pencechp
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2006
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I don't want this to look like every other "which headphone should I buy?!?!?!111" thread, so I'm going to go about it a little differently.
I have a Sennheiser HD280Pro. I think overall (and ESPECIALLY given the price tag), it's a very high quality headphone. I *need* the isolation for my listening environment, and it matches the music I like (classical, jazz, a tiny bit of alternative) very well.
But I'm already thinking of my next upgrade. Instead of asking subjectively about which of these phones is best (which I'm convinced is crazy), there's exactly three things that I think are holding back the sound on my HD280Pros from being perfect to my ears:
1. Bass was weak before the Blue-Tack mod. Blue-Tack mod helped a LOT, by bringing up the mid-bass (~60-80 Hz, I'd say) that was lacking before. However, even with this mod I've only got about 80% of the bass I want. I'm not a bass-head (if I were, I'd have set these cans on fire by now), but I could use a shade more.
2. The headphone is just too damned analytical. I thought I'd want the pure analytical sound; I'm a musician, and I love dissecting every last instrument's location in an orchestra hall, something that the HD280s let me do extensively. For that, I'll probably always keep a pair of them or something like them in my house, but for regular listening I'd really like a phone that brought the instruments together into a coherent whole. In large-orchestra music, I can individually spot every player in the sound field. I'd like my regular-listening headphone to blend a bit more than that and sound like an *orchestra*.
3. The HD280s have a really tiny soundstage. I know I can get around this with a little hardware (or software) crossfeed, but I'd like a phone with a bit more built into its design. I know, I know, "then buy an open headphone!" Sorry, I wish that were an option, but it just can't work for me.
So, given that I want a headphone relatively similar to the HD280, but those three issues are bugging me enough to be already thinking about my next pair of headphones, what do you guys think? It seems that the Beyer DT-770 and -831, and the AKG K271S are the order of the day in general, though I'd be welcome to hear other recommendations as well (A-T A900LTD or W-1000?) under ~$450/500. Also, no canal-phones, as I just can't get used to them.
As a postscript, if you know of anywhere to demo these phones in NYC, Philadelphia, or Austin TX, PLEASE let me know. I've been told that Stereo Exchange in NYC has the K271s, some Guitar Centers will let you listen to DT-770s, but I've seen NOTHING about the DT-831.
Yay for a really long post--what do you guys think?
I have a Sennheiser HD280Pro. I think overall (and ESPECIALLY given the price tag), it's a very high quality headphone. I *need* the isolation for my listening environment, and it matches the music I like (classical, jazz, a tiny bit of alternative) very well.
But I'm already thinking of my next upgrade. Instead of asking subjectively about which of these phones is best (which I'm convinced is crazy), there's exactly three things that I think are holding back the sound on my HD280Pros from being perfect to my ears:
1. Bass was weak before the Blue-Tack mod. Blue-Tack mod helped a LOT, by bringing up the mid-bass (~60-80 Hz, I'd say) that was lacking before. However, even with this mod I've only got about 80% of the bass I want. I'm not a bass-head (if I were, I'd have set these cans on fire by now), but I could use a shade more.
2. The headphone is just too damned analytical. I thought I'd want the pure analytical sound; I'm a musician, and I love dissecting every last instrument's location in an orchestra hall, something that the HD280s let me do extensively. For that, I'll probably always keep a pair of them or something like them in my house, but for regular listening I'd really like a phone that brought the instruments together into a coherent whole. In large-orchestra music, I can individually spot every player in the sound field. I'd like my regular-listening headphone to blend a bit more than that and sound like an *orchestra*.
3. The HD280s have a really tiny soundstage. I know I can get around this with a little hardware (or software) crossfeed, but I'd like a phone with a bit more built into its design. I know, I know, "then buy an open headphone!" Sorry, I wish that were an option, but it just can't work for me.
So, given that I want a headphone relatively similar to the HD280, but those three issues are bugging me enough to be already thinking about my next pair of headphones, what do you guys think? It seems that the Beyer DT-770 and -831, and the AKG K271S are the order of the day in general, though I'd be welcome to hear other recommendations as well (A-T A900LTD or W-1000?) under ~$450/500. Also, no canal-phones, as I just can't get used to them.
As a postscript, if you know of anywhere to demo these phones in NYC, Philadelphia, or Austin TX, PLEASE let me know. I've been told that Stereo Exchange in NYC has the K271s, some Guitar Centers will let you listen to DT-770s, but I've seen NOTHING about the DT-831.
Yay for a really long post--what do you guys think?
