[kuriousmax]

• AKG K 240 MKII
• Shure SRH440
• Klipsch IMAGE S4
• Skullcandy Head Crushers (Worst headphones.  Ever.)

 

[mrtim6]

1. Fostex TH900 9.5/10
2. Ultrasone Ed 8 7.5/10
3. Westone 4 IEM 6/10

 

[tdockweiler]

1. Koss Pro DJ100 / TBSE (modded Pearstone Velour pads)
 
With these pads and my setup (transparent), it's as close to MY HD-650 as i'll get it in a closed headphone. A little more energetic and clearer though. Both have similar amounts of bass and it's very well controlled. DJ100 has more treble and is more revealing and less forgiving. With (modded) Pearstone pads it's so smooth sounding. No forward anything really. NOTE: without a good desktop amp/dac it'll never be this high. No way.
 
2. AKG Q701
 
I've had this since Oct 2011 and I wouldn't change a thing. I don't need more warmth or more bass. Non-angled pads would be nice without degrading the sound! I guarantee you i'll be listening to these five years from now unless I go broke.
 
3. HD-650
 
Love it. This one is way better than the last two pairs I had with a muffled sound and too much mid-bass. I listen to this when I don't want to be bombarded with harsh/garbage tracks. My Q701 isn't as forgiving.
 
4. K400
 
Got this in on a trade and the first day it was REALLY trebly. Turns out my new surge protector I thought wasn't screwing up my amp actually still WAS in some way. Now it has smooth treble and decent enough bass.
 
Totally addicting mids (not too forward), crystal clear sound and a huge soundstage. Not so much that it makes anything sound too distant. The mids on this are almost as good as those of the DJ100. They sound slightly more engaging than those of the Q701.
 
If you love acoustic music with a huge soundstage, you NEED this. Also great for Jpop with female vocals. Bassheads avoid at all costs! Seems like a slightly more energetic/aggressive K501. I think the K400 has more treble perhaps?
 
One of the first headphones that WOWs me with acoustic music AND it's soundstage.
 
BTW this was AWFUL on the HRT MSII for whatever reason. Same amp..
 
Also..it doesn't sound as warm as the Q701 or K601..but I don't mind.

 

[KT66]

Hd600 used with x-cans mk1
D2000 used with Audioengine d1
Dt1350 used with Hm-801
Sr60 with d1
T50p with hm601 and GS voyager
Es7 with studio v

 

[devhen]

Quote:

1. Koss Pro DJ100 / TBSE (modded Pearstone Velour pads)
 
With these pads and my setup (transparent), it's as close to MY HD-650 as i'll get it in a closed headphone. A little more energetic and clearer though. Both have similar amounts of bass and it's very well controlled. DJ100 has more treble and is more revealing and less forgiving. With (modded) Pearstone pads it's so smooth sounding. No forward anything really. NOTE: without a good desktop amp/dac it'll never be this high. No way.

 
In what ways did you have to mod the Pearstone velours to get them on the DJ100/TBSE? I think its about time I finally get these Koss' you keep goin on about. I very much prefer velour to leather/pleather so that sounds enticing as well. Are there any other velour pads that fit that you've tried?

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

 
In what ways did you have to mod the Pearstone velours to get them on the DJ100/TBSE? I think its about time I finally get these Koss' you keep goin on about. I very much prefer velour to leather/pleather so that sounds enticing as well. Are there any other velour pads that fit that you've tried?

 
I made them closer to how the M50 pads sound. Inside the edges of the pads I cut four tiny "vent" holes. On the top, bottom, left and right. About the size of an eraser head. The M50 pads have only two holes. Without the holes in the velour pads they are too warm sounding and bassy with the DJ100. Slightly bloated mid-bass. Some may like it though. Took me a year to figure this out. I think the M50 pads sound so good with the DJ100 because of these vents, a good seal and the foam backing.
 
I have SRH-940 velour pads to try today. I hope they work!
 
Sorry for a slight off-topic post.

 

[Maliken]

1) Philips Fidelio X1
2) Beyerdynamic T-50p
3) Sennheiser HD 598

 

[BruinAnteater]

I originally ranked my headphones like this, with cost, amp needs, etc, not being a factor. They were ranked PURELY on SQ alone:
 
1. Sennheiser HD650
2. Sennheiser Momentum
3, Sennheiser PX360
4. Sennheiser HD429*
5. Bose On Ear
6. Bose In Ear
 
*The HD429 were previously unranked, as I just BARELY got em last week.  I ranked em after a proper break in and some good long listening sessions.
 
Another ranking would involve PRICE. What I consider "price" is not just the cost of the can, but the cost of the equipment needed to actually get something descent out of your headphones. So with that idea, with price involved, here's how I rank em:
 
1. Sennheiser HD650 - If you can get them for the price I got the for ($367 total, including shipping), then these rightfully belong at #1 even if price is considered. To really get these to sing you need at the very least a descent source and a descent desktop amp. By descent, I mean a mid-fi CD/SACD/DVDA audio player, a good soundcard for your computer, or a mid-fi DAC. As far as descent desktop amp, a FiiO E9 has more than enough power to drive them. For a while I mainly hearing them through the FiiO E7 DAC docked to the E9, and although they sounded great, I always felt they weren't really being used right. I truly fell in love with my HD650s after hearing them through my Yamaha DVD-S2500 player and E9 amp. But the HD650s do get better and better as your equipment gets better, the HD650s will rarely be the bottleneck in your system. Right now, they are used on either my computer through an Emu 1212m card to a Yamaha 5950 amp, and out to the E9, and they sound awesome. But when I plug them in directly into my Oppo BDP-105 and play SACDs or CDs, wow....I mean WOW. The Oppo not only has high end DACs, but also a high quality, head phone amp built in, and plugging the HD650s into this player was a major leap in SQ over any other set up I've plugged them into. True to the word: HD650s scale up scary good!
 
2. Sennheiser HD429 - Of all my Sennheisers, these are weakest overall cans by SQ (as evidenced by the 'price is no object' ranking. However, they require nothing else but a descent source. I hooked them up to my J3 and they sound great unamped. If you do have some amps or some nicer stuff, these will scale up well enough. Hearing them through the Emu 1212m to 5950 to E9, I rocked for 3 hours long, without thinking of switching up headphones; but again, they deserve the #2 spot because the dont REQUIRE better equipment, and still sound great. You spend $50 on these and that's all you will need to spend on; you get great sounding cans, period.
 
3. Sennheiser PX360 - I got these headphones from about $120 over a year ago, and they really do sound great. However, you get almost NO volume from a J3 if  you dont get at the very least a  portable headphone amp. I use a FiiO E7 with these, but a cheaper E11 will probably work fine (from what I understand, is that the E11 might be the better amp, but the E7 cost more because it is also a DAC). Once amped, these sound really good, and while they don'r reach the level of the Momentums or HD650s, they are still a worthwhile headphone.
 
4. Sennheiser Momentum - You WILL pay $350 for these new (at least the black ones). Although they sound good off a DAP unamped, they do not sound like $350 cans without an amp. Again, once you get an amp like an E7, you will be set. I usually listen to these through and E7 and Cowon J3 and they are CLEARLY better headphones than the PX360s, however, they also cost at least $200 more, and they are NOT $200 better sounding. I wrote up a review comparing the PX360s to the Momentums and said they were worth the upgrade, however thats taking into consideration the "law of diminishing returns": the idea that to move up in quality in audio gear, you have to pay more than what you get in return, in other words, if you want something twice as good, you will be paying much more than twice as much for it. But this list is not about that, its about pure SQ vs Price, so with the "law" thrown out the window, the Momentums rank lower than the PX360s. Dont get it twisted though, I bought the Momentums as an upgrade to the PX360s and I don't plan on returning them, they are here to stay!
 
5. and 6. Bose cans. The good thing is that these will play very loud with no amplification at all, however, now that I've been exposed to more natural sounding headphones, the super piercing, unnatural highs of the Bose headphones kill their value as $80-$100 headphones. The HD429s are better headphones, regardless of price, but considering that they cost $30-$50 LESS than the Bose, it really knocks the value of the Bose cans severely.

 

[BruinAnteater]

Sorry, double post!

 

[Jetblack08]

1. Westone4                                                                                                                                                                                                          
2. Sm3                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
 3. Se 535                                                                                                                                                                                                             
 4. Se 315                                                                                                                                                                                                             
 5. Dre Beats Solo                                                                                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
 In all honesty 1 and 2 are neck and neck...I am constantly A/B'ing them to figure out which is best.

 

[Jetblack08]

Quote:

1. Westone4                                                                                                                                                                                                          
2. Sm3                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
 3. Se 535                                                                                                                                                                                                             
 4. Se 315                                                                                                                                                                                                             
 5. Dre Beats Solo                                                                                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
 In all honesty 1 and 2 are neck and neck...I am constantly A/B'ing them to figure out which is best.

Sorry about that...trying to figure this keyboard out.

 

[kupleh]

Quote:

1. Beyerdynamic DT1350 - this is my primary headphone, still having problem with the comfort for long-time usage
2. Audio Technica ATH-M50s LE - my first attempt to step-in into headphone world.
3. Sennheiser RS-180 - great for portability, I've used it when play rockband, it just rock
4. Sennheiser PX100 - this is my first love with the headphone about 4-5years ago.
 
And next week welcoming V-Moda M80. Expect it somewhere it between DT1350 and ATH-M50s. 

 
Update after 2 months:
1. Beyerdynamic DT1350 - for on the go and office
2. Denon AH D2000 - for home usage

 

[spark3]

Quote:

i just sold my VSonic GR07. I didn't get the same WOW from the sound that many have talked about. I felt it was one of the biggest wastes of $150.00. Sold them and almost broke even, which was nice. Money went towards purchasing my new UE 900. I think I get as good a sound if not better from my amped RE-ZERO. IMHO.

 
I don't think they are a "WOW" sounding IEM either, they are neutral with no peak in the treble which is why they remind me so much of the HD600 but with a much smaller soundstage and less detail. I paid £100 for them and they were worth the money for me...although they do hurt my ears after a while.

 

[kman1211]

After spending a few months with my headphones and getting rid of a few pairs I don't like. My order of preference has changed, especially my number one headphone.
 
1.) AKG K240 MKII: After owning these headphones for about 3 months, they are clearly my favorite headphones. Their rich, seductive, detailed and smooth midrange has won me over in the test of time. They add this groove and are very musical to my ears. They ended up being hard for me to take them off my ears and end up getting the most head time, they have the least amount of bass of my headphones, I consider them quite neutral in bass with a slight boost in midbass, but still within neutral range. They are very good with male vocals and are good with female vocals. They improve drastically with an amp and I don't think they should be considered if you don't have an amp.
 
2.) Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro: These headphones are bright and bassy but in a non-fatiguing way as the entire sound from bottom to top is quite smooth. The bass is punchier and extends deeper than the K240s, but doesn't have that groove the K240s bass has. It's very clean and a bit analytical sounding, they need to have a tube amp in my opinion otherwise they sound a bit unnatural and too recessed in the midrange. Midrange is transparent and smooth, this headphone is amazing with female vocals, but it falls short on male vocals when compared the K240 and as a whole I say it's a little worse in vocals than the K240. The timbre of the sound isn't as good, it's slightly unnatural sounding. Technically it's the best headphone I own, but it's simply not as fun and organic sounding as the K240 and thus is a bit lower on the list as it ends up getting less head time as well. This is the second bassiest headphone I own.
 
3.) Sennheiser PX-100 ii: These headphones are clearly dark sounding, but they are also very good portable headphones. The treble is there and is good quality but sometimes it is painfully dark. I really enjoy these headphones. They sound pretty warm and fairly natural, easily powered and don't need an amp. These are my bassiest headphones, the amount of midbass they produce compare to my other headphones is insane. To my ears, many Senns have been unusually bassy compared the other brands such as AKG and Beyerdynamic.

 

[DefQon]

Need to change mine a bit now. My all time favourite this week has been my HD600's. Subjective to change next week though.