Didn't see this thread had more replies. Sorry for the late replies.
How much discomfort would you endure for a great sounding headphone? I haven't really been judging them on comfort too much but its definitely worth consideration. I've been tolerating an irritating DT880 premium headband for a while because they sound so good. Maybe it's a more important factor than I originally thought.
Best Regards
If it isn't comfortable to me, I don't keep it. If it's too clampy, jagged, gives me a headache, etc. Just like buying shoes - if they don't fit comfortable like slippers, don't buy them. That said, "comfortable to me" is fairly variable - I think the RS-1 are among the most comfortable headphones made, and the Ultrasone PRO2900 were absolutely headache inducing for example. But both sounded quite nice; I do miss the PRO2900, but I don't miss the headache.
I think the PRO2900 and ESP/10 are the only two headphones I've seriously considered "living with" but in both cases I've thought better of it - I enjoy the RS-1 and ESP/950 (respectively) more, and they're both VERY comfortable by contrast.
Now, there's certainly a large gradient of comfort - the MDR-F1 for example are like wearing a cloud. The RS-1 you certainly "feel" or "notice" but they aren't painful. The PRO2900 would give me a headache after a few hours, but something like the Beats Pro are instantly painful when put on (they just don't fit me well; I'm sure others have different views on comfort even with all of the models I've listed).
A problem with getting rid of headphones you're uncertain about is that quite likely you'll come to wish you hadn't. So I try not to do it unless I really need to (= been going over the budget).
This is a good point, and goes back to the "time" thing. If you get a pair of cans that you're on the fence about after a day or two of owning them, give them some more time. Don't just dump them - be absolutely certain you're unhappy before you move past them. Now of course if you hate them out of the box and know they're unfixable, sure, move on and save yourself the time. But if they're "growing on you" slowly, give them the chance. This is how the K701 and I ultimately got along - the first month or so I was really not that into them, but I found them very comfortable so I'd sit and listen to them and be kind of unimpressed. Eventually I just ended up really liking them. I don't attribute it to burn-in so much as getting used to their quirks, and appreciating the comfort.
I think it's also important to soak in a headphone's sound signature for a while, get very familiar with the sound before switching.
+1.
If you read through my RS-1/ESP/950 comparison you can sort of get a feel for this in writing. There is no clear-cut winner between the two, and while they're both very resolving, fast, and excellent sounding, they are very different. But right out of the box none of that is immediately apparent - in a quick 5 minute A/B probably all you'd notice is that the RS-1 are brighter. Now depending on your beliefs about sound quality, or preconceived notions, or whatever, that might lead you to hate the RS-1 or declare the RS-1 the more accurate/detailed/fast/etc of the two. Neither is really a fair shake imho.
When taking notes do you record basic impressions on particular tracks or use some kind of rating system? I've been toying around with making a rating system keyed off my most neutral pair. I figured choosing a reference pair for all others to be rated against was a better way then noting simple descriptions.
Best Regards
I will sometimes compare against my "known quantity" headphones, but I don't have a specific pair that I think is the standard of the world. For example if I'm hearing a bassy headphone for the first time, I will sometimes want to reach for the RS-1 and compare them, to see if I am listening to a much bassier or much boomier or what have you set (because I have a good feeling, imho, of what the RS-1 does down low). But I don't look at it that the RS-1 is sitting on pole, and everyone else is trying to catch up. This is just an example, pick whatever headphones you want for these kinds of comparisons. I don't really worry much about "neutral" either - but that's just me.
Regarding notes or rating systems - no, I don't have anything like that (I don't really take notes in general for things in life, and I'm not a fan of list making). Sure I have some sort of internal quale of what is "good" and what is "bad" but it's kind of contextual. For example if headphone A is "better" but headphone B does something I like or want at the moment (more comfy, more isolation, more bass, whatever you like); it's all variable. I don't tend to keep headphones that sound "bad" though - I just don't see myself ever longing for a sound signature that I disagree with (like say, the HFI-2400; this isn't to say the HFI-2400 are a bad headphone, they just aren't for me). Basically be your own judge of quality, and do what makes sense.
I just received my el cheapo SPL meter today, and have been playing around with it with awesome results. First I took measurements of everything/room in the house (the frig is a noisy person) and that was fun. Then I got to business making a headphone mod for the SPL meter.
I used an old CDR disc and glued a rubber washer around the hole in the center. Then I stuck the (non-muffed) mic end of the SPL meter through the washer's hole. With this setup I could press the disc firmly against the headphone's earpad to simulate the sound pressure my ear would get when wearing the headphones. Now I can get really close output levels from my different headphones for comparison.
This did make a big difference. For example, going from my 600ohm DT880 to my 300ohm HD600, I was getting a much louder sample from the HD600 even when I thought I was making them pretty even. When I compared the two at the same levels the differences became a lot more clear! The DT880, which was falling behind in my non-metered comparisons, was really impressing me at the same levels. The clarity and detail the DT880 produced at the same decibel level just stomped the HD600 (to my surprise). The HD600 needed a good 5-10 decibel boost to open up like Beyers. Even then it suffered from slightly more hiss coming from my HTA-1.
This was just round one with the SPL meter, but totally worth it so far. I recommend others look into adding this element to your headphone shoot-outs. Thanks for this suggestion!
Best Regards
I do think a meter can be useful, certainly, but I'm not married to exact level matching. As an example - I like listening to v-curve/hifi-smile headphones at a lower level (which is kind of what the intention is) than I do "flat" or monitor-style headphones. I know that in a level-matched environment, the monitor-style headphones would be dull or lifeless in comparison, and the v-curves would be boomy and/or harsh. But with listening habits in mind, they both come out smelling like roses. My point here isn't to disparage measurement, it's just to keep the end-game in mind. Level-matching IS the ideal way to do A/B comparisons, but at the end of the day I'm not interested in which one I will preference in an unbiased way, I'm interested in "will I enjoy this product in the manner in which I intend to use it and/or will it function in the manner in which I intend to use it?" If that makes sense.
Also these might be useful for you to look over:
http://trace.wisc.edu/docs/2004-About-dB/
http://www.animations.physics.unsw.edu.au/jw/dB.htm
http://www.physics.mcgill.ca/~guymoore/ph224/notes/lecture11.pdf
