[rbaulbin]

Hello all -

I own the Sennheiser HD600's, and I'm thinking that the highs on these cans are slightly veiled (as others have found). While I love these headphones, I'm using them in a studio environment, and tonal accuracy is more important than anything. Can anyone recommend a set of headphones under $500 that have a *measured* design philosophy of flatness from at least 20-20K (I suppose taking into account basic limitations of the ear)? I.e., what are the "Dunlavy" of headphones in this price range?

Thanks,

RB

 

[kramer5150]

Althougn Ive never seen one measured... MS2 gets my vote, for under $300.

Garrett

 

[nikongod]

akg k1000.

the freq response is flat as a board, except where the crossover is.

 

[rhythmdevils]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer5150 Althougn Ive never seen one measured... MS2 gets my vote, for under $300. Garrett

no way! a grado? im not flaming anything here, i love my MS1´s, but grado/allessandro (the newer models) could never, in my opinion, be heiled as flat. i dont know what exactly would be flat for under 500, but i would definitely be interested...

the only can that comes to mind for me would be the grado hp2 (its an old grado). from what i have read, it seems to be the king of neutrality. but its over 1000$

"just the facts ´mam" (as i remember someone describing the hp2)

 

[recstar24]

timbral accuracy is what the hp2's are all about. It nails instruments so tonally accurate its scary - I was listening to some guitar stuff and could pinpoint the exact set of tubes that the guy was using in his tube amp, the hp2's are that dead on IMO. However, they are old and rare and will not be seen under 500, so it doesnt necessarily apply.

 

[GoRedwings19]

Believe it or not the Ps-1's are quite tonall accurate. Below $500 I only have experience of senns, Grado's/alessandros below that price range. So it's difficult to say

 

[Teerawit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhythmdevils no way! a grado? im not flaming anything here, i love my MS1´s, but grado/allessandro (the newer models) could never, in my opinion, be heiled as flat. i dont know what exactly would be flat for under 500, but i would definitely be interested... \:

lol, my thoughts exactly!

 

[rbaulbin]

So how about below $1000?

 

[WmAx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbaulbin Hello all - I.e., what are the "Dunlavy" of headphones in this price range? Thanks, RB

Why, let's see what Dunlavy has to say(scroll down to about midway in the post)...

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=Du...org.com&rnum=4

I did a very similar experiment using flat respnose measurement mics... and I concur with Dunlavy(no suprise).

-Chris

 

[gpalmer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbaulbin So how about below $1000?

I would look for a set of Grado HP-1000's, there were three headphones in this series and the going prices should be under a grand at the moment. The HP-1 was the top end of the series with phase switches, the HP-2 didn't have them. Off the top of my head, I think both of these were supposed to be matched to +-0.5 between right and left speakers. The HP-3 had looser specs, I think it was something like +- 1 dB. I was comparing my HP-1s against a set of Mackie HR-824's monitors last weekend which are roughly +-1 dB from 38-22KHz or something like that and it was scary how close they sounded to each other. As a matter of fact the sound man I was listening to them with was incredibly impressed until he heard the price tag.

EDIT - BTW this should be mentioned, these headphones are no longer produced and you have to get them used. Only problem with this is that there were only around 1000 of them made tops and there are a lot of audiophiles gunning for them.

 

[12thgear]

Ooh... I do like how the HR824s sound. Quite a bit actually. I NEED to hear an HP1 or HP2 sometime soon.

 

[Wmcmanus]

I agree that the HP-1000 series is the first thought in terms of tonal accuracy but you'll have a real hard time finding any of them for under $500.

I'd say the next best bet would be the Beyerdynamics DT880. Like the HP-2, they're not terribly "exciting" but they sure do seem pretty accurate.

The K1000 would also be a good choice although they seem bass deficient on many amps and thus your total investment to get them sounding flat across the spectrum would be much more. Plus, you would have to have the right listening environment (i.e., a dead silent room and nobody else who you would be bothering).

 

[gpalmer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 12thgear Ooh... I do like how the HR824s sound. Quite a bit actually. I NEED to hear an HP1 or HP2 sometime soon.

Fantastic set of monitors. We were driving them with my Gilmore V2-SE and a relatively crappy source so I could get an idea of how'd they sound in my second system. I'm buying them!

I have an E-Mail into Mackie to see if they will replace the caps with Black Gates and then it's on to purchasing them...

 

[gpalmer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wmcmanus I agree that the HP-1000 series is the first thought in terms of tonal accuracy but you'll have a real hard time finding any of them for under $500. I'd say the next best bet would be the Beyerdynamics DT880. Like the HP-2, they're not terribly "exciting" but they sure do seem pretty accurate.

Are the 880's closed Wayne? That might make a difference since the HP-1s are open and might not fit in in some studios.

 

[12thgear]

I've joked with my audio engineer friend about building a 5.1 home theater setup based on HR824s and the HRS150. I wasn't entirely joking. For a smaller media room that sound like a killer setup.

My friend wants to delve into 5.1 mixing so he has an excuse to get more monitors and a sub.

Just hearing that HP1s sound similar to Mackie monitors makes the $500 used pricing sound palatable.

It's funny the DT 880s were mentioned, because they're also on my "must hear" list.