[uchihaitachi]

Really enjoyed reading this thread.
 
For me, Etymotic er4 is the most tonally accurate headphone (well in ears) 
 
SR009 treble boost
SR007 pretty tonally balanced
HD800 treble boost (makes violins sound tin like)
LCDX/LCD3 (bass heavy) The former is better in terms of balance
HD600 pretty good
HD650 decent
 
As a classically trained pianist, I also use my own recordings to gauge tonal accuracy and the piano is a very difficult instrument to reproduce. I find it infuriating that the TOTL headphones all fail to achieve tonal balance....

 

[SonyFan121]

My top 5 most accurate headphones i've heard:

1.) Sony MDR7510. Tonally the most naturally realistic headphone i've ever heard. Acoustic music sounds wonderful with the MDR7510; Timbre of instruments such as violins/cello's acoustic guitars and more specifically the human voice, all sound real. There is such a high level of insight and detail across all frequencies but particularly in the bass frequencies. For a closed back headphone, the soundstage is particularly wide. The true capabilities of the soundstage and imaging become apparent when watching a film, it's like sitting in the middle row at the cinema. If I where to compare another more well known headphone to the MDR7510, it would be the Beyerdynamic DT150. Except the MDR7510 is technically better/more capable which puts it on a whole other level.
2.) Ultrasone Pro1480i. The imaging is as accurate as the MDR7510 and the soundstage is more 3 dimensional though despite being open-back is not as wide as the MDR7510.
3.) Denon AH-D5000. The most neutral and tonally accurate of the old Denon AH-D series and Fostex TH series that i've heard. I used to consider the AH-D5000 as my "most accurate" headphone, but in the 3 months i've spent with the MDR7510, the MDR7510 has trained my ears in to understanding the meaning of true accuracy.
4.) AKG K702 (The older Austrian version). I used to consider the K702 as the most tonally balanced headphone i'd heard, again the 3 months i've spent with the MDR7510 has changed my mind about it. K702 is now the second most tonally balanced headphone that i've heard.
5.) Beyerdynamic T70 250 ohm. The most detailed headphone I ever heard, before I got the MDR 7510.

I always considered myself an audiophile but now that i've finally found my endgame headphone (MDR7510) I can see that i'm not. A strange thing has happened; I'm no longer concerned with or interested in constantly buying expensive hifi equipment, as if i'm missing out on something. It seems that all these years i've journeyed towards the MDR7510 and now that i've found it, i'm already on my way back to just being a casual hifi enthusiast.

 

[SHAMuuu]

Hooked up to a Vintage amp, the vocal realism ... mmm
The potential of this is unlimited. And cheap! Puts some TOTL to shame

 

[bagwell359]

1. MrSpeakers Voce on Shangri-la Jr. Even has good bass in terms of slam, which puts it over any Stax I've heard.

 

[sikki-six]

1. HD800 EQ'd. Awesomely clear and rich with details in the highs. Snappiest and cleanest bass I've heard from a dynamic. I quite like the wide and not "inside-the-head" soundstage, it's an easier presentation vs in-your-face in the long run. The lows take EQ just great, unlike the HD600-series.

2. HD600. Balance is just great from mid-bass up. I don't mind the slight hot peak in the upper-mids. Too bad punchy (sub) bass is out of the question because of harmonic distortion creeping in when boosting lows.

3. HE-500. Better bass with cleaner and more present (not as flat/smooth though) highs than 600. On this one the upper-mids need a few db EQ though, they can get a bit hot (with my HM5 sheepskin pads).

P.S. for mixing I grab the 600 for that slightly "boring" and neutral tuning.

 

[shultzee]

From what I have owned
1) hd800
2) k812
3) lcdx

 

[Beagle]

Abyss DIana Phi
NAD VISO HP50

 

[491838]

Despite its somewhat suppressed treble, the ER4SR destroys the HD800 for clarity in the treble in most songs when it comes to stuff like cymbals and hi-hats. It's insanely precise but it lacks a bit of energy in some areas and the detail is somewhat questionable.

Edit: Ah, full size? HD600/650 do something similar but they're less precise and sound a bit too splashy (well, at least the 600). I'm curious about e-stats though.

 

[bagwell359]

1. MrSpeakers Voce on Shangri-la Jr. Even has good bass in terms of slam, which puts it over any Stax I've heard.

Gotta add the Susvara on the V281 with a bit of EQ - that's basically 1/2 the price of the above, but about 97.3% as good.

 

[bagwell359]

Despite its somewhat suppressed treble, the ER4SR destroys the HD800 for clarity in the treble in most songs when it comes to stuff like cymbals and hi-hats. It's insanely precise but it lacks a bit of energy in some areas and the detail is somewhat questionable.

Edit: Ah, full size? HD600/650 do something similar but they're less precise and sound a bit too splashy (well, at least the 600). I'm curious about e-stats though.

I thought the thread was about headphones?

 

[PointyFox]

1. Stax SR-007 (Blu-Tack mod), Stax SR-L700MK2
2. Focal Clear
3. Sennheiser HD800S
4. Focal Utopia

 

[catscratch]

So many old treads necro'd. But hey it's nice to see how people thought a few years ago.

Ranking on accuracy (and not things like detail, stage, or dynamics) I would say:

1) Sennheiser HD650. Nearly perfect FR, some upper bass/lower mid emphasis with a bit of lower bass rolloff, slightly forward upper mids and a little bit of treble graininess, but otherwise this is as close to perfectly accurate as I've ever heard a headphone come at any price. And it came out in 2003. The HD600 is just as good, and it came out in 1997. What's the industry doing?

2) Focal Clear. Lower half of FR is pretty much perfect. Upper half, not as much; very slightly uneven and brassy sounding mids with somewhat steely and peaky highs. However we're talking maybe +/-5db at most, which for a headphone is still very good. One of the best balanced headphones around even if it's not quite perfect.

3) Stax SR-007 Mk2. Slightly shelved bass, a few small wiggles in the midrange and a broad recession in the upper mids/lower highs with an emphasis in the upper highs. It's kind of an Audeze-like tuning but less extreme. The real standout here is that the FR is remarkably smooth, and aside from a little wiggle in the mids there are no sharp peaks or dips anywhere. This is very unusual for a headphone. Combine this with excellent power handling and nearly nonexistent distortion, and this one reacts to EQ very well and can be made to sound nearly perfect. Of course, you'll need a nuclear reactor of an amp.

3) Stax SR-007 Mk1. Same thing as the Mk2, except slightly darker and without the upper treble emphasis. The level of resolve these things have is just insane (so does the Mk2 but I think the Mk1 just edges it out). It is a massive fail that they no longer make these, they still crush all and take names... but you'll need to own your local power plant.

5) Focal Utopia. I rank these a bit lower because while the FR is pretty well balanced overall with generally excellent mids and bass, the highs are peaky, with a razor peak at 6khz, a smaller one at 11khz, and some significant emphasis past 13khz - the uppermost air frequencies on this one are very bright! But overall a well balanced headphone if you're not sensitive to treble sharpness, with speed and resolve that beats all but the best electrostatics. Reminds me of the HD600 a little bit, just with way sharper highs.

Of course there's a ton of stuff I haven't heard, and things like the ZMF Auteur or Audio-Technica R70x look very promising. Hopefully I'll hear them in time.

 

[ThanatosVI]

1. Meze Empyrean
2. Hifiman Arya
3. Hifiman Edition X v2

 

[PointyFox]

So many old treads necro'd. But hey it's nice to see how people thought a few years ago.

Ranking on accuracy (and not things like detail, stage, or dynamics) I would say:

1) Sennheiser HD650. Nearly perfect FR, some upper bass/lower mid emphasis with a bit of lower bass rolloff, slightly forward upper mids and a little bit of treble graininess, but otherwise this is as close to perfectly accurate as I've ever heard a headphone come at any price. And it came out in 2003. The HD600 is just as good, and it came out in 1997. What's the industry doing?

2) Focal Clear. Lower half of FR is pretty much perfect. Upper half, not as much; very slightly uneven and brassy sounding mids with somewhat steely and peaky highs. However we're talking maybe +/-5db at most, which for a headphone is still very good. One of the best balanced headphones around even if it's not quite perfect.

3) Stax SR-007 Mk2. Slightly shelved bass, a few small wiggles in the midrange and a broad recession in the upper mids/lower highs with an emphasis in the upper highs. It's kind of an Audeze-like tuning but less extreme. The real standout here is that the FR is remarkably smooth, and aside from a little wiggle in the mids there are no sharp peaks or dips anywhere. This is very unusual for a headphone. Combine this with excellent power handling and nearly nonexistent distortion, and this one reacts to EQ very well and can be made to sound nearly perfect. Of course, you'll need a nuclear reactor of an amp.

3) Stax SR-007 Mk1. Same thing as the Mk2, except slightly darker and without the upper treble emphasis. The level of resolve these things have is just insane (so does the Mk2 but I think the Mk1 just edges it out). It is a massive fail that they no longer make these, they still crush all and take names... but you'll need to own your local power plant.

5) Focal Utopia. I rank these a bit lower because while the FR is pretty well balanced overall with generally excellent mids and bass, the highs are peaky, with a razor peak at 6khz, a smaller one at 11khz, and some significant emphasis past 13khz - the uppermost air frequencies on this one are very bright! But overall a well balanced headphone if you're not sensitive to treble sharpness, with speed and resolve that beats all but the best electrostatics. Reminds me of the HD600 a little bit, just with way sharper highs.

Of course there's a ton of stuff I haven't heard, and things like the ZMF Auteur or Audio-Technica R70x look very promising. Hopefully I'll hear them in time.

The Blu-Tack mod smooths out the bass on the SR007MK2.

 

[catscratch]

Yeah I still haven't done the port mod on mine, but weirdly mine make crinkling sounds when I push on the earcups same as the Mk1, and the bass audibly goes down all the way and isn't bloated, so maybe I don't need to? Anyway I'll do it eventually, plus spring mods, cause I think these sit a little too far from the ear while the Mk1 has slightly shallower pads and is about perfect.

Digging both the 007s out of storage - I've put them away over the last few years while I've messed around with other headphones - makes me realize I've basically wasted my money and time. These things make most other headphones sound like tin cans.