Hi Head-fi'ers,
I have been cheking this site for (great) information for a while now, but have not posted (although the information and opinions here have led to some great purchases IMO). I thought it time to speak up (I have learned a great deal and have come to respect many people on here)!
My portable rig is Ipod Touch (new gen), paired with Fiio e17 DAC/Amp (though only using the amp)
My home rig is an Asus G71-JH gaming rig using the Fiio e17 as DAC/Amp combo using Mediamonkey sotware ( I hate ITunes, bleck)
Most music is 320 mp3 or higher (Flac), but there are some (quite a few actually) leftovers from my days of downloading single songs from Napster and Kaza a long time ago (nowadays I only use cd's, and trying to replace old lower quality songs).
Music listening includes: rock, classic rock, rap, r&b, jazz, country, classical, metal, punk, ambient, and really ANYTHING that sounds good (to me).
I have pulled the trigger and bought a pair of the Momentums. My first impressions at BB Magnolia Home Theater were that they were decent, but I wasn't sure they sounded BETTER than my Logitech UE6000 (used with NC on and Ipod preset "Bass Reducer"). Well, to begin at the beginning of where I am right now I have to tell you how I got into this wonderful hobby (albeit very expensive).
I used to be such a bass-head that at one point, I thought the Beats Solo sounded decent'ish. I wasn't satisfied with the sound wholly (even with EQ'ing), so bought the Beats Mixrs. They WERE better, but I still wan't getting the sound I really wanted. I knew what I wanted (I thought), but didn't know how to say it. I then bought a pair of Bose OE2's. These sounded a fair amount better (to my ears), than did the Beats (of any kind), but were still lacking SOMEWHERE. I found this website, and have since learned that I was really looking for the wrong things in headphones (too much bass), and when I started giving a try to what I would've called WAY bass light headphones, I started hearing everything else much better.
This led me to get the Sennheiser PX 360. These were excellent headphones (at the time I got them), but STILL something was missing. I still like those HP btw, but with some EQ'ing (probably some of the most comfortable HP's I have tried/owned). After many auditions I ran accross the Logitech UE6000's. These were the closest I have found, but in NC mode too much bass, overwhelming the mids, and (again, to my ears) ALMOST sibilant highs, but VERY good seperation. I was almost there (with what I was looking for).
I have been following this thread since page one, and decided to audition some Momentums. WOW! I am glad I did! As I said earlier, I wasn't sure from the demo that they were the next step up (for me) into a better HP than the UE6000. I decided to purchase them, and as soon as I got them home, I found that they ARE in fact better (in ALMOST every way) than the UE6000's. This was straight out of my Ipod touch -> no EQ preset.
These headphones fit me perfectly, and are the second most comfortable HP's I have tried. I love the styling good looks (read old-school). I do agree that the case is WAY big, but it is not a deal breaker for me by any means. For those testing cables, I have heard no difference between the Ipod cable and the straight cable whatsoever.
I find the bass MORE than adequate (quantity), and moderately punchy (quality) without overrunning the mids. Though in some bass heavy songs I could even lose 2db in the mid bass to bring up the sub a bit and not miss it much at all. The mids are decently detailed, smooth, and are more neutral than I am used to hearing (usually the cans I have have a distinct V shape) and are not overwhelmed by the bass. To my ears, deeper male voices tend to be a BIT bassy (which make it a bit more pronounced than say a higher singer), but this may be that they are reaching down into the mid bass (which appear to be a Sennheiser trait to color towards mid bass??). On some metal songs I HAVE noticed (what some have said previously) SOME congestion, but thought this normal for just about any can with really busy songs. The mid-to-treble transition is VERY smooth, and the low treble area is wonderful. I DO find the treble (overall) though to be missing some tone. The clarity is there, but is just a bit relaxed ( IMO it needs bumped up JUST a hair). I don't find they have an extra big sound-stage (if comparing to others I have heard), but after listening for a while doesn't matter much to me. Seperation of instraments is very decent, exept (again) on songs that are particularly busy. Overall these HP's sound excellent, and I have a hard time taking them off.
My impressions with adding the e17 amp are that they DEFINATELY benefit greatly from having an amp (to my ears). Gain is set at 0, bass is set at 0, and treble is set at 4. This tad bit of added treble just makes the WHOLE sound, sound better. It is more airy (to me), but is in no way fatiguing or sibilant still. It doesn't change the timbre of the instraments to a tinny sound at all. I WILL say, though, that bumping up the treble at all makes them seem way less forgiving of lesser quality higher compressed songs. You start hearing the compressed sound that symbols make (for instance) in a lower quality compressed song.
Sorry for my longwindedness (is that a word?). I just wanted to share my thoughts with you all how I am loving these cans. These are keepers for sure! I think I will hang on to the Momentums and the UE6000 and sell the rest.