takato14
Headphoneus Supremus
God... I really don't want to accept it, but...
1: Pioneer Monitor 10-II: Holy crap, Pioneer. Released in 1985, and yet I haven't heard a monitoring headphone as good as this one. All frequencies, from sub bass to high treble, are present and absolutely flawless. Clarity is through the roof; these are one of if not the most resolving headphones I've ever used. Superlow distortion, smooth as butter. Has this sense of finesse and effortlessness to the sound that is simply breathtaking. Very comfy, too. Caveats are a restricted soundstage size when compared to the original Monitor 10 (which is super deep and seperated) and a very poorly designed enclosure that's simply too breakable and too resonant. Some mass loading to the baffle helps this a little, but that can only do so much.
2: Sony DR-Z7: I don't know, somehow it's just as fast if not faster than the 10-II, and all of the details are still there, but... something about it is definitely off. It sounds like it's trying too hard, if that makes sense. It sounds strained and almost distorted at times, especially in the upper midrange, though not in an aggressive way. It's either high even-order distortion or the fact that this is a far-field speaker cone being smashed up against your ear... probably a little of both, actually. Still enjoyable, but it has been bested, especially in comfort. Seriously, ow Sony.
Nothing else is worth ranking. These two are all I need, and the Z7 is seeing less and less use every day...
1: Pioneer Monitor 10-II: Holy crap, Pioneer. Released in 1985, and yet I haven't heard a monitoring headphone as good as this one. All frequencies, from sub bass to high treble, are present and absolutely flawless. Clarity is through the roof; these are one of if not the most resolving headphones I've ever used. Superlow distortion, smooth as butter. Has this sense of finesse and effortlessness to the sound that is simply breathtaking. Very comfy, too. Caveats are a restricted soundstage size when compared to the original Monitor 10 (which is super deep and seperated) and a very poorly designed enclosure that's simply too breakable and too resonant. Some mass loading to the baffle helps this a little, but that can only do so much.
2: Sony DR-Z7: I don't know, somehow it's just as fast if not faster than the 10-II, and all of the details are still there, but... something about it is definitely off. It sounds like it's trying too hard, if that makes sense. It sounds strained and almost distorted at times, especially in the upper midrange, though not in an aggressive way. It's either high even-order distortion or the fact that this is a far-field speaker cone being smashed up against your ear... probably a little of both, actually. Still enjoyable, but it has been bested, especially in comfort. Seriously, ow Sony.
Nothing else is worth ranking. These two are all I need, and the Z7 is seeing less and less use every day...