OrganMonster
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2014
- Posts
- 134
- Likes
- 48
A fresh new look from a non-audiophile. My quest at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2014 was simple, find the best sounding headphones. I have a small amount of experience in the new audio equipment. What I bring to the table in this forum is my music experience. I compose symphonies, conduct orchestras and perform concerts. I know what the music should sound like and wanted to find a HP that matched my expectations.
I spent all day listening and re-listening to each top end HP. I sat at each station for at least 12 sittings to make sure my first impressions were incorrect. To give everyone here my reference point, I did not own nor have I ever listened to any of these HP’s in the past. I listened to the usual brands, Sennheiser, Fostex, Sony, Beyer Dynamic, AKG, Mr. Speaker, Stax, HiFiman, Grado, Audeze and many others.
I am not going to go into what I did not like but delve on what impressed me. That way I do not offend any audiophiles. As I made my way around all of the different headphones I kept on searching for the perfect sound as if I was conducting an orchestra and being up front and personal with each musician. My criteria was simple, find a great reproduction of sound, make sure it does not color the actual instruments, find the correct balance of sound staging and the most important feature which is comfort to actually listen for long periods of time.
All of the headphones were very good and had certain characteristics for a specific instruments. Some of the headphones that did not make my top 5 was due to comfort and the ability to listen for a long period of time even though they may have sounds wonderful. Some of the headphones in this list were from HiFiman and Grado. These just did not fit me well but did sound very nice.
I was most impressed with the very first time I put on the Sennheiser HD-650. I was not expecting much out of these headphones since they have been around for a decade or more and the technology was pretty old. They were fantastic and for the price point they were unbeatable.
The Sennheiser HD-700 made my top 3 headhphones for perfect clarity, staging, comfort and one of the best HP’s for the money they were asking.
The Sennheiser HD-800, I am sorry to say did not fit me very well. They moved around the head too much, they sounded great and was the most accurate in reproducing all instruments in the orchestra. The only complaint I had with these HP’s was that it may have been too accurate and shows the imperfections of the recording and well and the music.
The Grado’s are great but my ears are not made for this torture device since I own a few of these already.
My first impression of the Fostex TH-900 was not a good one. But as I moved around the different booths I found that this headphone particular on what amp was pushing them. These headphones turned out to be a close # 2 or 3 depending on what amp was being hooked up at the time.
The Stax headphones was possibly the most accurate for all types of sound of any type of instrument. I am also sorry to say that these did not make my top 5 list because every little sound from the outside interfered with the listening process. This is not good for me alone since I am not going to be listening in a soundproof room all the time.
The last set of listening’s I did was the Audeze. I was a little reluctant to try these at first since most of the other vendors were always making fun of the personnel always dressed up in lab coats inferring that they forgot there mink coats at home. There is a lot of hype about these HP’s including the price. I checked out the LCD-2, 3, X and the XC. I tried to be as un-biased as possible but everyone kept seeing the smile on my face when listening to the LCD-XC. I have found what I was searching for.
There is no prefect headphone, only a headphone that covers some of the criteria that you are searching for. The Audeze LCD-XC meets my expectations for sound quality, sound staging, and comfort. It seems that these are not very particular on amps as well. I even pushed out good sound directly out of my iphone. There was not much to dislike about these phones. Except for one minor drawback, the horrible weight. If there was only one issue I had it was why could Audeze make these a little lighter.
To summarize what I have seen and heard, The Audeze LCD-XC was my top choice although the price was a little steep but worth the price. The Sennheiser HD-700 was my second solid choice. This particular headphone was the one I was always going back to get a good reference point once again. The HD-700 was the best of the crowd for the price and was a truly wonderful headphone. The Fostex was my second/third choice depending on the amp. But when it came down to what headphones I would be the most happiest with was the Audeze. The Audeze won out because the Fostex 900 was so close to the price of the Audeze and enough said.
One last comment was how amazed I was on hearing the Sennheiser HD-650. That little headhone was real nice although the HD-700 was just that much better.
I hope I have not offended anyone.
I spent all day listening and re-listening to each top end HP. I sat at each station for at least 12 sittings to make sure my first impressions were incorrect. To give everyone here my reference point, I did not own nor have I ever listened to any of these HP’s in the past. I listened to the usual brands, Sennheiser, Fostex, Sony, Beyer Dynamic, AKG, Mr. Speaker, Stax, HiFiman, Grado, Audeze and many others.
I am not going to go into what I did not like but delve on what impressed me. That way I do not offend any audiophiles. As I made my way around all of the different headphones I kept on searching for the perfect sound as if I was conducting an orchestra and being up front and personal with each musician. My criteria was simple, find a great reproduction of sound, make sure it does not color the actual instruments, find the correct balance of sound staging and the most important feature which is comfort to actually listen for long periods of time.
All of the headphones were very good and had certain characteristics for a specific instruments. Some of the headphones that did not make my top 5 was due to comfort and the ability to listen for a long period of time even though they may have sounds wonderful. Some of the headphones in this list were from HiFiman and Grado. These just did not fit me well but did sound very nice.
I was most impressed with the very first time I put on the Sennheiser HD-650. I was not expecting much out of these headphones since they have been around for a decade or more and the technology was pretty old. They were fantastic and for the price point they were unbeatable.
The Sennheiser HD-700 made my top 3 headhphones for perfect clarity, staging, comfort and one of the best HP’s for the money they were asking.
The Sennheiser HD-800, I am sorry to say did not fit me very well. They moved around the head too much, they sounded great and was the most accurate in reproducing all instruments in the orchestra. The only complaint I had with these HP’s was that it may have been too accurate and shows the imperfections of the recording and well and the music.
The Grado’s are great but my ears are not made for this torture device since I own a few of these already.
My first impression of the Fostex TH-900 was not a good one. But as I moved around the different booths I found that this headphone particular on what amp was pushing them. These headphones turned out to be a close # 2 or 3 depending on what amp was being hooked up at the time.
The Stax headphones was possibly the most accurate for all types of sound of any type of instrument. I am also sorry to say that these did not make my top 5 list because every little sound from the outside interfered with the listening process. This is not good for me alone since I am not going to be listening in a soundproof room all the time.
The last set of listening’s I did was the Audeze. I was a little reluctant to try these at first since most of the other vendors were always making fun of the personnel always dressed up in lab coats inferring that they forgot there mink coats at home. There is a lot of hype about these HP’s including the price. I checked out the LCD-2, 3, X and the XC. I tried to be as un-biased as possible but everyone kept seeing the smile on my face when listening to the LCD-XC. I have found what I was searching for.
There is no prefect headphone, only a headphone that covers some of the criteria that you are searching for. The Audeze LCD-XC meets my expectations for sound quality, sound staging, and comfort. It seems that these are not very particular on amps as well. I even pushed out good sound directly out of my iphone. There was not much to dislike about these phones. Except for one minor drawback, the horrible weight. If there was only one issue I had it was why could Audeze make these a little lighter.
To summarize what I have seen and heard, The Audeze LCD-XC was my top choice although the price was a little steep but worth the price. The Sennheiser HD-700 was my second solid choice. This particular headphone was the one I was always going back to get a good reference point once again. The HD-700 was the best of the crowd for the price and was a truly wonderful headphone. The Fostex was my second/third choice depending on the amp. But when it came down to what headphones I would be the most happiest with was the Audeze. The Audeze won out because the Fostex 900 was so close to the price of the Audeze and enough said.
One last comment was how amazed I was on hearing the Sennheiser HD-650. That little headhone was real nice although the HD-700 was just that much better.
I hope I have not offended anyone.
