[SilverEars]

I wonder the same thing, Silver. Even though they are fairly close to neutral and relatively low distortion, for some reason I have never really liked the fit, feel and SQ of AudioTechnica's midrange studio monitors. And don't think I could really use them for pleasure-listening. I have never tried the MSR7B though. Or the open-back R70X for that matter, which kman1211 mentioned.

AT is at least fairly consistent in their manufacturing. Or so it seems anyway, from the few I've tested and looked at.

AT has too many choices, and that causes hinderance. I'm too overwhelmed. I need to hear them all to know which is the right choice. Anybody had any experience in this hobby know headphones can be overpriced per performance.

Same crap with Grado. There was too much, and made me stay away until I went into the shop to compare and to find that the expensive crap is not worth the price makes me very skeptical of the line-up headphones these companies carry at reasonable to overpriced prices.

 

[peskypesky]

So one of those brands I am familiar with, and know something about, at least anecdotally. The others I know very little about. Maybe you can tell me some more about Takstar, Superlux and Blon, peskypesky.

Takstar Pro82
https://www.thephonograph.net/takstar-pro-82-review/

Superlux
https://www.thephonograph.net/superlux-hd681-review/
https://www.thephonograph.net/superlux-hd668b-review/

 

[peskypesky]

My top 5 most overrated
GRADO GRADO GRADO GRADO APPLE

I love the Grado sound. Don't love the build quality. But the SR60's sound fantastic at just $79.

 

[SilverEars]

I love the Grado sound. Don't love the build quality. But the SR60's sound fantastic at just $79.

When I first came aboard Headfi, SR60 was the most commonly recommend headphone at that budget. And then I found out about the much cheaper Porta Pros after. The next level were the big three, HD650, K701, and DT880 at the time. And I thought those big three were so expensive. lol

 

[peskypesky]

When I first came aboard Headfi, SR60 was the most commonly recommend headphone at that budget. And then I found out about the much cheaper Porta Pros after. The next level were the big three, HD650, K701, and DT880 at the time. And I thought those big three were so expensive. lol

I'm lucky because I have two brothers who are doctors, with lots of disposable income. They buy expensive headphones that I can then compare with my budget cans. It has been an incredible experience to discover that the super expensive headphones either don't sound better, or don't sound much better.

 

[CoryGillmore]

My only experience with Sony has been at the very low-end. And I can't say I've been overly impressed with the SQ there so far. They seem to make fairly durable, sturdy, long-lasting products though. I wouldn't really know where to begin with the Sony line though. Maybe I should try a pair of MDR-7506 or 7510's? Or maybe the 1AM2? Z7 looks out of my price range.

The frequency response on this model doesn't look too terrible to me...

SONY MDR-100AAP RAW LEFT EAR: https://www.rtings.com/headphones/1-4/graph#346/4011
SONY MDR-100AAP RAW RIGHT EAR: https://www.rtings.com/headphones/1-4/graph#346/4012
SONY MDR-100AAP L & R COMPENSATED: https://www.rtings.com/headphones/1-4/graph#346/3992

The bass is obviously a little over-done and/or too high in frequency, and bleeds into the mids. But it's closed, so I could probably tinker with that, and maybe adjust the tonal balance a little better with an EQ. Same goes for the little bit of emphasis in the mid-treble.

These seem like your average, everday plastic consumer headphones though, designed to compete with Beats and other similar headphones, given the similarities in sound signature. So they probably, look, feel and sound a little dated at this point. And are sort of 2014/2015-ish. That doesn't necessarily mean they would not perform well though.

Perhaps there are some other newer, and better-sounding Sonys now though in a similar price range. What other Sonys am I forgetting in the approximately sub-$250 price range? I'm afraid the Z1R is a bit out of my price bracket. Or am I simply barkin up the wrong tree even considering a Sony, because they're designed more with the hardcore bass fans in mind?... As I say, I really have no idea where to begin with the Sony line.

I got pretty lucky but I got both my Z7 and Z7M2 for around $250 each on these forums. Think I paid $280 for the Z7, which is a pretty good deal. Paid $180 for the Z7M2. Which is unheard of.

 

[Josz27]

My top 5 most overrated
GRADO GRADO GRADO GRADO APPLE

So you are here, I found you without searching you =) . Now go answer my messages :v

 

[SilverEars]

I'm lucky because I have two brothers who are doctors, with lots of disposable income. They buy expensive headphones that I can the compare with my budget cans. It has been an incredible experience to discover that the super expensive headphones either don't sound better, or don't sound much better.

I wish I lived near you folks. We all need a audio store or a community nearby that can let us try out gear or swap with others in the hobby. Because pricing has become excessive.

Last few years, there's been a trend to price headphones at an excessive level, but I believe such actions caused stale-ness in this hobby and causing a hobby recession. Caused a gneral hobbiest distrust in reviewers and companies with excessively high pricings, and thus less interest. The pricing causes less people to affort the so called "top level" stuff and just becomes a novelty that people would hear for the novelty of hearing an overpriced headphone, and will likely not be motivated to buy and keep due to budget reasons.

In the past there were a lot of flavors of the month, but was at a decent budget level, amd seeing excessively high priced items as flavors of the month doesn't enforce any confidence in this hobby.

 

[bagwell359]

Well. I was just wonderin if there was anything else in addition to the brightness that you felt was overrated about the Beyers. But since you're out, I won't bother.

The build quality seems quite good. Mids *seem* OK, but with all that extra treble etching on top, hard to say if its real detail or faux detail. I will attempt to get a couple of the top models on a parametric EQ, and see what happens. Also in a month or so my BH Crack should be done and perhaps that's the ticket for them.

 

[bagwell359]

I wish I lived near you folks. We all need a audio store or a community nearby that can let us try out gear or swap with others in the hobby. Because pricing has become excessive.

Last few years, there's been a trend to price headphones at an excessive level, but I believe such actions caused stale-ness in this hobby and causing a hobby recession. Caused a gneral hobbiest distrust in reviewers and companies with excessively high pricings, and thus less interest. The pricing causes less people to affort the so called "top level" stuff and just becomes a novelty that people would hear for the novelty of hearing an overpriced headphone, and will likely not be motivated to buy and keep due to budget reasons.

In the past there were a lot of flavors of the month, but was at a decent budget level, amd seeing excessively high priced items as flavors of the month doesn't enforce any confidence in this hobby.

The high end which started in the late 70's (in 1975 everybody used copper/silver plate 16 ga. zip cord for speaker cable, by 1980 people were using a number of "high end" cables. The prices started getting really insane by the mid 80's. The hard core hobbyists that tried stuff like damping tone arms, and getting rid of fuses for speakers in '76 - gave way to the brie set (in terms of vendor focus) that was spending 10x or more for a system than 10 years earlier. The equipment was better, but, not a match for the price, and the baloney/ego was flying.

I got back to headphones in '15 when that corner of the industry was already doing the price rise, but more people were modding and keeping it sane. My tips to survive: used gear, hard numbers you will not go past, cheap changes and tweaks to keep what you have sounding vital and fresh.

Two months ago the Tidal HiRes/LG v40 wave hit (me personally) (big improvement in sound) and then off of that the Tonebooster Parametric six band. I flip back and forth from HiRes to EQ - there is no clear winner - constantly. All my cans sound a lot better - thus need/desire to get a better can just kind of faded away for now at least.

 

[ADUHF]

Takstar Pro82
https://www.thephonograph.net/takstar-pro-82-review/

Superlux
https://www.thephonograph.net/superlux-hd681-review/
https://www.thephonograph.net/superlux-hd668b-review/

Interesting. Thanks for posting this peskypesky. Graphs look pretty good on some of the above for lower-end HPs.

 

[ADUHF]

I got pretty lucky but I got both my Z7 and Z7M2 for around $250 each on these forums. Think I paid $280 for the Z7, which is a pretty good deal. Paid $180 for the Z7M2. Which is unheard of.

Cool! Sounds like you got a very good deal indeed!

Would you recommend the Z7 or Z7M2 to others based on your listening with them so far? And do you have any suggestions for other good Sony models to check out at the middle or lower end of the price scale?

(I still use only wired HPs btw, in case anyone was wonderin.)

 

[ADUHF]

The build quality seems quite good. Mids *seem* OK, but with all that extra treble etching on top, hard to say if its real detail or faux detail. I will attempt to get a couple of the top models on a parametric EQ, and see what happens. Also in a month or so my BH Crack should be done and perhaps that's the ticket for them.

Welcome back, bagwell359. I'll be curious to hear your results. Please report back with your findings on both of the above (EQ & amp).

If you could somehow throw a DT 770 and/or DT 990 into the mix, that would be cool too. Those are the two Beyers on my shortlist at the moment. Along with the DT 150 (which doesn't appear to need as much help in the tonal balance department).

 

[ADUHF]

First, we can't ever agree on what headphones (or speakers) sound best. Because we all have different ears and different tastes.

Second, I would always choose the headphones that make music sound better to me, regardless of "accuracy" or "fidelity". As I said, I listen to music for pleasure. I'm not listening for scientific measurement.

I'm doin a little of both, because I use my headphones for both work and play. And I generally find that the qualities which make a good work headphone also translate to my entertainment uses. It's possible I may be in the minority on that though.

There may be some slight differences in taste, etc. when it comes to tonal balance, design, ergonomics and so forth. But, pricing aside, I'd say there is a fairly broad consensus here (and to some extent also in the public generally) re what qualities make a good or bad sounding headphone. And would refer you back to one of my previous posts for a partial list of some of those qualities.

FYI, Harman's fairly rigorous studies re headphone and speaker sound preferences also seem to support my view on this.

 

[SSandDigital]

I'm lucky because I have two brothers who are doctors, with lots of disposable income. They buy expensive headphones that I can then compare with my budget cans. It has been an incredible experience to discover that the super expensive headphones either don't sound better, or don't sound much better.

Amusing cause they are docs and by their profession would know anatomy and the limitations of human hearing and how susceptible human hearing is to be influenced by outside factors such as price tag and ridiculous reviews. But then, I guess what else do they have to spend their money on? I dunno.