[kyuuketsuki]

Quote:

Goes to show though how subjective everyones ears are. Personally I think the solos could not touch let alone be in the same league as the es7s when it comes to overall sq. Same goes for the ksc 75s for that matter. The solos have always sounded way too muddy and unbalanced to my ears. But anyway that's just mho.

I concur with this fully. I truly detest how Solos and Tours sound. Hell I can somewhat understand the attraction to Studios, though I still think the sound is sup par per the price tag. But the Solos and the Tours are just unbalanced and ill defined. If I remember correctly the Tours were weak in bass but decently clear, and had ok mids, and not horrible highs (mind you this is from what I remember from listening for about 30 minutes about 2 months ago) The Solos were the opposite... the bass was strong but muddy, and the mids and highs felt distant and hollow. I really should try them again and write down my thoughts. But I don't think that its necessary, because I I know the bass on both didn't deliver and neither did the mids or highs. There are better cans out there, I just wish people would go out and do proper research before burning $150-400 on something that is Beats by Dr Dre branded.

 

[roma101]

I've had the opposite experience. After going through my revolving-door of everything I've bought then sold, I went back to my neglected KSC75s, which haven't been used in maybe a year or two. Frankly, I was a bit shocked at how good these $15 clips sounded, even compared to all the $100-200 headphones I've been listening to. Sure, they're not the most detailed things out there, or the bassiest, or the crunchiest, but they have a very "fun' Grado-like sound signature and aggressiveness that I could probably live with if I ever had to ditch all my headphones and stick to something portable. I actually spent that evening listening to them, it was great. After that night I went out and looked into getting the partsexpress headband, since my clips were a little bit loose (these are four-year-old KSC75s, so this is to be expected).

 


I just headband modded my ksc75s not too long ago and I highly recommend it. It's more convenient and the added bass due to the tighter fit on your ears suits the sound sig while you're out and about.

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

I concur with this fully. I truly detest how Solos and Tours sound. Hell I can somewhat understand the attraction to Studios, though I still think the sound is sup par per the price tag. But the Solos and the Tours are just unbalanced and ill defined. If I remember correctly the Tours were weak in bass but decently clear, and had ok mids, and not horrible highs (mind you this is from what I remember from listening for about 30 minutes about 2 months ago) The Solos were the opposite... the bass was strong but muddy, and the mids and highs felt distant and hollow. I really should try them again and write down my thoughts. But I don't think that its necessary, because I I know the bass on both didn't deliver and neither did the mids or highs. There are better cans out there, I just wish people would go out and do proper research before burning $150-400 on something that is Beats by Dr Dre branded.

If your Tours had weak bass, you either had a poor seal or fakes - the bass is at least as strong with the Beats Tour as it is with the Monster Turbines, just not as deep or extended (or textured... or detailed...). I found the bass excessive almost to the point of being offensive with the Tours (but not with the Solos). Yes, the Solos are a bit muddy and the soundstage sucks, but my KSC75 is also a bit muddy and also rolls off sooner and has way more noticeable treble peaks.
 
Anyway, I think the groupthink on this forum might make the Beats products seem worse than they really are when we audition them. I have the KSC75s and PX100s and I found the beats slightly more enjoyable than both (which is not quite enough to justify the 1200% price difference, obviously). And the Studios are okay too - not Sony MDR-V6 okay, but not offensive. Maybe a 7 or 7.25. They are way heavier, though, and the constant ANC hiss is going to drive me up the wall eventually.

 

[Inks]

Congrats on the good attempt at staying impartial Mike, nice reviews. Really wondering how the MDR V6s stack up since they're so old and seem to match your sound preferences. 

 

[EraserXIV]

I've listened to the Solos and the Studios before while I was perusing an Apple Store. The Solos were pretty bad IMO, the Studios aren't half bad, but would only be worth it if they were in the $100 range.

 

[kyuuketsuki]

@Joker, They weren't mine, they were my friend's who had bought them at Best Buy, so I assure you they aren't fakes. However, it is entirely possible that the fit was not right. So that could have been it. Regardless I did not like the mids or highs considering that he paid more for them than I did both my IE6s and HJE900s, almost combined. I somewhat like the Turbines, and if I was going to buy anything Monster branded, those would be it. 
 
Well, my biggest two problems with the Studios are 1) I personally don't like the sound. I was never one for crazy heavy bass. Which is why I don't like the IE6s as much as the HJE900s (which are not as bass heavy as some claim, but still bassy, but less so than the IE6) 2) (and this is the big one) The build quality sucks. It isn't just bad, it is down right stealing on the part of Monster. I remember reading through reviews and some guy needed to have them replaced 4 times in a year, and the year wasn't even done with! That is just pathetic. Basically if you don't buy insurance, you will be out $300 very quickly. 

 

[Olimoronio]

Quote:

Quote:

I concur with this fully. I truly detest how Solos and Tours sound. Hell I can somewhat understand the attraction to Studios, though I still think the sound is sup par per the price tag. But the Solos and the Tours are just unbalanced and ill defined. If I remember correctly the Tours were weak in bass but decently clear, and had ok mids, and not horrible highs (mind you this is from what I remember from listening for about 30 minutes about 2 months ago) The Solos were the opposite... the bass was strong but muddy, and the mids and highs felt distant and hollow. I really should try them again and write down my thoughts. But I don't think that its necessary, because I I know the bass on both didn't deliver and neither did the mids or highs. There are better cans out there, I just wish people would go out and do proper research before burning $150-400 on something that is Beats by Dr Dre branded.

If your Tours had weak bass, you either had a poor seal or fakes - the bass is at least as strong with the Beats Tour as it is with the Monster Turbines, just not as deep or extended (or textured... or detailed...). I found the bass excessive almost to the point of being offensive with the Tours (but not with the Solos). Yes, the Solos are a bit muddy and the soundstage sucks, but my KSC75 is also a bit muddy and also rolls off sooner and has way more noticeable treble peaks.
 
Anyway, I think the groupthink on this forum might make the Beats products seem worse than they really are when we audition them.
 
I have the KSC75s and PX100s and I found the beats slightly more enjoyable than both (which is not quite enough to justify the 1200% price difference, obviously). And the Studios are okay too - not Sony MDR-V6 okay, but not offensive. Maybe a 7 or 7.25. They are way heavier, though, and the constant ANC hiss is going to drive me up the wall eventually.

That's not true at all... at least for me. When I first auditioned the Beats I read the price wrong and thought it read $30. When I listened to them I thought "Man, those guys at Head-Fi are just way too harsh. These don't sound that bad for a $30 set of phones."
 
Then I was talking to my brother about them in the store and he said "No, no, dude! Those cost $300!" And I said GTFO here. I actually had to go back and look at the price again to verify. I almost passed out. $300 for those things? I don't !@#$%^& think so!
 
I think PRICE of things affect people more. If it costs a bundle it must be at least fairly good, AMIRITE?
 
No, no I am not.

 

[mcnoiserdc]

Well when I listen to something I try to be imparcial in my opinions, but I found the beats to be really bad bad bad. lol!
For instance when I first had my hd600 I could barely see difference from portapro (Yes I was really noobish, lol), but when I heard the beats solo, It was just bad bad bad. For comparison I found the beats tour to be much better than the solos. The solos are below listenable for me, while the beats tour are ok.

 

[roma101]

Quote:

Well when I listen to something I try to be imparcial in my opinions, but I found the beats to be really bad bad bad. lol!
For instance when I first had my hd600 I could barely see difference from portapro (Yes I was really noobish, lol), but when I heard the beats solo, It was just bad bad bad. For comparison I found the beats tour to be much better than the solos. The solos are below listenable for me, while the beats tour are ok.

Couldn't agree more. I tried the solos several times before and after I knew there was a head-fi, let alone knew about any beats flaming. It always sounded congested and muddy to my ears. The bass is all it has going for it but in the end, that's all your hear. i always wondered how people would enjoy the rest of the details in their music (and think they should just spend the extra 100 bucks on studio beats), especially if they're in a noisy atmosphere. Anyway give me a pair of KSC 75's over Beats Solo any day. 

 

[mcnoiserdc]

I didn't describe it, but yes that is how it sounded to me, very muddy and congested. It gave me the feeling that it changed my music. Normally when I get new headphones, I try the same music, and I have been listening to those songs for a long time. With beats solo, it did sound differently than anything else I have tried.
May be a had a poor fit with them on. Who knows. 
 
Quote:

Quote:

Well when I listen to something I try to be imparcial in my opinions, but I found the beats to be really bad bad bad. lol!
For instance when I first had my hd600 I could barely see difference from portapro (Yes I was really noobish, lol), but when I heard the beats solo, It was just bad bad bad. For comparison I found the beats tour to be much better than the solos. The solos are below listenable for me, while the beats tour are ok.

Couldn't agree more. I tried the solos several times before and after I knew there was a head-fi, let alone knew about any beats flaming. It always sounded congested and muddy to my ears. The bass is all it has going for it but in the end, that's all your hear. i always wondered how people would enjoy the rest of the details in their music (and think they should just spend the extra 100 bucks on studio beats), especially if they're in a noisy atmosphere. Anyway give me a pair of KSC 75's over Beats Solo any day. 

 

[desmoface]

I also recently did this and when I showed my Wife, she loved it - I ordered 3 more headbands so that we can do her ksc75's and my ksc 30's.  What originally prompted me to do it was the ear clips must have worn out and popped off too easily...
 
Steve
 
Quote:

 
I just headband modded my ksc75s not too long ago and I highly recommend it. It's more convenient and the added bass due to the tighter fit on your ears suits the sound sig while you're out and about.

 

[bcasey25raptor]

i agree with the beats hatred. i tried the studios at best buy and they let me use them with my iPod. i was not impressed. they were not clear and sounded muddy. but they did have good bass. but that was all they had going for them. i don't even want to try the solos. or the solo HD's. i also tried the beats pros and i thought they were actually really fun sounding. i didn't mind the beats pros sound quality at all. not very accurate but fun to listen to. but i wouldn't pay 450$ for them.

 

[Shufny]

 
Quote:

the honest thing to say would be that the Beats are good enough for certain genres – namely those that don’t feature multiple simultaneous sonic cues.

ROFL! You made my day! I wanna see this quoted on their site so badly!

 Looking forward for the reviews of the listed phones. (anyway: could you list the planned phones ahead, like in the IEM thread?) Any initial thoughts on the Strech yet? After the 5401, I'm really hoping it sounds decent for the money, because I like the looks quite a bit. As it turns out, it's not that necessery to buy headphones online here. We have stores that sell the DT235 for ~42 usd, and the SHP5401 for ~24, so thank you for your info once again. The CAL! was little under 70 until like a month ago, so that's a shame tho. I've only tried the DT231 Pro out of "these" so far, but that was impressive. And I would be happy, if you would clarify your opinion about the position of the sonys a bit more. (Level of HD25-1, or more like the PHX, or even lower? 6 to 9 range is pretty big)

Manufacturer response rate for headphones is lower because your IEM thread far more known imo. And I guess you contact bigger companies about headphones, that don't think they need this kind of help, or it will even hurt them.

What happend the the scores? Was it 0.5 scale earlier?

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

Looking forward for the reviews of the listed phones. (anyway: could you list the planned phones ahead, like in the IEM thread?) Any initial thoughts on the Strech yet? After the 5401, I'm really hoping it sounds decent for the money, because I like the looks quite a bit. As it turns out, it's not that necessery to buy headphones online here. We have stores that sell the DT235 for ~42 usd, and the SHP5401 for ~24, so thank you for your info once again. The CAL! was little under 70 until like a month ago, so that's a shame tho. I've only tried the DT231 Pro out of "these" so far, but that was impressive. And I would be happy, if you would clarify your opinion about the position of the sonys a bit more. (Level of HD25-1, or more like the PHX, or even lower? 6 to 9 range is pretty big)

Manufacturer response rate for headphones is lower because your IEM thread far more known imo. And I guess you contact bigger companies about headphones, that don't think they need this kind of help, or it will even hurt them.

What happend the the scores? Was it 0.5 scale earlier?

I could add a list but then where would the fun be in keeping you guys guessing? The IEM market is growing way too fast for anyone to be able to figure out what I'm reviewing next but portables are a bit more manageable.
 
The Stretch has a lot to offer but sadly at the $119.99 it will run you at the apple store, it's grossly overpriced. I'd say at around half of that it's a good deal. It is very lightweight and very comfortable, and also quite sturdy but it doesn't offer much of an SQ jump over the 5401, if any. 
 
If you mean the ZX700s, they're at least an 8/10 on my scale, as well they should be at $180 or whatever they cost. Even I struggle to call them portable, however.
 
And yes, I've started re-scaling the reviews with a 0.25 tolerance to have more precision. I'm still playing with some of the scaling factors in my excel sheets but then this thread has always been a work-in-progress. I'd say the scores are likely "accurate" to within 0.25 at this point.

 

[bcasey25raptor]

how do the pioneer se m390 stack up in these results. they are a budget $60 set of cans and i highly recommend them.