[adanac061]

Are you looking for neutral.. (ie: balances out the sound, nothing is emphasized)
or do you want transparent (lets you hear the sound as is, with no tampering)

I'd say the k501 is neutral , but not transparent.

edit:

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryanhayn /img/forum/go_quote.gif um..isn't the only way to tell if your cans are truly neutral by being at the actual playing/recording of the original music, then listening to the music through your headphones? to know what neutral is you have to first know what it originally sounded like live...right?

Thats true , but then again a number of people (including the dunlavy audio guy)
say that the sony 7506 is the most transparent using that test method. !!!

 

[Joshatdot]

DT880 mebby?

 

[cosmopragma]

Stax Omega II (SR 007) is the most neutral in my collection.
It depends partially on your HRTFs though.
But : Some cans are definitely not neutral.
No offense, PFKMan23, but the K1000s are not neutral, at least none of my three pairs, and even AKG didn't claim it.
They even sold special gear back in the day (BAP 1000) that besides of other features was meant to correct the frequency response.
OTOH maybe if I simply wait another 20 years when I'll have a built-in treble roll off due to age the K1000s probably will sound neutral and the diffuse field equalized headphones will sound muffled.

 

[BANGPOD]

In my opinion, the ER-4S, K501, O2 and HD650 with the right upgrade cable.

 

[jtizzle]

AKG K701's.

See my review here:http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=240805

 

[Chu]

I have never heard the K501's, but if what you really mean is transparent, then I haven't heard better then the Sony MDR-V6's quite honestly. They have a flatter FR curve than almost any other high end headphone.

 

[d-cee]

I'd say the K701 or the DT880 are the most neutral of the phones that I own, the Lambda pros were most revealing but definitely not neutral

 

[Esidarap]

Of the cans I've heard, the Sony MDR-7506 has been the most neutral.

 

[PFKMan23]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cosmopragma /img/forum/go_quote.gif No offense, PFKMan23, but the K1000s are not neutral, at least none of my three pairs, and even AKG didn't claim it.

No offense taken. I never claimed they were absolutely neutral. I was looking mainly at the very first sentence which was "What are the most neutral cans that you guys own". Both my 2 pair are not neutral. Keep in mind you have people mentioning the HD650, which to me is more colored than either of the ones I've mentioned. Personally, I don't think that any headphone is neutral.

 

[Duggeh]

Neutral, along with natural, are the two words which I most want banned from sound discussion. IMO they simply cannot be applied in real terms and are used to describe multiple sound phenomena all of which are "neutral" or "natural" to the individual listeners ears. Thinking about it for a second, my suspicion is that either term is often used to describe a headphone which actually has a boring or unexciting sound signiture but which the person describing does not wish to make sound bad. And I realise that im only opening another can of worms here, but for me that case in point is best epitomised by the K701.

Just look at the various suggestions there have been in this thread, everything from the HD650 (massive massive bass bias in its tone) to the K501 (renound for recessed "polite" bass). Not to speak of the tonal differences between an IEM like the Ety and an earspeaker like the K1000.

If you really want this fabled quality of neutrality, my only advice would be to pick a headphone that was designed for use in recording. IMS, the K241 is one such headphone.

 

[kramer5150]

I originally was going to answer this question, but kind of agree with duggeh... Neutral/neutrality is such a vague term when a baseline for comparison is not specified.

Neutral compared to what? Neutral compared to speakers? Neutral compared to other headphones?... or neutral compared to the live instrument?

You are going to get all kinds of recommendations because we all have different reference points to define neutrality.

For me my reference point is always the live instrument, being played in-front of me. Which probably isn't the best because most people don't have the opportunity to hear music in such a way.

 

[spritzer]

For me natural/neutral is how little character the transducer has to impact on the sound and how it can for instance recreate a different sized soundstage on two recordings.

 

[MaloS]

Neutral = flat response, jeez. Flat response by design, not to you ears by the way.

etymotic er4s
akg k240m
akg k240s
equation rp21

Thats what I know on that list, k701 is also fairly neutral outside of its bass roll-off. Whoever said hd650 is neutral - jeez, can't you hear the treble roll-off? If anything, hd600 is far more neutral (apart from the Senn veil, but its not a big issue with hd600).

 

[a shovel]

K501

 

[drp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer /img/forum/go_quote.gif For me natural/neutral is how little character the transducer has to impact on the sound

Me likes that description a lot . . . I vote Sensaphonics 2X-S, followed by Grado HP-2 and then, HE60s (limited experience with the latter)