New Cans: HD600, Allesandro MS1i, Sure SE530
Sep 29, 2009 at 3:01 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 4

elvis_presley

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Hi guys, I'm all the way in Trinidad ... started my foray into high end cans by purchasing a 2005 DT990 about a year ago after I joined head-fi based on recommendations ...

My previous experience has been home audio, with my home theater comprising of Klipsh reference series powered by a Rotel Receiver and my best hi-fi audio experience being a pair of vandersteen 2ce signature series backed by a sealed 12" sub paired with some nice electronics ... Wow! Loved that setup ...

So being not a billionaire and having to deal with a 6:1 exchange rate, my quest for audio bliss via headphones began ...

So back to the DT990 I ordered ...I absolutely hated it from my Rotel Receiver. Unbalanced, recessed mids, with an unnatural cold sound overall ... Tried to give it time, but never took to it. Powered from the headphone out of an SACD player i have available, it was decent, but nothing near musical.

I got my wife a Cowon D2 which while a really nice piece of kit, but I could never get it to sound right to my ears ... Always too harsh ... another 'cold' sounding device.

I was so put off by the DT990 I sat back an enjoyed my creative EP630 IEMs (really sweet for the money), Koss ksc-75 (nice but were never bassy / punchy enough for me) and the stock ear buds of my my portable source Sony nwz-A818 (very nice, love the sound of this unit).

So fast forward to now ... went over the edge and ordered three cans at once, lol

The MS1i ... Very nice for the money! Nice mids and bass impact, soundstage is not the DT990, but very listenable and 'fun' as often described here. Had me toe tapping soon as i picked it up! Highly recommended for the $$$
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The HD600 ... Hooked it up to the headphone out of the SACD player ... WOW this is the sound i've been searching for! Sweet tight clear bass, goes deep and full, mids are luscious and luxurious, and the top end crisp and wonderous ... Friggin love these cans!
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Finally the SE530 ... first listen was horrendous! replaced the soft foamy tips with the rubber ends (what a task that was) and it's better, but ... The bass is nice and tight and low, the mids prominent, but the top end way to hot! it's all treble and even the mids are harsh not smooth ... I'm hoping it's just break-in that's the issue, otherwise I'll have to say they sound nothing like what the reviews have lead me to expect, unlike the previous two cans that were spot on
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Any ideas on the Sures? I hope to pair them with a Sony X1000 or Cowon S9 (but fear the cold sound) still reading reviews trying to decide.

I have a Corda Canate.2 on the way, so I expect great things from that as well.

All opinions welcome.
 
Oct 6, 2009 at 3:38 PM Post #2 of 4
Just to update this post ... My Canate.2 is still intransit, so no extensive listening of the HD600's unfortunately. Ive done some listening of the MS-1, which sound just ‘ok’ out of my wife’s d2 and my NWZ-A818 … However they sound really, really good, straight out of the headphone out of my Lenovo T60 laptop … Every little bit of power counts I guess. The sound of the Ms-1s has become slightly more refined, but it’s fundamentally the same fun sound from day one …

The SE530s however … I have never had a headphone or speaker, change it’s sound so dramatically and so quickly before. The biting heights and edgy mids I experienced on first listen are now completely smoothed out!

When I first started listening I had to eq the mids / heights, as much as -3 to be tolerable from my NWZ, the D2 was unlistenable … now I’m at an almost straight eq line with the high end slightly tipped up.

Nice luscious mids and deep tight bass … could do with more impact, but very nice all the same. The final piece of my mid-fi pie will be a portable replacement for my NWZ, of course the X1000 is 1st preference, since I am enamored by the Sony sound signature, but more than open to options … cold sounding devices do not do it for me, but I’ve yet to retry the D2 with the Sures. Although I could never get the D2 to sound right to my ears, my wife loves it .. lol

More as it happens!
 
Oct 6, 2009 at 3:49 PM Post #3 of 4
I'm glad you like the Shure SE530 much better now. You mentioned it's highs were very harsh to your ears, but I've never experienced them as such. If anything, I'd say the highs are somewhat recessed, compared to the lows and mids. But with a little bit of EQ'ing (treble booster), the highs definitely do come to life. Good you like the SE530 better now.
 
Oct 6, 2009 at 9:45 PM Post #4 of 4
Quote:

Originally Posted by Bengt77 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I'm glad you like the Shure SE530 much better now. You mentioned it's highs were very harsh to your ears, but I've never experienced them as such. If anything, I'd say the highs are somewhat recessed, compared to the lows and mids. But with a little bit of EQ'ing (treble booster), the highs definitely do come to life. Good you like the SE530 better now.



You know that's exactly how I have them now, a little tipped up in the treble ... I was playing around with the different tips, maybe I didn't have the rubber ones I first tried inserted fully??? That's my best guess for the weird sound characteristics I got ...
 

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