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h1a8:
I started with RHA 750's a few years ago, and liked them a lot (and still do), but was intrigued by the hype I've been reading about Ti1's, Senn i80's, and other higher priced, and supposedly higher end phones, so decided to explore, starting with Ti1's. I hate to say, but the more I looked, the more disappointed and frustrated I was getting. Yes, bass was more in quantity with both TI1's and I80's, but I could not get the right balance neither with TI1 filters, nor with I80 "bass dial". I'm pretty sure it was not an issue of fit. I have a VAST collection of tips, so was able to seal every phone I tried. I found that even though I was craving the bass, whenever I dialed it up, it drowned out the highs, and clarity suffered, so I always reverted it back, but then I was never satisfied with the "remaining" bass and the overall clarity. I would say sound stage is the biggest in I80's, so if I ranked those 3 phones in the categories you are asking about, here's how it would look like:
Bass: Senn I80 > RHA Ti1 > RHA 750
Highs: RHA 750 > Senn I80 > RHA Ti1
Soundstage: Senn I80 > RHA 750 > RHA Ti1
Overall "balanced" sound: RHA 750 > Senn I80 > RHA Ti1
Since that post, however, I found my new favorite, and that is AudioTechnica CKR9. It has the most pleasing bass quality. Very dynamic and hard -hitting when needed, but not overpowering. I would say it's better than all of the above, including i80, which is pretty bass heavy, but the dymanic quality just does not compare with CKR9's (or 10's). To me they sound as good as if you were in front of a small hi-fi speaker set with a sub. I actually bought both CKR 9's and then 10's to compare, and although 10's have more pronounced bass, it drowned out the highs, and I just prefered a more "lively" but admittedly smaller sound stage of 9's to the bigger bass and as some describe a more "intimate" sound of 10's. I was pleasantly surprised that I liked cheaper pair much more and happily returned the 10's. At about the same time I bought the JVC 850's, expecting to be blown away by the bass, and although It's very good indeed, the wood speaker just can't match the cymbal quality of a dual driver metal setup of either of AudioTechnica models. As of today, after trying many more models (AudioTechnica CKR 9 and 10, JVC 850 and RBH EP2 (which I just hated..) my current personal ranking looks like this:
Bass "quantity": JVC 850 > AudioTechnica CKR10 > Senn I80
Bass "quality": AudioTechnica CKR9 > JVC 850 > RHA 750
Highs: AudioTechnica CKR9 > RHA 750 > AudioTechnica CKR10
Soundstage: AudioTechnica CKR10 > AudioTechnica CKR9 > JVC 850
Overall "balanced" sound: AudioTechnica CKR9 > RHA 750 > JVC 850
Absolute favorite: AudioTechnica CKR9
Runner up: RHA 750
Love/hate relationship: JVC 850