[AdamZuf]

just woke up..i think they make my dreams more rich because of the pre-sleep sessions, i swear. i have to check this further with constant sessions like that

or maybe just constant listening

i listened to 3 new albums the last 2 days (you know, when they just lay in the side, and you say :"i'll get to it later")

i must say, that "Bustan Abraham" yesterday (which i talked about, soundwize), was a stimulative, emotion revealing and full of imagination experience. i know that album for quite a few years. at last it really reached me. the arab tunes have awakened something with them, i don't know.

 

[AdamZuf]

i talked a bit about the subject with a fellow head-fier, and i would like to quote myself, with a little edit. sorry it's more DT880 vs. CD3000, but it's helpful here too, and i decided to post it:
Quote:

AdamZuf wrote on 09-27-2003 08:43 PM: i agree, not much life into female vocals there, not close to the beyers. the sonys stimulate the mind in a totaly different manner. the landscape is lower, darker, and that's where the imaging come from. it explains why you didn't like their high end so much - it's not "mind opening" like with the DT880. it's not as inspiring as the "ideal treble" should be. what i've noticed with them, is that in contrast to the superiority of the DT880 in some genres-when you compare them side by side for just a bried moment to see "what's better", the overall long session quality, in terms of imagination, concentration and flow are charming with the sonys, and often invade the DT880 areas where they sound better then the sonys, side by side. it's interesting - technical approach here seems to reward, emotionaly, just as good with some cases. some cases it's not true (and the emotional qualities of the beyes wins in the long term, as they should), but in many many cases they are very superior to both beyers and senns. so, more then the HD600 and DT880, the CD3000 asked me for psychological burn in. this is very personal, but this is one good reason why i recommend these cans. i believe the results can be the same for many. they do have their coloration, and i can understand why people wouldn't choose them for classical or generally softer music, like i believe you listen to. it can get a bit difficult for the sonys to pass on music that the instruments sound character is very emotional, not just the composition. here, the DT880 are great and so are the ER-4P (that "bliss" goes very well with that). i hope to get the HD600 here soon to check them again in that area, with the new music i got. maybe if you don't listen to the areas that the sonys really excell, you won't get to that psychological burn in with the "on the border" music genres, and just get rid of them

i made a poll about cans for classical music. look at the discussion, not only the results, as you should
http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...ight=classical

you know guys, i think it's really true. you can't have one set of headphones

it's probably like you are trying bringing two people together:
there's no ideal man to fit the ideal woman.
so it's like to say:
there's no ideal music (your different music preferences) to fit to the ideal cans. (the different sound of each mates differently)

in both examples, you decide for yourself how beautiful the match is.
just don't end up with a colony, like joelongwood has

 

[Guyferd]

For me, the ideal can would be the can that can do my music preference. That is: pop, rock, alternative and some ballad.
Cd3000 does it all and thus I can safely say it's the can that rules all in my context

 

[Stoney]

Can you who've heard both advise me?

I may wait for the Senn HD-650 before deciding. But, I loved the HD-600s on brief auditions because it gives the sense of more distant listening, less in your face, er... ears. Sounds closer to my Vandersteen 3A Sig + MFA M-120C KT-90 tube amp sound in the living room.

I have Grado SR-125, and find them a tiny bit bright, and definitely too forward and hard in the upper midrange. Exciting yes, but not as smooth as I know the music to be. Also, there is significant intermodulation distortion, such as when closely-spaced lower-midrange piano keys are struck simultaneously... you hear a large difference beat, which isn't there via speakers.

So, from what I've read, the Sony MDR-3000 is closer to the Grado than the Senn in terms of forwardness and perspective. This makes me want to try the HD-650 when it comes out, as it might be a middle-ground?

Thoughs? I'm all ears....

 

[Guyferd]

stoney,
check out beyerdynamic dt880 too. They're in the middle.. not too laidback, not too upfront. Sony is upfront but not the point of grados, perhaps a few step back. The beyer is the best when it comes to 'neutrality' imo.
I had them a while back. They sound similar to hd600 but without the veil. Might be your cup of tea.

 

[AdamZuf]

i have to disagree, big time!
i find the sonys as laid back as the HD600, but as i said before, i'm having a hard time to feel that "i'm there" with the HD600, so it's a bit hard for me to call them "laid back".

 

[AdamZuf]

Quote:

Originally posted by Guyferd stoney, check out beyerdynamic dt880 too. ..I had them a while back. They sound similar to hd600 but without the veil. Might be your cup of tea.

not true to my ears too. they are very different then the HD600. another thing to judge after a long session. after a few months i have them, i find veil in the DT880 equal and maybe more there then in the HD600. it's a certain layer of sonic signature in a more upper frequency region then the HD600's veil, but i like it more then the HD600. it's more elevating and lifefull, while the HD600 are more analytical, dark and weighty (and resembles the CD3000 from these aspects to some degree). the DT880 do most music better, and more faithful to most of the instruments's sound, to my ears.

ahh i forgot to say. the DT880 are great phones. they are the compromise between the laid back and forward. they respond well according to the recording. natural and quite neutral.
strings and vocals are the best. female vocals can't get better.

 

[Guyferd]

that's so strange...
I never find the cd3000 to be laid back. Infact they are quite as upfront as the grados(grados are well.. too upfront for me LOL!)
I don't think our difference in equipment makes that much of a difference.. but well .. who knows

 

[AdamZuf]

sometimes a really wonder how different we all hear stuff, and never know..

 

[Guyferd]

that's why they say that hi-fi is very subjective

and I agree

 

[wallijonn]

as Adam said, it really depends on the music gendre that you are listening to.

in the case of the CD3K, one is comparing a closed headphone to open headphones. that's quite an accomplishment.

as far as personal preference, only you, the listener can make that decision. to me, females are paramount, so I chose the DT880. if your preference is males, then the CD3K is probably the better choice.

I would not recommend the DT880 for PC gaming, rock, techno or rap. It belongs more in the K501 Jazz / HD600 classical catagory. By the same token the CD3K probably does rock and techno exceptionally well, but probably does not reach as far down as the HD600. To me the CD3K was bright in a wierd sort of way, to me, the females vocals had a slip. The DT880s, to me, do females clearer, but it doesn't have the bass slam nor high hat transparency of the DT931. I can work with the DT931 but there is no way that I could live with the CD3K. If your hearing sensitivity is different, and chances are very great that they are, and if you cannot detect any flaws in the CD3K, then it is FLAWLESS. to you.

It is hard to make truly valid comparisons listening for a very short time as your hearing has not had time to acclimate to the sound difference. it's like listening to a CD and then playing another. they sound different because they were engineered (mixed, produced, etc) differently. the only valid assumption that you can make is that it will take either less time to acclimate or that it just doesn't sound right right from the get go.

It's all about being able to accept what you hear without comparing it to something else or wanting to compare it to something else. Listening to Pam Tillis' "Melanchology Child" I am swept away by the crisp sounds of the electric guitar. the BALANCE is just right. chances that it would sound too bright [to me] on the DT931. and for that matter, the CD3K. for some reason the "melanchology child" underlaying cord, and what reminds me of a harpsicord, reminds me of some other song that I love. if only it could be a little bit more "crisper". Female vocals just seem to take centre stage; it sounds to me as if it is very intimate.

so, what gendres does the CD3K do BEST? the DT880 is also a general purpose headphone that does every gendre good, but, TO ME, it does female ballads best. When it comes to bass slam I find that it sounds a little too muddy. When it comes to highhats and fast high end transients I find the transients to sound "rounded". I suspect that the CD3K MUST have it's own failings. What are they, TO YOU?

If YOU can live with it's failings, more power to you. if you cannot detect any failings, so much the better. you are happy and that is all that matters.

 

[Stoney]

When one is specific about how one responds, and about one's tastes, it helps others imagine how it would sound to them. I saw some statements that throw up yellow flags for me about the MDR-3000s, and probably steer me toward the HD-600 (or 650, we shall see).

BTW, can anyone point me towards info on a San Francisco bay area meet? I'll do a search....

 

[wallijonn]

Quote:

Originally posted by Stoney I saw some statements that throw up yellow flags for me about the MDR-3000s...

It's much easier if you audition it for yourself. Just bring 5 CDs of your favourite different gendres to a Meet in your area. Everyone's ears are different, so everyone's hearing is different. You may not be able to detect the female lisp or the HD600 veil.

If the CD3K is your first headphone, are you willing to build a system around it? If you own 1 amp and 4 other headphones, are you willing to get rid of everything else to make the CD3K shine? (Let's say you own 4 high impedance cans, as I do (DT440, DT831, DT880, DT931, K401, K501)). Or are you willing to buy another CDP and an amp?

Do not be scared away. Listen to them for yourself and then make up your mind.

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazin.../audiohell.htm

 

[Eagle_Driver]

*** singing, off key ***

Hooooooooome, hooooooooome on the raaaaaaaaange!!!

 

[Sovkiller]

Guys we have to add one more can to that title, now I have the feeling that the new madness will begin, a new flavor ofthe month is arising from the dark side, and the Liberation Front is loosing territory now, day by day!!!!! We have a new enemy and will be strong for sure, not even in the market and people is already talking of it...HD650