[kpeezy]

Here in a week or so, I will be buying another pair of headphones. I have a pair of MS-1's and I love them, but they just don't have any soundstage

I want to try the HD580 but I'm not sure about their soundstage. What's the best headphone for soundstage within a moderate budget ($100 - $200). Let me know!!

 

[MaZa]

HD580 should have good, or atleast above average soundstage as do all higher end Sennheisers. You could look for DT990 Pro, Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro, Audiotechnica Ax00 and ADx00 line, all noted for their really good soundstage and so on.

 

[donunus]

hd555 is the cheapest can i know with a decent soundstage. The 580s will come out more expensive considering you will need a proper amp for them in the long run

 

[audiomagnate]

AKG 501s, or 601s. 580s are very nice, but 501s and 601s kill them in the soundstage department. You can pick up a new pair of 601s for $205 shipped right now at a popular US auction site.

 

[MaZa]

Ah, forgot to mention K501 and K601 too, though first one is becoming harder and harder to find.

 

[kpeezy]

Oh, I'll already have an amp for these.

 

[ecclesand]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audiomagnate /img/forum/go_quote.gif AKG 501s, or 601s. 580s are very nice, but 501s and 601s kill them in the soundstage department. You can pick up a new pair of 601s for $205 shipped right now at a popular US auction site.

x2 on the K501. And the mids are oh so beautiful.

 

[kpeezy]

I actually really do want good mids. I've missed that with my MS-1's. I think I would opt for the K501 as of now. $200 was the ABSOLUTE max so the cheaper K501's are exactly what I'm looking for. Now all I have to do is find a pair

I'll be buying next Friday so anyone that wants to sell a pair pm me

Edit : It might seem like I've made the decision rather fast, but it was really down to these or the HD580's before I posted this

 

[HFat]

The K501 would indeed be the most obvious choice. There are several versions though. With the most common ones (I think), you can also tweak the soundstage with very simple mods. Also consider K400, K401, and K500.

But there are also more obscure large headphones that might be better. Look in Ergos, Jecklins, MB Quarts and so forth.

The thing is, what kind of soundstage do you want?
The K501's sounds large but also artificially so (to me anyway). The HD580 also has this issue to a lesser degree as well as other ones. The best soundstage I've heard so far would be the one the DT880 makes but this is of course a matter of opinion.

Note that, if you want large at all costs, DSPs can go a long way.

 

[audiomagnate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kpeezy /img/forum/go_quote.gif I actually really do want good mids. I've missed that with my MS-1's. I think I would opt for the K501 as of now. $200 was the ABSOLUTE max so the cheaper K501's are exactly what I'm looking for. Now all I have to do is find a pair I'll be buying next Friday so anyone that wants to sell a pair pm me Edit : It might seem like I've made the decision rather fast, but it was really down to these or the HD580's before I posted this

That same site has 501s for $10 cheaper than the 601s, but for $10 I think you'd be crazy not to stretch your budget $5 to go for the 601s. The 501s need a little bass boost to sound right IMO.

 

[Faust2D]

If you can find them MB Quart QP85 will give you awesome sound stage for very little money ($100-150). They are a strange beast, one of the last true float headphones.

 

[kpeezy]

Hmm.. interesting stuff here

Now you guys are making me reconsider EVERYTHING!

More thought is going to be required here.

 

[audiomagnate]

If you can find them MB Quart QP85 will give you awesome sound stage for very little money ($100-150). They are a strange beast, one of the last true float headphones.

Whoa! What do those sound like. The poor man's K1000?

 

[kpeezy]

Found this : http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=257851 They seem hard to find though. Are the Beyerdynamics bass heavy like I've read? I'm not really into that

 

[Faust2D]

You can read this one as well: QP85