[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schalldämpfer /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hmm... sorry, but I don't think I want to try the Ultrasone right now. Not feeling too courageous.

Scaredy Cat

Actually there is nothing daring about trying them. I was just listening to The Rippingtons 20th Anniversary, and the Tord Gustavson Trio tonight and am SOOOOOO blown away by them.

 

[Schalldampfer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif Scaredy Cat Actually there is nothing daring about trying them. I was just listening to The Rippingtons 20th Anniversary, and the Tord Gustavson Trio tonight and am SOOOOOO blown away by them.

They seem somehow quite expensive in my eyes.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

$239 is in your price range. I'll let you know how they compare to the used HD600's I have on the way too.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

The ultrasone HFI 700 are #5 in CNET's top 5 headphones! I own the Shure E500 which are #2. I also own their #6.

http://reviews.cnet.com/4566-6468_7-...edRating7+desc

You really should consider them.

 

[Schalldampfer]

Oh, and the other thing is, I usually aim straight for the top-tier headphone, because I'm not too fond of stopping on my way to try other headphones made by the same company.

 

[MaloS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schalldämpfer /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oh, and the other thing is, I usually aim straight for the top-tier headphone, because I'm not too fond of stopping on my way to try other headphones made by the same company.

Then your mindset is same as mine. And your budget sucks. =]

Answers to barrage of posts above:

1. K340 is not a closed headphone. It needs a whore of amplification. Needs to be loud to sound good. Shoot/Miss with getting bass heavy or bass-light, or the semi-balanced version I once had. They pretty much are guaranteed to be needing modding in order to sound good. Their fit needs modding even more because of majority of them having aged elastics.
In short - don't even think about it.
2. Afraid of Ultrasones? - Scaredy cat. Proline 750 from Northern Sound and Light would be within your price range, and its almost the top tier, I doubt you can willingly afford their top (which nevertheless is an perfect recommendation for a closed can if someone can afford it).

 

[MTL]

Another vote for the Proline 750s. Especially for classical.
Tested them extensively against the A900 which - for me - can't do classical at all because they're so unnatural and colored timbre-wise.
Proline 750s are pretty accurate though and the headstage is second to none.
All imho of course.

 

[MaloS]

Fear the Ultrasonista thread coup d'etat!

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Just for the record, I owned PL750 and vastly preferred K271S over them. They gone for good in a week. Sure, there are many people who feel the other way around, but Prolines were definitely not my cup of tea, at all.

 

[MaloS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew_WOT /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just for the record, I owned PL750 and vastly preferred K271S over them. They gone for good in a week. Sure, there are many people who feel the other way around, but Prolines were definitely not my cup of tea, at all.

It goes both ways...I have heard every single popular AKG save K271S and K501, and none of them honestly roll my boat. Basically ya, people feel the other way around, and this statement is not doing much but trying to sway the guy towards k271s lol.

 

[tot]

Proline 750 is a very good can (for me at least) but it does not like Total Bithead.

 

[MaloS]

Bithead is kinda rolled off and warm, I never found a headphone I liked with it...although I'd imagine it works nicely with hd600/650.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaloS /img/forum/go_quote.gif It goes both ways...I have heard every single popular AKG save K271S and K501, and none of them honestly roll my boat. Basically ya, people feel the other way around, and this statement is not doing much but trying to sway the guy towards k271s lol.

MaloS,
At least I have owned both to draw my conclusion. I went through quite a few closed headphones in the specified price range, as you can see in my profile, and imo the only one that has it all is Zued K271S.
D2000 has a good potential too, but needs recabling with some silver cable like Silver Dragon to accentuate details and tame a bass a bit.

 

[tot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaloS /img/forum/go_quote.gif Bithead is kinda rolled off and warm, I never found a headphone I liked with it...although I'd imagine it works nicely with hd600/650.

I used Bithead for years with both hd600 and hd650 and no complaints about that combination, and still use occasionally.

But not so with Proline 750. I have never done any break-in with headphones before but since everybody says Ultrasone's need quite extensive one I decided to plug my new 750's to the server in the basement using an unused Bithead.

I put on Kraftwerk's Tour de France soundtracks (because it is heavy in low bass) in loop and true, the sound is boomy and harsh initially.

By the day 6 the 750's have improved somewhat (I only listened about 30 seconds per day to avoid getting used to the sound), but still the sound was quite bad and I was a bit dissappointed, the sound has not noticably improved from the day before.

I decided to stop the break-in and plug it into my HR Home. I first tried with the same track I just heard using the Bithead and what a sweet sound the cans made, spot on. I couldn't believe my ears, and tried the amp I was mostly planning to use the 750's with, HR Micro (hmm, there must be something wrong with me..) and still spot on.

The Bithead was the older model without impedance switch. But if that is not a bad match between a amp and a headphone, I don't know what is.

 

[MaloS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew_WOT /img/forum/go_quote.gif MaloS, At least I have owned both to draw my conclusion. I went through quite a few closed headphones in the specified price range, as you can see in my profile, and imo the only one that has it all is Zued K271S. D2000 has a good potential too, but needs recabling with some silver cable like Silver Dragon to accentuate details and tame a bass a bit.

I was not trying to make the point about k271s, I was trying to make the point that things really go both ways. I have heard a number of cans, and feel that D2000/D5000 offer substantially different sound signature, that is all. Not even talking about fidelity, different sound signatures do it for different people, that is all. I came to prefer Ultrasones in general to alot of headphones (yet I like quite a few others, HD600 when balanced for example). I could go further and say that FOR ME Ultrasones do more than just about every single open headphone save the top tier, but it is still my preference, which is strictly what I am trying to emphasize, the fact that preference is not very important. Do you prefer k271s to w5000? Because I prefer Proline 2500/750 to w5000.

tot: Were you using the DAC stage of the Bithead when comparing? From my experience Prolines somehow work really poorly if the source is not pretty damn good :-/.