[trunolimit]

I did use the Beats Studio for a couple years and thought they were fine, I'd read people saying what crap they are and did think that there are no doubt headphones that beat these pretty badly but I already spent $350 on these, they were better than the old Sennheiser 525's I had which were a good 10 years old and pretty worn out.  The problem I had with the Beats wasn't so much the bass it was the overall harshness of the things.  

So I got a chance to trade them in for a used pair of Bose QC15, I really didn't care about noise reduction but these were at least a little better than the Beats.  Pretty thin sounding to say the least but I was able to get them sounding pretty good on my computer with the right EQ, adding quite a bit of bass and mid.  

I had a pair of Klipsch 4's which were decent and used them for the mp3 player, ended up upgrading these to the x7, which I ended up liking so much they replaced the QC15 as my main phones.  Then a cat chewed the wires making them toast and I wanted to get something new and better.

So this is where I had to take a leap of faith, and I did audition the Momentums as the local Future Shop but they sounded terrible to be honest.  The source was awful and the volume was way too low and they had them hard wired into some crap.  I asked if I could try them out with my mp3 player to see what they really sounded like and he said no, the Sennheiser rep set this up and you can't listen any other way.


So these really did sound like $20 headphones with that audition and I was definitely put out.  The kid said that the store hadn't sold even one set of Momentums and he recommended some cheaper phones.  So it came down to this audition versus the opinion of people writing on this thread and I ended up going with the Head Fi'ers and bought them, he said I could take them back but I was fairly confident that I would not need to.


Out of the box these were already the best headphones I've ever heard, and they've just gotten better as I've broken them in.  I do want to point out though that if you just plug them into your ipod or other mobile device you are not even coming close to appreciating what these can do.  They do sound good plugged into that but they really will sing on your home computer with a good sound card and the jriver player on asio with some good parametric eq settings.  I just use a simple one, low shelf 1000 +4, high shelf 1000 +1, plus upsample to 96 hz 32 bit.  


So my next project is to perhaps pick up a good dac/amp to hook up to my computer, I don't want to spend more than a couple hundred bucks here as my budget is limited so I'm considering the HRT Micro Streamer which people consider to be a killer for the money.  So once I save up for that I will probably pick it up and hope that this will take things to a new level for me.


The Momentums are clearly the first true quality headphones I've ever had in spite of them being similarly priced to what I've been listening to the last few years.  I was thinking about the HE400s for a while, now I'm not so sure that they will be that much better or even better at all.  Anyone listen to both and have an opinion?                                                 

I have tried the he400. Owned them for a week. They are better in every aspect you could think of when compared to sound. Deeper smooth bass. Nice rumble effect on songs that call for it. These headphones have the greatest bass you will ever experience at that price. I say experience because it is not something you just hear it's felt and will move you. Since they are open they have a spacious sound stage. Great instrument separation. Why I got rid of them is because they are huge and not portable at all. Don't even try it. My fiio was decent in powering them but you'd have to drop some cash on a solid amp to get the most out of them. They are some serious cans for a home set up.

You really can't compare the momentums to them. Totally different classes of headphones.

 

[samandhi]

What amp would you consider good for driving them?

 

[GREQ]

Quote:

I have tried the he400. Owned them for a week........

.....You really can't compare the momentums to them. Totally different classes of headphones.

Agreed - generally one shouldn't compare closed headphones to fully open-back headphones. Completely different breed/purpose and sound.

 

[trunolimit]

What amp would you consider good for driving them?

Hifi man makes an amp for them I think. There is a thread discussing them.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/586885/new-hifiman-headphone-he-400-is-out/5385#post_8869924

 

[carma143]

I've been wondering lately what the best setup for the Momentums would be (including amp, dac, exc). Moon Audio just posted on Facebook their top picked setup. Was hoping someone could give some input.

 

[trunolimit]

 cause an $800 amp is what my $350 headphones need. 

 

[GREQ]

Quote:

I've been wondering lately what the best setup for the Momentums would be (including amp, dac, exc). Moon Audio just posted on Facebook their top picked setup. Was hoping someone could give some input. 

 
The best setup, is the best you can afford. Remember the rule of diminishing returns. After about $200-400 (on individual bits of gear), the returns rapidly become less and less. 
There are always small exceptions to the rule, where a $1000-2000 piece of equipment just blows your mind away and some $100-200 bits of gear get pretty close to the high end stuff for most ears. 
 
Unless you've got money to burn and you need to achieve the zenith of unparalleled fidelity, you don't need to spend too much to enjoy your Momentums. Most people don't bother with a DAC or a portable amp because they sound fantastic straight out of an mp3 player or phone. I use mine with a PA2V2, mostly to improve the battery life of my ipod by keeping it on lower volume - I don't hear a significant difference between listening through the ipod directly or through the amp.

 

[Speakerphile]

Quote:

 cause an $800 amp is what my $350 headphones need. 

 
 
Blasphemy!  The Head-Fi gods DEMAND it!

 

[kenstephens]

Moon Audio has been known to come up with some pretty generous amp recommendations for their phones  I would assume that in many cases you may want to get a cheaper amp and a better set of headphones if you can spend as much as their suggested combos require.
 
So I've owned open and closed back headphones and while the experience is different it doesn't seem to me to be that different to not be able to compare the sound quality.  The applications are the same here, listen to music

 

[TheGrumpyOldMan]

Generally: headphones first! If you're on a budget, this is where the money should go since it's what is actually, literally making the sound(waves) you'll be listening for. Then spend the rest of the money to get the most out of them.
 
While I'm sure that Moon Audio's suggestion will sound great, I think the amp is indeed disproportionately high-priced. I would suggest a FiiO E17 DAC/Amp for that level of headphone, much more appropriately priced, versatile and great-sounding for the money (better than onboard audio anyway) It also has basic EQ support, to control the somewhat excessive, boomy bass... everything else being very nice esp. for this type of headphone. I have tried this combo myself and for portable (or "coffeehouse") use find it perfectly satisfactory.

 

[samandhi]

Quote:

Generally: headphones first! If you're on a budget, this is where the money should go since it's what is actually, literally making the sound(waves) you'll be listening for. Then spend the rest of the money to get the most out of them.
 
While I'm sure that Moon Audio's suggestion will sound great, I think the amp is indeed disproportionately high-priced. I would suggest a FiiO E17 DAC/Amp for that level of headphone, much more appropriately priced, versatile and great-sounding for the money (better than onboard audio anyway) It also has basic EQ support, to control the somewhat excessive, boomy bass... everything else being very nice esp. for this type of headphone. I have tried this combo myself and for portable (or "coffeehouse") use find it perfectly satisfactory.

  That IS the DAC/Amp I am using. I like the versitility of it more than anything else (because I am on the road 5 days a week) because I use either my laptop, or my Ipod. But I am satisfied with the way it sounds, for the most part.
 
  Other than the EQ that the E17 gives (to help with highs especially), has anyone seen any benefit to using an amp (other than the E17) with the Momentums. They seem pretty easy to drive, so I don't see (on paper) much benefit to an amp, other than mentioned earlier, to give it some more highs.

 

[trunolimit]

Quote:

  That IS the DAC/Amp I am using. I like the versitility of it more than anything else (because I am on the road 5 days a week) because I use either my laptop, or my Ipod. But I am satisfied with the way it sounds, for the most part.
 
  Other than the EQ that the E17 gives (to help with highs especially), has anyone seen any benefit to using an amp (other than the E17) with the Momentums. They seem pretty easy to drive, so I don't see (on paper) much benefit to an amp, other than mentioned earlier, to give it some more highs.

I let my coworker listen to them on our lenovo all in one desktop. He said they sound kind of lifeless without the e17. He was blown away by the sound with the e17. There is totally difference. I actually don't like how they sound straight out of my samsung s3 all that much. when you put the dac/amp in line it's a total different beast. 

 

[carma143]

I let my coworker listen to them on our lenovo all in one desktop. He said they sound kind of lifeless without the e17. He was blown away by the sound with the e17. There is totally difference. I actually don't like how they sound straight out of my samsung s3 all that much. when you put the dac/amp in line it's a total different beast. 

Can you compare the sound output of the GS3 and the iPhone 4S? I've heard around the interwebs that Samsung mobile products don't come with great internal sound cards compared to, lets say, the iPhone 4S or Nokia.

 

[llBlackenedll]

Quote:

Can you compare the sound output of the GS3 and the iPhone 4S? I've heard around the interwebs that Samsung mobile products don't come with great internal sound cards compared to, lets say, the iPhone 4S or Nokia.

I have the Galaxy S II which is known for its audio output problems, also I don't think it's possible to use a USB amp with it such as the E17 (I'll probably get one when I get a Galaxy S IV..). Apparently, though, the Galaxy S III and the Nexus 4 both have very good sound though I don't know how they compare to the iPhones.

 

[kenstephens]

Anyone use these headphones with the Audioengine D1?  How does this DAC compare to the Fiio gear?  Seems like this would be a better choice.