[Lohb]

Taowolf- you'd maybe miss the micro-detail of planars but appreciate the smoothness in the upper end unless you like it "sparkly"

 

[JanPro]

Bought also these cans because of the hype, but all in all they are quite dull sounding. Preferring my Denons over these.

 

[utee05]

I am interested in these but after seeing a good price for the momentums are these worth almost 3x the price? From reading reviews the momemtums are now not considered the best because of the HP50. How is the comfort of these? I had some vmoda M80 and those hurt my ears so I am a bit weary of on-ear cans.

 

[bixby]

  I am interested in these but after seeing a good price for the momentums are these worth almost 3x the price? From reading reviews the momemtums are now not considered the best because of the HP50. How is the comfort of these? I had some vmoda M80 and those hurt my ears so I am a bit weary of on-ear cans.

You say you are weary of on ears.  Both the Momentum (original) and HP-50 are over the ears.  The Momentum is considerably smaller though and less comfortable for larger ears.  Neither are really comfy for ears over 65 mm top to bottom.
 
As for sound the Hp-50s are clearly a step up from the Momentums in all areas and as such are more $$.  Only you can say it is worth it or not....

 

[Astropin]

  Bought also these cans because of the hype, but all in all they are quite dull sounding. Preferring my Denons over these.

 
 
Must have been broken. They are miles from dull.

 

[utee05]

  You say you are weary of on ears.  Both the Momentum (original) and HP-50 are over the ears.  The Momentum is considerably smaller though and less comfortable for larger ears.  Neither are really comfy for ears over 65 mm top to bottom.
 
As for sound the Hp-50s are clearly a step up from the Momentums in all areas and as such are more $$.  Only you can say it is worth it or not....

 
My ears aren't very big but the M80s just sat on the wrong part of my ears and just bothered me. I will see if I can get to test these out for fit at a bestbuy or something near me. If they are over the ear like M50 than it should be good. 
 
Thanks. These sound like the ideal can for me to use while at work and possibly when traveling. I did like the sound signature of the M80.

 

[Taowolf51]

You're talking about the Momentum on-ears, right? I can't think of anywhere where the standard momentums are around $100.

 

[Sonic Defender]

   
My ears aren't very big but the M80s just sat on the wrong part of my ears and just bothered me. I will see if I can get to test these out for fit at a bestbuy or something near me. If they are over the ear like M50 than it should be good. 
 
Thanks. These sound like the ideal can for me to use while at work and possibly when traveling. I did like the sound signature of the M80.

 I have the M80, and they are on-ear, not over ear like the HP50. Depending on what you mean by portable use the HP50 isn't the best use say outside in the summer, very hot. I can only wear mine in the morning, by early afternoon forget it, just too hot. Maybe brought to an office with AC they could be considered portable.

 

[utee05]

For portable I mean if they can be packed up in messenger bag similar to how the m50 fold up. I will mainly use these at my desk and occasionally when I work remotely. One thing I hadn't realized was that the hp50 are over ear. For some odd reason I thought they were on ear. Also I didn't know that the momentum are both on ear or over ear.

How would you compare these to the m80? Thanks.

 

[flamez]

Just picked up a pair of these, anyone know which velour pads will go straight on?  

 

[Taowolf51]

  Taowolf- you'd maybe miss the micro-detail of planars but appreciate the smoothness in the upper end unless you like it "sparkly"

 
I do like some sparkle, though there can definitely be too much sparkle. I know that it was based around the response of a flat speaker in a well treated room, and I do like the treble response of speakers, so I may like it if it's similar to that. Looking at the measurements, the 10kHz+ response of the Spirit Classic looks closer to my personal preference (flatter treble), but the 300Hz square wave response on the HP50 looks much better, and shows a much greater soundstage (and I love me some soundstage!), which I think is a good trade off.
 
I ordered a pair of HP50's (in white) from Amazon, they should arrive Tuesday. I'll update with first impressions then! I also may decide to pick up the Focal Classics to compare, and if I do I'll post a bit of a comparison.

 

[gr8soundz]

New member; 1st post. Been eyeing Head-Fi for while (research) but need a little advice.
 
Got a pair of Momentums (over-ear not on-ear) for $200 brand new but wonder if the HP50s are worth the extra $100?  Seems most everyone agrees they sound better but, the more I read, I wonder if they're any more comfortable than the Momentums.
 
I started out with the Denon 1001s (still have 'em; super comfy) and also recently got the Sennheiser HD598 (my 1st open-back set; def a keeper). Compared to those, the Momentums are a tighter fit and cause some pressure issues after long listening but the sound for a closed back headphone is impressive (especially for the price; hard to go back to the Denons). My research thus far also suggests the Momentums have better design/build quality.
 
Point is: Do I send them back before its too late and wait for a possible future deal on the HP50s or is the current extra cost worth it for "slightly" better sound given equally potential comfort issues (in different area like headband). I'd mention styling but sound takes precendence despite the NAD square headband.
 
For reference, I started out with a Fiio e5 amp and Xonar D1 sound card (not used in tandem; have some AE Aego M speakers on a fanless pc) and now have a Fiio e17 matched to an old Creative Zen Vision M (see sig pic).  I also upgraded to a Xonar Essence ST card as well.  Slowly moving upwards; can't afford any 4 figure gear just yet.

 

[PaulCypert]

Came to the thread to see what days/amps are using with these. Any recs.

But was very surprised by the comfort comments. I have a huge head and never notice these things being on...until I look at myself in a mirror. They are some of the ugliest things I've willingly worn in public...but the sound is good enough that I continue.

But this stupid antenna headband doesn't touch my head on top. I'm like a 7 3/4 or larger head so you guys must have watermelons

I am at the edges of the insides of ear cups but I used to have some Bose qcs for travel and those were much smaller and I got used to it.

Speaking of these are almost as good at sound isolation or the cups just really fit me well. Walking downtown Singapore can be a bit dangerous with these!

 

[Lohb]

Came to the thread to see what days/amps are using with these. Any recs.

But was very surprised by the comfort comments. I have a huge head and never notice these things being on...until I look at myself in a mirror. They are some of the ugliest things I've willingly worn in public...but the sound is good enough that I continue.

But this stupid antenna headband doesn't touch my head on top. I'm like a 7 3/4 or larger head so you guys must have watermelons

I am at the edges of the insides of ear cups but I used to have some Bose qcs for travel and those were much smaller and I got used to it.

Speaking of these are almost as good at sound isolation or the cups just really fit me well. Walking downtown Singapore can be a bit dangerous with these!

No idea how you handle the humidity with pleather earpads in Singapore...swimming pool ears !

 

[PaulCypert]

No idea how you handle the humidity with pleather earpads in Singapore...swimming pool ears !

Lol. Actually it's not that bad. I do train a lot though in a sport where I sweat a ton. After morning sessions in that walking around in the day I don't seem to have any left