[The Monkey]

I've owned the HD 25-1, K271S, DT 250-250, and now the DT 770-80. All have been strong in different areas. I am underwhelmed by the DT 770. I understand why people like it, but the recessed mids are killing me. What's my next step? I want something that isolates well becuase I where them in bed a lot, and I want something comfortable. Because this will be primarily a bedtime can, I won't really be doing critical listening. To give a sense of where I'm coming from, I was considering something from Ultrasone. The A900 is not likely in my future; I did not like it at the Meet.

Source will be either ipod or H120, both amped.

 

[philodox]

The K340's are sorta closed...

 

[RedLeader]

am I the only one on this forum who likes the DT831?

 

[manchau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Monkey The A900 is not likely in my future; I did not like it at the Meet.

everyone who heard A900 at meet disliked them. Was there only one defective peice OR there was multiple units of A900's ? Did you hear A500's also ?

 

[The Monkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by manchau everyone who heard A900 at meet disliked them. Was there only one defective peice OR there was multiple units of A900's ? Did you hear A500's also ?

Interesting re the A900; I didn't realize others didn't like them at the meet, too. I did not hear the A500. At the AT table, the only can I tried was the W5000. That is slightly out of the price range unfortunately.

 

[manchau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Monkey Interesting re the A900; I didn't realize others didn't like them at the meet, too. I did not hear the A500. At the AT table, the only can I tried was the W5000. That is slightly out of the price range unfortunately.

3 more reports I heard regarding A900's sound. One A900 is sold after the meet at FS forum in $130. And owner said that they were used at meet.

 

[rodbac]

LOL at the A900s now being a can noone likes...

The Group-Think is bananas around here sometimes.

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedLeader am I the only one on this forum who likes the DT831?

It's discontinued, but I thought they were good---I liked the 801, too. I've just had a chance to listen to the new DT770 and find them significantly better than the old 770. I'll be spending some time today listening to it compared to the AKG K271 and Sennheiser HD280Pro, because I think the new DT880 might best them. Full sized sealed cans are a bit of a buggaboo: they don't seem to be able to compete with the open cans at all. (No surprise there; but I keep looking for one that does.) But the new DT770 has promise. I'll post my impressions here when I'm done; but I am hopefull.

 

[3lusiv3]

The Monkey, you're running out of options. I like my A900's, in fact I liked the A500's so much that I upgraded to A900's a long time ago. I'm very interested in what you decide to get next. I'd love to own some Ultrasones, but have never heard any. How about the new DT770's, or is that what you have?

edit: oops, Tyll suggested the new DT770's at the same time as me.

 

[ilovesocks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Monkey To give a sense of where I'm coming from, I was considering something from Ultrasone.

I really like my HFI-650's. They sound better than the k271S out of my Firewire Audiophile. I'll have to compare them again once my Porta Aria gets here.

The problem with Ultrasones is that you pay a little bit more for them than for any other comparable 'phone. For instance, the HFI-700 is $250 on HeadRoom, and someone who's heard other $250 headphones may be disappointed (I dunno--I've never heard it). But based on my experience with the HFI-650, these are darn good sealed cans. The only reason I have them, though, is that I got an excellent deal on this used pair.

Since you've tried nearly every reasonably-priced closed headphone out there, I say give Ultrasone a shot. Here's a review (one of the few on Ultrasone) that I found helpful, though I'm not sure I agree with it:

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=87940

[edit]Once the Aria arrives (hopefully this week!

), I'll let you know how much I'd be willing to pay for them if I had to do it all over again based on a comparison with the k271S, my other favorite closed headphone.[/edit]

 

[The Monkey]

Thanks gang. I do have the old DT 770 and I can see why people like it. In fact, I am not giving up on it as it needs some burn in. But I'll be interested in hearing your impressions, Tyll.

Also, I'm not giving up on the A900, I just note that I was disappointed at the meet, but of course there can be many reasons for this.

The Ultrasones definitely are expensive, but I enjoyed them at the meet. They are decidedly mid-fi, but then again so am I.

Also, even if the science behind the Ultrasones is just hocus pocus, I enjoyed Florian's comments and approach to headphone design at the meet and would like to see if it really translates into the phones.

That said, I'm still open to all suggestions.