[Germancub]

Hey everybody.... I've been gone for quite some time but I felt it was time to come back and start becoming a contributing member again of head-fi. (Plus I really wanna spend more money LOL).

Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting up with a fellow head-fi'er *Kouzelna* to do some headphone comparisons/mini-meet sort of thing at his place in Oceanside. Some of the headphones we checked out were Denon D2000's, Audio Technica AD950, ATH-M50, plus a few others.

Let me start off with the Audio Technica M50s. I never really gave them much of a look since a) I really never cared for their design and b) I never was a fan of closed headphones.

I'm so lucky to have met David as he really "opened" me up to closed cans so to speak and now I'm actually beginning to prefer them to open! The first thing I noticed about the ATH-M50 was the build quality which was excellent to say the very least, especially the connector, which is polished aluminium. The sound was, for the price nothing short of astonishing. I really love the bass impact of these headphones, it never manages to intrude into the rest of the music which is surprising given how present it can be at times. The midrange is a bit recessed and the overall presentation borders on "dark" but I liked them so much I picked them up off him.

So, as it ALWAYS goes, I started to want a more high-end closed headphone since I was literally falling in love with the sound and isolation of the ATH-M50s but couldn't wear them for more than an hour without the discomfort or the dark presentation getting to me, especially with acoustic guitar, they were missing "sparkle" so I decided to start shopping... enter the Shure SRH840s.

After much research on head-fi and on the interwebs I decided to pick up the SRH840s from guitar center which price matched them to me for $139. These are exactly what I was looking for! They sound absolutely stunning from top to bottom. The build quality is phenomenal and the comfort is on par with DT880s in my opinion. They kind of remind me of all the high-end headphones Ive ever owned all wrapped up into one headphone. For example, the highest of highs have an ever so slight but quite pleasant veil much like the HD600s. The midrange reminds me of the RS-1s with its liquidity... it makes vocals sound chillingly real and the transparency reminds me a bit of the K701s. The soundstage, for a closed headphone, is really vast... I would venture far enough to say that even if it were an open headphone, the soundstage could still be described as quite large. The bass is somewhere in between the HD650 and RS-1s, if you could imagine such a thing. It has the presence when needed, such as in R & B or trance but when called for, it's quite laid back, fast and punchy, such as in light pop or acoustic or bluegrass *especially now that they have been burned in*. The best thing about them is that they sound great straight out of a DAP which is something that can't be said for any of the high end headphones I've owned save the RS-1s. I'm truly impressed.

These are just my initial impressions, more to come and a full review of all the cans I've encountered lately *including an in-depth SRH840 and M50 review* coming soon! Thank you guys so much for the wealth of knowledge and helping to steer me towards the SRH840s as I really love them!

 

[tdockweiler]

I wish my Guitar Center carried good headphones here in Kalamazoo, Michigan. All they carry are the models under $100 and that's it. An employee actually told me they don't accept returns on them due to Michigan law. Can you believe that?

I've been on a search for the best headphone myself. I wanted something that sounded as close to my IEM the Triple Fi 10 as possible. I actually wanted something with a tad more bass, but not that much.

My first pair after nearly a week of research was the Shure SRH-840. Ever since I got them i've been really impressed with them. From day one. The thing that ruins it for me was the fit. My head must be small because it feels like they're just balancing on top of my head!

This led me to waste my money and try some other headphones (keeping for 840s for sure though). So far after three different types of headphones I haven't found anything that I like more then the 840.

I tried the Creative Aurvana Live (same as Denon D1001 mostly) and liked it, but just felt like it was a step back from the 840 and they did not go over my ears like I had hoped. For anyone wanting the best headphone for under $70, this would be the pair.

I then tried the Denon D2000 and really disliked it. I can't say anything negative about them since I didn't give them a chance. I just knew that they would not be for me due to too much bass.

So far my second favorite (840 being #1) was the Audio Technica ATH-AD700. Everything was crystal clear on these things. You just didn't FEEL the music. At all. It took me forever to get the EQ settings just right for me. In the end i've found that only a custom EQ setting would make these work for me and my Ipod touch did not have that. They worked best with my Iaudio7 and Sansa View. In the end they had such a poor fit I had to return them. Seriously they were so loose that I felt like I was wearing the earcups over my cheeks! No adjustments would work, only for awhile.

I want to try the Beyer Dynamic DT-880, but i've already had the DT-990, so it may not be worth it. I also don't really want to pay $260 for a headphone right now. I also read from a few people that the DT-880 may have slightly recessed midrange. I doubt this is true, but I don't want that at all. If someone said my SRH-840s had recessed midrange i'd want to punch them. Ok, not really, but I wouldn't believe it. They most definitely do not in any way.

At this point I can't think of anything else to try other then the DT-880. The DT-990s were the most comfortable headphones in the world. I don't want to try the AKG 701's again. I sold them and they were once my favorite headphones but I got tired of hauling an amp everywhere.

Sennheiser anything is off my list. I have the 555s and did the mod to them and still don't like their sound as much as I should. Sounds kind of muffled to me in a way, as if someone is holding paper towel over the earcup. It's weird.

The HD-600 might be ok but I don't want to be forced to use an amp at all times. I usually like to listen to my headphones when exercising.

I think if I can find something like the ATH-AD700 with the bass of the Shure 840 i'd be set! It seems like this does not exist. To me, the most important thing is crystal clear dialogue. I want to hear every single world and all the little details. I listen to mostly female singers, so the SRH-840 and the AD700 were perfect for that.

 

[balviforever]

well, I am in the process buying 1 of these but cant make my mind.

with the m50, here in London UK i haven't seen shop to have them so cant try them. and with the shure its the same

does anyone know where they might have them, pls? because I dont want end up like tdocweiler.

thx

ps: looking forward for your review