[Matt B]

This has more to do with what was going on a couple of pages back, but anyway I got the chance to test drive a bunch of headphones last weekend...among them were the hd800, hd650, hd600, Ultrasone edition 8, audio technica ath-w5000, Alessandro MS2, AKG-K702....
all were listened to with 192kbps-320kbps mp3's with a dedicated headphone amp. And honestly, none of them blew any of the others out of the water...in fact, in my opinion, none of them even sounded substantially better than the others. They sound quality on all was excellent, but the kind of difference you notice from going from a $50 set of phones to a $300 set (or even well made $150 set)...not even close. Out of these the ones that appealed to ME the most were the hd600's and they are about the cheapest. It's a bit sad because my hands were nearly shaking when I put the Hd800's on my head and then hit play and they were...good!??...what?!  where are my fireworks?

 
 
 

 

[matthewh133]

Quote:

This has more to do with what was going on a couple of pages back, but anyway I got the chance to test drive a bunch of headphones last weekend...among them were the hd800, hd650, hd600, Ultrasone edition 8, audio technica ath-w5000, Alessandro MS2, AKG-K702....
all were listened to with 192kbps-320kbps mp3's with a dedicated headphone amp. And honestly, none of them blew any of the others out of the water...in fact, in my opinion, none of them even sounded substantially better than the others. They sound quality on all was excellent, but the kind of difference you notice from going from a $50 set of phones to a $300 set (or even well made $150 set)...not even close. Out of these the ones that appealed to ME the most were the hd600's and they are about the cheapest. It's a bit sad because my hands were nearly shaking when I put the Hd800's on my head and then hit play and they were...good!??...what?!  where are my fireworks?

 
 
 

There is a lot of factors that can come into play here. The headphone amp may have not been enough to drive certain phones while it drove some of the cheaper ones fine. Also, generally, but not always, the more expensive headphones are more dependent on the source, and as you said, you were only listening to 192-320kbps mp3s, so there may have been a substantial difference had the music been FLAC and the source/amp of a lot higher quality. 
 
I am not saying this was the case as I don't know what amp/dac was being used, but it's just possibly a reason.

 

[bvzxa3]

I wasn't going to read through 15 pages of people arguing that these heaphones will sound better because  I am an audiophile and your not.....
 
I'm sure Beats are no more than a way for Monster to market subpar headphones. The average consumer is just a person who buys what the see. They'll assume that beats are good because Dre, is a producer, and of course the hyped and overrated Monster brand, will make people think they are the best thing in the world since sliced bread.
 
Of course this is nothing new.
 
Star power alone will make them get bought.
 
Personally I don't like monster cables. I don't like Dre...so what do you think I will say about his headphones?
 
I try not to explain to a person wearing beats or skulls that my V6's are better than yours...so I stay neutral when on break or at lunch. They look at my phones and say why do they look like old telephone cords? All I can tell them is either shut up or have a listen.
 
As they say of the masses, "let them eat cake".
 
Think about it.

 

[Matt B]

I don't mean to be rude here, but have you ever engaged in blind tests pitting FLAC against high bit-rate mp3s or different headphone amps? any empirical evidence anywhere that it isn't just psychoacoustics?

 

[Anaxilus]

Regardless of amp and files, the source itself is still important.  An amp will only do so much if it isn't getting what it should.  We weren't using a shuffle I assume.

 

[mralexosborn]

Quote:

I don't mean to be rude here, but have you ever engaged in blind tests pitting FLAC against high bit-rate mp3s or different headphone amps? any empirical evidence anywhere that it isn't just psychoacoustics?

Hmm, for those of use who were granted the gift of hearing, there is a difference.
There usually is a VERY subtle difference between MP3 and FLAC with CERTAIN songs. Some songs it seems obvious others it is impossible.
As for amp, there is a difference. The difference between my uDac and computer audio is huge. Even the difference between my phone and computer audio is huge.
None of these are amps but they have the same effect as comparing amps would.
 
Mastering is everything though. The only thing that would push me to listen to an acoustic guitar is beautiful mastering. XD

 

[ericj]

I used to try to introduce my headphone hobby to friends and family.
 
We've all grown tired of how awkward and fruitless that is. They just don't care about it like we do.

 

[Matt B]

a cowon j3 was used, considered to have the best audio quality of any mp3 player At this point most of what I would say has been repeated ad nauseum on these forums and would serve only to waste the time of those who read it, so I will simply say that everything I have read and observed has led me to the (fair) conclusion that none of us have the right to frame anything we say with regard to audio as fact...for everyone who says black, there is someone who says white in this hobby of ours...I think we are being unintentionally misleading when we present our opinions as truths, which happens far too often. The only thing that means anything is a well controlled double blind ABX listening test involving DACS, Sources, Cables, Phones, etc and I do not see that happening any time soon...but I can't help to inject a little bit of bias here...I wonder why? and I'm sure everything I just said has been said by others....my apologies...

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

a cowon j3 was used, considered to have the best audio quality of any mp3 player 

I pretty much agree w/ your take on everything up to that point.  That's a pretty silly statement.  You must hang out in the Cowon threads a lot.  I also wonder how using a device which is known to only have the benefit of special 'effects' and good EQ serves as ideal for ABing that many phones in one session.  W/o EQ and BBE, many feel the Cowon is inferior to the Sansas, Sonys, Sflos, Hifimen, etc for pure SQ.  But ok.  I can appreciate that different strokes for different folks w/ respect to signature preference.  I wonder if your experience isn't indicative of revealing a bottleneck somewhere.  

 

[Matt B]

I said it is considered the best, not that it is. The j3 (an updated s9) has garnered plenty of praise for sq and I am pretty certain for everyone that says it isn't good there would be someone who says it is. I feel it was a viable player to use for my testing.

 

[mralexosborn]

So you listened to MP3's through a Cowon. You expected audio nirvana? This isn't even worth arguing about. 

 

[wind016]

The J3 is an excellent player to test the limits of a headphone and effortlessly discern the areas of deficiencies due to it's BBE and EQ abilities. With enhancements turned off, it definitely isn't all that special. Sansa and Sony may sound better w/o enhancements, but I don't feel those players are purely neutral either.

 

[wind016]

Once you have experienced what the Cowon and Samsung players are capable of, you would understand. Its BBE is better than any other equalizer I have ever tried(w/o going into a studio, having to buy an expensive software EQ or mixer). Very little phasing issues compared to the changes you can make to the sound.
 
But I prefer constantly changing my sound compared to someone that likes to keep things neutral, so your opinion may differ.
 
Quote:

So you listened to MP3's through a Cowon. You expected audio nirvana? This isn't even worth arguing about. 

 

[Salchichon]

i bought THE BEAT recently because i wanted headphones with good bass to watch movies and play videogames. Those are the worst ever!!!! I plugged it in my amp, wich i used with many others headphones and worked perfectly fine, but with the beat i could barely hear the dialogues in a movie, because they almost only reproduce bass. i couldn t believe it, i resisted the temptation to destroyed it and brought it back to Best Buy for a full refund.

 

[wind016]

Your exaggerated statements sound like you bought Sony Xtrabass'... I didn't hear anywhere that much bass on Monsters...
 
Quote:

i bought THE BEAT recently because i wanted headphones with good bass to watch movies and play videogames. Those are the worst ever!!!! I plugged it in my amp, wich i used with many others headphones and worked perfectly fine, but with the beat i could barely hear the dialogues in a movie, because they almost only reproduce bass. i couldn t believe it, i resisted the temptation to destroyed it and brought it back to Best Buy for a full refund.