[eyal1983]

Hey everyone! This thread is for those who crave the wonderful sounds that lie in the midrange frequencies. Feel free to discuss anything midrange centric, such as IEM's, headphones, music, amps, DAP's, speakers, etc...
 
Please suggest more midrange centric IEM's, headphones, DAP's and AMP's so I can add them to the list! Thanks.
 
 

Spoiler: Midrange%20centric%20IEM's

Audio Technica ATH-CK100
 
Brainwavz M1
Brainwavz M3
 
Earsonics EM3 Pro
Earsonics SM2
Earsonics SM3
 
Etymotic MC3
Etymotic MC5
 
FitEar TG!334
 
Hifiman RE262
Hifiman RE400
Hifiman RE600
 
Klipsch Custom 3
 
MEElectronics A151
MEElectronics A161P
 
Monster MD Tributes
 
Ortofon EQ5
Ortofon EQ7
 
Phonak PFE w/ gray filters
 
Shure E500
Shure SE420
Shure SE425
Shure SE530
Shure SE535
 
Westone 4
Westone ES3
Westone ES3X
Westone ES5
Westone UM2
Westone UM3X
 
 
 

 

Spoiler: Midrange%20centric%20headphones

AKG K240
AKG K272HD
AKG K340
AKG K501
AKG K1000
 
Audeze LCD-2
Audeze LCD-3
 
Audio Technica ATH-2 
Audio Technica ATH-AD500/X
Audio Technica ATH-AD700/x
Audio Technica ATH-AD2000/x
Audio Technica ATH-ESW9
Audio Technica ATH-ESW10JPN
Audio Technica ATH-M40FS
Audio Technica ATH-W11JPN
Audio Technica ATH-W100
Audio Technica ATH-W1000
Audio Technica ATH-W2002
Audio Technica ATH-W3000 ANV
Audio Technica ATH-W5000
 
Beyerdynamic DT48/DT480
Beyerdynamic DT-531
 
Fostex T50RP
 
Hifiman HE-500
 
Kenwood KH-K1000
 
Koss ESP/950
Koss KSC75
Koss TBSE1
 
Pioneer SE500
Pioneer SE700 
 
Sony MDR-CD900ST
Sony MDR-F1
Sony MDR-R10
 
Thinksound Rain
 
Sennheiser EH350
Sennheiser HD580
Sennheiser HD598
Sennheiser HD600
Sennheiser HD650
 
Shure SRH440
Shure SRH940
 
Stax Omega 2 MK1
Stax SR-Lambda
Stax SR-X mk3
 
Yamaha HP-1
Yamaha HP-100
Yamaha HP-1000
 
 
 
HiFiMAN HM-601
HiFiMAN HM-602
HiFiMAN HM-801

 

Spoiler: Midrange%20centric%20amplifiers.

Audio Valve RKV MK2
 
DNA (Donald North Audio) Sonett
 
EarMax Pro
 
TTVJ Slim
 
Woo Audio wa5
 
Yamamoto HA-02
 
Zana Duex

 
 
Links to other threads made for Bassheads, Trebleheads, Neutral lovers, V-shaped, and Soundstage lovers : 
The Basshead Club
The Treblehead Club
The Neutral Lover's Club
The Fun/V Shaped Club
The Soundstage Head Club

 

[eyal1983]

20.01.2013 - Added Audio Technica ATH-AD700 !
 
we really need to revive this old thread back to life guys, give me some more ! )

 

[eyal1983]

20.1.2013
update #2: Sorting alphabetically
update #3: added Audeze LCD-3

 

[obobskivich]

Kewlbeans.

Some clarification items:

W3000 is ATH-W3000ANV, R10 is MDR-R10.

An item to add:
Koss TBSE1

 

[eyal1983]

Koss TBSE1 added!
ATH re-arranged!

 

[obobskivich]

afaik there is no "W3000" - there's only the ANV. There's an ATH-L3000, but I don't know anything specific about it.

 

[XxDobermanxX]

Basshead club now a midrange club......the headphone is i have on now is midcentric - sennheiser HD 449 

 

[eyal1983]

21/1/13... updated)

 

[Argyris]

I'm not sure to what extent there's consensus on this, but in my experience the MEElec A161P was quite mid-centric. Some folks classify them as sweet, though, with enhanced bass to go with the mids. I didn't hear that, though that might have been a seal issue. In any case, this is one for consideration for the list. Anybody want to weigh in, one way or the other?

 

[eyal1983]

well, they are almost mid-centric, as you can see from their FR graph.  
 

 
they are closer to mids, than to bass, V, treble, or balanced..
so yes, it got accepted!

 

[Argyris]

Ah, the infamous flat line chart for the A161, which they use to suggest that they're neutral. That chart is quite accurate, since Tyll at IF got a virtually identical set of measurements.
 
Normally, though, I've found that neutral-sounding headphones don't extend in a flat line to ~3kHz on compensated charts; they start a very gradual roll off right after 1kHz. That extra extension of the line is likely responsible for the perceived midrange bump. It's not an unpleasant sound by any means--I'm assuming those looking at this thread like a mid-centric balance (EDIT: gee, what was my first clue? 

), and I think if that's the case you'd be thrilled with the A161. I was quite surprised by it, though, since they didn't sound anything like I expected.

 

[XxDobermanxX]

No love for midrange on headfi, anyone? 

 

[Argyris]

I think that bass and treble get more type because they're often novel, being the first things you notice once you upgrade to decent equipment. Also, as much as I love midrange, I've learned that a mid-dominant sound works no better for me than a brash V-shaped one does. The magic, IMO, is conveyed through the mids, but there has to be balance, or else (in the worst cases) it ends up sounding like an AM radio.

 

[KamijoIsMyHero]

Quote:

I think that bass and treble get more type because they're often novel, being the first things you notice once you upgrade to decent equipment. Also, as much as I love midrange, I've learned that a mid-dominant sound works no better for me than a brash V-shaped one does. The magic, IMO, is conveyed through the mids, but there has to be balance, or else (in the worst cases) it ends up sounding like an AM radio.

really? I always thought, if mids were perfect, vocals will sounds perfect

 

[Argyris]

Quote:

really? I always thought, if mids were perfect, vocals will sounds perfect

 
That's an extreme example I gave. Usually there's enough bass and treble to avoid that effect. That said, the usual convention that vocals and guitars exist in the midrange is a bit of an oversimplification. While the fundamental and more prominent/characteristic overtones of typical midrange elements are certainly in the 250 Hz to 4 kHz range, if you had a headphone which only produced those frequencies it would sound exactly like an AM radio. This is because the overtones from virtually all sounds extend right up through the treble, even if the instrument in question is usually thought of as inhabiting the midrange. Different frequency ranges are best thought to contain different aspects of a sound, not different sounds outright. You can certainly bring the mids forward by emphasizing the range around 2.5 kHz or so, since the portion of the sound that occupies this range is more apparent (i.e. much higher in amplitude) than the part that extends higher up. But the timbre of any given instrument or vocal is determined by the amplitude distribution across its entire frequency bandwidth, and too much extra midrange emphasis will throw off the timbre.