[Armaegis]

And did someone mess up an html tag somewhere? Everything shows up in italics and you can't edit in this thread, which I'm guessing might be related.

 

[JamesMcProgger]

Quote:

Yes, the M30 makes sense especially since it sounds completely different from the M50. Flats are nice for $20 but I'd be surprised if the FC700 isn't better since the MSRP is like $80 (not that that's a guarantee of anything). The $10 Coby CV185 has more bass than the Flats without sounding worse overall.

this FC700? http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATH-FC700A-Portable-Headphones-Neodymium/dp/B001QTJ1F4
20$ the black ones, so i though theu would compare with the flats...  well, i guess i'll be pleased then, i just like toss around portable 'phones

 

[JamesMcProgger]

btw @Armaegis Edit hasnt work since a while in any thread for me, and im not seeing italics

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

And did someone mess up an html tag somewhere? Everything shows up in italics and you can't edit in this thread, which I'm guessing might be related.

I really don't think that it can be caused by user error. There's a bug report in the feedback forum to this effect so hopefully it'll get fixed.

 

[JamesMcProgger]

*waiting for the reviews*

 

[ljokerl]

Added the ATH-ESW9A 

 

[kostalex]

ljokerl,  I see no "outstanding" (by your terms) cans in your summary table. Are you too strict or there are no such cans in portables?

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

ljokerl,  I see no "outstanding" (by your terms) cans in your summary table. Are you too strict or there are no such cans in portables?

Well, theoretically the HD25-1 and ATH-ESW9A *should* be my 10/10 (outstanding) headphones since I scale my reviews to the best I've heard (otherwise the 'ceiling' becomes a very vague construct). However, in all honesty I just couldn't give the HD25-1 a 10/10 no matter how symbolic. Don't get me wrong - I've had them for over a year and I love them to death but  as I've said many times in my IEM review, a 10/10 still implies relative lack of flaws and I just can't say that about any portable I've heard so far. If the Ultrasone PRO 650 can be considered portable, that's probably my absolute favorite (in terms of sound) headphone in the category and may earn a 9.5 when I review it.

 

[asphyxiation]

The ESW9A.. nice! : D Now you need the ESW10JPN and the ES10's. I wouldn't mind loaning mine for review if I weren't so addicted to it. 
 
Not to mention I'm mileeeeeeeeeeeeeees away.

 

[Armaegis]

Having owned the MS400 and ESW9A, and auditioned the HD25, my impressions are pretty close to joker's. My favourite still lies with the fun bassy MS400 and I love it's midrange. The HD25 was just too... angry, for lack of a better word. The ESW9A were excellent and felt like a lighter MS400, but something about the sound just didn't do it for me. It felt a little boring, even though my initial reaction was "wow, these are nice... but meh". Maybe it just didn't carry as much midrange as I wanted, though it had a nice warm resonance which I liked way more than the airy resonance of the A700/AD700. I remember the ESW9A were also a bit pickier about sources/amps. I don't remember which ones it paired well with, but I remember not liking it as much out of my D10.

 

[asphyxiation]

I'm not sure if I can extrapolate from the ESW9's for my ES10's but do they sound significantly different between amped and unamped? 

 

[JamesMcProgger]

Quote:

Quote:

ljokerl,  I see no "outstanding" (by your terms) cans in your summary table. Are you too strict or there are no such cans in portables?

Well, theoretically the HD25-1 and ATH-ESW9A *should* be my 10/10 (outstanding) headphones since I scale my reviews to the best I've heard (otherwise the 'ceiling' becomes a very vague construct). However, in all honesty I just couldn't give the HD25-1 a 10/10 no matter how symbolic. Don't get me wrong - I've had them for over a year and I love them to death but  as I've said many times in my IEM review, a 10/10 still implies relative lack of flaws and I just can't say that about any portable I've heard so far. If the Ultrasone PRO 650 can be considered portable, that's probably my absolute favorite (in terms of sound) headphone in the category and may earn a 9.5 when I review it.

I like the idea of "pure perfection doesnt exist" i think that make a high note in your reviews more worthy, instead of a reviewer giving 10's all over the place.

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

Having owned the MS400 and ESW9A, and auditioned the HD25, my impressions are pretty close to joker's. My favourite still lies with the fun bassy MS400 and I love it's midrange. The HD25 was just too... angry, for lack of a better word. The ESW9A were excellent and felt like a lighter MS400, but something about the sound just didn't do it for me. It felt a little boring, even though my initial reaction was "wow, these are nice... but meh". Maybe it just didn't carry as much midrange as I wanted, though it had a nice warm resonance which I liked way more than the airy resonance of the A700/AD700. I remember the ESW9A were also a bit pickier about sources/amps. I don't remember which ones it paired well with, but I remember not liking it as much out of my D10.

Yeah, the MS400 is the most rich-sounding of the three. I have to say that it is probably the portable equivalent of the MTPG or Monster MD, minus some overall detail. It definitely works well for portable use but I use IEMs 95% of the time when I'm outside and for home use it's just too bassy for me. The ESW9A is colored and fun but it still has the clarity to back it all up. The AD700 is a headphone that I really don't like very much. It reminds of me of the ATH-M30 a little in the sense that it's not really a mid-centric headphone but it lacks energy at the top and bottom to the extent that it seems mid-centric (and can be boring). My K601 is guilty of the same but what it lacks in energy it makes up in timbre and articulation. I seem to be in the minority on this though so maybe I just don't like overly spacious headphones 


Quote:

I'm not sure if I can extrapolate from the ESW9's for my ES10's but do they sound significantly different between amped and unamped? 

Not a night and day difference IMO - no more so than with the MS400 or HD25. The majority of so-called 'DJ' headphones that people use portably are much more amp-dependent IMO,

 

[swbf2cheater]

I completely agree.  It's vital for serious buyers to understand the top three all have great qualities.  
 
I really loved the smooth rich bass in the esw9 when I owned it, to me it seemed like when solid bass came up in a music track, the Esw9 seemed more powerful and clear than the MS400.  However, the bass and low end of the MS400 bass is present much more often than the esw9, its not as clean.  That low end on the esw9 isn't always there.  It seemed to me, as i recall, that it required a good deep bass note before you notice the low end, where as the m400 as i said always has a powerful low end going on.  Does that make sense? lol, I dont really know how to word that so people can understand it haha.  
 
I really enjoy the versatility of the MS400 and its overall great fun factor and clarity
I really enjoyed the smoothness of the ATH esw9 and its superior bass quality than the other 2.
I also really enjoyed kick factor of the HD25-ii as well as its aggressiveness...im weird like that, to me it was the most engaging of the three and most harsh in presentation.  I liked it

 
All three are just awesome in their own ways.  
 

 

[Olimoronio]

Quote:

Quote:

ljokerl,  I see no "outstanding" (by your terms) cans in your summary table. Are you too strict or there are no such cans in portables?

Well, theoretically the HD25-1 and ATH-ESW9A *should* be my 10/10 (outstanding) headphones since I scale my reviews to the best I've heard (otherwise the 'ceiling' becomes a very vague construct). However, in all honesty I just couldn't give the HD25-1 a 10/10 no matter how symbolic. Don't get me wrong - I've had them for over a year and I love them to death but  as I've said many times in my IEM review, a 10/10 still implies relative lack of flaws and I just can't say that about any portable I've heard so far. If the Ultrasone PRO 650 can be considered portable, that's probably my absolute favorite (in terms of sound) headphone in the category and may earn a 9.5 when I review it.

 
I'm buying this phone now...