acs236
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- May 24, 2002
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I had planned on doing a detailed comparative review of the Sony CD3000, Sennheiser HD650 and Grado RS-2 – oh where did the time go. Anyway, I finally got around to at least completing most of the sentences.
Other equipment: I fed them with my Pioneer 563a and H/K 8550 through the Perreaux SXH-1, Corda HA-1 MKII and Marantz 1070/2220B.
Comfort:
This is a mixed bag all around.
My HD650s are only a couple of months old, and they still grip my head a bit tighter than I would like. I imagine the headband can be loosened, which would fix problem, but I haven’t managed to do it yet. The velour pads and the band padding are nice -- if only they didn’t grip so tightly.
The CD3000 grip loosely, but tight enough for me. When I first put them off they are hands-down the most comfortable of the three. The problem is that the pleather earpads heat up, which becomes an annoyance. Someone please tell me that the lambskin R10 earpads don’t suffer quite so much from this -- it will give me something to dream about.
I had previously found Grados, in general, uncomfortable, do to their supra-aural design. The RS-2s are no more or less comfortable than any other Grados I have tried. I did spend a lot of time listening, and they ended up being more comfortable than I thought they’d be. This is with the bowl pads, too.
Durability:
To test durability, I planned on setting all three headphones on the floor, and then dropping a brick on them from a height of six feet, but then I thought “this is crazy -- how would this ever happen in real life?” So I decided instead to drop the headphones from a height of six feet onto the brick.
CD3000 - I believe that the CD3000 represent the oldest design of the three headphones. I have often heard the saying “they don’t build them like they used to.” In this case, I’m glad. The left ear cup caught the brick at an angle and flew off. Luckily, I was able to get the cup back on to perform to complete the review.
HD650 - Initially, I had though that the HD650 would perform the best for this test because of the carbon fiber frame. What I didn’t take into account was the metal backs to the ear cups. One of them has a nasty dent in it thanks to the brick, but other than that the 650s emerged unscathed.
RS-2 - The real surprise of the group. If I didn’t know better, I’d think I never dropped these at all. They simply absorbed the impact completely unharmed. However, I would suspect they are not as flame-resistant as the others.
Initial impressions:
These are my first impressions of the three headphones. I heard them each for the first time within the past few months and have done my best to convey what I had initially thought of them.
Sony CD3000 – I was impressed by the CD3000 right off the bat. They sounded very different than the other headphones I had been listening to at the time (AKG 501 and Senn 580s). They have a very unique tone, and the they do sound more as if you’re listening to speakers than other headphones (the sound doesn’t seem like the music is being pumped directly into your ears).
Sennheiser HD650 - I liked these right away too. I was half expecting them not to sound that much different than the 580s, but I immediately noticed the smoothed out, more even bass response. Very punchy.
Grado RS-2 - These seemed a bit thin sounding when I first put them on. I didn’t feel enveloped in sound as I did with the CD3000 or 580s. I did notice the tight deep bass right away.
After extensive listening:
RS-2:
These REALLY grew on me. The bass is extremely tight. The overall sound is very lively and energetic. The RS-2s are very sensitive to placement. Being supra-aural, you have more say in how they are positioned. I had to get used to positioning them correctly to get, what I perceived to be, the best sound. As many have said, these phones lack soundstage – especially compared with the CD3000, but also the HD650. Still, there is a lot to like about these. They are perhaps the cleanest sounding of the bunch: crisp from the bottom to the top. However, they lack the detail over the HD650 and especially the CD3000. Depending on what type of music you listen to, this made not be bad thing. Overall, I found the RS-2s to be very enjoyable.
CD3000:
The soundstage of these is really terrific. I am not saying it’s realistic. In fact, in many ways, it certainly is not. During some drum fills, the drum kit sounds way too spaced out – e.g., cymbals placed too far from the toms. However, I find the soundstage enjoyable. With headphones, I figure you’re giving up a good bit of soundstage, but I found the CD3000 presentation very enjoyable – and quite unique. I understand that many people think the CD3000 is too bright – not me. The detail of the CD3000 is exceptional, arguably to a fault. I am often drawn to listening to subtle details in music that I hadn’t noticed before. Even with decent recordings, the CD3000 brings out every flaw, every slight distortion. Bass sounds very good. Not quite as tight as the RS-2s, but with a detailed, organic quality. The CD3000 sounds more like the RS-2 than the 650.
HD650:
These sound a lot different than the RS-2 or CD3000. When listening for this review, it was difficult to switch between the RS-2/CD3000 and the HD650, because they sound so different. The HD650 probably have the most lush, full sound of the three. It is the most balanced throughout the frequency range. While detailed, it does not bring out every little flaw in the recording. In fact, its warm sound is somewhat forgiving of poor recordings. The 650s have no glaring weaknesses.
Disclaimer: No headphone were harmed in the making of this review.
Other equipment: I fed them with my Pioneer 563a and H/K 8550 through the Perreaux SXH-1, Corda HA-1 MKII and Marantz 1070/2220B.
Comfort:
This is a mixed bag all around.
My HD650s are only a couple of months old, and they still grip my head a bit tighter than I would like. I imagine the headband can be loosened, which would fix problem, but I haven’t managed to do it yet. The velour pads and the band padding are nice -- if only they didn’t grip so tightly.
The CD3000 grip loosely, but tight enough for me. When I first put them off they are hands-down the most comfortable of the three. The problem is that the pleather earpads heat up, which becomes an annoyance. Someone please tell me that the lambskin R10 earpads don’t suffer quite so much from this -- it will give me something to dream about.
I had previously found Grados, in general, uncomfortable, do to their supra-aural design. The RS-2s are no more or less comfortable than any other Grados I have tried. I did spend a lot of time listening, and they ended up being more comfortable than I thought they’d be. This is with the bowl pads, too.
Durability:
To test durability, I planned on setting all three headphones on the floor, and then dropping a brick on them from a height of six feet, but then I thought “this is crazy -- how would this ever happen in real life?” So I decided instead to drop the headphones from a height of six feet onto the brick.
CD3000 - I believe that the CD3000 represent the oldest design of the three headphones. I have often heard the saying “they don’t build them like they used to.” In this case, I’m glad. The left ear cup caught the brick at an angle and flew off. Luckily, I was able to get the cup back on to perform to complete the review.
HD650 - Initially, I had though that the HD650 would perform the best for this test because of the carbon fiber frame. What I didn’t take into account was the metal backs to the ear cups. One of them has a nasty dent in it thanks to the brick, but other than that the 650s emerged unscathed.
RS-2 - The real surprise of the group. If I didn’t know better, I’d think I never dropped these at all. They simply absorbed the impact completely unharmed. However, I would suspect they are not as flame-resistant as the others.
Initial impressions:
These are my first impressions of the three headphones. I heard them each for the first time within the past few months and have done my best to convey what I had initially thought of them.
Sony CD3000 – I was impressed by the CD3000 right off the bat. They sounded very different than the other headphones I had been listening to at the time (AKG 501 and Senn 580s). They have a very unique tone, and the they do sound more as if you’re listening to speakers than other headphones (the sound doesn’t seem like the music is being pumped directly into your ears).
Sennheiser HD650 - I liked these right away too. I was half expecting them not to sound that much different than the 580s, but I immediately noticed the smoothed out, more even bass response. Very punchy.
Grado RS-2 - These seemed a bit thin sounding when I first put them on. I didn’t feel enveloped in sound as I did with the CD3000 or 580s. I did notice the tight deep bass right away.
After extensive listening:
RS-2:
These REALLY grew on me. The bass is extremely tight. The overall sound is very lively and energetic. The RS-2s are very sensitive to placement. Being supra-aural, you have more say in how they are positioned. I had to get used to positioning them correctly to get, what I perceived to be, the best sound. As many have said, these phones lack soundstage – especially compared with the CD3000, but also the HD650. Still, there is a lot to like about these. They are perhaps the cleanest sounding of the bunch: crisp from the bottom to the top. However, they lack the detail over the HD650 and especially the CD3000. Depending on what type of music you listen to, this made not be bad thing. Overall, I found the RS-2s to be very enjoyable.
CD3000:
The soundstage of these is really terrific. I am not saying it’s realistic. In fact, in many ways, it certainly is not. During some drum fills, the drum kit sounds way too spaced out – e.g., cymbals placed too far from the toms. However, I find the soundstage enjoyable. With headphones, I figure you’re giving up a good bit of soundstage, but I found the CD3000 presentation very enjoyable – and quite unique. I understand that many people think the CD3000 is too bright – not me. The detail of the CD3000 is exceptional, arguably to a fault. I am often drawn to listening to subtle details in music that I hadn’t noticed before. Even with decent recordings, the CD3000 brings out every flaw, every slight distortion. Bass sounds very good. Not quite as tight as the RS-2s, but with a detailed, organic quality. The CD3000 sounds more like the RS-2 than the 650.
HD650:
These sound a lot different than the RS-2 or CD3000. When listening for this review, it was difficult to switch between the RS-2/CD3000 and the HD650, because they sound so different. The HD650 probably have the most lush, full sound of the three. It is the most balanced throughout the frequency range. While detailed, it does not bring out every little flaw in the recording. In fact, its warm sound is somewhat forgiving of poor recordings. The 650s have no glaring weaknesses.
Disclaimer: No headphone were harmed in the making of this review.
