[ljokerl]

 
Quote:

See, I'm looking for something like my k271, but more bass. Will the phiatons fit the bill?

No idea what the 271 sounds like - that might be the kind of question that warrants a separate thread.

 

[eiop]

I have been looking at the k81 DJ model, but would like to branch away from the AKG brand considering I own two of their offerings already. The k181 seems to be a bit underwhelming for double it's lesser sibling's price as well. Not a fan of the Panasonics you named; don't like the fact that they don't fold flat and I'll look like some hipster. I was looking at the Q40 (steel hinges are ridiculously awesome), and would pull the trigger, but I'm pretty wary about the cord problems since two of my IEMs already have messed up cords, I don't like the huge plug it has, and they don't fold flat. The ESW9 looks way too ostentatious for me to wear around and not immediately become the number one target for a mugging, and I'm not a fan of the ES7 sound.
 
ugh...hate deciding on headphones...took me to weeks to decide on the westone 3's, and now it's been a week deciding on the complementary pair of on/around-ear portables....
 

 
Quote:

Quote:

See, I'm looking for something like my k271, but more bass. Will the phiatons fit the bill?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by ljokerl /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Quote:

Okay more serious now...very simple question. From the reviews I've read, it seems that the Phiatons have enough bass to smash your face in, but are relatively good overall cans. Is that an accurate way to summarize them? Are there any cheaper sets with that same sound characteristic?

Does it help if I say that they are not bass monsters? There are headphones, namely those with exaggerated subbass response, that give me bass headaches after a while (e.g. M-Audio Q40) but the MS400 I can listen to for hours. They are on the bass-heavy side but if Phiaton marketed them as 'extreme bass' or something of that sort I'd have been forced to say that they missed the mark.
 
I think the Creative Aurvana Live! is a cheaper (but also less portable) alternative for the same general signature though they are pricier now than they have been in quite some time.

Ever considered AKG's own K181 DJ? Clarity and bass...
 

 

[swbf2cheater]

I've been unable to find anything that can match or exceed the MS400 for that price range.  It's near impossible to find a small circumaurial set with a short cord, immensely comfortable and handles every genre well.  I'm actually ready to rebuy it in the all black version  I think the Denon lineups sound better but do not offer "that complete package" deal the phiatons offer.  I actually feel much better now heh
 
I mean, I love my D1100, but they are no phiaton ms400 lol, I miss them dearly.  I am not sure if I want to try out the ps500 first, if i did i would cut the cord on it to make it more portable and user friendly but that is a tough call.  Choices, choices, choices

 

[Icy56]

I just bought some used phiatons ms400s based on this review. I definitely cant wait for them to come so ill finally walk around school with headphones that aren't humongous(the m50). since i don't completely understand audiophile teminology yet, what are m50s considered to sound like? dark or bright? from what I have read the ms400s are dark and the ksc75 are considered bright? and hows the cable thickness of the ms400, are they very thin like break really really easy thin or are they like iem cables but considered thin for headphones?

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

I just bought some used phiatons ms400s based on this review. I definitely cant wait for them to come so ill finally walk around school with headphones that aren't humongous(the m50). since i don't completely understand audiophile teminology yet, what are m50s considered to sound like? dark or bright? from what I have read the ms400s are dark and the ksc75 are considered bright? and hows the cable thickness of the ms400, are they very thin like break really really easy thin or are they like iem cables but considered thin for headphones?

 
I'd say M50 is fairly neutral, neither dark or bright, except for a small bump at 8~10kHz which may make it sound sliiiightly harsh but it helps with burn in too.
 

 

[Deep Funk]

Quote:

I have been looking at the k81 DJ model, but would like to branch away from the AKG brand considering I own two of their offerings already. The k181 seems to be a bit underwhelming for double it's lesser sibling's price as well. Not a fan of the Panasonics you named; don't like the fact that they don't fold flat and I'll look like some hipster. I was looking at the Q40 (steel hinges are ridiculously awesome), and would pull the trigger, but I'm pretty wary about the cord problems since two of my IEMs already have messed up cords, I don't like the huge plug it has, and they don't fold flat. The ESW9 looks way too ostentatious for me to wear around and not immediately become the number one target for a mugging, and I'm not a fan of the ES7 sound.
 
ugh...hate deciding on headphones...took me to weeks to decide on the westone 3's, and now it's been a week deciding on the complementary pair of on/around-ear portables....
 
Quote:

Quote:

See, I'm looking for something like my k271, but more bass. Will the phiatons fit the bill?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by ljokerl /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Quote:

Okay more serious now...very simple question. From the reviews I've read, it seems that the Phiatons have enough bass to smash your face in, but are relatively good overall cans. Is that an accurate way to summarize them? Are there any cheaper sets with that same sound characteristic?

Does it help if I say that they are not bass monsters? There are headphones, namely those with exaggerated subbass response, that give me bass headaches after a while (e.g. M-Audio Q40) but the MS400 I can listen to for hours. They are on the bass-heavy side but if Phiaton marketed them as 'extreme bass' or something of that sort I'd have been forced to say that they missed the mark.
 
I think the Creative Aurvana Live! is a cheaper (but also less portable) alternative for the same general signature though they are pricier now than they have been in quite some time.

Ever considered AKG's own K181 DJ? Clarity and bass...
 

Well, it is cheaper than a HD25 on Amazon which makes it a steal already in my opinion. Oh yes, it can use the same cable as the K271 via the mini XLR. 
 
Good luck anyway...
 

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

I just bought some used phiatons ms400s based on this review. I definitely cant wait for them to come so ill finally walk around school with headphones that aren't humongous(the m50). since i don't completely understand audiophile teminology yet, what are m50s considered to sound like? dark or bright? from what I have read the ms400s are dark and the ksc75 are considered bright? and hows the cable thickness of the ms400, are they very thin like break really really easy thin or are they like iem cables but considered thin for headphones? 

I don't find the KSC75 particularly bright but I guess we all differ on where 'neutral' falls on our scale and how big of a range it has. The MS400 has a pretty standard 'thin' cable - definitely more in line with portable consumer sets than DJ cans.
 

 

[DefBringer]

I do really enjoy laid-back headphones and B&W makes some simply orgasmic speakers....
 
but, after sampling the P5 in the Apple store for about 10 minutes I'd have to say that I wouldn't pay $100 for a set, much less $400 or whatever ridiculous price they are asking.  Two out of the 3 P5's that the store had on display had issues where the cable had come twisted in the housing so that the earpad was not secure against the mounting.  (The earpads are secured magnetically to the housing...is this typical??)
 
I found the sound very lazy, overly warm, and rather uninteresting.  I expect B&W will make improvements and learn from their mistakes, but my advice is to stay away from these things unless you want to pay a lot of money to be put asleep.

 

[DefBringer]

Joker, one thing I don't understand about your reviews is that you rate the HD-25 ii so highly yet you always seem to comment on how harsh, bright,of limited soundstage,  and forward they can be.  How can you enjoy listening to cans of this nature?  Your reviews are incredibly helpful but it often seems that the language of your review is divorced from the quantitative ratings you bestow upon the headphones.
 

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

Joker, one thing I don't understand about your reviews is that you rate the HD-25 ii so highly yet you always seem to comment on how harsh, bright,of limited soundstage,  and forward they can be.  How can you enjoy listening to cans of this nature?  Your reviews are incredibly helpful but it often seems that the language of your review is divorced from the quantitative ratings you bestow upon the headphones.
 

Well, the HD25 is still the best portable I've heard but every time I review it I try to accentuate that it is by no means a paragon of perfection and leaves plenty of room for dislike. What it comes down to is that the HD25, flawed as it is, still bothers me less than any other portable set as a whole. When I find something that doesn't replace the slight harshness and somewhat limited stage of the HD25 with flaws of a bigger caliber, I'll reevaluate my stance. I think in the conclusion this time around I summarized what happens when I listen to the HD25 - on its own it's really not that magical compared to some of my full-size sets and even my higher-end IEMs but when I match it up against any other portables, all of the concessions it makes begin to seem sensible. Its soundstage may be small but it never sounds congested like the P5. Its treble may be harsh but at least is doesn't slope off past 11-12 Hz like the Beats do. It may be forward but at least there's no artificial 'veil' between you and the music... and so forth. Basically, I'm willing to live with the flaws of the HD25 for the sound it produces, at least until I find something that performs better as an overall package and doesn't weigh 2lbs like my Ultrasones, 

 

[eiop]

Hey Joker, I see that you've reviewed the Numark PHX. How would you compare them to the MS400, when used directly out of a DAP?

 

[bmichael]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DefBringer /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Two out of the 3 P5's that the store had on display had issues where the cable had come twisted in the housing so that the earpad was not secure against the mounting.  (The earpads are secured magnetically to the housing...is this typical??)

That's like criticizing a carmaker for having a car that's been keyed on a car lot. It's not the P5's fault; the cord is easily removable, and the earpads are supposed to be held on magnetically.

 

[slapshot30]

Hey joker, just wondering if you could compare the MS400/Crossfade to the ATH M50. I am using these unamped preferably and the M50's just didn't have enough bass for me. In terms of quantity, how much more bass is there with the MS400/Crossfade. Which of the two has more bass?
Thankyou.

 

[ljokerl]

 
Quote:

Hey Joker, I see that you've reviewed the Numark PHX. How would you compare them to the MS400, when used directly out of a DAP?

Both perform very well out of a DAP but the PHX pro is characteristically mid-forward while the Phiaton is definitely more bass-heavy and a bit more refined on the whole. I've seen prices for the Numarks dip down into the $60 range though which is almost 3x less than the lowest I've seen for a new MS400 so they are hardly competing on the same playing field.


Quote:

Hey joker, just wondering if you could compare the MS400/Crossfade to the ATH M50. I am using these unamped preferably and the M50's just didn't have enough bass for me. In terms of quantity, how much more bass is there with the MS400/Crossfade. Which of the two has more bass?
Thankyou.

The MS400 is more bass-heavy than the M50 but it's not a night-and-day difference. The crossfade is a bass monster but definitely sacrifices quality for quantity. If bass is what you crave there's always the AKG K181Dj and M-Audio Q40.

 

[slapshot30]

Okay thanks. I'm not a big on-ear guy so the AKG are a no go for the time being. I'm a bit of a basshead so I probably will need a night and day difference. That brings it down to the Crossfade. The Crossfades look sick though, but the MS400's are more portable. Well... I'm in no rush. I think I'm just going to pick one and try it out from amazon. They have a great 30 day full refund policy so in case I don't like one, I'll just try the next one.