Mini reviews of headphones i auditioned

[Valhallatier]

Hello
i just visited a local audio shop, auditioning headphones (for free, yes free). and this are my quick reviews of headphones i tried.

Sennheiser HD800:
No way you come into a headphone store and not looking at the Sennheiser HD800, its simply the 'best'.
Plugged into a Oppo something.. (its big, with a spectrum screen on the front) , the guy there played me a couple of songs (i don't know the name)
my first thought was, "wow that guitar sounded like a guitar!". but what shocked me the most is the vocals.
it feels like the singer is staring at you directly, 5-10 inches away, singing infront of my face! its soooo lush, no brightness or any flaws, the soundstage is AMAZING.
but sadly, there's really no music i liked when trying these. so i go to the next set i really want...
---
Headphones below was plugged into a portable headphone amp, a GoVibe something ( i forgot the name!) using my blackberry HP as the player.

Beyerdynamic DT880 pro 250 ohm:
now the sound, its COMPLETELY flat. to my surprise, the vocals aren't recessed! its quite bright yeah, but i like it!
a couple of things i dont like, is that my ears touch the inside of the cups, and the soundstage.
The sounds coming from the back/behind feels really close, maybe too close ( even closer than most closed back headphones)

Philips Fidelio X1:
When i first felt this, the build quality is what strikes me the most, its really good (almost as sturdy as the senn's HD800).
but a little bit of problem is that, my head dome is too big for the headphone to fit perfectly

even after the metal bend. (my 'flappy' part of the ears touches the earcups)
so i listen while i tightly hold the headphones. first thing i realized is that its really spacious, airy sound! but imaging sadly, im kinda confused on where the instruments are ...
bass is kinda too boomy for my liking, but i like the tamed treble.
overall its more impressive than the DT880 i tried.

next up, i asked the guy for headphones that is good with vocals, so then he lend me a...

Final Audio Pandora IV:
when i heard this, i was like " Where's the piano? the instruments?" so obviously jacked up the volume,... turns out, i was full blown by VOICES
yes, the vocals are like 10-20dB more than any part of the sound. i don't know if i liked it, its really mesmerizing. ( yes its not flat, and not natural)
but overall, its really good with vocals! (though sounds like fake vocals, not sure how to say it!)


and that's it. i spend around 2 hours auditioning all of them (not each)
Feel free to ask any questions!

i don't really know which are better, but the HD800 is on the top for sure!

Spoiler: Trivia

The BeyerdynamicDT880 pro is flatter than the Sennheiser HD800.
 

 

[shiorisekine]

If you like the way the DT880 pro sounds any you want more sound staging, I would go with the Premium Version, for it doesn't lack staging at all.

Best
Andre

 

[pp312]

And how does the Premium manage better staging than the Pro, pray tell? They have the same driver in the same housing. Main difference is slightly tighter clamping on the Pro, which can be adjusted with a little bending of the headband. I suggest that the Premium will not give you better soundstaging than the Pro as it's the same phone.   
 
Unless of course you actually meant the Premium 600 ohm version. Even then it's doubtful you'd get better soundstaging. Most people have trouble picking any difference between the 600 ohm version and the 250 ohm. And what little difference a few people have claimed to hear has nothing to do with soundstaging.

 

[Valhallatier]

  And how does the Premium manage better staging than the Pro, pray tell? They have the same driver in the same housing. Main difference is slightly tighter clamping on the Pro, which can be adjusted with a little bending of the headband. I suggest that the Premium will not give you better soundstaging than the Pro as it's the same phone.   
 
Unless of course you actually meant the Premium 600 ohm version. Even then it's doubtful you'd get better soundstaging. Most people have trouble picking any difference between the 600 ohm version and the 250 ohm. And what little difference a few people have claimed to hear has nothing to do with soundstaging.

i've heard the DT880 pro 600ohm, its actually different than the normal 250.
tried the T70 too, to my surprise, it beats all the 880 in terms of soundstage and imaging, not sure how that works

, but that's just only 1-2 songs that i've tried.

 

[pp312]

i've heard the DT880 pro 600ohm, its actually different than the normal 250.

 
What I was saying was, in reference to the previous post, that most people report no significant audible difference between 600 and 250 ohm versions of the 880, and what differences they do record have nothing to do with soundstaging. To suggest going from Premium to Pro to get better soundstaging is off the beam in my opinion