Savage_Makoa
New Head-Fier
So I have been looking over the forums for these headphones for last few days, I ended up ordering a refurbished Sony MDR-1000X which comes on Monday but I can cancel until Monday or return if I end up not liking it. I have been comparing it to other headphones and am having trouble making a final decision. I currently own a pair of MDR-1A and got it as the reviews were good and got it for $200 on amazon a year ago I like it but I feel like its missing something and just doesn't feel like a $300 headphone and doesn't really feel all that sturdy.
I know V-moda are sturdy but they are really uncomfortable I tried an M100 a year ago comparing with MDR-1A and hated it. I also didn't like the V-moda soundstage, besides bass it just felt too much. I am looking to get blue-tooth headphone but if the sound quality is that great I can get wired, but basically I am just trying to replace my MDR-1A with a better sounding headphone with hopefully bluetooth. My main source of music is going to be my iPhone 7 so I am leaning toward headphones with AAC but few have it. Sadly I have not been able to figure out if the HD1 rebrand by Sennheiser has it, as some reviewers state it does but the official website does not state it and the Sennheiser Momentum 2 did not have it. I know the Crossfade Wireless 2 do not have it but Rose Gold has Aptx but due to the lack of AAC and price I am no longer considering either Cross Wireless 1 (with aac) or wireless 2 (with Aptx) due to lack of ground breaking features and lack of comfortability for long listening sessions. I listen mainly to hip-hop/rap but also rock as well. I currently feel the MDR-1A bass is lacking so I am looking for a bit more bass but also more clarity in the higher ranges.
So far I have these following options from reviews. The feature of noise cancelling is awesome but not required I care more about comfortability and sound quality. So far it seems to me that the HD1 takes the cake for sound quality but it has sub-par noise cancelling. The Sony MDR-1000x seems to have the best NC on the market and good sound quality to boot. The Beoplay H7 seems high quality and looks amazing and apparently has a good sound stage for its price. I am not sure which of these headphones has the best bass but I assume its the HD1 as it can go lower than the Sony, I am not sure about the Beoplay H7 being more bass heavy although reviewers have not indicated it is lacking in bass. Reviewers have also stated despite similar drivers to the MDR-1A the bass is more strong on the MDR-1000X. They all seem like great options, I also included the Oppo PM3 despite being wired as its in same price bracket and I have always heard good things about it. I will also be using APTX at home on laptop or AAC from laptop as well in addition to using my iPhone. wired usage is fine too but I prefer wireless as its simply more convient but I understand wired will always be better. I will be using tidal for most of the streaming not sure if that effects fidelity that much but I dropped spotify as my family and I were constantly fighting for streams. Apple Music may support AAC natively but the loss in performance doesn't seem worth it IMO. Spotify still has best selection but I can audibly hear the differences in tidal songs especially master albums. I also don't have any LDAC devices so I can't really use that feature on the MDR-1000x if I did it would be done deal. I would also probably lean toward HD1 or 550x if they supported AAC. I do however like that Captune on the Sennheisers allows for tidal play through the app which I would totally use.
- Sony MDR-1000x (bluetooth 4.1 - LDAC, AAC, Aptex, SBC)(ANC support)(Refurbished $259)(Used $250)(MSRP $330-400 new)(October 2016 release)
- Sennheiser 550 PXC (wireless 4.2 - aptex, sbc no aac =( (ANC support)($296 refurbished)(msrp $399)(July 2016 release)
- Sennheiser Momentum 2 HD1 rebrand over-ear (wired)($231 new)(msrp $350)(Jan 2017 release)
- Beoplay H7 (bluetooth 4.1 - Aptex, AAC,SBC) (used $255)(new $359)(MSRP $450)(Jan 2016 release)
- onkyo H500BT (Bluetooth 4.0 Aptex, aac, sbc)(new $200)(ANC support)(msrp $200)(unsure)(On ear - prefer over ear but we shall see if I can test these and like them)
- plantronics beats pro 2 (Bluetooth 4.0 aptex, aac, sbc(ANC support)(new $200)(msrp $200)(October 2016)
- Oppo PM3 (wired - planar magnetic) - $399 (no used/refurbished models)(new $399 + 10 shipping) (MSRP $399)(Feb 2015 release$
Edit 1:
Added
Headphones
I know V-moda are sturdy but they are really uncomfortable I tried an M100 a year ago comparing with MDR-1A and hated it. I also didn't like the V-moda soundstage, besides bass it just felt too much. I am looking to get blue-tooth headphone but if the sound quality is that great I can get wired, but basically I am just trying to replace my MDR-1A with a better sounding headphone with hopefully bluetooth. My main source of music is going to be my iPhone 7 so I am leaning toward headphones with AAC but few have it. Sadly I have not been able to figure out if the HD1 rebrand by Sennheiser has it, as some reviewers state it does but the official website does not state it and the Sennheiser Momentum 2 did not have it. I know the Crossfade Wireless 2 do not have it but Rose Gold has Aptx but due to the lack of AAC and price I am no longer considering either Cross Wireless 1 (with aac) or wireless 2 (with Aptx) due to lack of ground breaking features and lack of comfortability for long listening sessions. I listen mainly to hip-hop/rap but also rock as well. I currently feel the MDR-1A bass is lacking so I am looking for a bit more bass but also more clarity in the higher ranges.
So far I have these following options from reviews. The feature of noise cancelling is awesome but not required I care more about comfortability and sound quality. So far it seems to me that the HD1 takes the cake for sound quality but it has sub-par noise cancelling. The Sony MDR-1000x seems to have the best NC on the market and good sound quality to boot. The Beoplay H7 seems high quality and looks amazing and apparently has a good sound stage for its price. I am not sure which of these headphones has the best bass but I assume its the HD1 as it can go lower than the Sony, I am not sure about the Beoplay H7 being more bass heavy although reviewers have not indicated it is lacking in bass. Reviewers have also stated despite similar drivers to the MDR-1A the bass is more strong on the MDR-1000X. They all seem like great options, I also included the Oppo PM3 despite being wired as its in same price bracket and I have always heard good things about it. I will also be using APTX at home on laptop or AAC from laptop as well in addition to using my iPhone. wired usage is fine too but I prefer wireless as its simply more convient but I understand wired will always be better. I will be using tidal for most of the streaming not sure if that effects fidelity that much but I dropped spotify as my family and I were constantly fighting for streams. Apple Music may support AAC natively but the loss in performance doesn't seem worth it IMO. Spotify still has best selection but I can audibly hear the differences in tidal songs especially master albums. I also don't have any LDAC devices so I can't really use that feature on the MDR-1000x if I did it would be done deal. I would also probably lean toward HD1 or 550x if they supported AAC. I do however like that Captune on the Sennheisers allows for tidal play through the app which I would totally use.
- Sony MDR-1000x (bluetooth 4.1 - LDAC, AAC, Aptex, SBC)(ANC support)(Refurbished $259)(Used $250)(MSRP $330-400 new)(October 2016 release)
- Sennheiser 550 PXC (wireless 4.2 - aptex, sbc no aac =( (ANC support)($296 refurbished)(msrp $399)(July 2016 release)
- Sennheiser Momentum 2 HD1 rebrand over-ear (wired)($231 new)(msrp $350)(Jan 2017 release)
- Beoplay H7 (bluetooth 4.1 - Aptex, AAC,SBC) (used $255)(new $359)(MSRP $450)(Jan 2016 release)
- onkyo H500BT (Bluetooth 4.0 Aptex, aac, sbc)(new $200)(ANC support)(msrp $200)(unsure)(On ear - prefer over ear but we shall see if I can test these and like them)
- plantronics beats pro 2 (Bluetooth 4.0 aptex, aac, sbc(ANC support)(new $200)(msrp $200)(October 2016)
- Oppo PM3 (wired - planar magnetic) - $399 (no used/refurbished models)(new $399 + 10 shipping) (MSRP $399)(Feb 2015 release$
Edit 1:
Added
Headphones
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