brought up on headwize back in the day.  Velour pads were also very comfy.
 
I've thought about the Hifiman 500, but really don't want to spend 900 bucks.  When the ESP 950 comes back down to 550 again on amazon, I'll probably order one unless someone comes forward with a good buy on a used one before then.
 
I have the Fostex T50rp on right now with Winamp ASIO, crossfeed, upsampling to 24/192, and eqed as I specified in another thread (to compensate for Tyll's measured performance of it).  NIN: Year Zero and especially DM: Sounds of the Universe are coming out nice.  I am considering getting it thunderpantsed, but Smeggy looks like he's backlogged and I'm worried even if I get it done, it might end up with one much higher distortion driver than the other like ontherivet's... even if bass sustain is improved as well as the frequency response no longer needing EQing.  My eq of it makes it sound pretty good as long as it's driven by something like the E7 fed the 0204 signal.

 

[Graphicism]

Quote:

Yeah, I've almost been tempted to nab those even though I have a good pair of Z6 already.

The only thing stopping me is wanting other head-fi members to hear them.