[themanbeast]

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Very interesting about the pads! I didn't think they could fit sor some reason. I might try using my RX700 pads on them, and perhaps sticking some foam under the pads to increase comfort as the RX700 pads arent nearly as fluffy as the RX900 ones. Glad to hear you are impressed; they are such a great value.
 

Probably because of the way the pads fit on the RX series, where the elasticy ends go into a crevice on the headphone instead of completely over. It does definitely require some work to make them fit, but it wasn't horrible. Don't be afraid to tug on the ends of the pad to stretch the elastic over; it's not going to rip, and once you get it on, it works perfect. It's giving me the ambition to grab some DT-770 pads for them as well. Maybe a pair of black velours, and a pair of leatherettes. 
 
The seal with the RX900 pads seems to be much better than the stock pads, which I'm sure is what's giving me better sound. It's also a bit more comfortable, obviously. I don't know if it's me loving the tunes, something to do with the way the Samson housing works, or what, but my ears don't get sweaty with these on either (with the RX900, with the same pads, I used to sweat a lot). I don't know how much different the 700 pads will be in comparison, but I remember them being a lot more comfy than the stock SR850 pads, so it might work out real well.
 

 

[Napilopez]

Interesting... I will be sure to try them out.

BTW, since I just edited my post and the thread moved to a new page, I'm guessing you didn't see my request. I'll copy and paste:

"Oh! Mr. Beastly Man sir, I just noticed you own a K70X, which I am considering buying. Do you think you can compare the sound of the K701 and the Samson when you get the opportunity, so I may have a clearer idea of what I'm getting into? Perhaps after the Samson's have burned in, since like the K70X, most seem to agree a good deal of burn-in helps a lot. I understand they are likely very different headphones with different requirements, but it would help know what to expect. Particularly am interested in soundstage differences, bass quality/quantity/distribution/extension, and treble stuffies, although anything else would be nice too. Much appreciated."

 

[themanbeast]

Well, I haven't had my K701 for almost two years now, I kinda cleaned house on my audio equipment after the economy took a dump and I got laid off - but based on what I remember, I could give you a few basic differences I suppose. Hopefully someone else can chime in on this, because this is really also the first time I've tried to compare headphones outright.
 
Keep in mind this was paired with a Meier Cantate, which from accounts I've read does a good job with the K70X phones:
 
The Samsons are nowhere near the soundstaging of the K701. While I wouldn't classify the SR850 as having a small soundstage, I would say the K701 is far more airy, and separation is much better as well. Also, while the samsons are extremely detailed for the price, they aren't even close to being a match for the K701. The best way I think I can put my experience with the K701 in terms of details would be taking them over to a friend's house. He had a ton of high end stuff, and had just gotten the HD800 - on the same amp and source, I listened to both, and to my ears the K701 was right up there, particularly in soundstaging and picking up minute details. I don't think you can come close to beating the K701 for a detailed, analytic sound for $260ish (though your Diamond USB card is going to do them no justice - they definitely need something that works well with them and can give them a bit of a push. Maybe an E7/E9 combo would be good)
 
That's the thing though. The K701 is, in my opinion, not a "fun" headphone. Don't get me wrong, they can deliver excellent sound to my ears for most genres, but the samsons feel much more lively to me. Bass quality on the K701 is top notch, but it's the the most bass light headphone I have ever heard. Everything is very accurate, but it can be hard to notice, especially if you aren't driving them properly. The samsons sound like a subwoofer compared to them. I still have to get a handle on the highs of the samsons, but I would be willing to bet the detail and clarity of the trebleis worlds ahead on the K701.
 
The one thing I would say is that I wouldn't say the K701 is a clear upgrade from this headphone. They are different enough to my ears that they might work real well as a compliment to each other. If you're looking for a "better" SR850, as I might very well be after auditioning these for a day, They are no the answer. I would look potentially more towards a Beyer 880 in that regard.

 

[Napilopez]

Thanks alot!

Your impressions are very much inline with what my research has taught me, so it doesn't ruin my expectations. I don't mind the different sound signature, or at least I don't think I will, given that almost all my headphones are bass-heavy(except for my Etyomic MC5, which though good, are probably the "worst" headphone I've bought overall in sheer quality). I'm also quite aware my DAC wouldn't do them justice, I just went out and bought it because I couldn't bear listening to my laptop's shill, internal-noise-filled output any longer XD.
 
I am heavily considering the DT880 though, as I do fear possibly missing the bass. Part of the reason I'm going for the K701 is I've never had an HP with a truly large soundstage before, so I thought that would be a good choice. The 250 ohm sounds like the smartest choice, but I kinda want the blue ring around it XD.

 

[themanbeast]

You should be able to find a place to demo either in NYC pretty easily, I would think. If most of your headphones are bass-heavy, the K701 is going to shock you. You might like it, but I would heavily recommend hearing them first if it is at all an option. The 880 also has (in my opinion) a great soundstage, and good detail and clarity, and the low end is much better. Heck, you might like the 990 as well, which has a bigger soundstage than the 880 from what I've read, and has a great low end.
 
Another great headphone to jump in for soundstage at a more reasonable price point is the AD700. Don't count them out, a lot of people that I know preferred them to the K701. I didn't find them as detailed, but the soundstaging was just as good if perhaps not quite as accurate in its imaging. Otherwise they are pretty similar IMO, as the AD700 has detailed but light bass, and will bring out the details well. They are also a lot more comfy If I had to choose between the two, I'd go with an AD700 myself.

 

[Napilopez]

Thanks again for all the help! Again, I don't think I'd mind the sound signature of the K701 so much seeing as I used an ety as my primary headphone for a month or 2 before, it's just I didn't think that headphone in particular(MC5) was as good as my others in overall detail resolution, despite being much more neutral and brighter.

The AD700, actually one of the first HPs i considered buying since I joined this site, might be a bit too far off for me though. FWIR the extension in the bass isn't very good, which to me matters as much if not more than actual quantity. Headroom's frequency graph for it scares me haha.
 
I have auditioned the K701 and DT990 before very briefly. I will do so more today when I go buy some cables at B&H, even though the sound will likely not be fairly representative of either at all given they're powered through a cheap amp. 

 

[proid]

 
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Holy crap magic just happened. I got really bored and decided to take apart my SR850. After fiddling around with it and turning the volume knob on my E9 to more than halfway, and putting it back together.....They sound soooooo good, way better than before. I don't know what the heck happened but they don't sound like what I used to called them(weird/veiled mids). They sound very detailed with great mids and highs. It's either some crazy placebo effect or I must've done something when I opened them up and turning the volume super high.

Can you tell me how does the M50 compare to SR850?

 

[FearSC549]

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Can you tell me how does the M50 compare to SR850?

To my ears, the M50 have recessed mids (enough for me to call recessed, I listen mainly to trance) and overall sound great for the price. They're also more comfortable because of the softer pleather and deeper earcups(ears don't really touch the drivers).
 
The SR850 has a pronounced upper mid which some might find fatiguing, but I like the sound since vocal seems more clear. The bass is very linear but not as deep as the M50(which also have a mid bass bump). The soundstage and instrument separation is better than M50.
 
The headband pressure is quite strong IMO, which makes them less prone to falling off but gets irritating after a while. The pleather earpads are bad(uncomfortable, a bit hard, not deep enough) and since the SR850 is a big headphone with a big ear cups, your ear is pressed against the driver(there's a foam in the way as to make it less irritating), which can get annoying. Portability-wise, the M50 is a winner.  
 
Both are great cans and have pros and cons. The SR850 has better clarity than the M50 because of the smooth mid and pronounced upper mid, but the M50 has more bass (which I prefer) and smooth highs. IMO, the SR850 wins in value as it only cost $40-50 compared to M50's $110-130 street price. 

 

[Napilopez]

Quote:

To my ears, the M50 have recessed mids (enough for me to call recessed, I listen mainly to trance) and overall sound great for the price. They're also more comfortable because of the softer pleather and deeper earcups(ears don't really touch the drivers).
 
The SR850 has a pronounced upper mid which some might find fatiguing, but I like the sound since vocal seems more clear. The bass is very linear but not as deep as the M50(which also have a mid bass bump). The soundstage and instrument separation is better than M50.
 
The headband pressure is quite strong IMO, which makes them less prone to falling off but gets irritating after a while. The pleather earpads are bad(uncomfortable, a bit hard, not deep enough) and since the SR850 is a big headphone with a big ear cups, your ear is pressed against the driver(there's a foam in the way as to make it less irritating), which can get annoying. Portability-wise, the M50 is a winner.  
 
Both are great cans and have pros and cons. The SR850 has better clarity than the M50 because of the smooth mid and pronounced upper mid, but the M50 has more bass (which I prefer) and smooth highs. IMO, the SR850 wins in value as it only cost $40-50 compared to M50's $110-130 street price. 

Echoes my thoughts very well, from extensive auditioning of the M50. I found the highs on the M50 to be slightly sharper though, odd. To generalize, I'd say the M50 might be slightly better for more bassy genres and the SR850s for more acoustic stuff, but either is good all around, with me giving a nod to the SR850 in overall sound. However, if things like isolation, portability, and "likeliness" of comfort matter to you, then the M50 is the better option, if the price difference doesn't count too much. I say likeliness of comfort because I personally find the SR850s to be more comfortable than the M50s(which are still very comfy), but comfort seems very divided on the Samsons with stock pads. Either you like em or you don't.

 

[FearSC549]

Quote:

Echoes my thoughts very well, from extensive auditioning of the M50. I found the highs on the M50 to be slightly sharper though, odd.To generalize, I'd say the M50 might be slightly better for more bassy genres and the M50s for more acoustic stuff, but either is good all around, with me giving a nod to the SR850 in overall sound. However, if things like isolation, portability, and "likeliness" of comfort matter to you, then the M50 is the better option, if the price difference doesn't count too much. I say likeliness of comfort because I personally find the SR850s to be more comfortable than the M50s(which are still very comfy), but comfort seems very divided on the Samsons with stock pads. Either you like em or you don't.

Actually I find the M50(unmodded) not that great for acoustic stuff because of the slightly recessed mids. I'm used to having a lot of treble because of my TF10. So to me, the M50's treble is pretty smooth, sorry for the confusion. If I were to describe it on a neutrality term, I'd say the treble is slightly emphasized. 

 

[Napilopez]

Quote:

Actually I find the M50(unmodded) not that great for acoustic stuff because of the slightly recessed mids. I'm used to having a lot of treble because of my TF10. So to me, the M50's treble is pretty smooth, sorry for the confusion. If I were to describe it on a neutrality term, I'd say the treble is slightly emphasized. 

Woops, I made a mistake, I meant to say the M50s fare better with bassier genres, while the SR850s fare better for with acoustic stuff. Editing post now.
 

 

[proid]

I have Superlux 668B and i'm very interested in bassy headphone type like the Denon D2000 and now SR 850. I have short time audition the M50 and i find it quite roll off at low bass, the other hp that i have: x-cape v1, eterna, 668B extend deeper, i don't like the M50 because of that reason. I'm quite confuse that you think M50 has deeper bass than SR850 because beside bass, everything you describe SR850 is the same i can hear in 668B: very clear sound, superb instrument separation, good sound stage, upper mid more prominent. So i think SR850 must have deep bass. 

 

[Napilopez]

Quote:

I have Superlux 668B and i'm very interested in bassy headphone type like the Denon D2000 and now SR 850. I have short time audition the M50 and i find it quite roll off at low bass, the other hp that i have: x-cape v1, eterna, 668B extend deeper, i don't like the M50 because of that reason. I'm quite confuse that you think M50 has deeper bass than SR850 because beside bass, everything you describe SR850 is the same i can hear in 668B: very clear sound, superb instrument separation, good sound stage, upper mid more prominent. So i think SR850 must have deep bass. 

Well the SR850 has been described by those who have both this and the 668B as a slightly less detailed, more bassy 668B, so that would make sense. I didn't compare extension directly with the M50 though. The samson extends quite linearly down to about 30hz I'd say, still going pretty strong at 20hz, judging by test files here: http://www.burninwave.com/#indie I can't really make out much at 15hz, but I don't know how much that has to do with my source. I personally prefer the linear bass of the SR850 to the more midbassy M50, especially since the impact is still quite visceral on the Samson. The reason you may feel that the m50 doesn't extend so deep is because it is relatively mid bass heavy and not as linear as the 668B, although from my understanding the eterna should be as well. They might just need more power too, although idk how you're feeding it.

 

[FearSC549]

Quote:

I have Superlux 668B and i'm very interested in bassy headphone type like the Denon D2000 and now SR 850. I have short time audition the M50 and i find it quite roll off at low bass, the other hp that i have: x-cape v1, eterna, 668B extend deeper, i don't like the M50 because of that reason. I'm quite confuse that you think M50 has deeper bass than SR850 because beside bass, everything you describe SR850 is the same i can hear in 668B: very clear sound, superb instrument separation, good sound stage, upper mid more prominent. So i think SR850 must have deep bass. 

I am like 90% sure there's something wrong. The M50 extend all they way down to ~20Hz to be exact. The bass sounds very similar to that of Turbine Coppers. The SR850, on the other hand, has more of a linear bass all the way down to like 25Hz(which is where it roll off). Either you weren't wearing them correctly, the pair you were listening to was defective, or it was a fake.  
 

 

[islubio]

hmm after listening to them for a few hours. I feel a little fatigue. Could be me not used to headphones(hardcore iem user). The highs feels a little harsh to me, which i think is the main cause of the fatigue. On my gr07 i do not experience this. The sound stage doesnt seems very wide. And the separation between the left and right channel isnt as clear as compared to my gr07. Currently they have been burnt in for around 100hrs. Will give a more detail review after seriously comparing the 2. And maybe the hd660 if it arrives any time soon.