[OPrwtos]

Im quite interested these headphones but i wouldnt buy headphones unless i can see a frequency response graph, because i want to know exactly what im getting. There could be a negative peak in the upper mids or treble or something and i dont want to lose that information.

I have the k701 atm and i equalized it so the mids and treble is perfect. I also like big soundstage and wouldnt want to sacrifice that. Would you guys recommend this headphone as an upgrade?

Also any chance we could get some graphs from someone? I might go try them out if there is some place in london but i would still like to see a graph.

 

[donlin]

+1

There are a number of long time head-fiers who found the Sennheiser HD580/600/650/800 to set a standard for natural midrange sound that has yet to be exceeded by all the recent and more expensive planar flagships. While the planars have more bass power, resolution, soundstage, etc., on pure tonal grounds, the many I have tried just sound off to my ears when it comes to midrange instruments and voices and so never provide long-term satisfaction. Whenever I first put most planars on, I have to make a mental adjustment for the unnatural tonal qualities. I never experience that with Sennheisers and don’t with the ERA-1.

 

[donlin]

Im quite interested these headphones but i wouldnt buy headphones unless i can see a frequency response graph, because i want to know exactly what im getting. There could be a negative peak in the upper mids or treble or something and i dont want to lose that information.

I have the k701 atm and i equalized it so the mids and treble is perfect. I also like big soundstage and wouldnt want to sacrifice that. Would you guys recommend this headphone as an upgrade?

Also any chance we could get some graphs from someone? I might go try them out if there is some place in london but i would still like to see a graph.

You can know exactly what you’re getting from looking at a graph?

 

[negura]

Im quite interested these headphones but i wouldnt buy headphones unless i can see a frequency response graph, because i want to know exactly what im getting. There could be a negative peak in the upper mids or treble or something and i dont want to lose that information.

I have the k701 atm and i equalized it so the mids and treble is perfect. I also like big soundstage and wouldnt want to sacrifice that. Would you guys recommend this headphone as an upgrade?

Also any chance we could get some graphs from someone? I might go try them out if there is some place in london but i would still like to see a graph.

You can be assured the FR won't be anywhere near perfect, and there will be dips and peaks. With any headphones, including these. Check the hifi news review in the news section on the Quad website, there's a FR graph, but I am not very familiar with their methodology and I suspect it's measured with the velour pads, based on the pics.

The stage is not one of the biggest either. Bigger than Focal Clear and it's a decent size, but my LCD2C have a wider stage.

 

[OPrwtos]

You can be assured the FR won't be anywhere near perfect, and there will be dips and peaks. With any headphones, including these. Check the hifi news review in the news section on the Quad website, there's a FR graph, but I am not very familiar with their methodology and I suspect it's measured with the velour pads, based on the pics.

The stage is not one of the biggest either. Bigger than Focal Clear and it's a decent size, but my LCD2C have a wider stage.

Yes but i still would want to see exactly what i would be missing so i could eq it. Plus theres some planars with dips in the upper mids that lose too much information and is not fixable. On the other hand with the k701 i have dont have that problem. They only have 2 main spikes around 2.2khz and 6-7khz which is fixable.

 

[iFi audio]

There are a number of long time head-fiers who found the Sennheiser HD580/600/650/800 to set a standard for natural midrange sound that has yet to be exceeded by all the recent and more expensive planar flagships. While the planars have more bass power, resolution, soundstage, etc., on pure tonal grounds, the many I have tried just sound off to my ears when it comes to midrange instruments and voices and so never provide long-term satisfaction. Whenever I first put most planars on, I have to make a mental adjustment for the unnatural tonal qualities. I never experience that with Sennheisers and don’t with the ERA-1.

Midrange wise we've found some planars a spot on. But then again, this is a subjective hobby and we do get your point.

 

[FullBright1]

Yes but i still would want to see exactly what i would be missing so i could eq it. Plus theres some planars with dips in the upper mids that lose too much information and is not fixable. On the other hand with the k701 i have dont have that problem. They only have 2 main spikes around 2.2khz and 6-7khz which is fixable.

Id estimate that the Quads sound about 3x better then the K701s.
Its not even a legit contest.
The K701s have no bass response, no midrange, and present everything as "airy" and "delicate", and "trebly" when in fact, most music it not this at all.
So, someone told you that the Quad's soundstage is not that good, and actually its very good. As a matter of fact, it one of the best qualities of the Quad, along with the midrange.
The reality is........graphs are math, but they are not music, and you really have to try a set of headphones to know what you want to know.
Reviews wont do it, graphs wont do it, and people who are "brand stuck" on a certain brand and can't enjoy anything else.........they wont help you.
The only way to know if a headphone is producing a sound you like, is to put it on your head and give it a chance.
The rest is pretty much just chat.

Listen, i make my living with my ears. I am a professional listener...Im trained to discern "sound".. Ive owned at least 200 sets of headphones, and many many many dacs and amps.
My bio here lists only some of what i own.
So, i have more then a general idea about sound and what makes a good sound.
The Quads are a good sound, but are they right for you?
There is only one way to know.
I can tell you what they dont sound like.......They dont sound like anything made by Audeze or anything made by HifiMann or anything made by AudioTechnica or anything made by Beyer, or AKG
The Quads, have a sort of Planar/Dynamic hybrid sound, and to some, this will be the best of both worlds.
To those who can't ever really be satisfied, they wont love them.
The Quads sound nothing like your K701's or your K702's , or anything put out by AKG that is "sound designed" by Quincy Jones.
The Quads are a really good headphone, and maybe you will love them.
Many will., but not all.

 

[k1n0n3]

Cannot comment on the sound, but those Alara seem to only come with the velour pads (2 pairs), that imo are not as good sounding as the leather ones that are one of the options included with the Quad. The sound with velour pads has some midbass bloat, less focus and is softer/less dynamic sounding.

All else being the same (which we don't know) for the pads reason alone I would consider a difference in price.

I would agree on the angled pads being superior and what makes the Quads more desirable, but the $300 price gap is pretty steep. If Massdrop price was MSPR I think more people would be trying these out.

 

[donlin]

Id estimate that the Quads sound about 3x better then the K701s.
Its not even a legit contest.
The K701s have no bass response, no midrange, and present everything as "airy" and "delicate", and "trebly" when in fact, most music it not this at all.
So, someone told you that the Quad's soundstage is not that good, and actually its very good. As a matter of fact, it one of the best qualities of the Quad, along with the midrange.
The reality is........graphs are math, but they are not music, and you really have to try a set of headphones to know what you want to know.
Reviews wont do it, graphs wont do it, and people who are "brand stuck" on a certain brand and can't enjoy anything else.........they wont help you.
The only way to know if a headphone is producing a sound you like, is to put it on your head and give it a chance.
The rest is pretty much just chat.

Listen, i make my living with my ears. I am a professional listener...Im trained to discern "sound".. Ive owned at least 200 sets of headphones, and many many many dacs and amps.
My bio here lists only some of what i own.
So, i have more then a general idea about sound and what makes a good sound.
The Quads are a good sound, but are they right for you?
There is only one way to know.
I can tell you what they dont sound like.......They dont sound like anything made by Audeze or anything made by HifiMann or anything made by AudioTechnica or anything made by Beyer, or AKG
The Quads, have a sort of Planar/Dynamic hybrid sound, and to some, this will be the best of both worlds.
To those who can't ever really be satisfied, they wont love them.
The Quads sound nothing like your K701's or your K702's , or anything put out by AKG that is "sound designed" by Quincy Jones.
The Quads are a really good headphone, and maybe you will love them.
Many will., but not all.

Spot on about the K701. Polar opposite from the Quad.

 

[FullBright1]

Spot on about the K701. Polar opposite from the Quad.

Absoluely.
Like "night and day".
I would think that an AKG sound fanatic would be overwhelmed by the Quads, as suddenly they are hearing all the music they've been missing for years....
I can imagine one of them, after listening to the Quad's ...say........"Oh, so you can hear midrange and bass using a headphone.......... i never knew this".....

 

[negura]

I would agree on the angled pads being superior and what makes the Quads more desirable, but the $300 price gap is pretty steep. If Massdrop price was MSPR I think more people would be trying these out.

For the European buyer, the price for Brainwavz would add roughly 20% VAT + import duty, so the difference is narrower. For me the pads would be worth it, as the difference in sound is significant, but that is up to anyone to decide.

Absoluely.
Like "night and day".
I would think that an AKG sound fanatic would be overwhelmed by the Quads, as suddenly they are hearing all the music they've been missing for years....
I can imagine one of them, after listening to the Quad's ...say........"Oh, so you can hear midrange and bass using a headphone.......... i never knew this".....

I would also think so, however I know AKG fans who prefer that airy ethereal "delicate" sound, or think they do. I don't mind it but I agree it's not really how music actually sounds imo. I think Quads are a much better headphone at reproducing a more coherent, more lively/engaging and natural sound than any AKG I owned and that included the K550, K812 and K872. The K812 and K872 have bass, but it's lower quality than the Quads.

 

[OPrwtos]

Absoluely.
Like "night and day".
I would think that an AKG sound fanatic would be overwhelmed by the Quads, as suddenly they are hearing all the music they've been missing for years....
I can imagine one of them, after listening to the Quad's ...say........"Oh, so you can hear midrange and bass using a headphone.......... i never knew this".....

I will be going on saturday to try out the quads at some place near me, as well as some other headphones.

Also last time i went to try out headphones at some place i took my k701 and i was comparing them against lots of them, like the hd800/s, audeze, hifiman, focal, etc and i dont know if its because im so used to the sound of my k701s since ive had them quite a while, but the only headphones that really appealed to me more than my k701 where the hd800s and the hifiman edition x and even then the difference wasnt that much. I Didnt like the audeze because they sounded too dark and i wasnt much a fan of the oppo or the focal.

Im going to go in wanting to like the quads when i try them, so hopefully i do. We shall see. Oh bear in mind the only music i listen to is film scores (all types, from really old recordings from 1930's to modern orchestral/electronic scores) and also game scores. So its mostly orchestral stuff (vocals are in my music maybe 5% of the time), so I want the music to feel like its playing in the atmosphere, maybe why i liked the hd800s and the edition x so much.

 

[FullBright1]

I will be going on saturday to try out the quads at some place near me, as well as some other headphones.

Also last time i went to try out headphones at some place i took my k701 and i was comparing them against lots of them, like the hd800/s, audeze, hifiman, focal, etc and i dont know if its because im so used to the sound of my k701s since ive had them quite a while, but the only headphones that really appealed to me more than my k701 where the hd800s and the hifiman edition x and even then the difference wasnt that much. I Didnt like the audeze because they sounded too dark and i wasnt much a fan of the oppo or the focal.

Im going to go in wanting to like the quads when i try them, so hopefully i do. We shall see. Oh bear in mind the only music i listen to is film scores (all types, from really old recordings from 1930's to modern orchestral/electronic scores) and also game scores. So its mostly orchestral stuff (vocals are in my music maybe 5% of the time), so I want the music to feel like its playing in the atmosphere, maybe why i liked the hd800s and the edition x so much.

You like treble......)
IF the Quad does not make you smile and buy it, then try to find a used set of Audeze X's. as this is the one they make that does not sound dark and warm like all the rest.
Its not as dark and definitely offers more treble extension.
Very easy to drive.
This is an interesting set of headphones, as a lot of "hi profile" reviewers, will rant and rave about the new this and the new that and then at the end of the day they go and get their Audeze X's and sit back and go...............ahhhhhhhhhhh......

 

[iFi audio]

Id estimate that the Quads sound about 3x better then the K701s.
Its not even a legit contest.

Geez, that was brutal! Honest, but brutal

 

[FullBright1]

Geez, that was brutal! Honest, but brutal

Thank you.
Its always a pleasure.....

Its a good week for me.
First i bought the Quads and now i own also the Neumann's and both are just very fine headphones.
So completely different regarding sound..... yet, both are just so impressive to hear.
Im 2-fer-2.
Let the good times roll.....