[warpdriver]

There was another thread about ranking the headphones you own, but what I'd really like to see is how people rank their headphones on a subjective value scale. That is, perceived performance AND enjoyment of the headphone per dollar spent.

Basically, the same scale that Headroom uses. Unlike Headroom's ratings, your rating does not have to take into account whether you think the general public will like it, it's what you think only.

The value scale may mean a superior sounding headphone may be valued at a lower rating than a inferior sounding one.

I'll start first.......out of FIVE (any fractional value is fine)

- AKGK701 : value 4.5/5.0, not perfect but the performance is exactly what I expect in a $300-500 headphone. If it had 10% more bass, it'd be perfect 5.0.
- Beyer 05 DT 880: 4.5/5.0 very close to the overall performance as the K701 with exceptional comfort
- Ety ER6i: 4.0/5.0 sound is flawed, but it still beats other IEMs in its price range and it's not expensive when you can find one for $80 on sale.
- Ety ER4S: 3.5/5.0, better sound than the ER6i, but a bit pricey, and a bit too thin sounding puts this lower on the value scale for me.
- Sony EX90: 3.75/5.0 nothing overly sonically special overall about this earbud, but it has a pleasant frequency balance, not much resolution, but the comfort is good. I like it better than the other earbuds in the $50-100 range because all of the other ones either fit poorly or sounded unacceptable.

As for my most recently sold headphones.
- Grado SR60: 5.0/5.0 Still can't beat these for the dollar.
- SR225: 3.0/5.0 Not a bad sound for the price, but the highs are a bit shrill with standard bowls, and the comfort was lacking.
- HD600: 4.0/5.0 Sound wise, pleasant, but a bit less enjoyable than the 701's, and less comfortable. I think I'd rather buy the HD580's and get 85% of the sound for nearly $75-100 less.
- Shure E3 1.0/5.0 I'd rather buy almost any other IEM that Ety, Shure or UE makes than this one. I found this one unlistenable.

 

[arielext]

Headphones I have now:

- HD580 jub: bought for just €120,- 5/5 ; truely an excellent phone surely for that price, second handed though.
- Akg K601: at €171 new a 4.5/5; still burning in but I like them a lot
- Sennheiser HD485: €69,- 4.5/5; Great bang for the buck, very fun phone
- Beyer Dynamic DT880 2003 at €175,- 4/5; not at all a bad phone, but the HD580 jubs and K601 do the same thing for just a tad lower price.
- westone es2: €900,- 2/5: while being awesome at what they do best it just doesn't qualify being a €900,- phone, they aren't like 5 times as good as the DT880.
one I have to mention:
- Sennheiser HD201 at € 16,- new! 6 out of 5 if you ask me

 

[warpdriver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by arielext - Sennheiser HD201 at € 16,- new! 6 out of 5 if you ask me

Hey, that's cheating!

 

[mulveling]

Value is tied to sound quality, and therefore is so very subjective

My value scale (subject to change on an hourly basis):

L3000: 5.0/5.0 (

)
W2002: 4.0/5.0
K340: when they were < $120: 5.0/5.0, now: 4.5/5.0
K271s: 2.0/5.0
HP1000: when they were < $700: 4.8/5.0, now: 3.8/5.0
HD650: 4.1/5.0
HD600: 4.1/5.0
HD580: 4.1/5.0
HF1: when they were $200 new: 4.4/5.0
SR225: 2.0/5.0
RS1: 3.5/5.0
RS2: 3.8/5.0
Omega II: 3.5/5.0

 

[K2Grey]

UM1: 5/5, exceptional comfort, isolating, little microphonics, super portable, and it sounds more than good enough to enjoy the music. I value this over my HD580s. Granted, I don't have the kind of source and amp most appropriate for the HD580s, but the HD580 isn't portable, it doesn't isolate, it's not quite as comfortable, and I don't care enough about the sound quality difference to have it make it up.

HD580: Can't comment, don't have the appropriate rig for it.

 

[countach]

Westone UM2 (now): Sometimes 4/5; sometimes 2/5. Missing the E3 mids. Great confort and dimension. Sometimes blurry, sometimes crystal clear. Very sensible to sources and volume levels. Hating its creamy sound, too. (Modded bi-flanges)

Shure E3 (former): 3.5/5; Despite all that comments, they introduced me in this IEM world and still missing its punch. Great smile when listening trance. Detailed but not as crystal as all others. I've never realized mids section sounded so well until listened to them. (Foams)

Etymotic Er6i (tested): 3/5; So clear... but lacks body and dimension like UM2. (Small tri-flanges)

Shure E4 (tested): 3.8/5; A kind of refined and polished E3. Highs improved better than lows. Lacks UM2 bottom end. Superior in every other aspect.(Foams)

super.fi5 EB (tested): Powerfull bass, but UM2 does too. So big and weird. 2.5/5

Sennheiser HD25-13 (in my records case): 5/5 But only for its mission: DJ'ing. 2.5/5 when in home. So dry and head crunchers.

Aiwa 161: 1/5 Well, pushing them with your fingers continuously, may sound... well, may sound.

MX500: 0/5: Perfect to listen AM radio. (And your mate too)


Did I say I miss the Shure mids?

So, is there any IEM having the UM2 low end but the E4 texture?

Please, please, if in your answer is the word 'July' don't tell me, my wallet and me, both wanna cry...

 

[Mercuttio]

I haven't had my new guys long enough to rate them fairly (perhaps still clouded by new can syndrome) but the others I've owned (and the ratings are based on what they provided for the money to me):

DT770-80: 4.5 of 5
My favorite under $200 headphone, the build is fantastic and the sound is excellent for a closed headphone. They're perfect gaming / movie headphones, and at $150 they're a steal. I sold one pair last summer, totally regretted it in the winter (cold ears?) and bought another. I'm docking them .5 because of the slightly recessed midrange, and I wish they were a little smoother.

MS2i: 4 out of 5
Really nice for the price, good build. Traditional Grado sound, very refined and a little drier / colder than other Grados. They aren't the most comfortable with bowls, but work pretty well with 414 pads.

DT880: 3 of 5
Not enough dynamic impact for my tastes, but a good upper end and nice midrange. Really comfy. I ended up finding them a bit cold in my setup, and intend to rebuy them when I've got a million dollar tube rig. As it stands I don't think they were a good match for my musical preferences.

Shure E2c: 2 of 5
I didn't like them, the sound signature was unpleasant after long periods of time. They did not fit my ears and caused me severe discomfort... I could not wear them for more than an hour. I'd rank them at a 1, but they are pretty cheap for an IEM and do sound better than the more consumer brand headphones at that price.

RS1: 5 of 5.
Someday I'll have to pick up another pair of these. Lovely sound signature and an up front live feeling that I don't hear in other headphones. Where the MS2i was cold and occasionally lifeless, these breathe life. I love the timbre of the instruments and voices in the upper areas.

HD650: 3.7 of 5
Also a bit too laid back for my tastes, but they had great bass and a REALLY smooth sound that was at times totally intoxicating. While clampy at first, they became quite comfortable with time. Eventually, I became displeased with the way they handled the upper register.

SR60 4.7 of 5
My favorite portable. The only thing keeping it from a 5 is isolation in public where I wear them, but it's hard to hold against them when they sound so good for so cheap.

KSC75: 4.5 of 5
Unbeatable for $10. Only the recessed upper register keeps that last half point off, and I'm probably a total jerk for denying them even that.

HD201: 2 of 5
$20's nice, but it doesn't make much sense to skimp here when you absolutely need an amp to get them to wake up. Even when awoken, they're boring and bland, not punchy and fun like the KSC75. They're definitely not "closed" either... a lot of noise leaks in. Good build though, even if uncomfortable after long listening sessions.

HD280: 2 of 5
Nearly killed high end headphones for me. I had these a while, and was told they were "totally accurate" by some scumbag salesman. Comfortable with a good build, but so absolutely lacking in musicality.

Grado SR40: 2 of 5
Yuck. Sounded like an SR60 with closed up sides, not pleasant.

 

[nanahachi]

i'm basing these on the actual dollars that I've spent, and not the market price

Etymotic ER-4S - 5/5 --> 6/5, if I could score it as such

Sennheiser HD-650 - 5/5

Grado RS-1 - 4.5/5

Grado HP-1 - 5/5


if I had rank phone's based on time on my head, it would go as follows (ordinal scale only b/c etys are used everyday at work, all day, whereas I don't use others on a daily or even weekly basis )
1) Etys
2) RS-1
3) 650
4) HP-1

 

[markot86]

HD650: 4.8/5 - Great headphone, amazing bass, slightly layback, but I have yet to find a pair of speakers that sound as good as these babies; not to mention the lack of fatigue is amazing.

DT880: 5/5 - I still regret selling these, and actually, I wish i could get over the fact that they hurt my ears and gave me fatigue, because these are still the greatest headphone experience I've ever had.

HD600: 4.5/5 - These are great headphones, but i find that they had problems with deep bass; then again, i'm one of those people that prefers the hd650 to the 600, so go figure.

akg k601: 2/5 - absolutely abysmal. This is the only headphone I have ever been sorely disapointed in. I couldn't find a single redeeming quality in them. How people can call them hifi is beyond me.

Grado sr60: 5/5 - the headphone that got me started on this hobby; for 70 bucks, this is still the best value headphone imo

Grado MS1: 4.5/5 - it does everything that it should, but it lacks the grado magic. Certainly it's a great headphone for the price, and is better than the sr60 technically, but i still think everyone should at least get a taste of the grado magic before they dismiss the sr60.

UM2: 3/5 - I really didn't like the hybrid male/female vocals that this thing gave out, otherwise they great.

Super.fi 5 pro - 4/5 - ya from a technical standpoint they weren't the best, but man, there's something about their rendering of piano music and musicality that makes me kind of angry that I returned them. one of these days I'll buy um again =D

 

[ken_loo]

Grado HP-2 4.5/5 before their more recent price vault, still think atleast 4/5 now

Omega II 4/5 A very nice headphone but needing it's own amp dropped the score

Alessandro MS2 3/5 An enjoyable headphone, but a bit too expensive.

Sennheiser HD280pro 5/5 Excellent isolation and pretty good sound, all for less than $100.

Westone UM2 4.5/5 Nice weighty IEM, decently priced as well.

 

[kramer5150]

My list:

Grado RS1, $650- (4.5/5). It has a sound all its own, that I personally enjoy the most out of all the other cans I have tried.

Grado HF1, $200- (4.0/5). Its like a toned down RS1 in a lot of ways. My second most enjoyable can, at a fraction of the cost of the RS1.

KSC75, $15 (4.0/5). Just a fun, groovy can to listen too. It scores very high on my value scale because its so cheap. I would rank it a little higher if it were a little tighter and more defined. Periodically I find myself thinking "dang.. .theres that flabby bass again... its dremel/recable-time!!"

Senn HD580 (3.0/5). A little lower on the scale, simply because it doesn't really excell with my musical preferences (metal, hard rock, blues). Finicky with amplification too. But for new-age, smooth jazz and DVD movies its soudnstage and spectral balance is unbeatable for the $$$. Amp well and you'll be rewarded.

Sony MDR-EX90 $100 (3.0/5). Nice little portable earbuds. A little dry and flat to my ears. Spectrally its pretty accurate though. If mids could resolve more detail I would rank it higher. SUPER comfey though!! The only canal-phone that doesn't irritate my ears, so in that respect I probably could give it a 4 or higher. Good Pimeta / mint synnergy.

Koss sportapro $20 (3.0/5). HOLY Mother of BASS

batman!! If treble/upper mids weren't so rolled off I would rank it higher. If you want bass this is the ticket. Finicky with amplification too.

Alessandro MS1 $100 (3.8/5). Great overall can. Warm, yet forward and dynamic. IMHO its the easiest Grado to like. Soundstage is a little compressed. Sub bass doesn't extend like my higher end Grados. Sounds best with bowls or modded HD414 pads.

 

[warrior05]

current
DR150 - 5/5 - absolute no brainer here. if i paid twice what i did it still would be a 5/5
E4 - 5/5 - love them. not even looking at other IEMs.
PX100 - 4.5/5 - they simply rock especially at their price point.
AD700 - 4/5 - cheap cans for a wonderful soundstage. absolutely love my electronic music through them and terrific movie cans. a tad laid back - not for rock or blues.

semi-retired
7506 - 3/5 - only use them for my guitar practicing which they are well suited for.
E2C - 3.5/5 - my first IEMs, got a lot of fun use out of 'em. only use them for exercising.

retired
HD590 - 3.5/5 - i really enjoyed these senns regardless of what others had to say. actually, they may be upgraded to semi-retired since - out of curiousity - i'm going to try the equinox recable and see how they sound through my new supermacro.

 

[catscratch]

For value, not quality, and only what's in my hands ATM:

5/5 - Stax SR-003. This sounds as good as the SR-404, though in a different way, for 1/3 of the price.
4.5/5 - Stax SR-001. Great sound for the dollar, but it's not an optimal solution for any one situation. More of a jack-of-all-trades type of headphone. Hence the point loss.
4.5/5 - Audio-Technica ATH-A900. Not the best cans out there but they're very versatile, and don't need very high-quality gear to sound good.
4.0/5 - Stax SR-404. They can be giant killers, sure. When mated to giant-caliber gear. The expense of associated components and the difficulty in building a synergistic rig make them a frustrating buy, IME. Time will tell if it was worth it.
3.5/5 - Sennheiser HD600. The HD580 is 95% of the HD600 for a lot less.
3.5/5 - Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro. Not versatile enough for the dollar.
2/5 - Westone ES2. No resale value, only you can use it, and gets beaten soundwise by the SR-003 at less than 1/4 of the price. Custom IEM's are a pretty lousy value for the dollar. Which is kind of interesting, since I still insist that everyone who can afford them should own a pair.

The HD650's should be here tomorrow. I will append.

 

[m_memmory]

This is my view:

DT880 : 4.5/5 - At the time I couldn't believe I was spending so much on a headphone (even though they were reduced) but listening to them it's an experience that I adore. I've used them for movies, games & any kind of music I listen to and it handles pretty much everything. Worth the money once I'd heard them.

MS1 : 4/5 - Although I think these are an amazing value at $100 they lose a bit of the marking due to not being that suitable for all the music that I listen to (but then they weren't brought for that in mind) In terms of £ per hour listened to they probably cost about double that of the Bayer

HD555 : 2/5 - Really nice headphone but it just left me wondering what else was around and lead to further and more expensive purchases so don't get listened to. £50 for a headphone that just sits there.... not great value (but nice phones)

E2c : 3.5/5 - great isolation and better sound quality then the standard buds I was using but the sound just isn't as good as what I'm getting used to now. Got bumped way down the usefullness list when I got ....

KSC75 : 5/5 - in terms of value I think these are pretty much off the charts. Sure the sound doesn't hit the full size headphones I have but then again these were so much cheaper it's unbelievable what you get.


I won't add the A900LTD to the list just yet as I still feel I'm in the honeymoon period with them. From current listening though I think that they are going to vie the DT880 for most listened to and knock the MS1 into a similar kind of state as the HD555. So in that aspect I would say that the value is fairly high even though they were similar price to the DT880.

 

[PinkFloyd]

PX-100 5/5
HD-600 5/5
HD-200 2/5
HD-414 4/5
K-501 5/5
K-340 4/5
HP-25 4/5