Ok ............................Testing is over. Call it scientific or not, this is someone using an iPhone and comparing sounds as well as overall presence of the headphones.
just to remind ... this is what the comparison was about now
Sennheiser HD380
Beyerdynamic DT-1350-80
Shure SRH840 Professional Monitoring Headphones
Grado SR 225i headphones
Sennheiser HD598
Sennheiser Momentum (Black)
As stated previously ... for me Sennheiser HD380 won over the Beyerdynamic DT-770 (though was close), KEF M500 (hated it), SoundMAGIC HP100 (don't know what the fuss is about ... maybe needed an amp)
This time picking the right set was more difficult, however, choice was clear. .......... Sennheiser HD380.
So .... if I had to rank them ....
6th Place = Beyerdynamics DT-1350
I don't know ... it sounded like cr*p. Didn't like the look, the style, the fit, nothing. Went back into the box after about 10 min.
5th Place = Grado SR225i
I can see why some would say that these are extremely detailed headphones. I agree. And the reason is ... they are very bright. Once you make something in sound too bright, some may see it as "detailed" as every note is piercing through your ear. I am not a fan, sorry. Also, quality or earpads is poor. Didn't like the fit at all.
4th Place = Sennheiser HD598
I really wanted to like it. I ran them (burn-in) for about 15 or so hours. I gave them a chance.
First of all .. I thought they'd feel a bit more expensive. To me they felt a bit cheap. Now ... to the sound. It seems like these cans are very good for some music styles but I wouldn't call them a versatile piece. They sounded a bit thin to me if that makes sense. Soundstage was there but it's like they were missing warmth. Thin sound, possibly good for classical only music but they were not as good for Smooth Jazz or Pop or Dance or even HipHop. Surprisingly they were the only set that distorted at some points of loud songs. I didn't like that.
3rd place = Shure SRH840 (almost 2nd place)
They are brighter than HD380 which to many would feel like they are more detailed. They overall have a very good sound. One thing I hate is how they look on the head. It's crazy ugly. Never go outside with these. In terms of sound .... very nice. I would even say that they are HD380 but a bit brighter. For me that extra bright sound made some instruments a bit too much at higher than usual volume. If you find that HD380 is just tooooo dark for you, this Shure set may be your answer. Just don't take it out of the house.
2nd Place = Sennheiser Momentum (Over ear)
Whoever suggested these based on what I've been writing in this thread ... good job.
First of all ... very comfortable to wear. Look very cool. If I wanted to use them on the go ... these would be the winners. Cool look, short cord with iPhone control, look expensive, not too big on the head... just nice. In terms of sound .... just a tad brighter than HD380 but there is a trade-off. For their cool look and smaller size, they were missing that extra "umph". Some songs sounded very very nice. Some may even sounded better than HD380 and thus I thought that these would win. At the end of the day when I really started comparing one to another, it felt that these were the younger brother of HD380.
1st place = Sennheiser HD380
These are not for everyone. I prefer sound to be full, with depth, with feeling of a subwoofer present, with treble not killing my ears. I also wanted cans that are somewhat forgiving. If recording is bad or too bright, I want to still enjoy the sound. These are great.
Natural sound. Yes, compared to other bright cans, this one feels like there is a "veil" over it....until you realize that those other bright headphones are the problem. This set makes you feel as if you're there in a 5th row of a concert. Music feels like it's not being pushed into your ears, instead you feel like you're at a concert. ... very cool feeling. They squash your head, yes .... solution.... put them over a pillow to stretch for 24 hours and they'll be perfect.
As I am writing this I realize that my testing was done at the moderately high volume. Maybe if I lowered volume to 70% of iPhone power I would pick a different set. Maybe at 70% volume those high ear piercing notes would not be there, sound would feel more detailed ... possibly. Maybe that will be my next test ... lowering the volume.
I tried to be honest with my choice. Even thought I read rave reviews of HD380 on the web, I still tried to be objective. Now that I picked the winner, those hundreds of reviews for HD380 just add confidence to my choice.
I've been rambling .... anyway ... hopefully this info will be helpful to someone.