[wnmnkh]

HP1,2 and K1000 are discontinued and extremely hard to find.

Edit : Just checked he wants discontinued one as well... lol

Both DT880 and K701 are very neutral, and I prefer K701 in terms of neutrality. They are about $300+.... So if your money is tight, then go Koss Pro4AAT. It is another hidden neutral one, but the sound quality is as just about as its cost suggests. But it is only 99$.

 

[lostbobby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daba Hello everyone, I've listened to a lot of headphones and surely I've enjoyed some more than others, but I haven't really a baseline for my comparison. What would you suggest to be the most neutral, flat, and uncolored headphone available today and also discontinued? Thanks!

hmmm, neutral, flat, and uncolored AND discontinued? HP-1 and 2 (but you're gonna pay...)

(you could listen to my 2 pairs 2003 DT880's, those are one HP you haven't heard.)

 

[daba]

Actually my friend has a pair of DT880's I'd like to hear. I forgot to mention I heard the DT660's as well and they are very bright.

 

[kramer5150]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fewtch I can't believe HD580/600/(650) owners are claiming their cans as the most neutral/uncolored. Never heard the 650, but most people say they are more colored than the HD580/600 (which to my ears are plenty colored). Not in a bad way or anything, but the claim of neutrality is absurd IMO. They aren't bad in terms of flatness, but have some absolutely obvious (to my ears) dips/peaks that also show up on graphs.

emphatic X2 Bro!!! NO WAY is the HD580/600 flat and uncolored. IMHO of course.
It has a sense of K240 "muddyness / murkiness"... thats FAR from accurate. Its a love/hate kind of tihng, thats the Senn house sound

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

The DT880 2005(/6)-edition is the closest to neutral I'd say I've heard. Slightly less peaky treble than the 03 edition, plus a slight bit mroe bass. The K701 strikes me as slightly more bassy than neutral, but it's certainly close.

 

[sgrossklass]

Indeed, HD580s are somewhat recessed in the lower highs and somewhat brighter on top. Not entirely my cup of tea. (Comfort is the bigger issue for me though.) Provided you've got something without too drastic dips and peaks in the frequency response, a lot can, however, be done with a good software EQ. One or two dB more or less here and there, and you may end up with a noticeably better result. (An example: The HD420SL is quite decent as-is and improves quite a bit with a little tweaking of the frequency response. Nice mids then.)

IMO the HD650, the K601, K701 and the current DT880 are all reasonably close to neutral, with individual strengths and weaknesses. Something right between the first two should be about spot on. Any of the first three should be quite EQ-friendly, the typical Beyer peak may be a touch harder to tame.

 

[Duggeh]

The Ergo AMT is the most uncoloured and truthful headphone I've ever heard.

 

[adhoc]

i think quite a few people are confusing 'sterile', 'lifeless', 'hard' and 'clean' with 'neutral'. and what's with the senn recommendations?

there are no neutral phones, but a 'neutral' sounding one would IMO be the ER-4S.

 

[Mercuttio]

HP1000, K1000 are both very flat sounding. Though oddly, one strikes me as bright and one strikes me as a little darker.

Of available headphones though, the ER4 is a very good tool. I just aquired a pair, and they're both flat and enjoyable to listen to... perhaps with a little bit of coloration (related to the timbre and presentation of voices).

 

[ejoy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piotr Ryka Fostex T50RP, also Shure E2, Bayerdynamic DT-990 PRO and AKG K701.

No, no. The E2C is the most colored phone I ever heard. The cheaper mx500 sounds much better (and less colored).

For uncolored, you should consider Ety ER4p or s

 

[slindeman]

Here are the ones I've found most neutral:

Senn HE90
Stax SR-404
Senn HD650
Senn HD600
Etymotic ER4
Stax SR-003

And ones that others find neutral that I definitely do not:
Grado HP-2
AKG K701

I haven't heard K1K or DT880 and the Omega II I heard wasn't at its best.

 

[ilovesocks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by billinkansas I had the K701's, found them to be more neutral and uncolored than any of my other cans and those that I've spent time with at our KC meets, those being the DT880, HD600, 650 & 555, K501, SA5000, Stax404, and some of the lower-mid level Grados.

Really? The k701 is more netural than the k501?

I gotta hear 'em!

I was going to vote k501 or DT880. I wouldn't think that the "most neutral" title should go to a Sennheiser or a Grado ..

 

[AsuAmo76]

Here is from the original post: Quote:

most neutral, flat, and uncolored

flat -> frequency response?

uncolored -> natural, sterile?

neutral -> a) not forward/laid back OR
b) not rich/recessed OR
c) not closed/airy OR
d) not fun/boring
e) not bright/dark?

Before throwing my own list of cans I'd like to know what exactly we are talking here.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilovesocks Really? The k701 is more netural than the k501? I gotta hear 'em! I was going to vote k501 or DT880. I wouldn't think that the "most neutral" title should go to a Sennheiser or a Grado ..

K501 sounds great to my ears, but IMO it's not that neutral... in particular, lower bass is rolled off. It's a very coherent headphone tho, despite a few anomalies.

 

[EdipisReks]

i find the HP-1000s to be the most neutral of what i've heard, with the K1000 being a close second. the 2006 DT880s are pretty neutral sounding, as well. the 2006 DT880s are rather reminiscent of HP-1000s, to my ears.