philipdavis3
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2012
- Posts
- 13
- Likes
- 10
After finally realizing and giving into the idea that I might just be an audiophile/musicphile, I found this forum, and have been browsing and plotting my purchases. Anyway, my budget is quite low, but for now it suites my tastes well enough. I have not really heard any high end components, and so my meager collection doesn't disappoint as much as it might others. I listen mostly to heavy metal, with some soft rock and electronic music thrown in for variety. My library is not very extensive, and is of random quality. I also know that I have a tiny bit of hearing loss, due to my appreciation of music being played at high volumes earlier in my life. The headphones were reviewed from my HP Pavilion DV6 with beats audio, but running linux, and my Zune HD.
So enough of the introductions/background, and on to the review:
The sound of these headphones inspired me when I bought my first pair, to really pay attention to the music. With much listening, I realized that it wasn't the music, but the headphones that needed help. They seem to have a \ shaped sound curve. Plenty of bass, but it all goes downhill. The treble is decent, but it has to be listened for. No sparkle because it falls off too much. The mids are recessed, but easy enough to be heard. I can't really describe the mids much better. And then there is the bass, lots of it, and can be had quite low too. Testing revealed that at regular listening levels 25hz is easily produced, and felt. At 100% volume on the laptop I could still feel the 20hz quite nicely. (Note, 100% volume during a song is almost painfully loud, and I don't feel comfortable listening more than a few seconds) After listening to a sine sweep though, the treble is very present with a few peaks, and a rounded peak for the midrange. The bass quiets out like it usually does, and then goes subsonic. Of course this is all before adding equalization to it, and sprucing it up. The laptop does a better job of pushing and equalizing the headphones. My Zune struggles to bring these up to a high volume, and has fewer eq options. After bringing up the treble a lot and the mids a bit, the sound becomes much more impressive. The highs really do sound great, and the mids are smooth enough for my inexperienced ear. The bass never seems out of control, but might be a little muddy when not enhanced by the mids.
The soundstage is something I am still trying to grasp, but I feel like these have the widest presentation that I have heard. Then again, I don't have very much music that is recorded to sound wide or have too much depth. On this note, I am at a loss, and will leave up for interpretation.
Design and comfort are the last on my list, but need to be addressed. These use an open/semi open design, and have mild bleed out and in. There is no ventilation for your ear though while they are enclosed, and it gets pretty toasty inside. The pads are comfy, but the headband has no padding, and can be painful if not adjusted properly.
Conclusion: The RP-HT260 Monitor Headphones present a good value for circumaural headphones at under $20, with good sound quality when using an eq, and good comfort.
So enough of the introductions/background, and on to the review:
The sound of these headphones inspired me when I bought my first pair, to really pay attention to the music. With much listening, I realized that it wasn't the music, but the headphones that needed help. They seem to have a \ shaped sound curve. Plenty of bass, but it all goes downhill. The treble is decent, but it has to be listened for. No sparkle because it falls off too much. The mids are recessed, but easy enough to be heard. I can't really describe the mids much better. And then there is the bass, lots of it, and can be had quite low too. Testing revealed that at regular listening levels 25hz is easily produced, and felt. At 100% volume on the laptop I could still feel the 20hz quite nicely. (Note, 100% volume during a song is almost painfully loud, and I don't feel comfortable listening more than a few seconds) After listening to a sine sweep though, the treble is very present with a few peaks, and a rounded peak for the midrange. The bass quiets out like it usually does, and then goes subsonic. Of course this is all before adding equalization to it, and sprucing it up. The laptop does a better job of pushing and equalizing the headphones. My Zune struggles to bring these up to a high volume, and has fewer eq options. After bringing up the treble a lot and the mids a bit, the sound becomes much more impressive. The highs really do sound great, and the mids are smooth enough for my inexperienced ear. The bass never seems out of control, but might be a little muddy when not enhanced by the mids.
The soundstage is something I am still trying to grasp, but I feel like these have the widest presentation that I have heard. Then again, I don't have very much music that is recorded to sound wide or have too much depth. On this note, I am at a loss, and will leave up for interpretation.
Design and comfort are the last on my list, but need to be addressed. These use an open/semi open design, and have mild bleed out and in. There is no ventilation for your ear though while they are enclosed, and it gets pretty toasty inside. The pads are comfy, but the headband has no padding, and can be painful if not adjusted properly.
Conclusion: The RP-HT260 Monitor Headphones present a good value for circumaural headphones at under $20, with good sound quality when using an eq, and good comfort.
