Sub 500$ full size to listen to Porcupine Tree ?
Sep 7, 2009 at 4:28 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 21

Kn0x

100+ Head-Fier
Joined
Oct 23, 2007
Posts
111
Likes
0
Hi guys!

I'm in a prog. rock buzz these days, and with the upcomming release of PT's new full lenght album, i'm looking foward to buy cans that will be used almost exclusively to listen to their music.

I have an updraded Zero DAC plugged into a fairly high end Grundig Finearts series amplifier to accomodate the future headphones.

What I'm looking for, in the extent that it is possible, is to kind of combine the sound of my K400 and my H580. They have a completely different sound signature wich makes me switch hp from one genre to another, but with prog rock, I'm finding myself wanting to switch headphones during the same song
rolleyes.gif
.

More precicely, what I would like is something that would have a good soundstage, that is fairly fast and precise in both high and mid spectrum, but that still has the bas impact to make those kickdrums and heavy guitar feel their weight. I must say that I am in no way a basshead (far from it) so I'd rather sacrifice a bit of bass to get the other things, but not as much as my k400 does.

Any ideas?

Thanks a lot!
 
Sep 7, 2009 at 7:49 PM Post #2 of 21
Grados? HD650?
 
Sep 7, 2009 at 8:27 PM Post #3 of 21
I love my PT served from the following:

(insert your source here) -> whiplash audio Starving Student Hybrid -> SAA Equinox ->HD600(your 580 should do nicely).

I really feel that the SS tube hybrid really gives the hd600 some extra bass kick impact, texture and separation. As Emeril Lagasse the chef would say, "Bam...let's kick it up a notch!".

This is a great rig for PT in your price range.

Looking forward to "The Incident" by the way and I'm going to see them in concert this month.
Got the Limited Edition coming....it's on it's way to my house as we speak.

Good luck on the setup!

*Disclaimer* : Having never heard the K400, I'm missing a piece here, admittedly.
 
Sep 7, 2009 at 9:38 PM Post #4 of 21
NICE taste. It doesn't get much better then PT. Ya I know this is the part where I say "My D2K sounded so beautiful with PF" but dammit, they REALLY do! Deadwing really demands that massive low-end. I find the sound stage to be adequate too, i'd love to try out PT with the HD 650's as well.

When's the new album coming out anyway?
 
Sep 7, 2009 at 10:34 PM Post #6 of 21
I really like how PT sounds through my W5000 and D7000. Used W5000 would be around $500 and D7000 would be higher than your price range. I think DT880 and AD2000 would be a good choice too.
 
Sep 7, 2009 at 11:06 PM Post #8 of 21
Quote:

Originally Posted by RushNerd /img/forum/go_quote.gif
NICE taste. It doesn't get much better then PT. Ya I know this is the part where I say "My D2K sounded so beautiful with PF" but dammit, they REALLY do! Deadwing really demands that massive low-end. I find the sound stage to be adequate too, i'd love to try out PT with the HD 650's as well.

When's the new album coming out anyway?



PTs album "The Incident" available 9/14.

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.co.uk/p...tree/incident/

EDIT on 09-08-2009:

I just received "The Incident" Limited Edition from the brown truck of happiness!!
 
Sep 7, 2009 at 11:11 PM Post #10 of 21
News flash: Porcupine Tree sounds good through just about ANY good-sounding headphone
biggrin.gif
 
Sep 7, 2009 at 11:15 PM Post #11 of 21
Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif
News flash: Porcupine Tree sounds good through just about ANY good-sounding headphone
biggrin.gif



Well, there are different degrees of "good" but I'll concede they are one of the best produced/mixed/mastered bands.
 
Sep 7, 2009 at 11:16 PM Post #12 of 21
I listen to PT through my Zero w/ rolled opamps (OPA627AUs + LM4562s) and HFI-780s. Great combo, IMO.
 
Sep 7, 2009 at 11:18 PM Post #13 of 21
As background information, I'm a progressive fan (metal and rock), and between the bands that I consistently listen are Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, Queensrÿche, Fates Warning, Opeth, Tool, Pink Floyd, Genesis, among others. In fact in my library the group of which I have the most songs is PT.

After trying some headphones (actually a lot, at least IMO) like the HD6xx, K701, Pro 900, many Grados, and a couple others I finally decided that the one I liked the most was the HD6xx family (but I wasn't sure which one I preferred). Then I had the opportunity to try both HD6xx for a month, and decided for the HD650. Finally, just before deciding to buy the 650 I had the opportunity to try the HD800 out of a Lehmann BCL and comparing it to a balanced 650 rig (mine are not balanced yet, but I plan to in the future), and chose the 650 over the 800 (Note to others, I'm not saying it's superior, it's just what I liked better). All this decisions were using progressive bands and some others (Coheed and Cambria for example) as a point of reference.

Take all the following as my opinion. So why did I choose the 650 even over the technically superior 800? Well, at least for my taste, it's characteristics are great for the genre. So here are my thoughts:

-I discarded Grados because they were too upfront, their soundstage wasn't adequate and just plain wrong for groups like Dream Theater and Pink Floyd. But then I'm too sensitive to treble so Grados have never been my taste.

-K701, paired with my source, was far too analytical and lacked bass impact (although the quality of what was there was pretty good) which made them sound thin, at least compared to the others I auditioned.

- D5000 boomy bass was too overpowering over other frequencies and made electric guitars to sound a little drowned to my taste since I found mids a tad recessed(I have heard once a Markl modded one, not for long but as an uninformed opinion is that their bass was poorly controlled also, but it was an improvement), and in the highs they became sibilant in a couple of tracks, comfort wise the loose clamp was a bad point in my book since they fell down a couple of times while head banging during an Iron Maiden listening session. So adding all those factors I disqualified the D5000.

- Now between the 650 and 600, I compared them extensively for a month. After the first week I was almost sure I would pick the 600 since they impressed me with their forwardness (compared to 650) a lot more. But then I noticed that every time I was going to hear music with a heavy electric guitar component I reached for the 650, artists like Joe Satrini or Petrucci just sounded better in the 650, and also the 600 got a little fatiguing with groups like Queensryche or PT.


Then I had the opportunity to try the 650 balanced and I found they were superior in all aspects to all the headphones I auditioned, and was really surprised by how much they improved (clearer without becoming fatiguing, a lot more speed, better imaging), and decided that investing in the 650, and later going balanced was the path to go for my progressive tastes. Then, just before buying the 650 I had the opportunity to try the 800, and technically they were superior. But I preferred the sound signature of the 650, the 800 striked me as too analytical, in some sense similar to the K701 (but they were far superior, the K701 sounded so analytical that I could say they sounded sterile and thin, not the case with the 800). The 650 transmitted the feelings of the artists in a way I liked better (and are a lot cheaper, which is huge, but even at similar prices I would have a hard time choosing). Just as a final note, about two weeks after buying the 650 I met an audio engineer that had a Pro 900, and he let me audition them. I found them quite similar to the 650, but with too much bass (which if I remember correctly, there is a mod that helps exactly this). Unbalanced it's a tough choice, the 900 is speedier but the mids of the 650 are very tough to beat, Pro 900 are also excelent in the mid region, but there was something in the treble area that made me hear the 900 as too "metaly", I can't pinpoint exactly what it was but I didn't like it. So to summarize, I think the best sub $500 bets are:

- HD650 and in then sometime in the future go balanced.
* If it wasn't for price, I would put the HD800 tied for first
- Pro 900
- HD600
- D5000

(If any of those isn't in sub $500, I'm sorry, I'm not in the states so I am sometimes not aware of pricing there, which by the way is miles and miles better than where I am) I know I am forgetting a couple of headphones I also tried, but I think what I've written reflects my recommendation. I wish you luck in your search!
 
Sep 8, 2009 at 11:05 PM Post #14 of 21
Woah... Suggestions are all over the place!!

A lot of reactions out there... I'm pretty sure that I won't change my amp/dac since they have a wonderfull synergy. (even tough the grundig is SS, it sounds tubey, and the zero is really analatycal, they complete eachother)

The HD600 sounds pretty much like my 580, and I've had the chance to try the HD650 and tought they lacked a bit of details...



Now about the w5000 and dt880, how would they compare, soundwise to any of my phones ?

And Skylab, Hell it seems that SW is a freakin mastering genius, and it's precisely why iIm trying to find something to do it justice!
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top